Living with acne: “I had to wake up every day and not touch my face because it hurt so much”

“I was about 11 when I started getting acne. I just went to high school. I didn’t think too much about it until I got really sick on my face and body and it started to hurt.

I went to the doctor for help and a year later I started taking medication. I felt it was manageable up to this point. When I was in my sophomore year of high school, everyone had clear skin, but I didn’t, and I didn’t like it. I tried some skin care to help, but quickly realized that I needed to see a doctor.

I was prescribed antibiotics for acne, which got rid of my acne for a whole year, but then I realized that the problem was only in him.

Medications haven’t really done anything about real pimples. He cleaned it for as long as your body would allow, but then it comes back with a vengeance. This was the case for me when I went off antibiotics just before Covid in 2020 and it came back like crazy. It was cystic acne [a type of inflammatory acne that causes painful, pus-filled pimples to form deep under the skin] through this phase.

I kind of knew the antibiotic was a temporary solution, but by taking the medicine, I learned a lot about my acne. I did a lot of research on skin care and acne so I knew this would definitely come back. But when it came back, it struck me very much – I had never experienced anything like it. None of my friends have ever had cystic acne like me and it was very, very painful.

So you have a mental effect I’m not like my friends or people on Instagram or all the people in skin care ads. and you have a personal aspect: I have to wake up every day and not touch my face because it hurts a lot. It was every day.

In 2020-21, my acne has only gotten worse. It peaked when I entered college in 2021. I was ready for a new college experience, but now my acne got in the way.

I just felt like I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, go out and meet people. Before going out, I put on makeup and sometimes took it off 3 times, because my skin looked under it; or I was just really frustrated, frustrated that it just didn’t work and I thought it was forever; or I would be really obsessed with how it affected my appearance (which it certainly didn’t!) and I would think that people would think about it because of my skin. They may think that I am less beautiful, or just take it as a negative. It certainly had a big impact.

When I started my own research, I learned a lot about skin care. I have learned so much about your skin barrier, how strong it needs to be, and what skin care products are best for my skin. In 2021, I started researching skin positivity on Instagram and discovered a huge community.

Actually, that’s how I stumbled upon the British Skin Foundation. This is a community of people who write about their acne and people who share their stories in a very positive way. I have never seen anything like it; It was wonderful. People have been so honest and honest – and positive – about their experience. It literally changed my whole relationship with him.

Social media is so powerful. You can easily find fake stuff, but if you find the bright side of social media, then great. Instagram also has a huge body positivity community that people can help with. There’s a big feminist community there, a lot of political material that is really educational, and on social media you can find some positivity, inspiration and knowledge about what I could do. This is cool.

There are several accounts that I really love and still follow. There is a girl named Izzy Rogers, her account is an amazing explosion of color, and Isabella from Spotty Little Thing. It’s great to see these accounts doing so well. These people get invited to skincare events and it’s great to see real influencers doing positive things at these events, partnering with big brands and companies that I now use.

I also worked on a campaign with the British Skin Foundation. They are basically the official skin care charity and they cover what all people have – they normalize them. They play a really important role in making people aware of these things.

During 2020, I took a lot of hormonal acne pills, which had a huge impact on my mental health. This year, I started having severe anxiety attacks due to trying to get rid of acne.

At the end of 2021, I took antibiotics again as a last resort. This cleared up my skin, but deep down I knew it was another temporary solution, so we contacted a dermatologist via the NHS. I used to be on the waiting list for a dermatologist for a year, but since the wait was so long, we contacted her again to try and move on.

I made an appointment six months later and started Roaccutane. [a medication primarily used to treat severe acne]. It is advertised as a drug that will completely clear your skin – no matter what, it will work. He has a lot of negative stigma [the NHS says serious side effects from such medications are usually rare and happen in less than 1 in 1,000 people – common side effects affect 1 in 100 people]. In fact, I was offered it when I was 15 and turned it down because of the side effects. But after much research on the drug, I decided to take it this time.

I wanted to start before college because I have a mom and a strong support system. Might as well do it now and get him out of the way. I started this in July 2022 and am still working on it. My skin is completely clear. I had several side effects, the main one being that I am a musical theater performer and the drug dried out my vocal cords. I lost my voice and my range is extremely limited which was quite stressful and I had to go to voice therapy. But compared to the psychological side effects that Roaccutane can cause in people, I’m glad that I have this side effect.

I didn’t take the medicine because I wanted to clear my skin. I was fine with how my acne looked at the time because I found skin positivity. It was more because of the acne pain and exhaustion I felt. This was the most important.

I have to stop it after a few months because the drug requires you to take a certain dose before you stop it. Hopefully by then my skin will be clear, which would be crazy after everything I’ve been through. In women, acne is more likely to come back after taking the drug, although usually not as much. But if that’s the case, then so be it.”

Poppy on Instagram: @poppyskinpositivity

For more information about the British Skin Foundation visit www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk.