Lili Reinhart has struggled with acne since she was a child and wants to continue to speak publicly about the skin condition so others feel less alone.
Lili Reinhart felt a lot of “shame” around having acne as a child.
The ‘Riverdale’ actress, 28, believes there is less judgement around the skin condition nowadays to when she was growing up and admitted her pimples may have given her “self-esteem” issues.
She told PEOPLE: “To have that feeling of ‘I’m feeling out of control’ can be incredibly isolating.
And also, there’s a lot of shame associated with acne. I think when I was in middle school and high school, I didn’t have pimple patches so I didn’t have an avenue where I felt like, ‘Okay, I can hide this pimple.’
“I did have to just grin and bear it, and I think that wasn’t good for my self-esteem.
“But now as an adult and having it happening, I think we live in a different world where it is more acceptable.”
Lili says it’s great that celebrities aren’t afraid to show themselves wearing spot stickers, but that wasn’t always the case.
She said: “People walk around with stickers on their faces and they feel fine about it.
“I hope teenagers who experience acne feel like they’re in a world that’s a little bit more accepting just because when I was a kid, no one was talking about it. Certainly, no celebrity was talking about it.”
Lili felt she had to “hide” away whenever she had a breakout.
She recalled: “I felt ashamed.
“I felt like I needed to hide. I still felt like I was somehow the only girl with acne in my circle.”
Lili still gets acne now and finds it “isolating” and she hopes by speaking out she can help others who feel the same.
She said: “It can be isolating still, but I’m like… I just want to keep the conversation going and open and invite more people who are in the public eye to talk about it and continue creating that safe space.”
Lili Reinhart felt ‘ashamed’ of her acne and still finds it ‘isolating’
