EXPLAINER: Why are pimple-popping videos so satisfying?

For some, it’s relaxing. For others, it’s unbearable.

You know the feeling. You scroll past a video of someone squeezing out a giant blackhead. Your first instinct is to look away.

Instead, you watch until the very end.

Millions of people around the world are hooked on pimple-popping and blackhead-extraction videos, even if they admit they’re “gross.” As it turns out, science says there’s a good reason why these oddly satisfying clips have become one of the internet’s biggest guilty pleasures.

Researchers say the appeal has less to do with being weird and more to do with how our brains are wired.

Your brain loves the payoff

One of the biggest reasons these videos feel satisfying is the brain’s reward system.

A 2021 study published in Behavioural Brain Research found that fans of pimple-popping videos process these scenes differently from people who find them disgusting. Instead of focusing solely on the unpleasant imagery, their brains remain engaged by the anticipation of a clean, successful extraction.

Neuroscientist Dr. Sanam Hafeez explains that the process creates a “tension-and-release” experience. The pressure builds as viewers wait for the extraction, then ends with a rewarding sense of completion once the clogged pore is cleared. That resolution can trigger the release of dopamine, the brain chemical associated with pleasure and reward.

In other words, your brain enjoys seeing a problem get solved.

Gross… but in a good way

Psychologists have another term for this phenomenon: benign masochism.

It’s the same reason many people enjoy horror movies, roller coasters, or spicy food. They’re unpleasant experiences—but only in a controlled and safe environment.

According to researchers writing in Current Psychology, people who enjoy pimple-popping videos often score higher in “morbid curiosity,” a personality trait that drives interest in strange, unsettling, or even disgusting experiences without any real danger.

Watching someone else’s giant blackhead being extracted gives viewers a safe thrill. It’s revolting—but from the comfort of a couch.

The satisfaction of order

The appeal may also stretch back thousands of years.

According to evolutionary psychologists, humans have long relied on grooming behaviors to remove parasites, dirt, and skin problems from one another. That instinct for cleaning and caring for the body may still linger today.

Researchers from The University of Queensland suggest that extraction videos tap into this ancient grooming instinct while also satisfying our desire for order. A clogged pore becomes clean. Chaos becomes neat. Something that looked “wrong” is suddenly fixed.

That visual transformation can feel surprisingly calming, especially for people who enjoy organization, symmetry, and completion.

Not everyone feels the same

Of course, not everyone can stand these videos.

The same Behavioural Brain Research study found that people who dislike pimple-popping clips tend to experience a stronger disgust response, causing them to turn away before reaching the satisfying conclusion.

For some, it’s deeply relaxing. For others, it’s absolutely unbearable.

And that’s exactly why these videos continue to divide the internet.

Whether you binge-watch dermatology channels before bed or immediately scroll away, scientists say your reaction says less about your stomach—and more about how your brain processes disgust, curiosity, and reward. Sometimes, what looks disgusting to one person can be strangely therapeutic to another.

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