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Dr. Pimple Popper’s newest Instagram video opens on a fairly relatable note: “Your husband doesn’t like to squeeze stuff like this, huh?” Dr. Lee asks. “You traveled an hour away to get someone to do that for you.”
As cyst pops go, the scene is actually quite tame—certainly nothing compared to, say, a trio of egg-like pilar cysts or a huge lipoma with “bodyguards” that we’ve endured in more recent installments.
But as Dr. Lee carefully uses a pair of tweezers to extract the thick, paste-like discharge from the innards of this woman’s cyst, which hovers just above a tattoo, it’s easy to relate to her husband’s queasiness. As one commenter notes, it may also beg the question as to whether or not there’s a connection between tattoos and breakouts: “The more I watch these videos, I’m convinced there’s a connection with cysts and tattoos,” the comment reads.
Very little evidence of that connection, however, appears to exist. One 2013 report issued by the American Academy of Dermatology, does warn that dyes used in modern inks can lead to allergic reactions that include itching, bumps, rashes, and infections.
To avoid complications like those, the report cautions, make sure you go to a professional tattoo parlor, use sterile equipment, and consider consulting with a dermatologist if you have any chronic skin conditions. Hopefully, unlike the subject in this video, you won’t have to drive an hour to find someone qualified.
“I bet you could’ve found someone closer if you’d put an ad out,” Dr. Lee says. “They’re everywhere. Popaholics are everywhere.”
Don’t we know it, doc.