A skin-positive influencer has told how suffering with acne during adulthood turned her "into a shell of herself".
But after waking up every morning worrying about her skin, she decided she'd use her experience to help other young women.
Ella Gorton documented her own skin journey with daily photos after acne took over her life at the age of 21.
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She's not the only one, with Miiskin research showing nearly half of under 35s (49%) are taking unfiltered photos to track their skin.
The study, which partnered with the British Skin Foundation, revealed at least 551,642,700 of these real skin selfies are being taken a year in the UK.
And 28-year-old Ella is one of them – with the beauty therapist and makeup artist supporting others through her My Skin Story Instagram page.
She said: “Despite the popularity of filtered photos on social media, the trend of real skin pictures is growing.
"Within the skin community I am a huge advocate for tracking your skin to celebrate not just the before and after, but the journey too.
"To experience and see small changes that accumulate to clearer skin is one way that empowers most people to be consistent."
Speaking about what it was like to experience acne in adulthood, Ella added: "At first I was in denial as I had always assumed that acne was only something teenagers experienced.
"Being what felt like the only person at this age suffering, I used to compare myself to my friends and even strangers in the street wondering ‘what did they do to have such nice skin’ I felt self-conscious, lacked confidence and unworthy."
Ella said when it came to the impact on her mental health, it was a "slow burner".
"Having acne chipped away at me each day to slowly turn me into a shell of myself," she said.
"Acne consumed me to the point I would wake up, rush straight to a mirror and whatever my skin looked like would determine my day – from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep."
Ella has also been immersed in the beauty industry from a young age, having trained in the industry straight from school before she started to suffer with her skin.
She studied both level 2& 3 in NVQ beauty therapy and then went onto become a makeup artist.
The influencer said, after studying in the field, it was wonder to her how she didn’t have the knowledge to understand why she was suffering with acne, and what she could do to improve it.
Ella said: "There is a huge gap in our industry of skin practitioners only knowing how to treat skin from a superficial level such as facials and skincare to then visiting a doctor who can only prescribe antibiotics and topical creams.
"Therefore I wanted to dig DEEP into all the systems that affect the skin, and build my business around helping others understand that skin isn’t just skincare and medication.
"Since starting my Instagram account @_myskinstory I have seen a huge shift in social media.
"From material pictures, selfies and food pictures full of filters to people barefaced in the acne community.
"I am very proud to be part of that movement from the very beginning.
"Although social media gets a bad reputation I try to focus on all the good it has and can do for the beauty industry, and how it has broken taboos and stigmas around specific topics as well as making advice more accessible to young girls."
Ella also said seeing the ever-growing natural skin movement develop has been great, as it helps to normalise different skin conditions for young women.
She says it helps to teach girls that not everyone grows up to have pore less, flawless skin
"The more you see of something the more you feel less alone and the more normal it seems," she added.
The beauty therapist also said people shouldn't be afraid to ask for help if they're struggling with their skin.
Ella's advice is to find out more about your condition, and to see a specialist to get the best help available for you.
When asked what advice she would give to other people with acne, she said: "Ask for help and investigate all systems with a specialist.
"Out of default people will try to fix their skin themselves or visit a GP, but the skin can be down to so many different things such as diet, lifestyle, hormones, sleep, liver function and gut health.
"Just like you wouldn’t attempt to fix your car if it's broken, the same applies to skin."
The national study recently highlighted the growing impact of skin conditions in Britain, and it found that one in six (16%) adults developed a skin condition during the pandemic.
As well as this, up to 18% said they have a skin condition that has got worse.
According to British Skin Foundation statistics, two-in-three people will suffer from a skin disease in their lifetime.
Talking following the findings of the research commissioned by the Miiskin skin tracking app, Ella said: “Despite the popularity of filtered photos on social media, the trend of real skin pictures is growing.
"Within the skin community I am a huge advocate for tracking your skin to celebrate not just the before and after, but the journey too.
"To experience and see small changes that accumulate to clearer skin is one way that empowers most people to be consistent."
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