Lili Reinhart Talks About Cystic Acne on Instagram
Lili Reinhart's acne does not define her, and she wants you to know that yours shouldn't, either.
On Monday night, the Riverdale star took to Instagram to share a personal — and powerful — message about her experience dealing with cystic acne.
"Adult acne story time," she began the series of Instagram Stories. "I have a cystic breakout on my forehead currently. And I had to do a photoshoot all day long. I've had cystic acne since I was 12. And it has caused major self esteem issues ever since. I had to put my biggest insecurity on display. There was nowhere to hide. 20+ people were studying my face on the camera monitor at any given time during the 11 hour shoot. And all I could think about when I was in front of the camera were the pimples on my forehead."
Though most of us don't spend our days on photoshoots (or on set for a TV show watched by millions, for that matter), we can all relate to the feeling of thinking everyone is staring at our zits (even though they likely haven't even noticed them.
"I always text my mom when I have a bad breakout to tell her how ugly I feel, and these breakouts shatter my confidence every time they appear," she continued. "I'm not sure if or when I'll ever be able to accept my skin as it is. It's problematic. It scars easily. It's painful. But I'm hoping that someday I can feel beautiful even if I'm having a breakout. And that I won't feel obsessive or paranoid."
She goes on to explain why it's so important to her to share her skin insecurities with her fans, because she knows that they likely are dealing with similar struggles. "I feel the need to talk about my struggle with acne. Because maybe if I normalize my skin, more people... including myself... will be able to feel okay about their skin."
"My breakouts don't define me," she writes. "To anyone out there who feels embarrassed or ashamed by breakouts... I feel you. We have each other so let's get through this acne experience together."
She finishes her message by asking her followers to share their own experiences with acne with the hashtag #breakoutbuddy, and people have been nothing short of inspired by Lili's message. In the last few hours, dozens of people have posted their own stories about their complicated relationships with acne.
"I've been struggling with cystic acne for about 3 years now. Some days I don't want to leave the house I feel so ugly. But then again, every time I watch people like @lilireinhart who are confident in their skin, I become a little more confident in mine," shares one fan. "Shout out to @lilireinhart for making me feel better about this PCOS acne," writes another.
In recent months, Lili has been increasingly vocal about her journey with acne; in April, she posted a selfie with white dots of spot treatment clearly visible, captioning the post, "And I have cystic acne. Hmu." And in a Seventeen interview from later that month, she also shared that her acne led her to develop "slight body dysmorphia," where she "couldn't look at myself in the mirror for a couple of months at a time." Celebrity or not, lots of people may deal with acne, but as Lili has showed — no one is alone.
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