My Acne Became A 'Monster' At 20 | SHAKE MY BEAUTY

Nicole Herbig aka The Blemish Queen, is a popular Instagrammer with over 20,000 followers – even though her account is only a few months old. On her page she documents her struggle with cystic acne, which mostly appears around the edges of her face. Until she was 20, Nicole had clear skin but wasn’t entirely surprised when the breakouts began (her mother also had cystic acne). But not having to worry about her skin or her appearance previously meant the acne breakouts knocked Nicole’s confidence. Cystic Acne forms under the skin, caused by a combination of bacteria, oil and dead skin cells. Accutane is a powerful drug often used to treat severe forms of acne. But its side effects, including extreme dry skin and inflammation of the bowel, have seen mixed results. Nicole was put onto a course of Accutane and has seen her skin start to clear up as a result. She started charting the progress of her acne treatment on her profile and wants to make sure her followers know the good, bad and the ugly.