9 Creators Share How They Feel About Having Adult Acne & Showing up Online
Adult acne affects nearly 1 in 5 women over the age of 25, with hormonal changes, stress, and genetic factors playing bigger roles than most skincare ads let on.
In fact, studies show that up to 41% of adults aged 25 and older experience acne, with women making up the majority of those affected.
We’ve asked content creators in the Australian beauty space about adult acne, specifically, how they feel about showing up online, and feeling confident in themselves, noting it’s ok to not feel great all the time.
Maddie @madeleineedwards, 30
“I love showing up makeup-free online and in real life situations because I know that confidence is contagious, it has a domino effect.
When I see someone with breakouts owning their skin, it makes me think “wait, they look so comfortable and proud, I want to be like that!”, and then when I do go out and rock my natural skin, I hope to inspire others to do the same (even if you have to fake it ‘til you make it).”
Ushi @ushi.a, 26
“I always keep my teenage, acne-fighting self in mind when showing up with my bare skin on and off camera.
Being the representation I wish I had witnessed, and seeing how this gently nudges even one other spotty girl to find comfort and confidence in her skin.
On ‘bad’ skin days, I try to see myself from the eyes of a loved one — my best friend wouldn’t love me less if I had an extra pimple today, she’d see me as a whole and I should too.”
Tanika @tanika.jaun, 33
“My confidence definitely fluctuates as an acne prone girlie but overtime I’ve realised that my acne doesn’t define who I am.
As a content creator I’ve always felt more confident showing up online makeup free than in real life, which seems strange but my audience resonates with my acne struggles and makes me feel seen, understood and therefore confident to keep showing up bare faced.
As for real life, yes my acne can make me feel quite vulnerable at times but I remind myself that strangers don’t actually care and the people that love and support me aren’t judging me or my skin.”
Sally @sallyokaytalks, 31
“It took me so, so long to be confident and embrace my spotty skin.
I use to dread social events because I knew my skin was having bad breakouts and I felt like people would question my passion for skincare since my skin wasn’t “flawless”.
Even now, when I see minor breakouts, I am still a little nervous to jump in front of the camera for content but I remind myself to keep it real and relatable!”
Peyton @misspeytonsmith, 26
“When I used to struggle with hormonal acne it was hard to show up confidently…
….whether I was going to work, the gym or filming but now I see them not as flaws but as signals from my body, stress, lack of sleep, that time of the month, it’s a cycle but it never defines your worth or your beauty, I always remember this is only temporary not permanent ❤️”
Aruba @aruba.rizwan, 28
“I’ve had acne since I was a teenager and my relationship with acne has really evolved over time.
I had zero confidence back then to step out with a face full of acne breakouts, because I’d think about what others are thinking of my face and maybe calling me ugly?
Hahah long gone are those days because I trained myself to be confident in my skin, accept my acne prone skin, learned to manage my breakouts & scars (and touchwood they are so well behaved now haha).
But this all took time and patience from my end and honestly, a LOT of self love and self reflection.
I realised my acne would NEVER define me as a person and someone who was judging my spots, doesn’t deserve to be my friend 🫶 my closest friends and family love me for me and they don’t care about how many new pimples have popped up on my face.
Now I’ve come to a point in life where I head out, get in front of the camera without a second thought even when I’m having my biggest breakout. I love this for myself 🥹”
Karelle @karelle.amy, 26
“As someone who has struggled with acne for over 10 years, it has been a huge challenge to my confidence to show up bare faced both in real life and on the internet.
growing up in the era of photoshop and poreless skin, I found great comfort in creators who didn’t hide their faces, even if they had acne too.
This inspired me to push through my discomfort and share my face, spots and all, and doing so has stretched me and my confidence in ways I didn’t expect, but ways that I am eternally grateful for.
I have many struggle days, but each day that I show up I am met with support, even messages from others who struggle thanking me for being brave.
Which has made it all worth it, to know that just as others inspired me, and helped me not feel so alone in my skin struggles, I can do the same for others x”
Emily @sunshineeskin , 26
“For me, the biggest thing I need to remember is I never notice anyone else’s skin and I never think of anyone in a negative light, so I try my best to remember that no one is thinking that way of me.
We are our own harshest critics, and things I notice on myself, people most likely aren’t noticing on me.
I also never say mean things to anyone regarding their appearance so I try my best to not say it to myself (even though sometimes that’s harder said than done).
Those are the biggest pillars for me to have built up more confidence even on my rougher acne days 💖”
Hiuy @beautybyhiuy, 31
“My beauty influencer journey started with the search for makeup that wouldn’t cause more breakouts.
Discovering the perfect combination of foundation and primer gave me the confidence to express myself.
Sharing these tips and getting gratitude from the acne-prone community keeps me motivated to show up for my audience every day.
I’ve always seen makeup as a tool - looking good means feeling good!”
Final Thoughts
Thank you to everyone who shared.
We’d highly encourage you to follow the creators above, as having different skin types in your feed is a huge step to normalising real skin.
Please feel welcome to share about your own journey with acne below in the comments.
