Sometimes bad skin happens to good people. In fact, sometimes bad skin happens to all people. Which is why it’s so disappointing to see close cropped photos of celebrities’ faces, created for the sole purpose of scrutinising their complexion imperfections.
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That’s what happened to Delta Goodrem on the ARIAs red carpet last night. Flash bulbs went off, ultra, ultra high definition cameras zoomed right in and just a few hours later, the tabloids were attacking her “caked on makeup” and “stressed out skin”.
The same thing happened to Solange on her wedding day. She danced her heart out, got a bit hot and broke out in hives. And that's just fine. But of course, pap shots leaked, accompanied by gleeful headlines like "BREAKING OUT!"
Having something go wrong with your skin is stressful and it's hard to hide. It has a significant impact on your emotional state. A study published by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that young people who suffered from acne had "significantly more depressive symptoms, lower self-attitude, more feelings of uselessness, fewer feelings of pride, lower self-worth, and lower body satisfaction than those without acne."
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What's more, acne will affect around 85% of young people at some stage. We're biologically programmed to be creeped out by bad skin, because it could be the sign of an infectious disease. But we're also socially aware enough to know that a few pimples are neither life threatening nor contagious.