Eli

Eli has had acne for several years. Most of her spots have been on her face, although she did have some on her back for a little while ago. She didn’t worry too much about her acne until she moved to the UK from her home country. She started school and realised that all the other girls her age wore make-up. She began wearing make-up to fit in but she thinks that this is making her spots worse. Eli worries that she may still have acne when she has grown up because she uses foundation. Her mum bought her a special foundation for acne-prone skin which helped a bit. 

Eli uses a cream which she bought from a shop in her home country. Her mum helps remind her to use it every night. Eli thinks that the cream helps, but that wearing make-up undoes this. Her spots are sometimes itchy but she tries not to pick or squeeze them. Eli thinks that having a fringe has made the skin on her forehead oilier, so she tends to tie her hair back. She also tries to avoid some foods, like chocolate and crisps, as she thinks that these might also causes spots. Eli removes her make-up whilst at home with soap, unless she has plans to go out in the evening. She prefers going out when it’s dark or going to the cinema so that her spots are less visible to other people.  

Eli sometimes talks to her friends who also have acne. Sometimes they look online for video tutorials about getting rid of acne and make-up. Eli and one of her friends went shopping to look for a product to clear acne and found something similar to try out. Her advice to other people her age with acne is to not put too much foundation on their skin.

Eli says that spots affect how she feels about herself. For example, she thinks that boys don’t find girls with acne attractive. She feels awkward when talking to boys, especially because most of her male friends don’t have spots themselves. She feels more comfortable leaving the house with make-up on, but says that she can sometimes still see the spots under her foundation. Eli doesn’t like it when her make-up comes off in PE as her acne becomes more visible. She says that her skin becomes shiny throughout the day so she puts on powder in the bathrooms. Eli also covers up her spots when posting photographs of herself on social media by using filters on her phone camera.