Lili Reinhart Opens Up About The 'Isolating' Experience Of Living With Acne As An Actress
By Favour Adegoke on November 16, 2024 at 10:00 AM EST
Lili Reinhart has opened up about the emotional toll living with acne as an actress had on her life.
Reinhart said she used to feel "ashamed" of her skin, adding that the debilitating skin condition can be "isolating," particularly in the image-conscious world of Hollywood.
The "Riverdale" actress shared that her struggles with acne inspired her to launch her Personal Day skincare brand. She claims it contains healthy ingredients designed to heal skin over time.
Lili Reinhart Was 'Ashamed' Of Her Skin
The 28-year-old actress sat down with People Magazine on Tuesday, November 12, during the launch of her Personal Day skincare brand, where she opened up about the "isolating" experience of living with acne as an actress.
Reinhart explained that she was insecure about her image as the condition made her "ashamed," noting that it can be a lonely experience.
"Not a lot of celebrities have acne," she told the news outlet, adding that it can be "isolating."
She continued, "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."
Having Acne As An Adult Made The Actress Feel Like She Needed To Hide
Reinhart also explained that having acne as an adult triggered feelings of shame from her earlier days in life, recalling how she "felt like I needed to hide" because of her skin.
"I think, and I'm realizing, even just realizing — that acne is a very triggering thing for me because it does bring me back to that place of, oh, I'm a 13-year-old girl again," she said.
Reinhart added, "I feel out of control because there's so much going on in the world and so much sh-t happening that you're like, 'I at least want to control my face and what it looks like for f-ck's sake.'"
Lili Reinhart's Skin Condition Inspired Her To Launch A Skincare Brand
The "Hustlers" star then shared that her struggles with her skin inspired her to start her own skincare brand after she'd tried Accutane twice.
"It really was a light-bulb moment for me when I realized that there wasn't a full line of acne care products that I felt that I could trust that didn't have bad ingredients in them," she said, per People Magazine.
She went on to gush about the details and attention that goes into creating her line of products, saying it contains luxury ingredients that heal one's skin over time with more use.
"Sometimes it's something you have your entire life, so to tell people [to] fix something that they don't necessarily have control of is just the most isolating thing in the world," she said of the skin condition.
"So again, as a brand, I think we're not trying to cure you. We're trying to help you heal."
Lili Reinhart Recounts Effects Of Acne On Her Mental Health
Reinhart recently opened up about the effects of cystic acne on her mental health in an interview with Cosmopolitan.
Noting that she's had cystic acne "since I was 12 or 13," she detailed a shoot in New York where she had the "largest cystic pimple in the middle of my forehead," saying it was "such a f-cking bummer."
She continued, "And when I have something like that on my face, I feel the need to acknowledge it because it's an insecurity of mine. I'm like, Let me acknowledge this so I can get it out of the way because I know you're sitting there thinking about it."
"Anyway, I felt horrible all day long. I did not feel confident. I wanted to hide, but I had to be in front of a camera," Reinhart explained, adding that it's for that reason a "large pillar of Personal Day is mental-health-focused."
The Actress Was Diagnosed With Alopecia
The "Charlie's Angels" actress has seemingly had to deal with other health challenges that have threatened her career over the years.
Back in January, she shared a TikTok video where she revealed that she'd been diagnosed with Alopecia "in the midst of a major depressive episode."
In the clip, Reinhart can be seen undergoing a red light therapy, which uses low-wavelength red light to treat numerous conditions and can be used to improve hair growth.
She mouthed along to an audio clip that says, "I'm pushed beyond limits of what a person should be pushed to endure," writing in the caption, "Red light therapy is my new best friend."
According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin, Alopecia Areata is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss.