I admit it: I enjoy watching those pimple-popping videos on Youtube. Blackheads are my favourites to watch being extracted, little solid dark worms of yuk being pushed out of some poor soul’s skin. I’m not too keen on anything bloody, but my tolerance for pus had increased sevenfold since I stumbled on these videos ages ago.

Thanks to these videos I can tell the difference between blackheads and dilated pores of Winer, epidermoid cysts and ganglion cysts and why it’s important to make sure that you’ve got all of the cyst wall out of the incision you’ve made.

I prefer it when people have gone to a doctor to be seen to, especially cheerful ones like Dr Sandra Lee, as you know they’re being dealt with hygienically and with sense. On the other hand, I must admit to a certain level of amusement at the videos pf people being gleefully pounced on by friends and family members at parties, on the beach and even in bars and having their spots and cysts squeezed.

I’ve always liked squeezing my spots. I was lucky enough to avoid acne as a teen, but I did (and still do) have greasy skin and blackheads were an integral part of my teen years. I rarely  got a chance to let loose at my face, however, as both my parents are pimple poppers par excellence and they took every opportunity to squish and squeeze my face free of spots. I have a mole in my hairline that my mother often mistook for a blackhead, and I spent many a happy hour of my childhood darting away from her probing fingers as I yelled “Mole! It’s my mole!” as she chased me around the living room table.

Ah, memories.

If you’re a happy popper like me, check out popthatzits.com. The commenters can be very annoying – they’re all armchair doctors who know everything about cysts, of course – but you get the best videos there. For blackhead videos, look for Dr Vikram’s posts. For cyst pops, try the lovely Dr Lee.

Enjoy, pimple poppers! If you spot (hah!) a good video, let me know in the comments!