Lorde is only 21 years old. She’s been famous since she was 16. Those are some difficult years to find fame and have the global spotlight beating down on you and your every move. I think Lorde has turned out well, all things considered. But the ages of 16 to 21 are still difficult, for every single person. Your body is still changing, your hormones are going crazy, your weight is likely fluctuating, you probably aren’t getting enough sleep and when you’re that age, you think you’re invincible so you eat bad food and party all the time. I’m not saying Lorde is messy, I’m saying that she’s probably a pretty normal teenager/young adult like this, and all of it has been playing havoc on her skin. Lorde posted this Instagram Story this week as she was undergoing an acne light treatment:
In the video, she tried to break down some of her acne frustrations, and how she’s sick of everyone chiming in with what she needs to do differently:
“For real though, acne sucks. You know what also sucks? When you’ve had acne for years and years and years, done all the drugs, tried all the things, and people are still like, ‘You know what worked for me, is moisturizing!’”
She continued on with a litany of all the other unsolicited advice she’s received, finishing off by saying her least favorite one of all is the assumption that she’s “just dirty.” Lorde’s parting words for those also struggling? “For everyone out there who’s got bad skin — and actual bad skin, not just the kind of bad skin you can just use a fancy cream for for a few days and it will get better — I feel your pain,” she said in her Instagram story. “We’ll get there; we will. I promise.”
Sometimes it’s genetic, sometimes it’s hormones, and sometimes it’s a combination of a million other things – diet, soap, stress, lack of sleep, age and more. Lorde travels the world as a pop star and she’s had a crazy schedule for years. That’s stress, lack of sleep, not drinking enough water, possibly poor diet AND wearing makeup to cover up the acne. It’s a neverending cycle – I would break out and try to cover it with makeup, and the makeup would make me break out even more. My skin cleared up so much when A) I got into my 20s, B) I got more sleep, C) I stopped wearing makeup, and D) I began to drink a lot of water every day. But I get why all of this is offensive to Lorde: she’s clearly saying that she’s tired of people offering up advice. I’m sorry, Ella! Just know that your skin probably will improve on its own in your 20s. (Of course, I’m well into my 30s and I still get breakouts on jawline, which pisses me off so much.)
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.
oh man I hear her – my skin went batshit crazy at 18, just totally nuts. Mine was hormonal (PCOS) and I tried it all, only BC pills and a year of antibiotics (which messed up my digestive system) got it somewhat clear, but it really wasn’t until I got my PCOS hormonal issues under control that my skin cleared up. Thankfully in my early 30s now and my skin is amazing due to alot of factors (working on my hormones, ovo-veg diet, loads of water, no makeup etc, im fussy about my skin!) but I’ll never forget how awful people were about giving unsolicited advice about my skin.
Commenting on such a personal topic is so intrusive and totally unnecessary. Lorde can see herself in the mirror without someone pointing out the obvious. I feel for this young woman having to address this when it’s clear it’s a sensitive issue for her.
I used to get cysts under my skin on either side of my mouth – no other skin issues. I tried everything to get rid of them and the only thing that worked was using a treatment cream from ProActiv. So one day I go to the mall to buy a refill at a booth-cart that sells it. The teenager working refused to sell it to me because I didn’t have bad acne and something about how I wasn’t supposed to use the product that way. I finally broke her but it was infuriating to be told by some kind of skin care mean girl that I was too stupid to buy her product.
What kind of mall cart DOESN’T want to sell their product? Look kid, the reason I’m buying it and my skin looks good is because your product works!
Acne can be so embarrassing and very hard to conceal. I appreciate Lorde wanting to support young fans who are dealing with acne, too.
As for unsolicited advice, that’s so common for women it seems. Women get told what to do about dating, fashion, wedding planning, raising children, aging. More than men, I think. We need more go-to responses.
“Thanks for telling me what worked for you.”
“I’ve heard that, thanks.”
“Glad to hear.”
“Good for you.”
“Ah. Yes. Well. Your shoe is untied. Talk later.”
“Mmm. How about those Yankees this season, eh?”
Ugh. I’m awfully tired of unwanted advice, too…
LOL about “we’ll get there I promise.” Yep, I remember those days, youth, when one truly believed there was an age at which acne-free nirvana could be achieved, Ha.
Girl, same. I’m still waiting for that Nirvana at 48.
I first started breaking out at around 11. I’m past 40 now and still dealing with acne.
I’ve tried everything. Literally everything. Every skincare regime, from the harsh to the ‘natural’ to the insanely expensive to the most basic. I’ve spent tens of thousands on my skin. I’ve been to more than a dozen dermatologists. I’ve found things that help with the scars, things that help with the enlarged pores, things that help with the redness…but nothing does much for the actual acne, and what does work a tiny bit never lasts long. Even Accutane only made it maybe 20% better, and the effect only lasted a year. Second time round it did nothing. Every single variation of the pill I tried actually made it worse.
Oh, and things like make-up, diet, stress levels, water intake etc. have zero effect on my acne. My skin looks better in other ways if I’m taking great care of myself, but the acne is just a constant. I’ve tried cutting out every food anyone’s ever thought to cut out. I’ve done vegan, paleo, no-dairy, raw, keto and on and on and on. I stopped wearing makeup for a year and my skin actually looked more irritated and inflamed the entire time. I’ve had periods of intense stress and periods where I was practically in a state of constant meditation…no change.
At this point all my dermatologists and doctors can say is that it’ll probably stop when I’m on the other side of menopause.
So yeah, when someone suggests I wash my face more or try a supplement or drink more water or try some incredibly basic acne fighting skincare ingredient like salicylic acid, I just about want to claw their eyes out.
My acne didn’t stop until menopause. Perhaps that’s why I’m rather fond of my wrinkles.
Lorde is clearly not letting acne dictate the limits of her life. Good for her.
@Jussie, I am in the same boat as you. My skin is worse as an adult then it was in my teen years. Nothing I do seems to help. Hopefully it will stop after menopause.
Unfortunately, the upset in hormones during menopause just caused me to develop a severe case of rosacea. Adult acne it’s called. Great. I’m 55 and pimples are erupting all over my face these days. Fortunately a drug called Metrogel helps with redness and pimples, but it’s an incurable problem. So don’t look to menopause as a good thing skin wise. For some of us, it’s just another crappy thing to deal with along with sleeplessness and hot flashes.
Oy, skin problems are the worst. Nobody takes them seriously and yet it can have such an impact on your life. It’s your face. There’s no hiding it.
For me, being super diligent with my skincare, exercising and cutting down on certain dairy products helped. Still sometimes get one or two massive hormonal spots that linger for weeks and months. Nothing you can do about it. And sometimes there’s nothing you can do about acne.
However, good quality makeup that doesn’t contain anything you’re allergic to, will not break you out. IF you remove it properly at night (if it’s long-wearing, that can mean cleansing twice). Many people just don’t remove all of it and don’t even know. On open spots it can of course cause more problems.
ETA: I would NEVER comment on anyone’s face. That’s just bad manners.
I feel her pain, acne is embarrassing and you do feel like people think you must be dirty. Once I hit 30 I started getting huge cystic acne on my chin that would stay for weeks then leave huge scars. I tried everything from hormonal meds to retin-a and antibiotics, which helped but I still had breakouts during my cycle. I swear I don’t sell this stuff but a friend convinced me to try rodan and fields and the shit actually works! lol. It’s worth the ridiculous cost in my opinion, and I added up the cost for the dermatologist and all the meds and creams I was paying for and it’s the same. Retin-a isn’t covered by my insurance if you’re over 25 since people apparently use it for wrinkles, so that alone was 125 bucks every two months.
Anyway, I’m rambling but I wanted to throw this out there for any of you who may be going through this. I suffered for years and was incredibly self conscious about it.
I’m 41 and I’ve been a chronic cystic acne sufferer for decades. I have had the same dermatologist since 2003. Although upon the first attempt my Retin-A prescription is denied by my health insurance provider, I have to re-submit it and have my dermatologist call my health insurance provider and do a pre-auth. Once that’s done my prescription is approved and all I have to pay is the regular co-pay which is about $20.00.
Ok I’ll try that if I go back to using it, worth a shot! Seems like if your doctor confirms it’s for acne they should cover it, I never pushed the issue though.
A friend of mine used to have really severe cystic acne on her jaw and it only started clearing up when she started getting chemical peels. They are pricey but they did it for her and her skin looks fantastic now. I highly recommend it to anyone suffering from acne.
One thing I’ve noticed working in the cosmetics industry is that a lot of people suffering from acne now days aren’t washing their faces with cleanser and water. They think that their oily makeup wipes that leave residue is washing their face. As soon as they start properly caring for their skin it clears up. Obviously that doesn’t apply to everyone but it’s a really common mistake people make.
I second Rodan and Fields. IMO the steep price is worth it, the bottles they give you last for 6+ months (accept the AM moisturizer, that’s more like 3 or 4 for me).I still get one or two hormonal spots, but other than that my skin stays clear. I went to my first facial since started R&F, and it was the only facial I’ve had where there were no spots to extract!!
At age 24 I started suffering from adult-onset cystic acne and, yes, it’s been disfiguring. I’m on the max allowable dosage of Spironolactone and it’s only been able to do so much.
Because other symptoms accompanied my initial acne breakouts, my doctor has scheduled an abdominal MRI so we can check on my adrenals. If they’re normal… it’s plain ol’ PCOS, I guess.
FYI cystic acne along the jawline or lower half of your face is almost always hormonal.
The patent on Retin-A has run out, so I don’t understand why it would still be so expensive in the US. You can buy it for a few bucks a tube online via All Chemist. I bought a huge stash!
I’m in my early 50s. In my late 20s and 30s, I began to have adult pattern hormonal acne. Often cystic, as I aged… in talking 2 and 3 pores per lesion. Painful and frustrating stuff. I got on acne dot org forums and read about saw palmetto.
This stuff has changed my life. It has blasted cystic hormonal acne out of the picture. I have taken 480mg twice a day for at least 10 years. In my forties, if I would miss a few doses, I would break out, but they were very small comparatively, and easily managed. I’m hoping after menopause that I can stop relying on it (just for convenience, one less supplement to swallow), but it has been a godsend for me. Within a few days, the inflammation was decreased considerably. All acne left after maybe a month.
I’d encourage anyone with hormonal breakouts (mostly chin/jawline) to research it and give it a whirl. Someone else may not need as much as I do- read about it at acnedotorg on the forums.
I remember maybe a year or two ago I made a similar post, and a commenter named Maria had tried it to the same glorious results. Maria, if you are around, maybe you could update on your results.😀
Interesting. Thanks for that Saw Palmetto tip. Although my acne is much better now , I’m always on the lookout for remedies since every few years my hormones tend to re-surge and cause havoc on my face.
I just started saw palmetto along with DIM supplements and I SWEAR it’s the only thing that’s helped recently! So glad to see it helping for others. Same boat – adult acne that just. won’t. leave. my face!
Damn! That sounds so encouraging, but then I read that Saw Palmetto reacts with birth control pills, possibly making them in effective.
i feel her, I’m in my mid-20s and for the past two years I’ve had terrible acne right along my jaw line. nothing has fixed it – including medication – but the amount of people who say to me ‘have you tried XYZ moisturiser? do you drink water? have you tried this blah blah blah’ YES I HAVE TRIED, I KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS THAN YOU GODDDD
Vex (and Kaiser): acne along the jawline in females is HORMONAL. There is no cream on earth that will address a hormone imbalance. I had to take birth control pills (and now Provera) to address my crappy hormones, although Retin-A helps in preventing/fixing any scarring.
I have suffered from Cystic acne since my very late teens and now at the age of 41. It’s depressing. Especially when people try to say it’s because I don’t wash with the right soaps or eat better. That has NOTHING to do with my acne. It is all hormonal. When I was pregnant I had the best and clearest skin since before puberty and I ate EVERYTHING including fast food and junk (I was 22 and had a crazy metabolism), so there went that theory for ME about eating clean vs junk. I suffer from PMDD and also have an ovarian cyst as well as a cyst that comes and goes on my wrist. I was prescribed Accutane during my mid 20’s to manage my cystic acne and had to endure constant blood test and monitoring. After two courses of Accutane, I was prescribed birth control pills to help with the PMDD and it also cleared up my skin tremendously. Although every 4-5 years or so, I have to switch BC brands because my body gets used to them and my hormones become unbalanced. The last 6 months of 40, my skin and body went through havock. And this was after going Vegan, washing with glycolic cleansers and I never, never drink anything but water for the past 19 years or so. Had to switch up my BC and have finally cleared up again. .Though at the age of 41 I still have to manage some hormonal chin breakouts, but thank God they are of the smaller variety and not cysts. People will always have something to say and swear they know what causes your acne. It’s bad enough to feel like a monster having to go out with giant, painful red bumps on your face and a constant oil slick. When people try to tell you it’s because you don’t take care of yourself, it’s utterly insulting.
I’ve had similar issues in the past. Something that worked for me was this: A little apple cider vinegar on a cotton swab, quickly swiped over a freshly washed face. Take a deep breath beforehand and just ride out the inevitable slight burning sensation you might feel as the vinegar evaporates. It did amazing things for my (now completely gone) cystic acne. The vinegar seems to kill the bacteria a lot better than even tea tree oil. As far as the ovarian cysts – Be sure to cut out any meat or dairy from your diet that may contain rBST. Since eliminating this from my diet I have not experienced ovarian cysts. Hope it works for you too.
Thanks. i will try that. As for the ovarian and wrist cysts, they have shrunken immensely since I’ve been on BC for the past 15 yrs or so. But I do try to keep the meat and dairy consumption to a minimum and if I do eat them I try to make sure they are as organic and free-range as possible. It really is a constant task to try and manage/control these hormones, isn’t it?
It’s a skin infection.
“Thanks for telling me what worked for you. How about those Yankees this season, eh?”
My face was like porcelain when I was in my teens, and then when I was about 20 I got horrible acne. It was such a hard thing to get used to because that was one of the rare things I wasn’t insecure about. I watched my diet, did my skincare, went to a dermatologist, but nothing helped. It only cleared up when I graduated from university and wasn’t under constant stress. But I have somewhat visible acne scars and my skin will never be as spotless as it’s used to be. I got used to it now but I still sometimes miss it.
I have awful blackheads now. If anyone has any solutions, please tell me.
I don’t know if you have tried this, but I found using an “oil cleanser” helped a lot with my blackheads. I discovered it when I got really desperate and researched Korean skincare as a solution (which made a huge difference in my overall acne). I use the face shop’s rice water bright, light oil cleanser.
For my complete routine, I do a very thorough set of cleansers, so for anyone interested:
1. Rub in Oil Cleanser with clean hands (I like the Rice Water Bright). Don’t wash off, proceed to washing face with next cleanser
2. Wet hands, wash face with Foam Cleanser (I use the matching Rice Water Bright). Rinse both cleansers off.
3. Dry face thoroughly, apply small dime size amount of “Toner” to face (this is like a tightening moisturizer–using Hada Labo brand hyaluronic lotion). I do some basic skin massaging at this point to ease wrinkling skin.
4. Applu small amount of serum to face (Hada Labo tokyo anti aging hydrator).
(I STOP HERE IF I AM IN A RUSH)
5. Put on Face Mask for 30 minutes night only (using TonyMoly I’m Real)
6. Apply Face Lotion, very light application (using Mizon collagen lifting emulsion)
7. Gently dab Under eye cream (Cerave) on under eyes and dark spot corrector (Palmers) to acne scars/uneven colorations
8. Apply Acne treatments (like clearasil) to any problem areas.
9. Apply Face sunscreen if day or apply and do night cream for sleep (Biore UV for sunscreen, Laneige for sleep mask). Leave on overnight.
10. Apply Lip mask (Laneige lip mask) depending on lip dryness morning/night. I always do night and leave it on overnight.
Entire routine is done both day and night. Do not wash off anything except the cleansers. It seems strange to rub your face with oil and to leave so much on it, but I found my skin was producing tons of oil to try to handle dryness and doing so much actually leveled things out. I suffer from oily, dry skin, cystic acne, and stress acne all over. Obviously not everyone’s tea, I only am leaving this because the above comment asked for a suggestion.
It might have to do with her Slavic background. As a fellow Slav who still has pretty bad skin in my 30s, I am convinced “my people” have the acne gene. All my friends who are also Slavic have the same exact problem. Genetics and hormones are definitely the main culprit, IMO.
As a fellow Slav, I totally agree. Acne was my unwanted companion for YEARS. I feel for her!! Take care & hugs!
I started getting acne in my early 20’s. I am 26 now, and it’s worse than ever. I have seen several doctors and dermatologists and it’s hormonal acne – the kind that actually worsens in women after age 25. Men are different as they tend to peak earlier in hormonal acne, which is why you don’t see adult males with the same kind of acne as often. My brother is a pharmacist who specialized in dermatological medicine which is how I initially learned what I had and it made me feel so much better to know it actually was beyond my control – because I eat super healthy, lift weights, run, drink lots of water, and wear makeup maybe once a week (and ONLY non-comedogenic products). So I can relate when people give me “advice” like “Drink more water!”, or, “Just get more sun!”. It’s a medical problem. I have had some success with topical benzoyl peroxide and antibiotics but short of that, I have tried literally everything, at one time spending over $100/month on expensive peels, serums, and moisturizers.Yeah it sucks and it’s not fair, but offering advice on acne is generally unhelpful to those who suffer from it.
Skincare is a personal journey and I feel like your treatment plan is so individual.
Personally, monthly hydra facials, weekly retinol applications,, lactic acid pads for exfoliation every night, and moisturizer with peptides and sun screen help me but it’s a work in progress and my treatment plan may not work for anyone else
I have had horrible acne since high school and I just turned 30. The only thing that worked for me was Curology. I have been using it for about 2 years and have been mostly blemish free the whole time! It was fluke too that I even tried Curology. All you adult sufferers out there, go try it! I am also convinced that diet has absolutely nothing to do with acne. I gave up pop and dairy for a year and a half and saw no difference at all. That was about the time that I discovered Curology.com online. Thank god! Clear skin and being able to eat cheese! Win-win!
whats curology treatment include?
Ok so I just checked out curology.com and I’m doing it! I uploaded pics and I’m waiting on the nurse practitioner to send my treatment plan. Thanks!
Hell, I don’t even have acne and I don’t wear makeup anymore because it clogs my pores so badly. I tend to get blackheads (except they’re white–but not whiteheads, does that make sense?) on my nose and chin and NOTHING I’ve done has stopped them from coming back. I clean my face gently each day, I exfoliate, I use salicylic acid, but then that makes my skin dry and flaky, so I have to extra moisturize, and round and round we go. I’ve had this problem since I was about 14 and I’m 47 now.
I’m going to try the apple cider vinegar mentioned above, and also the lactic acid exfoliating pads.
But yeah, skin is a bitch to deal with.
Those might be sebaceous filaments, not blackheads.
I’ve had success in getting rid of my ‘whiteheads’ (similar to what you describe – whiteheads but not. almost like clogged pores but more than that) by using Hyualuronic acid, Retinol and Vitamin C products. I like the Lumene and MD Complete brands.
I had cystic acne and it was awful. And i get why her she’s tired of unwanted advices. Like honestly 5 glasses of water a day won’t make “this” go away, lady that took the liberty to approach me in the subway while everyone was listening.
I tried everything: creams, soaps, antibiotics, hormonal treatment but the definitive cure was isotretinoin (which has awful side effects).
And the aftermath was the scars. I got laser treatment and it improved them a lot. I dont wear make up i just wash my face, tonic , a serum ( the buffet the ordinary, mostly am and a retinoid at pm ) hyaluronic cream and sun screen.
I know my skin will never be perfect and to be honest im ok with it. I tried my best and i try to be the best me i can be but i wont torture myself to have somenthing unattainable for me, a perfect skin.
1. She should be wearing safety glasses to protect her eyes.
2. If she’s tried everything to get rid of her acne, and her hormones and thyroid all tested within normal ranges, then it could be candidas overgrowth. That’s what has caused my acne as an adult. (My acne is directly linked to how much sugar I consume. Dairy is horrible for me, as well as simple sugars. Even 100% fruit juice can be too much.)
3. She should be looking at all of the ingredients that she’s using for skin care and makeup. Sometimes people are sensitive to things like salicylic acid and don’t realize it.
4. Also, my long hair used to get on my face when I was sleeping, and that caused a lot of my jawline and neck acne. Putting my hair into a satin sleep bonnet has done wonders to prevent that from happening. Changing the pillowcase often helps, too, because hair products can build up on them.
5. Both my sister and I were on Accutane in our late teens due to our horrible cystic acne, and we both ended up with pernicious anemia. Many people who I’ve met who were on Accutane ended up with it. It causes low vitamin B12 because the medication kills the intrinsic factor in the stomach, so the vitamin can no longer be absorbed through the digestive system. (Chemotherapy, gastric bypass, and aging can cause it, too.)
If B12 is too low for too long, it’s fatal. None of my doctors ever checked my B12 without me asking them to – even after I was diagnosed. Still after 30 years, they don’t check even though it’s on my chart. I was diagnosed with hallucinations by my mental health professionals – aka psychosis – when in reality, it was my brain dying from too little B12. (Only one diagnosed me correctly years later, when I didn’t have insurance and went without my B12 treatment for too long. He didn’t even wait to see how low my number was before giving me a prescription for B12 because I was so close to dying.) My sister got scary skinny and almost died due to being misdiagnosed for over 8 years; they first said that she had narcolepsy, then said she was a hypochondriac and it was all in her head. Nope, she was literally dying because her body couldn’t absorb B12. I didn’t get skinny because I have hypothyroidism – caused by the pernicious anemia causing my body to attack my own thyroid.
If you have ever been on Accutane, please ask your doctor to check your B12 at least once a year, if not more often. (And then get tested for pernicious anemia if it’s low. True pernicious anemia is a rare autoimmune disease similar to Lupus. We believe that the Accutane put that into hyper gear because p.a. runs on my dad’s side.
Okay, education over. lol Best wishes everyone!
Thank you so much for this information.
After fighting severe cystic acne for over 15 years, I finally had to turn to Accutane.
I can honestly say that I have never been the same since.
I think you missed her entire point
No, I don’t believe that I did.
I have been battling extreme fatigue for almost a decade.
I’m thanking her because this fatigue didn’t start until about six months after I finished my course of Accutane.
Any information about this is helpful.
Ugh acne is the worst! I had cystic and regular acne from 15-35. I tried everything before I discovered what worked for me
2-3 Now ultra omega 3 pills per day, the proactive treatment (step 3) every few days, and stridex wipes in the red box every night that I don’t use the proactive.
I think the omega 3 pills work because they help with inflammation. More and more I think acne is due to that.
It’s a puzzle, you’ve got to find out what works for you.
Laser. Laser cured my adult acne.
It’s boring but you’ve also got to change pillow cases, cleanse well, avoid non-mineral makeup, lower sugar etc etc.