Colorado Teen Shows Makeup-Free Face on Instagram, Becomes Inspiration to Acne Sufferers

Acne can be debilitating for some teens who are just finding themselves socially. It can lead to depression, as teens are often bullied and ostracized for the way they look. In the age of selfies, the psychological scars of acne can be even worse than the physical ones. However, one Colorado teen has embraced her acne condition and turned it into a thing of beauty by facing the world foundation free.

Hailey Wait, now 17, has struggled with painful cystic acne since she was 11. It is a skin condition that occurs when hair follicles become clogged underneath the skin, leaving behind painful bumps. Wait’s self-esteem hit rock bottom, so much so that she felt she looked like a “garbage can if they had faces.”

“It almost feels like there’s a little monster egg in your face and you can’t get rid of it. And so every time you bump into it or barely touch it, you feel like your face is on fire. When my acne was at its worst, I just felt like I was gross. It was red and splotchy and I just felt like a garbage can if garbage cans had faces,” Wait told Barcroft TV.

Once refusing to leave the house without makeup to cover her blotches, Wait is revealing her breakouts in selfies on Instagram in the hopes that it will inspire other teens with acne to feel glamorous.

However, Wait wasn’t spared when she first came out of hiding behind her cover-up. People would call her “pizza face,” which fueled her insecurities. Initially the haters would post negative comments.

“When I started posting more without any foundation, I definitely got a lot of hate at first. I would get a lot of comments like telling me to clean my face — as if I wasn’t already doing that — and I would get loads and loads of acne advice, even though I never asked,” Wait said.

But all of that has changed since almost 100,000 followers have come to admire the self-described artist’s au natural selfies.

Her friends and family are supportive of her barefaced decision as well, noticing a positive change in her personality. Her father, Lance, is happy that his daughter is working through her insecurities.

“It’s huge for me to see her confidence level come up and her embracing the acne, and even putting a picture on Instagram … Like, who does that? That to me is a lot of confidence,” he told Barcroft TV.

Wait hopes that her acne story will help others who suffer from the same affliction realize their imperfections, and make others acknowledge that beauty truly is skin deep.

“It’s not the end of the world if you don’t have perfect skin. I hope my story regarding acne really helps people to realize that just because you have these imperfections, [it] doesn’t mean you’re not amazing. It doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. It doesn’t mean you can’t be glamorous. Beauty is so much more than your face,” Wait said.

SHARE this inspiring story, especially with those who are struggling with self-esteem issues.