Jennette McCurdy Says She Still Struggles with Acne at 31: ‘I Feel Dirty...It Makes Me Sad'

The 'iCarly' alum and best-selling author says her acne “makes me so insecure”

Jennette McCurdy shared that she’s been struggling with acne for half her life, saying the skin condition “makes me so insecure.”

“I am 31 and I am still struggling — capital-S Struggling — with acne,” the iCarly alum and author of the New York Times bestselling memoir I'm Glad My Mom Is Dead shared on the latest episode of her podcast, Hard Feelings with Jennette McCurdy.

She added, “It makes me so insecure. My God, you guys, it affects my self-esteem really negatively. If I’m having a good skin day, I feel so much better about myself, and they are few and far between. And then most of the time when I’m really struggling, it just makes me feel kind of crummy.”

McCurdy said she had “smooth, flawless skin” until around age 15, but attributed her breakouts to the “thick, caked-on makeup” used on the set of her Nickelodeon shows iCarly and Sam & Cat. 

“They would just kind of pack that on and I thought, ‘Okay, it’s a result of just makeup for 12 hours a day, plus bright lights, and it’s just seeping into my pores,’ ” McCurdy said. “And then the TV shows stopped and I still had acne.”

She shared that she’s tried countless medications from dermatologists — even trying the often-controversial Accutane for a while — but at age 31, it’s still a struggle.

“I feel, like, dirty because of my acne. It makes me sad that I feel that way about myself but I’m not quite sure how not to.”

McCurdy also detailed how she's been managing her acne while in the public eye.

Related: Breakout Stars: 17 Celebs Who Celebrate Their Zits

“Maybe you’re looking at this being like, ‘Jennette, you look fine.’ First off you can't tell from an Instagram photo. Second off, people that I know well will be like, 'What are you talking about?' Because I’ve spoken about my insecurity around my skin to a few friends,” she explained.

"I know how to find a good foundation shade and the right application to kind of make my skin look as smooth as it can and it’s not super textured.”

McCurdy admitted that she’s hesitant to post photos of her skin online "but I'm too insecure to do it,” she confessed. “It's interesting to me because I can access vulnerability so easily in so many ways, but with my face, it's hard."

Related: Kim Kardashian Says Dealing with Acne in Her 40s Makes Her 'Insecure': 'It's Really Tough'

The actress further noted that self-acceptance has been her biggest obstacle.

"The only thing I haven't tried, I guess, is just accepting it and owning it," she explained. "And maybe the reason that’s the only thing I haven’t tried is that’s the hardest thing to try.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"You can pop another medicine capsule, you can smear another cream on the face, dab another gel…but this one’s the hardest. Just accepting it.”

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.