Acne Selfies Are Taking Over Our Instagram Feeds, And It’s About Time

#spottyandcute

Acne Selfies Are Taking Over Our Instagram Feeds, And It's About Time

by Phoebe Parke |
Published on

Acne is one of those conditions that is more common than we realise, because many of us quite literally, cover it up and never speak about it.

It affects 8 in 10 people between in the ages of 11 and 30 in the UK, and nearly half of acne sufferers in a British Skin Foundation survey said they had been verbally abused by a member of the public because of it, with 17% of people saying they had self-harmed because of their skin.

A new photo series by photographer Peter DeVito featuring untouched skin with slogans such as ‘acne is normal’ and ‘I’m so sick and tired of the photoshop’ aims to empower people with acne.

DeVito has been posting his images on Instagram, some of which feature himself, he says he has suffered from a young age and was relieved as soon as he posted the first one.

‘The whole point of me posting is to help empower other people,’ he told Elle magazine in an interview.

Each picture has hundreds of comments, and even model Cara Delevingne is a fan, she posted one of DeVito’s images with the honest caption; ‘It's so wrong that if I had taken that picture of myself, then I wouldn't have posted it #repost @freethenipple @suffocate ❤️thank you to women who are brave. shot by @peterdevito’

In the past few years there has been a rise in people sharing selfies with acne, as the body positivity movement grows online, it’s no surprise.

In January Australian model Belle Lucia shared two selfies – one of her as a teenager with visible acne which she says stopped her from modelling, and the other with clear skin. ‘No one is perfect - Left is me as a teenager,' she wrote.

‘I struggled with acne for many years as a young girl, not only was it isolated to just my face but it affected my chest and back. This severely affected my self esteem and I had to stop modelling as a result.

'I'm posting this to hopefully help those out there suffering with acne or anyone worrying about the way they look because when I was young I wish someone would have told me that your looks don't define you and even the "models" you see on advertisements aren't perfect.’

Instagrammer Hailey Wait has been posting more and more pictures of her bare skin on her feed, and has had an incredible response.

‘I just really want to thank you guys. Since being more open about my skin imperfections, SO MANY of you have opened up to me about your own struggles and I want to say that I’m truly moved, and incredibly thankful to be supported by so many genuine human beings,’ she wrote in a post in December 2017.

‘I’ve heard your stories and seen more and more of you embrace yourselves for who you are, and to me, that’s the most beautiful thing in the whole world. You aren’t flawless, and neither am I. None of us are, and you don’t need to be flawless to be loved and accepted as a human being. We all have imperfections and we are all capable of greater things beyond our appearances 💖 #thankyou #spottyandcute’

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But not all the responses were positive, Wait posted another image with a caption shutting down people who give her unsolicited skin advice.

'hey can we all agree to just stop sending me acne advice?' she wrote. 'I know the intent is good a lot of times but if I didn’t ask, then I don’t need it. It’s just kind of insulting tbh. There’s more to me than my acne. I get thousands of messages a DAY about my acne, and I’m certain that most of you aren’t dermatologists. It’s not as simple as washing your face and drinking water. Thank you :-)'

Even Kendall Jenner has opened up about her skin struggles, after photos were taken of her with blemished skin at Golden Globes.

A fan tweeted: 'Ok but @KendallJenner showing up and strutting her acne while looking like a gorgeous star is what every girl needs to understand.'

Jenner quote tweeted with: ‘never let that s**t stop you!’ which totally captures the mood of the movement.

Why shouldn’t the body positive movement extend to skin? Acne selfies are a very real and refreshing antidote to perfect skin on social media, and an empowering message to sufferers who might have started to think they were alone.

Follow Phoebe on Twitter @PhoebeParke

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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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