STRICTLY COME DANCING’S Joe Sugg has opened up about his acne struggles and revealed very honest before and after photos.
The YouTuber star, who is the brother of Zoe Sugg, took a break from his prank videos and addressed how his skin has knocked his confidence in the past.
Writing on , Joe said: “Bit of a switch up on the ol' content this week everyone.. I've decided to talk a bit about my skin story and hopefully it will help some of you who may be affected by acne.”
He shared in the 30-minute video called My Skin Story that he used to wear concealer for most of his videos.
Joe, who is currently partnered with professional dancer Dianne Buswell on Strictly, said: “Since halfway through 2017 until now, this is the first time I’ve not used make up for a video.”
After leaving school at 18 to become a full-time roof thatcher, Joe revealed how he met with a professional skin expert.
They advised that he used various treatments to help improve his skin – however spots kept popping up.
He even got to the point when he felt like he didn’t want to leave the house or even film videos due to feeling self-conscious.
The star said he would tell his friends: “My skin is really bad. I don’t feel like going out. They completely understood and they said ‘I’ve been through the exact same thing.’”
He even admitted that despite his large following, he hated watching videos of himself back due to his skin.
The YouTube star revealed: “I used to hate watching back videos of myself because the only thing I’d take away from that video, the only thing I’d focus on from that video was my forehead and my T-Zone.
“I check through the comments and I was so scared to look through the comments.
"Straight away I’d look for certain words like ‘oh your skin’, ‘I can tell you are wearing make-up’.”
Joe even turned to famous sister Zoella at the age of 18 for help when it came to hiding his acne.
He said: “I was very lucky to have my sister at the time, who was also was going/had been through puberty. Knew about the old spots and knew how to cover it.”
He joked: “If you didn’t know already, she’s quite handy with the old make-up. Any party or thing I was going to, I’d said ‘Zoe can you do my face?’”
Thankfully, all hope wasn’t lost and Joe said that his “cure” came when he visited a skin doctor two years ago.
He was given an acne drug called , which has helped over the last 18 months, along with sleeping more, going out less, drinking water and being less stressed.
What is roaccutane and does it work?
- Roaccutane (or isotretinoin) is a capsule acne treatment - which can be prescribed on the NHS.
- The capsules start to work within a week to 10 days, and will clear up your skin for 80% of people within 4 months.
- Your lips and skin can become dry and very sensitive to sunlight during treatment.
- It's not suitable for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or those under the age of 12.
- There is a risk of serious side effects, including anxiety, tummy pains, skin rashes or blistering, headaches, pancreatitis and sudden changes in eyesight.
- Roaccutane/isotretinoin must be prescribed by your doctor. Don't take it without seeking medical advice.
The drug must be prescribed and supervised by a doctor, as it can have side effects such as skin being sensitve to the light.
Fans loved his honesty and commented on the video, which has racked up over 2.2million views.
One wrote: “So much respect for your honesty and vulnerability <3.”
Another added: “So proud of you for opening up and for where you are now. So inspiring xx.”
Acne affects most people at some point in their life and although it can't be cured, it can mostly be controlled with treatment.
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