:00:00. > :00:07.Hey everyone, so I am Katie Snooks and you can normally find me here.
:00:08. > :00:09.I've suffered with acne for the last decade and honestly,
:00:10. > :00:12.it has controlled every single aspect of my life from my
:00:13. > :00:21.social life, dating, and also my self-confidence.
:00:22. > :00:24.I don't feel beautiful at all, my confidence is really low today.
:00:25. > :00:39.Until recently I finally had success.
:00:40. > :00:41.I have spent the last eight months vlogging my journey taking
:00:42. > :00:43.the sometimes controversial drug isotretinoin, more commonly
:00:44. > :00:49.The success rate is high but it's also hard to get.
:00:50. > :00:53.You can't get it from your GP and it took me a couple of years to get
:00:54. > :00:58.I recently finished my treatment and I just uploaded my last skin
:00:59. > :01:02.update on my Youtube channel and the transformation in my skin
:01:03. > :01:16.So I finally found a drug that cleared my skin but I want to know
:01:17. > :01:18.how other people deal with their acne but not just
:01:19. > :01:21.the treatments but how they deal with the emotional side,
:01:22. > :01:30.the self-confidence and the way you feel about being you.
:01:31. > :01:32.Time to catch a train, I'm off to Edinburgh.
:01:33. > :01:36.Libby and Lauren are taking me on a night out.
:01:37. > :01:38.Libby's tried roaccutane three times without success so now she's trying
:01:39. > :01:48.So the first time I went on it, it totally cleared up
:01:49. > :01:55.And then it just came back all of it, and I feel like it came
:01:56. > :01:59.You so you lived with perfect skin for a whole year?
:02:00. > :02:02.I wouldn't say perfect, I still had scarring from obviously
:02:03. > :02:04.the spots before but I was happy with my skin and that's
:02:05. > :02:08.like the only time in about eight years that I have actually been
:02:09. > :02:12.You are trying a new treatment now, can you tell me a bit about that?
:02:13. > :02:16.So it's a suction and laser treatment and they go
:02:17. > :02:18.around your skin and they suck the bacteria out and zap it
:02:19. > :02:24.with a laser to kill any leftover bacteria.
:02:25. > :02:26.What's the first step in your make-up regime?
:02:27. > :02:28.I always start with covering the majority of the redness with
:02:29. > :02:38."This is BBC Radio 1, Saturday night, this is Danny Howard,
:02:39. > :02:42.a big shoutout to the girls getting ready for a massive
:02:43. > :03:02.Libby's training to be a beauty therapist and she says nights out
:03:03. > :03:05.like this are one of the times she feels most self-conscious
:03:06. > :03:08.You feel like the odd one out, like you stick
:03:09. > :03:12.Also I feel like sort of through the night
:03:13. > :03:14.like your make-up comes off, as well, like it's not as nice
:03:15. > :03:20.Do you feel like you completely let go on a night out regardless of how
:03:21. > :03:22.you're feeling about yourself at that particular time?
:03:23. > :03:32.If I have had enough drink, then yeah, but if I have not..
:03:33. > :03:36.I am with my friends and trying to enjoy myself.
:03:37. > :03:39.When I have a problem about anything I can always go to them,
:03:40. > :03:41.they're so nice about it, I love them.
:03:42. > :03:45.Do you feel like Libby at any point gets jealous of you and the friends
:03:46. > :03:47.that don't have acne and have never really suffered with it?
:03:48. > :03:52.I wouldn't say so, Libby's not like a jealous person,
:03:53. > :03:54.I do see she is not confident in her of herself
:03:55. > :04:02.Do you think her acne has held her back with dating
:04:03. > :04:09.As far as I have known her it's been school since we started there she's,
:04:10. > :04:13.I have never known her to have a boyfriend.
:04:14. > :04:16.Which is a real shame because there are so many other
:04:17. > :04:20.She's had acne the whole time you have known her.
:04:21. > :04:23.Never known her without and I just hope something does happen
:04:24. > :04:25.for her that she can gain her confidence back.
:04:26. > :04:30.She's not really dated many guys since I have been friends with her.
:04:31. > :04:32.Do you think that could be because of that?
:04:33. > :04:36.If Libby never looked good before she went out she wouldn't go.
:04:37. > :04:38.She would be like, I am not going out.
:04:39. > :04:41.Do you think her confidence has been affected by having acne?
:04:42. > :04:43.Sometimes we have to come in the morning without any make-up
:04:44. > :04:49.on and I think Libby is quite self-conscious coming out into
:04:50. > :04:50.college with absolutely no make-up on.
:04:51. > :04:56.If you are giving someone a facial with great skin
:04:57. > :05:03.but you have not great skin, so yeah definitely.
:05:04. > :05:05.So, it's been lovely to spend the evening
:05:06. > :05:08.with you and after spending the last couple of hours with you and your
:05:09. > :05:10.friends I've been thinking are you kind of pinning
:05:11. > :05:19.all your hopes on this current treatment that you're on?
:05:20. > :05:22.Yeah, I'd say I am just because the amount of money
:05:23. > :05:24.I've paid towards it, it's like my own savings
:05:25. > :05:28.But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work and I'll try something new.
:05:29. > :05:30.Hopefully not as expensive but I have noticed a difference
:05:31. > :05:39.in my skin and I have only had two treatments, so fingers crossed.
:05:40. > :05:43.It was lovely to meet Libby, but after meeting her it really
:05:44. > :05:46.dawned on me just how much she's spending on this acne treatment,
:05:47. > :05:49.it's costing her ?600 and that's on top of all the make-up she's
:05:50. > :05:57.I can relate to her so much and I really know how it feels
:05:58. > :05:59.to pin all your hopes on one acne treatment.
:06:00. > :06:07.I've taken one pill so it's kind of the first day but nothing's
:06:08. > :06:21.I'm very worried about these big ones all coming at the same time.
:06:22. > :06:23.That will be very painful and very unattractive.
:06:24. > :06:27.Day 18, I wasn't going to film today because I didn't feel like it
:06:28. > :06:30.but I thought I would be completely honest and show you guys.
:06:31. > :06:34.My skin hasn't been this bad in a really long time.
:06:35. > :06:41.I put so much hope and so much faith into every single thing I tried
:06:42. > :06:49.for acne and when things didn't work it just crushed me even more.
:06:50. > :06:52.I'm wondering what are the other solutions available
:06:53. > :07:01.So I've come to meet one of the UK's leading dermatologists.
:07:02. > :07:09.I met Libby a few days ago and she's tried roaccutane three times and it
:07:10. > :07:13.hasn't worked for her and now she's paying her own money for a new light
:07:14. > :07:16.therapy treatment which she's kind of pinning all her last hopes on.
:07:17. > :07:18.I was wondering if there are any other treatments left available
:07:19. > :07:27.I wouldn't say there's anything imminent that's going to topple
:07:28. > :07:32.roaccutane off its perch but there are particularly
:07:33. > :07:34.light-based treatments now that seem to be gaining more evidence
:07:35. > :07:42.For Libby, I think getting support from consultant dermatologists,
:07:43. > :07:48.either privately, if it's not possible, because the NHS
:07:49. > :07:51.is so burdened, would probably at least make her feel more
:07:52. > :07:54.So I've just finished my course of roaccutane
:07:55. > :07:58.before I started I was googling it and researching it an awful lot.
:07:59. > :08:00.There are a lot of kind of controversial things about
:08:01. > :08:06.Well, roaccutane is an extremely strong
:08:07. > :08:10.medication for acne, and acne is not a life-threatening disease.
:08:11. > :08:17.So it's always a matter of balancing up the
:08:18. > :08:19.pros and cons, but it doesn't come without risks and it's understanding
:08:20. > :08:22.the risks, informing the patients of the risks so they can
:08:23. > :08:25.make their own decision, but it can be extremely
:08:26. > :08:27.effective for people who have severe and/or stubborn acne.
:08:28. > :08:30.It's understanding what the risks are.
:08:31. > :08:36.Someone who knows all about those risks is Jessica.
:08:37. > :08:39.I'm off to third wheel her date night with boyfriend Brendan.
:08:40. > :08:41.Jess hasn't used roaccutane because she's been diagnosed with
:08:42. > :08:50.Dermatologists say the side-effects range from dry lips to,
:08:51. > :08:53.much more rarely, kidney damage and even mental health problems.
:08:54. > :08:56.We met at my dad and my stepmum's wedding.
:08:57. > :09:10.So I'm 22 now, so kind of all started when I was about 12.
:09:11. > :09:12.I'd get, like, really bad whiteheads on
:09:13. > :09:15.my face and my friends were like, let me pop your spot and I'd be like
:09:16. > :09:19.And I think forget, like, the physical side of
:09:20. > :09:23.Kind of worse on my shoulders but it does go down my
:09:24. > :09:26.back as well, and I like to call it bacne.
:09:27. > :09:31.See, they don't look too inflamed at the moment.
:09:32. > :09:36.It looks like scarring, but it has been worse in the past?
:09:37. > :09:40.How about when you first met, was that kind of awkward?
:09:41. > :09:43.I think I was a bit embarrassed, and especially
:09:44. > :09:51.I kind of, like, made a joke out of it but I think it was...
:09:52. > :09:55.And do you have any ways in particular to make yourself feel
:09:56. > :09:58.better whilst you're, like, really suffering with acne?
:09:59. > :10:00.Just, like, having somebody, having your friends
:10:01. > :10:02.and family and just know that they're always there.
:10:03. > :10:04.None of my friends, my family, my boyfriend,
:10:05. > :10:08.So spending time with them, and I just
:10:09. > :10:09.make sure that I use, like, a moisturiser.
:10:10. > :10:21.So, I just wanted to talk a little bit about how, kind of,
:10:22. > :10:28.Jessica's acne has affected your relationship at all?
:10:29. > :10:32.She does have low confidence sometimes, especially
:10:33. > :10:35.when wearing tops where her back's revealed, because she feels quite
:10:36. > :10:38.Has it ever, like, caused any friction in your
:10:39. > :10:40.relationship, her low self-confidence, because of her
:10:41. > :10:44.I've always been able to kind of notice when Jess has been quite
:10:45. > :10:47.So when she's been quite quiet or quite upset,
:10:48. > :10:49.I've approached her and spoken to her about it.
:10:50. > :11:02.It was really lovely to meet Jessica last night,
:11:03. > :11:04.and although she is feeling confident and happy
:11:05. > :11:09.concerned because I know from experience that if you have acne,
:11:10. > :11:13.it's always there in the back of your mind, no matter how many
:11:14. > :11:15.kind of smiles you can put on for the
:11:16. > :11:23.Supposed to be going out tonight and now I just don't...
:11:24. > :11:27.Not only is it breaking out, it's also so itchy and
:11:28. > :11:35.It becomes really infuriating and frustrating when girls with clear
:11:36. > :11:38.skin on social media, especially some of the ones I follow on Twitter
:11:39. > :11:41.and Snapchat, they're like, oh, I've got a spot,
:11:42. > :11:48.And they've got the tiniest, tiniest little spot you can't even see.
:11:49. > :11:53.I've got something going on with my eyes,
:11:54. > :11:59.It makes me want to gouge my eyes out.
:12:00. > :12:06.She got in touch with us about her acne.
:12:07. > :12:08.She's suffered with it for an awful long time.
:12:09. > :12:11.And we're also going to be meeting her son
:12:12. > :12:15.I'm unsure about how much he's going to talk to
:12:16. > :12:18.us about it, but let's go and have a chat.
:12:19. > :12:23.So your mum got in touch with us about her acne.
:12:24. > :12:38.I mean I think it's quite good that you're doing a
:12:39. > :12:40.documentary, because everyone can understand what it's like.
:12:41. > :12:42.Almost everyone has or suffers with acne at
:12:43. > :12:45.But when you're going through it kind of
:12:46. > :12:47.almost feels like you're the only one.
:12:48. > :12:51.I look at myself in a mirror and think, yeah, this is worse
:12:52. > :12:54.Because I don't really see, I don't look at other people
:12:55. > :12:56.specifically, I kind of just criticise myself for it.
:12:57. > :13:02.You sometimes wear make-up to cover your acne, can you tell me a bit
:13:03. > :13:07.about that? It comes as a bit of a shock at first, people are like, are
:13:08. > :13:11.you wearing make-up? Then everybody realises, what is the difference?
:13:12. > :13:16.All the girls in my year slather themselves in make-up as soon as
:13:17. > :13:19.they get a spot, at this stage I was, I think everyone could
:13:20. > :13:26.empathise with me and see why I was doing this, because I was in such a
:13:27. > :13:32.bad point. It made you feel better? It did. I covered it up, when I
:13:33. > :13:36.looked in error I did not look atrocious, I looked normal. Do you
:13:37. > :13:40.have any pictures, would you me having a look?
:13:41. > :13:47.George is 15 and it takes him real guts to show me these pictures.
:13:48. > :13:53.These back on holiday. As you can see, I look pretty bad. That is not
:13:54. > :13:59.at my worst. He is now on roaccutane butchering the camera photos up when
:14:00. > :14:05.he was not is a step too far. -- but sharing the camera photos. It looks
:14:06. > :14:10.really painful, your entire face is covered with quite big... It was
:14:11. > :14:15.quite bad, it was not just on my face, it was my back, my neck.
:14:16. > :14:26.Getting to sleep was a struggle. I would have to deal with my face in
:14:27. > :14:28.the day and my back at night. I'm sorry to say this but it also... It
:14:29. > :14:31.almost makes you look like a different person because the cysts
:14:32. > :14:36.are so big they kind of distort your face. I was quite swollen as well.
:14:37. > :14:42.Thank you so much for sharing me these pictures and board talking to
:14:43. > :14:47.me today, you are super in inspiring. I thought me and George
:14:48. > :14:51.had a unique story, we both have acne, we both have acne, we're both
:14:52. > :14:55.on roaccutane. The bias is showing the world has acne at its worst is
:14:56. > :15:04.too much for George, his mother has had decades to grow in confidence.
:15:05. > :15:12.Oh, my gosh! That was pretty much rock bottom. That was horrendous.
:15:13. > :15:17.How did... When you woke up every day, what did... Literally every
:15:18. > :15:23.time I looked in the mirror it changed, it was like it was moving
:15:24. > :15:28.around. It got worse and worse. When George was nearing the age when you
:15:29. > :15:33.started to get it, were you worried? I always said as soon as they got
:15:34. > :15:39.spots they would go to the doctors. Did it make you feel guilty? No,
:15:40. > :15:43.just sad. I can feel guilty, I have done nothing wrong but I feel sad, I
:15:44. > :15:48.feel for George that he has had to go through this and he has dealt
:15:49. > :15:53.with it really, really well. He is a very resilient kids.
:15:54. > :15:57.Seeing acne that bad has really touched a nerve. I can remember
:15:58. > :16:03.exactly how I used to feel when mine was that bad and it just isn't fair.
:16:04. > :16:09.You just want someone that you feel like you can turn to land will have
:16:10. > :16:12.answers for you. But obviously it does not happen with everyone. I was
:16:13. > :16:18.lucky enough to have found a dermatologist I could connect with.
:16:19. > :16:22.It got me thinking about Jessica, she has not really nailed any
:16:23. > :16:29.solutions despite putting on a brave face, so I have decided to put into
:16:30. > :16:37.each with a doctor. -- put her in touch with. I thought I would tell
:16:38. > :16:43.you a bit about myself. I am 22, I have had acne for about ten years
:16:44. > :16:48.now. I saw a dermatologist and was offered roaccutane but we decided it
:16:49. > :16:54.was not the best thing for me, so I was wondering if there were any
:16:55. > :16:58.alternatives. Every patient is different, I am meeting you for the
:16:59. > :17:02.first time but roaccutane may be a treatment option for someone with
:17:03. > :17:07.your skin type, but it is not just your skin, it is the emotional side
:17:08. > :17:13.and anxiety. There are lots of options. Do you think there will
:17:14. > :17:17.ever be a cure for acne? In many patients, roaccutane or isotretinoin
:17:18. > :17:25.can cure the acne, turn it off and it does not come back, but not all.
:17:26. > :17:29.We always live in hope of a cure. I have heard things about diet, skin
:17:30. > :17:33.care, that that affects acne. Is there any truth behind that? Whether
:17:34. > :17:38.or not one develops acne is pretty much genetically determined, but
:17:39. > :17:44.there are outside factors. Stress can trigger it, you need strategies
:17:45. > :17:48.to manage it so that you feel happy that it is acceptable and you are
:17:49. > :17:52.coping with the condition rather than its ruining your life. Thank
:17:53. > :17:59.you for talking to me. That is what it is all about. You
:18:00. > :18:02.finding ways to deal with and cope with the acne, rather than its
:18:03. > :18:04.controlling every aspect of your life. Somehow you have to finds a
:18:05. > :18:08.way to stay positive. I am really, really happy
:18:09. > :18:12.with how my skin's looking. For the first time in a real long
:18:13. > :18:16.time I am just using like a stick concealer foundation which I've
:18:17. > :18:19.never been able to do before because my skin's
:18:20. > :18:21.always been so blemished. Still really happy
:18:22. > :18:24.with it apart from this, Today is my last ever
:18:25. > :18:30.day of roaccutane. I am the happiest I've
:18:31. > :18:34.ever been within myself for a really long time,
:18:35. > :18:37.like ten since since I have had acne and I couldn't be happier,
:18:38. > :18:40.yeah, this is my skin, But the up with thing I've
:18:41. > :18:48.learned is that your skin So whatever stage of your acne
:18:49. > :19:23.journey you are on, you have got I am a keen photographer, it is for
:19:24. > :19:28.my degree is in. I wanted to do something to help the people I have
:19:29. > :19:33.met feel better. What were your thoughts about chatting to doctor
:19:34. > :19:38.Tamara? I feel more confident about talking to my doctor about seeing a
:19:39. > :19:43.dermatologist, she put my mind at rest and I might go on Rocky Tain.
:19:44. > :19:47.It is good you spoke to her, you have not spoken to anybody about
:19:48. > :19:55.your acne for awhile. About four years, it was nice for her to put my
:19:56. > :20:01.mind at rest. Cute! Big smile. Do you guys have one
:20:02. > :20:06.thing that you would say this one suffering with acne? Go to the
:20:07. > :20:11.doctor, if the doctor does not give you the answer you want, go to
:20:12. > :20:16.another and keep asking, as for a referral to the dermatologist if the
:20:17. > :20:19.medication is not working. You are never alone, there is always yells
:20:20. > :20:21.out there suffering, try to find someone to talk to, even if they do
:20:22. > :20:37.not have acne. Don't pick your spots, it leaves you
:20:38. > :20:44.with so many scars. Every time I get a new spot, I don't judge. Locale
:20:45. > :20:52.beautiful that is. Thanks. Do you like it? Yes.
:20:53. > :20:55.It has been amazing to meet so many inspiring people along this acne
:20:56. > :20:59.journey, who all have great ways of dealing with their acne to make
:21:00. > :21:04.themselves feel better. You can talk to your doctor and see what
:21:05. > :21:08.treatments are available, you can visit a dermatologist, listen to
:21:09. > :21:11.their advice and take it in because they are the experts. Whatever stage
:21:12. > :21:13.of your acne journey, there are still ways to feel great about
:21:14. > :21:18.yourself.