Jennette McCurdy Opens Up About Her Struggle With Acne: 'Capital S Struggling'

Jennette McCurdy recently opened up about something relatable that she's struggled with for much of her life - acne.

The former Nickelodeon star talked openly about how dealing with acne for much of her life has made her feel "so insecure" and that she's still struggling with it on a recent podcast episode.

The New York Times bestselling author shared her acne journey during a recent episode of her podcast, "Hard Feelings with Jennette McCurdy."

"I am 31 and I am still struggling -capital-S Struggling - with acne," she said. "It makes me so insecure. My God, you guys, it affects my self-esteem really negatively. If I'm having a good skin day, I feel so much better about myself, and they are few and far between. And then most of the time when I'm really struggling, it just makes me feel kind of crummy."

The former "iCarly" star explained that it was around the age of 15 that her skin troubles began, attributing it to thick makeup and bright lights while working on set. But when filming stopped, the acne continued on.

McCurdy also shared that she's tried multiple medications prescribed by dermatologists, including the controversial Accutane, but to no avail.

"I feel, like, dirty because of my acne. It makes me sad that I feel that way about myself but I'm not quite sure how not to," she said. "Maybe you're looking at this being like, 'Jennette, you look fine.' First off, you can't tell from an Instagram photo. Second off, people that I know well will be like, "What are you talking about?' Because I've spoken about my insecurity around my skin to a few friends. I know how to find a good foundation shade and the right application to kind of make my skin look as smooth as it can and it's not super textured."

McCurdy admits that self-acceptance has been a huge obstacle for her, and the hardest "thing to try."

"The only thing I haven't tried, I guess, is just accepting it and owning it. And maybe the reason that's the only thing I haven't tried is that's the hardest thing to try."

The "I'm Glad My Mom Died" author revealed that while taking Accutane for her acne, she had a terrifying pregnancy scare. The medication is known to cause birth defects and anyone who's taking it must sign a contract saying you will not get pregnant, or get anyone pregnant, and will use two forms of birth control.

"You have to take a test to show that you know all the risks involved and you have to sign a contract saying that you will not get pregnant - under no circumstances will you get pregnant while taking Accutane," she explained. "You have to be on two forms of contraception. You have to go and you have to get bloodwork once a month. You have to go to your dermatologist after getting your bloodwork every month just to check up, you're just also giving your dermatologist an opportunity to see your skin close up and how your lips are peeling off because that's a side effect of Accutane."

At one point while taking the medication, McCurdy didn't feel like going into her doctor's office for her regular appointment so she called to cancel. But the dermatologist called her back and told her she needed to come in.

"The receptionist sounds, like, stressed out and she goes, 'Hey, so I spoke with the dermatologist again and she says you really need to come in, okay?' I'm like, 'What the f---? Why does the receptionist sound so stressed? Is she okay? What is going on?'" she explained.

"I go, 'I can't make it. Can I just come in next week?' She goes, 'No, because we got the results of your bloodwork and there's a pregnancy.'"

After the terrifying scare of what if, McCurdy was told that sometimes false positives can happen while on the medications. After some more bloodwork, she found out that she was not pregnant.

The experience scared her to the point of going off the medication.

"That experience was so terrifying," she said. "That I was like, I gotta get off this s---. This is not for me."