Woman shares dramatic skin transformation after stress brought on painful acne as an adult - 'I'm so much happier!'

Molly, 26, first started to break out due to stress and wearing masks while working as a paediatric nurse during the coronavirus pandemic.

She said: “My skin became really problematic. I had breakout areas on my forehead, cheeks and chin, and new spots were appearing all the time.

"As a teenager I never suffered with spots unlike a lot of my friends, but we started wearing masks all the time at work during the pandemic, and my skin just got worse and worse. I think stress played a big part as well.

"My emotions were all over the place, as we had a lot happening on the ward in the hospital I was working in.”

Molly's acne became worse as she had a habit of squeezing spots. She noticed her confidence drop.

She continued: “I was bad for squeezing my spots to try and make them go away. But obviously that didn’t really help because they just got worse.

"The spots hurt a lot. I think I have a high pain threshold, but if I lay on a spot when I was in bed, it was really painful.

​"I originally didn’t think my skin was affecting me emotionally, as I’m quite a confident person. I kept saying I was fine.

"But deep down it probably did, because when I eventually went to my first skincare appointment, I burst into tears and cried for about an hour.

"I don’t really wear makeup, but I did find myself wearing more and more to cover up my skin. When my skin was really bad I was a bridesmaid at a few weddings and I told the MUA doing our makeup to make sure they covered up my spots.”

Molly tried a host of over-the-counter products but claimed this made things worse.

She opted for professional help and was recommended medical-grade skincare AlumierMD products.

Molly said: “I work in healthcare, so it’s important to me now that the skincare I use is medical-grade and recommended by experts.

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“You can buy skincare from anywhere, but if you don’t know what’s in it, or if it will be good for your skin condition specifically, it can really upset your skin.

“I recognise how much happier I am now. I didn’t realise how upset I was about my skin but I feel so much more confident in myself, going out with friends and having photos taken. I feel a lot better.”

Her skincare expert Alison Freestone from Cuties Skincare Clinic added: “Molly suffered from acne, which was exacerbated by wearing masks at work. It was obvious that her skin barrier was impaired, and I recommended she use AlumierMD products Purifying Cleanser, HydraClarité and Clear Shield, until her skin could tolerate more potent products including AlumierMD Clarifying Serum.

"We then started including AlumierMD peels into her regime, and have just introduced retinol once a week.

"Molly’s skin was sensitive, so creating a skincare routine rooted in knowledge and expertise was more important than ever.”