I was told to drink lots of water so yes I did used to drink A LOT of water. But that was mostly before we met at Uni. I might have told you about it though.
@@martinesse4830 that's not even remotely true, the body tells you when you need to drink (via thirst), and that's when you need to drink. Drinking too much water can lead to adverse effects, and most of excess body weight comes from water mass.
doddleoddle omg yesss like I started to go to the doctors about my acne a few years ago but I felt that for me having to remember to take the medications or use the creams made me obsess over it more and get me feelin more down about it. Now, my acne is a bit more cyclic (probs in relation to my period obvs) and I have times of good (better) skin and bad skin and I just try and accept it a lil more for who I am 😊 imma rock these red spotty freckles :D
can we just acknowledge how nice jack looks these days? he has really grown into such a nice looking young and im about it. the pills you are talking about is Accutane, at least in USA theyre called that. the sideeffects are hell and very much for severe cases of acne.
Kaitie Larney Im using Accutane, my acne was really bad and then it good good and then, I kinda "relapsed" again. But since I've been using Accutane its gotten way better...
Kaitie Larney my sister went on Accutane, and it honestly did no good for her whatsoever. All I know is that is caused her to get these dry red rings around her mouth, and she ended up having to get constant blood work done because of it. Her acne was so bad, that the only thing that was able to knock it out was birth control pills. I have suffered with bad acne as well, and I am incredibly lucky that I was able to use an alternative that does not require having to take birth control because that was not an option I wanted to resort to. For me whenever my acne flares up I just have to take an antibiotic called Doxycycline along with a Tretinoin topical cream. I usually go on the antibiotics for a couple months which is the big thing that kills my breakouts, and then I stick on using the topical cream long term. The only really negative side effect of the antibiotic I have experienced, is that it does cause your teeth to have some yellowing to it, and you can only take it for short periods of time cause taking it long term can really mess with your body and may result in having to go under surgical procedures to fix the complications.
Comments like this crack me up because it's kind of against his point. He's saying how hard it was having acne, and having people say he looks like shit etc, and people's reaction now is like "Yeah you looked like shit but now you look great!".
I took Accutane too. It's really a miracle drug. My acne wasn't horrible, but after treatment it was gone forever. (I was also warned about the depression side effects, but never experienced any hint of that.) The only bad thing was the severe dryness for about six months, but that was a small price to pay for the results.
my acne situation has gotten a lot better over the past few years, but the insecurities it gives you never really leave you alone, especially when you see other people with perfectly clear skin. it always made me think 'why don't I deserve that'
god this made feel weirdly emotional esp. when you were talking about that guttural feeling looking in the mirror. I didn't have acne but that feeling resonated like hell. I want to scoop up kid you and be like hey kid you're going to be okay. You're going to thrive. But yeah this added real heart to the react™ brand.
I've got acne right now..had it for years. I've had every medication that they'll let me take. The one thing I hate is the comments "drink more water, wash your face" because I know for a fact that out of all my friends I have the best diet, drink the most water and I have a strict skincare routine. I wish people would realise acne isn't really a choice :/
THIS. You said it. The incident I remembered which upset me the most was when a couple of older guy colleagues started trying to give me advice on my skin and one of them said something like ‘girls should take care of their skin’. Like first, that’s kinda sexist. Everyone should take care of themselves. But more than that, it was like he thought I did NOTHING to try to ameliorate my skin situation. Like bruh I have the strictest skincare routine - I literally have a whole shelf of products, and a very strict diet, no sugar no fried stuff even though I love them so much. But have you tried accutane? I know for some people it doesn’t work, but I hope that’s not the case for you. For my case, it did give me a lot of crazy mood swings, but honestly, with the way I feel bad about my acne, that was literally peanuts.
Same here. Isotertinoin (sold as Accutane in the US) helped but I couldn't stay on it for long. So, my acne recurred. The one thing that's working fo me now is completely cutting out dairy. I have been vegetarian since birth but cutting out dairy is really hard. I'm what you could call "an aspiring vegan" and it's helping. The scarring is horrible though. But, I'm only 23, and I'm exploring my microneedling options, hopefully it'll get better too. I hope you find your cure too!
Ugh dude when I was like 13-16 I had acne this bad, it wasn't just horribly embarrassing, it was physically painful. It took a huge toll on my self esteem. I had acne on my shoulders and back as well, and I have a vivd memory of my 14 year old self standing in a towel crying from the pain while my mom gently wiped some kind of medicated cloth on my shoulders. Im 22 now and I have a little scarring but otherwise I have no blemishes and I feel grateful every day for it. Anyone struggling with terrible acne right now, I'm sorry. Try not to feel gross, it's not your fault. I know what it's like to try every medication and topical treatment and skincare regimen and still nothing helps. It will go away one day and I'm sorry that you have to go through this but try to keep your head up and push through. Also be safe, some of those meds can really hurt your liver and clear skin isnt worth permanent liver damage.
I can relate so much to this... Hiding behind hair, feeling self conscious, depressed... I started getting acne at 11, when I discovered I had PCOS at 16 and what the pill could do for me I immediately jumped on the occasion and it changed my life too. However, I'm 20 now and I want to stop taking this medication since it's very unhealthy but I know my acne is going to come back, don't know how my mental health will be affected when it does...
How did you find out you had PCOS? I've been diagnosing myself on the internet lately because my acne has gotten worse in the last little while but I've been avoiding actually seeing a doctor because I don't want to take birth control or any medication for the matter. The pill really helped you though?
My mom has it and I had very irregular cycles so just by a simple visit to a genicologist where she looked at my ovaries by echography (nothing invasive). The doctor told me all she could do is prescribe me a conceptive pill to help with the painful periods and the acne etc. And to come back if I want to have kids one day but for now didn't have to worry about it. I think you should have a conversation with a professional, dermatologist or genicologist to see what your options are because PCOS is very different from woman to woman and obviously doctors have different opinions and depending on the country different options are available too. For example where I live the pill is free until I turn 21 :) It helped me ish, because I know it only solves it temporarily...
Emma, an old friend of mine is doing her PhD on PCOS and is studying how lifestyle/food/exercise can help manage symptoms. She runs a blog if you're interested, it mostly focuses on her own recipes. Look up Phruitful Dish on google if you're interested :)
I am taking Roaccutane rn and it's my final month on it^-^ this tablets really changed my life cuz i felt more depressed when i had acne and now i am feeling beautiful,i just love going out without any make up on my face ❤
Luka Phelan of course but you need to go to dermatologist first. yeah it has side effects but for me it was just dry skin,dry lips and sometimes I felt kinda depressed but I think I was depressed only because that I had an acne:D
its amazing how different my reaction to these photos is from jack's. like, i just look at them and go 'oh nice he looks so happy' and 'wow so many close friends good for him' and so on. it makes me wonder if my own old photos are as cringey and terrible as i think or if im just hyper focusing on my hair and skin and all the shit i hate about myself
I love that you have done this video, having acne myself I understand the emotions you are describing and how much courage something like this takes and honestly it has put my outlook on my skin in a whole new light in the sense that it isn't going to be like this forever and there is the possibility of me not having scars for all of eternity and I think that's something everyone with acne needs to hear so thank you jack Howard
I never comment on videos but I just have to say thank you for uploading this. As a teacher I see how hard it is for young boys going through the same thing and most of the support or videos like this are aimed at girls. It's not an easy experience for anyone but this video will help young boys see that they are not the only one that has felt how they are feeling.
The same thing happened to me, my first doctor told me and my mom I would get super depressed and that Accutane had very dangerous side effects, so I spent YEARS dealing with acne that never went away until last year, when I got a new dermatologist who seemed more experienced and he said it was my best option. I couldn't drink alcohol for a year but it was worth it. Hell, I'd rather not be able to drink for the rest of my life than to have acne again.
Really resonates with me as someone who had severe facial eczema. My skin used to come off in chunks and flakes and any makeup put on to disguise it came off with the skin. So great full that my skin has improved (anyone interested aside from steroids, lush moisturiser was a literal life changer). Very glad I clicked on this :)
purplejellytotPJT the lush dream dream moisture is what I guess is being discussed although never used it personally it completely cleared my mums psoriasis and multiple friends eczema
two days ago i had my most recent chemical peel done, and now i'm sat here, my face basically one big open wound and i'm crying my eyes out. thank you so much for making this video. acne is one of those things that doesn't really make sense, it's a condition that's different for everyone, and there's no universal cure for it. personally, having one of the severe cases, i can 100% relate to this. it's awful, most days i can't even look in the mirror without crying or wanting to just tear my skin off; and let's get real people are dickheads, the amount of comments or disgusted stares i get a day is ridiculous. thank you for shining a light on the situation, about a year and a half ago i went to the dermatologist for first time, after not being able to lay down on a pillow without crying out of sheer pain. since then i've been getting acid treatments once a month, where my skin is dissolved and i look like a ninja turtle for about a week. it's painful and there's many many setbacks (having one right now actually), but seeing the results and especially this video gives me hope that this hell might end one day. i never would've guessed that you had bad acne or any acne at all for that matter, your skin looks amazing now. again thank you very much this was the first great reaction video i've watched xx
Oh my.....I totally remember going through the same thing. Not only does it make your skin look ugly, but, the pain of them that's involved was horrendous!
This is so helpful and gives me so much hope. I have made and have recently started taking tablets to help it. Good to hear from someone who has gotten through it.
I find it quite interesting how you mentioned you automatically compared your skin with other peoples in the photo, because I definitely do the same thing with things I'm insecure about 🤔
I've had cystic acne throughout ALL my teenage years. I took all kind of drugs, antibiotics even, and caked my face with heavy coverage foundation since I was 11. When I was entering my 20s, slowly but surely my skin started to clear up. Now I'm 25, I have a couple of spots here and there when I have my period but apart from those and some scars, my skin never looked better. I know it's hard for those who are experiencing bad acne right now, but there's hope.
As someone who has really bad acne this video was supprisingly uplifting. My acne isn't as bad as Jack's was but seeing how his face has cleared up with no obvious scarring gives me hope that my face will do the same. Thanks for the hope Jack. ^_^
I can imagine how much anxiety comes with having bad acne and then showing these photos is incredible. Thank you for sharing this personal account of your past.
You said you'd never do a reaction video but I'm glad you did. This was quite...heartening in a way. I had some forehead pimples growing up. Not awful, but noticeable. My friend's mom asked me how old I was and I told her I was 12, and she laughed, pointed at my face and asked why I had teenage spots. Nice lady. Almost a decade later and I still remember how awful she made me feel. I was already insecure, why was a grown woman pointing out my insecurities and making them worse?
Oof, when you described wanting to scratch/pull of the layer from your face, that hit me. I too always felt that way. I too, also always compared my skin quality to others. Acne was so frustrating growing up.
What drives me most crazy about acne is how much it hurts, and no one really mentions it! I'm glad you did, even briefly because everyone just talks about how it looks but it can also be so painful
I took those Tablets too. unfortunatelly my acne Came back. took Them again... and again they Came back. :( 32 years Old now. still acne and lots of scars. sometimes life is Not fair I guess
It sucks even more when the people around you bluntly say they have terrible acne in front of you, who struggle with cystic acne and they probably have just 2 or 3 pimples during hormonal days and it absolutely guts your self esteem. I understand every feeling you mentioned Jack, and I'm so happy that yours cleared up amazingly. My acne has been a daily struggle for 7 years. Its' gotten alot better now, but during those hormonal weeks....damn.
I appreciate how honest and open you were in this video. I've looked through some of my old pictures, and it was hard enough just looking at them by myself - I can't imagine doing that and sharing my thoughts with anyone else.
this was actually really touching to me to see the way Jack looked at his old self and remembered all the pain he felt but now has grown into such a lovely human...this gives me so much hope. thanks jack :)
I am on the medication you're talking about (Roaccutane btw) and seeing your progress has made my day so much better. It's genuinely so refreshing to see other people, especially public figures like you, having gone through this and share your experiences, so thank you!!
I was also on Roaccutane (I'm presuming that's what you were on) and this is the absolute first video I have ever had a genuine audible reaction to. I have had severe acne and every single thing you have gone through, I have too. I'm 20 now, was taking the tablets from 15 and whilst my acne hasn't cleared up completely, those tablets helped. You forget that they're important, and you compare yourself now to then and feel uncomfortable. Thank you for helping us all feel a little bit better. There's hope for us all when you see you having been so lucky in the skin department (let's hope my acne fully clears, eh).
I'm so comforted by the fact that you made this - I had terrible acne growing up and it only cleared up by about 17-18 - and my skin is wonderful and I only get the very rare breakout now and I'm so relieved that I've had relatively little scarring. But oh God, alongside pretty terrible mental health as a teenager, my self image was godawful because of acne. Right now, while my face is miles better, it doesn't quite stop me from being a mentally messy human being. (But I feel like that might be something that's been on the cards for God knows how long)
I almost wanted to cry watching this, because I went through the exact same thing at school - from having a massive fringe to cover as much as I could, down to having to take that medication that dries the absolute crap out of your skin. (It made Chap-stick my best friend.) I don't usually comment on videos much, but this made me feel a little bit less alone, so thank you for posting it :)
huh. my friend has face acne, and I always just thought it was normal and fine, like I didn't even know it was "acne" I just thought it was how some people's skin looks like, if that makes sense. I hope she's not comparing her face to other people's faces in pictures.
This gives me hope that one day I may blossom into something more than what I look like now haha. But no honestly, Jack, I love you, you're so inspiring
this video is really great Jack. I had an accident when I was younger and lost one of my front teeth and I have been very self conscious about it at different times, especially recently. I find myself comparing other people's teeth and wishing I was different, but, look, there is nothing I can do that I'm not already trying to do in the future or am doing now, just like how there's nothing you could've done to help your skin besides what u did do. I don't know, but just hearing people share what they were insecure and pretty powerless over helps put everything in perspective, so I'm really thankful for this video!
I really feel this. It's weirdly cathartic to hear somebody else articulate all those same feelings about their skin, and also weirdly uncomfortable because I start feeling them all over again. Or echoes of it, I guess - it's not that you're feeling it again so much as remembering what it was like and going "ARGH NO NOT AGAIN".
Thank you so much for posting this. I know this took a lot for you to post - but it's really amazing. You have an amazing opportunity to influence so many people, and you always do it with humility, kindness and grace. Thank you for that, and for being you.
Eczema is a similar feeling mate, absolute dog shit, huge sympathy for anyone who suffers from skin issues, especially when it's on the severe side, can be so crippling and debilitating
My older sister didn't go on Isotetrinoin (aka Accutane) until college, but it was a miracle drug for her. I went on when I was fifteen, until sixteen, and it was great for me. About eight months, with monthly blood test and pregnancy tests and lots of pharmacy complications, but the hassle is so worth it. Not having the pain and the constant redness really makes me feel like a different person.
it's so wonderful to see the dialogue of support and sharing experiences that this video has opened up. I wish I could have seen something like this when I was going through my acne treatment- I remember the whole wanting to peel off your skin feeling so well.
I have acne as well. I had it since I was 14 or 15 and I'm 18 now. I only went to a doctor last year and the products she gave me helped, still my whole face is covered in pimples. But this video reminded me that it can get better and it probably will. Thanks for being so honest!
I just finished 10 months of taking roaccutane and it's like you said it changed my life. I never ever want to go back to the way I felt before. I'm so happy with my skin right now!!
I HATE acne, and it's perhaps the biggest issue I have with regards to general confidence and self-esteem. Really happy you put this up, highlights what people who do have it go through and how little comments can push them over the edge.
Hey Jack, thanks for making this! I struggle myself with acne (a 16 year old girl) and although it is not as bad as yours used to be, it's still pretty horrible. Sometimes I can just feel my self esteem sinking, when I see another big pimple on my forehead or something. But seeing people I look up to (you and dodie) dealing or having dealt with this, actually helps. Anyway, I wanted to say thank you, because it gives me hope that one day my skin will look good!
Jack, this is so relatable. Being the first girl to get acne back in elementary school was so humiliating. I did the same comparison thing you talked about all the time, and I treated myself like I was this cursed girl who deserved to have red marks on her face. My skin is much much better, even though my scars take sometimes a full year to go away. You went from adorable to a full on stud, and anyone who made fun of you before is probably going insane right now. Thank you so much for this video. Take care ❤
During my teenage years I didn't mind my acne, but in uni it got worse and I reached that point of wanting to hide and destroy all reflective surfaces until I could shed my skin like a snake, I felt so isolated and selfconcious.... My point is if it's affecting you mentally, seek medical help, it can be remedied.
I'm 22 and I teared up watching this video, because I haven't really seen one like it. I had terrible acne when I was a teenager, probably on the same level as yours, and I always felt self-conscious and depressed about it. Seeing old photos is such a weird experience. It's still 'you' but it seems so foreign because there are negative feelings and memories associated with it.
as someone who is 3 months into roaccutane and never knowing that you were on it this was lovely to hear! I've seen alot of videos of people talking about it but that was always their first video is seen and my only reference for them but I've been watching you for ages so idk I got weirdly happy hearing you say that! your skin is so lovely now
It's interesting how if you've been through a really painful experience you can immediately recognize it in somebody else. I see Jack physically recoil with anguish and I'm like... man, I feel your pain. I really feel it. I've been there too and I'm feeling it with you.
I'm a girl but I do appreciate you, as a male, talking about this kind of thing. I feel like people generalize the idea that "boys don't care about their appearance" which is obviously not true. Guys shouldn't feel guilty about taking steps to improve themselves both physically and emotionally. :)
I just wrapped 8 MONTHS of Accutane, and while the whole experience sucked, the result has done wonders for my self-esteem. I do have scars and hyperpigmentation, but compared to the acne I welcome those haha.
I started getting acne when I was 11 years old and I'm now almost 22. When I have really bad flare ups I get a lot of the cystic acne and it is just so painful to the point of not being able to sleep on the side of my face with the cyst. When my acne gets bad I have strangers (mostly customers at work) comment on my skin and tell me about all the face washes and facials they recommend when they get a few pimples. I have had co workers come up to me and complain they feel ugly when they get one pimple on their otherwise perfect skin. I'm sick of putting makeup on when I go out for slightly social situations just in case someone decided to take a picture of me. Then I heard my brother's friend talking about Roaccutane and I saw how clear his skin was at the end of his treatment. I heard of all the horrible side effects and I have just been diagnosed with depression but I was willing to do anything to get rid of it. So I am on my fourth day of taking Roaccutane and I cannot wait til the end of the course because I can't remember what it is like to feel confident in my own skin. (Pun intended)
A really honest and raw video, I am lucky enough not to have suffered with acne, i did however have friends who had this problem and to see you still have that reaction to old photos brings back memories of the struggles they went through
This is helping to push me to a doctor. I'm 21, and while I never had acne during my high school years, I have had bad acne for the past couple of years. It's especially bad because everybody I know has grown out of their acne stage, and I just started mine. I think it's a hormonal imbalance, and this was just the small nudge I needed to visit the doc.
Whilst I agree with you on the "don't only buy drugstore products and seek medical aid", medical care for most girls (at least in Germany, don't know about the UK but could imagine it being somewhat of a similar thing) often means going on the pill. Doctors usually don't inform you about all the side effects the pill has on (young) girls. It definitely did cure my acne, but it comes at a prize. I guess I just wanted to put this out there since nobody did when I was younger. By the way, this is a really good video Jack, especially for young people because having acne - from my experience - can be a very alienating experience.
Isabelle G the pills are awful. i haven't taken them, but my sister did when she was very young, and it was incredibly bad. it definitely helped her, but there were awful side effects
Alberte Solveig Bækgaard Mortensen 100% agreed. people suffering from acne should consult a dermatologist in the first place, not their gynocologist. It's a problem since the longterm effects of the pill are unknown and it's a ton of hormones young girls are flushing through their systems every day.
most people in the uk don't actually go to specific doctors ie gynecologist vs dermatologist, we just go to a gp and only in specific cases do you get referred otherwise you can't get it on the nhs and have to go private directly which isn't an option for everyone. i don't actually have a regular gynecologist and never have and I'm 21 because I always see my gp and go to an nhs sexual health clinic every time I've wanted sti testing etc. i've been on the pill for over 6 years and it was really summarised well for me in terms of side effects and risk factors beforehand so it possibly varies how much information is given? I never went on it for acne issues though so I can't comment about what doctors tend to prescribe for young girls here :/
ah thanks for clarifying. like i said, not from the uk and more often than not people, like me now, don't know that much about the health care system of other countries. the reason I thought it was somewhat similiar was because of the recent "coming off the pill"-Trend, which in germany, is often directly linked to not being well informed when first getting the pill.
I'm from Germany too and I and the first time I heard of the bad side effects of the pill was when I had already been taking it for 3 years. But I didn't here form a doctor, no I heard it from social media. When I finally decided to stop taking it the doctor just wanted to give me another from of hormonal contraceptive. Even though I experienced bad hormonal migraines and mood swings.
Thank you for this video Jack. I've been struggling with acne for a couple of years now and seeing how great your skin looks now gives me a ton of hope :)
Your skin is amazing now! I had acne since I was in year 6, it was awful. I took a drug called oxytetracycline to clear up my skin and I was scared to come off it because I thought my acne would come straight back. But after two years my skin was so clear compared to what it was before, it was such a relief. I feel like doctors should prescribe this stuff more often because having acne is so harrowing as a teenager.
I used to have pretty bad acne in my first few years of college, but I think it was mostly due to wearing makeup everyday and not taking good care of my skin. It's still nowhere near perfect, but I take MUCHH better care of it now and let my skin breath every now and then. Everyone's skin is different, and no matter what you are all beautiful!!
It was weird looking at those pics of jack from secondary school because he went to the same school that I go to at the moment and I recognise the walls/bricks! 😂
this is actually really refreshing to watch - its okay to react to stuff jack !!!! and i have horrid acne and coincidentally, a week ago i started taking pills (at the 10mg only) of pills that clog the oil pores for my acne and my skin is slowly clearing up - i really hope my life is turning around soon !!!!
This video was so great and has given me a lot of hope, I've struggled with really bad acne for 4 years now and I'm about to start the tablets you mentioned, it's amazing to see how clear your skin is now and it really helps to see that people can move on.
i've struggled with acne for years now, and i can completely understand how you felt and what you thought because it is exactly that way for me. i still have a major problem with scaring and sometimes get depressed thinking about it so this really helped. hopefully my skin will look as good as your in the future and i can look back at the old pictures and think thank god that's in the past.
I have had acne for 6 years (I'm 19) and yeah, it's shit, but it's also not that big a deal to me. I know that a lot of people who have it suffer a lot and lose their confidence and self love, but I can still look in the mirror and like what I see. I often forget that I even have it lol. I wish everyone felt like that... The way you look is the least interesting thing about you 💜💙💚💛❤️
I know that "wanting to peel your skin off" feeling all too well. My acne was really bad when I was around 14-15 and I couldn't stop picking at it (really bad habit btw), and I used to have so many scars and red spots that I just imagined it was a mask and that my "real" skin was hidden underneath it. i even had some on my upper back and couldn't stop scratching at it, so much in fact that I now have a whole bunch of white scarring marks over my shoulders. I did one year on Accutane and I have to say, my skin came out almost perfect. I'm so happy about it, especially since other people noticed it :')
I just want to thank you for making this video. I just recently went on the pill and epiduo gel for my acne because we finally got to the point where nothing else was working. It hasn't really made a difference yet but your video has given me a boost of hope that it will all be better one day. It just makes me really happy to see that I'm not the only person who is struggling or has struggled with really bad acne and that it can get better. Anyway just thank you, Jack, for showing this because i know it probably wasn't easy.
Back to this video 7 months later and I just revisit this. So turns out the pill and epidural gel did very little so I ended up going on isotretinoin (more commonly known as acutane and what I think jack is referring to in this video) and I have not yet finished my treatment but holy moly has it changed my life. Having clear skin has completely changed the way I think about my self, I don’t spend ages fretting over my skin attempting to cover it with anything that will work, I don’t have to worry about how I look in pictures because my skin is actually smooth and not all red. I can totally agree with Jack that seeking medical help is a very good idea for kids with harsh acne. But it’s definitely a last resort, try everything else but if that doesn’t work go for the medical help. It’s a different experience for everyone but going on these pills have been the best choice I have ever made.
I also suffered with acne and it was...horrific.i got spots in places i didn't know it was possible to (behind my ears, under my chin, on my scalp) as well as the huge under the skin lumps. And bacne. I was stupid and didn't stick to my treatments properly, I seem to remember at the time thinking I was that ugly that trying to fix my spots wouldn't help me anyway (which was a RIDICULOUS attitude).At the age of 26, I still have a fringe because of the scars on my forehead. Good on you for getting proper treatment, and thank you for sharing this video.
The way you reacted to your photos is exactly how I react to my old photos. I remember looking at other boys and thinking about how ugly I looked and how much I hate myself, on top of all that I was the only person in my school who wasn't white and I was picked on daily for it, and I walked weird (scoliosis). I took those pills and they made my skin so much better. It's been years, I remember my year 11 photo was on the very last day of taking those pills and it was a moment for me. I can't say I'm happy with my self, but I certainly don't hate my skin anymore and it's a step in the right direction
Oh my this video just went straight to my feels. I had almost perfect skin throughout my childhood/teen years until last year just 2 months before i was turning 21 and graduating from college I had out of nowhere suddenly gotten cystic acne (what horrible timing). I was so confused and sad. Going from clear skin with no problems to suddenly my cheeks being covered in pimples was horrible. I'm now on Roacutane, and it has done wonders for my face. I'm still a little red and in the healing process.. but my biggest fear is if i will end up with horrible scars. You have given me a beacon of hope and i got super teary in the end knowing that you had gone through what i'm going through right now. Scary coincidence, but thank you for the video. Tis a good one Jack
This is so relatable. You seem so confident (not to mention handsome) now that it's a little shocking this was in your past. It sucks bc it's not something everyone has to go through, like puberty or getting your period, but just the select few unluckies, rare enough to make you a leper amongst your friend group. Thanks for sharing!!
For people with ovaries who get really bad acne, especially if you also get super irregular periods, you may have polycystic ovary syndrome. It's not necessarily super bad, but it is quite a hormonal disbalance. I have PCOS, and the only thing that helped my acne was going on the pill. Now trying to reduce the dosage of my pill, to see if my skin develops acne again, or if it's better now.
Thankyou for making this video Jack! I have cystic acne now, been taking some tablets for 3 years now which kinda helped but starting Roaccutane soon (its sounds like the tablets you were on) and really hope it works. Its nice to hear about people who have gone through it and how its helped. :)
Seeing how your skin looks now gives me hope :') I've had acne since I was about ten. These days the spots aren't really lumpy, but my whole face just has that redness and oiliness and going out without makeup isn't really an option. I think it's a shame that boys covering up acne isn't really socially accepted (I know it's not a cure, but it helps), but then again, I think if you're a girl, people look at acne and think, "well... Why isn't she covering that up?". It's a double-edged thing
this is so good for me - as a 22 year old with pretty bad acne, and about to go on those tablets, to see that your skin just looks incredible really gives me hope that my acne will go away. it is such a demon, and I hate it so much! so, thanks for putting your pride (I guess?) aside and showing us this, it really helped me :)
I just recently stumbled upon your Christopher Nolan video. I've been on a binge of your videos and I'm really a fan. It seems like you can inspire and make complicated life issues uncomplicated.
Love acne. When we met weren't you drinking like 4ltrs of water a day or something like that to make your skin better?
I was told to drink lots of water so yes I did used to drink A LOT of water. But that was mostly before we met at Uni. I might have told you about it though.
JackHoward does drinking a lot of water do anything? I thought doctors recommend to only drink when thirsty
no lol when u feel thirsty you can be dehydrated. you need to drink a lot, your sking looks a lot better
Martinesse ah okay
@@martinesse4830 that's not even remotely true, the body tells you when you need to drink (via thirst), and that's when you need to drink. Drinking too much water can lead to adverse effects, and most of excess body weight comes from water mass.
ha I remember when I had acne
o wait
(to any pals who are still spotty like me it ok spots are just slightly more red freckles lol)
Same. They're not the physical ones that I can squeeze, there're just there underneath my skin.
doddleoddle ur so pure dods
doddleoddle not for me💁🏻
doddleoddle omg yesss like I started to go to the doctors about my acne a few years ago but I felt that for me having to remember to take the medications or use the creams made me obsess over it more and get me feelin more down about it. Now, my acne is a bit more cyclic (probs in relation to my period obvs) and I have times of good (better) skin and bad skin and I just try and accept it a lil more for who I am 😊 imma rock these red spotty freckles :D
can we just acknowledge how nice jack looks these days? he has really grown into such a nice looking young and im about it. the pills you are talking about is Accutane, at least in USA theyre called that. the sideeffects are hell and very much for severe cases of acne.
Kaitie Larney I agree completely
Kaitie Larney it's Roaccutane here, at least that's what I got given! worked great except for my lips bursting into waterfalls of blood occasionally
Kaitie Larney Im using Accutane, my acne was really bad and then it good good and then, I kinda "relapsed" again. But since I've been using Accutane its gotten way better...
Kaitie Larney I used it. SO GNARLY. worked tho
Kaitie Larney my sister went on Accutane, and it honestly did no good for her whatsoever. All I know is that is caused her to get these dry red rings around her mouth, and she ended up having to get constant blood work done because of it. Her acne was so bad, that the only thing that was able to knock it out was birth control pills. I have suffered with bad acne as well, and I am incredibly lucky that I was able to use an alternative that does not require having to take birth control because that was not an option I wanted to resort to. For me whenever my acne flares up I just have to take an antibiotic called Doxycycline along with a Tretinoin topical cream. I usually go on the antibiotics for a couple months which is the big thing that kills my breakouts, and then I stick on using the topical cream long term. The only really negative side effect of the antibiotic I have experienced, is that it does cause your teeth to have some yellowing to it, and you can only take it for short periods of time cause taking it long term can really mess with your body and may result in having to go under surgical procedures to fix the complications.
The glo up is real. You look unrecognizable
Comments like this crack me up because it's kind of against his point. He's saying how hard it was having acne, and having people say he looks like shit etc, and people's reaction now is like "Yeah you looked like shit but now you look great!".
I took Accutane too. It's really a miracle drug. My acne wasn't horrible, but after treatment it was gone forever. (I was also warned about the depression side effects, but never experienced any hint of that.) The only bad thing was the severe dryness for about six months, but that was a small price to pay for the results.
Oh shit! You watch Jack Howard!
Max Moody that was my exact reaction haha
I'm starting Accutane in a few weeks. Did you experience your acne getting worse before it got better?
And now we're such handsome boys
Nerdwriter1 same!!! Although it came back after a while....which is annoying
There's hope.
LOL
After a round of accutane sure
my acne situation has gotten a lot better over the past few years, but the insecurities it gives you never really leave you alone, especially when you see other people with perfectly clear skin. it always made me think 'why don't I deserve that'
"shame isn't stopping me from doing this" that quote is going to stay in my brain FOREVER
god this made feel weirdly emotional esp. when you were talking about that guttural feeling looking in the mirror. I didn't have acne but that feeling resonated like hell. I want to scoop up kid you and be like hey kid you're going to be okay. You're going to thrive. But yeah this added real heart to the react™ brand.
+Rosianna Halse Rojas Thanks Rosi :) hope the fine bros. don't sue me
I've got acne right now..had it for years. I've had every medication that they'll let me take. The one thing I hate is the comments "drink more water, wash your face" because I know for a fact that out of all my friends I have the best diet, drink the most water and I have a strict skincare routine.
I wish people would realise acne isn't really a choice :/
THIS. You said it. The incident I remembered which upset me the most was when a couple of older guy colleagues started trying to give me advice on my skin and one of them said something like ‘girls should take care of their skin’. Like first, that’s kinda sexist. Everyone should take care of themselves. But more than that, it was like he thought I did NOTHING to try to ameliorate my skin situation. Like bruh I have the strictest skincare routine - I literally have a whole shelf of products, and a very strict diet, no sugar no fried stuff even though I love them so much.
But have you tried accutane? I know for some people it doesn’t work, but I hope that’s not the case for you. For my case, it did give me a lot of crazy mood swings, but honestly, with the way I feel bad about my acne, that was literally peanuts.
Try eating less wheat and gluten I had lots of pimples did that and I looked like a baby
Same here. Isotertinoin (sold as Accutane in the US) helped but I couldn't stay on it for long. So, my acne recurred. The one thing that's working fo me now is completely cutting out dairy. I have been vegetarian since birth but cutting out dairy is really hard. I'm what you could call "an aspiring vegan" and it's helping. The scarring is horrible though. But, I'm only 23, and I'm exploring my microneedling options, hopefully it'll get better too.
I hope you find your cure too!
Ugh dude when I was like 13-16 I had acne this bad, it wasn't just horribly embarrassing, it was physically painful. It took a huge toll on my self esteem. I had acne on my shoulders and back as well, and I have a vivd memory of my 14 year old self standing in a towel crying from the pain while my mom gently wiped some kind of medicated cloth on my shoulders. Im 22 now and I have a little scarring but otherwise I have no blemishes and I feel grateful every day for it. Anyone struggling with terrible acne right now, I'm sorry. Try not to feel gross, it's not your fault. I know what it's like to try every medication and topical treatment and skincare regimen and still nothing helps. It will go away one day and I'm sorry that you have to go through this but try to keep your head up and push through. Also be safe, some of those meds can really hurt your liver and clear skin isnt worth permanent liver damage.
This was really brave and honest. I'm sure this is going to help a lot of teens going through the same issue.
I can relate so much to this... Hiding behind hair, feeling self conscious, depressed... I started getting acne at 11, when I discovered I had PCOS at 16 and what the pill could do for me I immediately jumped on the occasion and it changed my life too. However, I'm 20 now and I want to stop taking this medication since it's very unhealthy but I know my acne is going to come back, don't know how my mental health will be affected when it does...
How did you find out you had PCOS? I've been diagnosing myself on the internet lately because my acne has gotten worse in the last little while but I've been avoiding actually seeing a doctor because I don't want to take birth control or any medication for the matter. The pill really helped you though?
My mom has it and I had very irregular cycles so just by a simple visit to a genicologist where she looked at my ovaries by echography (nothing invasive). The doctor told me all she could do is prescribe me a conceptive pill to help with the painful periods and the acne etc. And to come back if I want to have kids one day but for now didn't have to worry about it. I think you should have a conversation with a professional, dermatologist or genicologist to see what your options are because PCOS is very different from woman to woman and obviously doctors have different opinions and depending on the country different options are available too. For example where I live the pill is free until I turn 21 :) It helped me ish, because I know it only solves it temporarily...
Emma, an old friend of mine is doing her PhD on PCOS and is studying how lifestyle/food/exercise can help manage symptoms. She runs a blog if you're interested, it mostly focuses on her own recipes. Look up Phruitful Dish on google if you're interested :)
I am taking Roaccutane rn and it's my final month on it^-^ this tablets really changed my life cuz i felt more depressed when i had acne and now i am feeling beautiful,i just love going out without any make up on my face ❤
Luka Phelan of course but you need to go to dermatologist first. yeah it has side effects but for me it was just dry skin,dry lips and sometimes I felt kinda depressed but I think I was depressed only because that I had an acne:D
Luka Phelan for me the tablets worked after 4 months of taking it so I think you should try it❤
Ive been on it for 4 month so far, i hate it so bad
This is exactly me, I've only been on them for 6 weeks but it's worked so well and I'm so much happier with my skin and I still have 1-2 years left
how you feeling about them now?
its amazing how different my reaction to these photos is from jack's. like, i just look at them and go 'oh nice he looks so happy' and 'wow so many close friends good for him' and so on. it makes me wonder if my own old photos are as cringey and terrible as i think or if im just hyper focusing on my hair and skin and all the shit i hate about myself
I love that you have done this video, having acne myself I understand the emotions you are describing and how much courage something like this takes and honestly it has put my outlook on my skin in a whole new light in the sense that it isn't going to be like this forever and there is the possibility of me not having scars for all of eternity and I think that's something everyone with acne needs to hear so thank you jack Howard
I never comment on videos but I just have to say thank you for uploading this. As a teacher I see how hard it is for young boys going through the same thing and most of the support or videos like this are aimed at girls. It's not an easy experience for anyone but this video will help young boys see that they are not the only one that has felt how they are feeling.
The same thing happened to me, my first doctor told me and my mom I would get super depressed and that Accutane had very dangerous side effects, so I spent YEARS dealing with acne that never went away until last year, when I got a new dermatologist who seemed more experienced and he said it was my best option. I couldn't drink alcohol for a year but it was worth it.
Hell, I'd rather not be able to drink for the rest of my life than to have acne again.
Really resonates with me as someone who had severe facial eczema. My skin used to come off in chunks and flakes and any makeup put on to disguise it came off with the skin. So great full that my skin has improved (anyone interested aside from steroids, lush moisturiser was a literal life changer). Very glad I clicked on this :)
Clare Lush moisturiser...? Anything specific? I'd love to try it out, I get really dry skin a lot
purplejellytotPJT the lush dream dream moisture is what I guess is being discussed although never used it personally it completely cleared my mums psoriasis and multiple friends eczema
Lorna Williams it's not for the face though, it's a body lotion...
two days ago i had my most recent chemical peel done, and now i'm sat here, my face basically one big open wound and i'm crying my eyes out. thank you so much for making this video. acne is one of those things that doesn't really make sense, it's a condition that's different for everyone, and there's no universal cure for it. personally, having one of the severe cases, i can 100% relate to this. it's awful, most days i can't even look in the mirror without crying or wanting to just tear my skin off; and let's get real people are dickheads, the amount of comments or disgusted stares i get a day is ridiculous. thank you for shining a light on the situation, about a year and a half ago i went to the dermatologist for first time, after not being able to lay down on a pillow without crying out of sheer pain. since then i've been getting acid treatments once a month, where my skin is dissolved and i look like a ninja turtle for about a week. it's painful and there's many many setbacks (having one right now actually), but seeing the results and especially this video gives me hope that this hell might end one day.
i never would've guessed that you had bad acne or any acne at all for that matter, your skin looks amazing now. again thank you very much this was the first great reaction video i've watched xx
Oh my.....I totally remember going through the same thing. Not only does it make your skin look ugly, but, the pain of them that's involved was horrendous!
This is so helpful and gives me so much hope. I have made and have recently started taking tablets to help it. Good to hear from someone who has gotten through it.
I find it quite interesting how you mentioned you automatically compared your skin with other peoples in the photo, because I definitely do the same thing with things I'm insecure about 🤔
I've had cystic acne throughout ALL my teenage years. I took all kind of drugs, antibiotics even, and caked my face with heavy coverage foundation since I was 11. When I was entering my 20s, slowly but surely my skin started to clear up. Now I'm 25, I have a couple of spots here and there when I have my period but apart from those and some scars, my skin never looked better. I know it's hard for those who are experiencing bad acne right now, but there's hope.
As someone who has really bad acne this video was supprisingly uplifting. My acne isn't as bad as Jack's was but seeing how his face has cleared up with no obvious scarring gives me hope that my face will do the same. Thanks for the hope Jack. ^_^
I can imagine how much anxiety comes with having bad acne and then showing these photos is incredible. Thank you for sharing this personal account of your past.
aw bubba jack this hits me in the empathy zone of my heart. look how amazingly you've done!
You said you'd never do a reaction video but I'm glad you did. This was quite...heartening in a way.
I had some forehead pimples growing up. Not awful, but noticeable. My friend's mom asked me how old I was and I told her I was 12, and she laughed, pointed at my face and asked why I had teenage spots. Nice lady. Almost a decade later and I still remember how awful she made me feel. I was already insecure, why was a grown woman pointing out my insecurities and making them worse?
I never had acne but boy was my eczema bad
The skin peeling thing is relatable
Sabrina Alasow yeah i have both, and accutane makes your skin even dryer so like oh my goodness
Yeah same my eczema is terrible
i totally understand the feeling of wanting to peel your skin off! i never heard anyone say that they felt like that too!
Oof, when you described wanting to scratch/pull of the layer from your face, that hit me. I too always felt that way. I too, also always compared my skin quality to others. Acne was so frustrating growing up.
What drives me most crazy about acne is how much it hurts, and no one really mentions it! I'm glad you did, even briefly because everyone just talks about how it looks but it can also be so painful
I took those Tablets too. unfortunatelly my acne Came back. took Them again... and again they Came back. :( 32 years Old now. still acne and lots of scars. sometimes life is Not fair I guess
IceTPeach 3rd time lucky maybe?
proof that not all reaction videos are trash
It sucks even more when the people around you bluntly say they have terrible acne in front of you, who struggle with cystic acne and they probably have just 2 or 3 pimples during hormonal days and it absolutely guts your self esteem. I understand every feeling you mentioned Jack, and I'm so happy that yours cleared up amazingly. My acne has been a daily struggle for 7 years. Its' gotten alot better now, but during those hormonal weeks....damn.
I appreciate how honest and open you were in this video. I've looked through some of my old pictures, and it was hard enough just looking at them by myself - I can't imagine doing that and sharing my thoughts with anyone else.
this was actually really touching to me to see the way Jack looked at his old self and remembered all the pain he felt but now has grown into such a lovely human...this gives me so much hope. thanks jack :)
I am on the medication you're talking about (Roaccutane btw) and seeing your progress has made my day so much better. It's genuinely so refreshing to see other people, especially public figures like you, having gone through this and share your experiences, so thank you!!
This before and after thumbnail gives me so much hope.
Well done for sharing this Jack, nice to hear youtubers talk about real things sometimes
I was also on Roaccutane (I'm presuming that's what you were on) and this is the absolute first video I have ever had a genuine audible reaction to. I have had severe acne and every single thing you have gone through, I have too. I'm 20 now, was taking the tablets from 15 and whilst my acne hasn't cleared up completely, those tablets helped. You forget that they're important, and you compare yourself now to then and feel uncomfortable. Thank you for helping us all feel a little bit better. There's hope for us all when you see you having been so lucky in the skin department (let's hope my acne fully clears, eh).
I'm so comforted by the fact that you made this - I had terrible acne growing up and it only cleared up by about 17-18 - and my skin is wonderful and I only get the very rare breakout now and I'm so relieved that I've had relatively little scarring. But oh God, alongside pretty terrible mental health as a teenager, my self image was godawful because of acne. Right now, while my face is miles better, it doesn't quite stop me from being a mentally messy human being. (But I feel like that might be something that's been on the cards for God knows how long)
I almost wanted to cry watching this, because I went through the exact same thing at school - from having a massive fringe to cover as much as I could, down to having to take that medication that dries the absolute crap out of your skin. (It made Chap-stick my best friend.) I don't usually comment on videos much, but this made me feel a little bit less alone, so thank you for posting it :)
huh. my friend has face acne, and I always just thought it was normal and fine, like I didn't even know it was "acne" I just thought it was how some people's skin looks like, if that makes sense. I hope she's not comparing her face to other people's faces in pictures.
This gives me hope that one day I may blossom into something more than what I look like now haha. But no honestly, Jack, I love you, you're so inspiring
this video is really great Jack. I had an accident when I was younger and lost one of my front teeth and I have been very self conscious about it at different times, especially recently. I find myself comparing other people's teeth and wishing I was different, but, look, there is nothing I can do that I'm not already trying to do in the future or am doing now, just like how there's nothing you could've done to help your skin besides what u did do. I don't know, but just hearing people share what they were insecure and pretty powerless over helps put everything in perspective, so I'm really thankful for this video!
I really feel this. It's weirdly cathartic to hear somebody else articulate all those same feelings about their skin, and also weirdly uncomfortable because I start feeling them all over again. Or echoes of it, I guess - it's not that you're feeling it again so much as remembering what it was like and going "ARGH NO NOT AGAIN".
(I say again, my skin's still a pile of wank tbh, but it's not full blown acne anymore at least!)
Thank you so much for posting this. I know this took a lot for you to post - but it's really amazing. You have an amazing opportunity to influence so many people, and you always do it with humility, kindness and grace. Thank you for that, and for being you.
This was really brave and it's interesting to see you so vulnerable. Well done.
Eczema is a similar feeling mate, absolute dog shit, huge sympathy for anyone who suffers from skin issues, especially when it's on the severe side, can be so crippling and debilitating
Love the topic of conversation and honesty Jack! The human body is just a bit bloody weird in its mad ways.
My older sister didn't go on Isotetrinoin (aka Accutane) until college, but it was a miracle drug for her. I went on when I was fifteen, until sixteen, and it was great for me. About eight months, with monthly blood test and pregnancy tests and lots of pharmacy complications, but the hassle is so worth it. Not having the pain and the constant redness really makes me feel like a different person.
it's so wonderful to see the dialogue of support and sharing experiences that this video has opened up. I wish I could have seen something like this when I was going through my acne treatment- I remember the whole wanting to peel off your skin feeling so well.
Well, you look gorgeous Jack, so go flaunt your beauty, and pray the rest of us are as lucky.
I have acne as well. I had it since I was 14 or 15 and I'm 18 now. I only went to a doctor last year and the products she gave me helped, still my whole face is covered in pimples. But this video reminded me that it can get better and it probably will. Thanks for being so honest!
I just finished 10 months of taking roaccutane and it's like you said it changed my life. I never ever want to go back to the way I felt before. I'm so happy with my skin right now!!
and now you're all cute and well dressed, good for you.
My boyfriend has acne but I'm in love with it and he hates it.
I wish he looked past his acne and saw how cute he looked
I HATE acne, and it's perhaps the biggest issue I have with regards to general confidence and self-esteem. Really happy you put this up, highlights what people who do have it go through and how little comments can push them over the edge.
Hey Jack, thanks for making this! I struggle myself with acne (a 16 year old girl) and although it is not as bad as yours used to be, it's still pretty horrible. Sometimes I can just feel my self esteem sinking, when I see another big pimple on my forehead or something. But seeing people I look up to (you and dodie) dealing or having dealt with this, actually helps. Anyway, I wanted to say thank you, because it gives me hope that one day my skin will look good!
Jack, this is so relatable. Being the first girl to get acne back in elementary school was so humiliating. I did the same comparison thing you talked about all the time, and I treated myself like I was this cursed girl who deserved to have red marks on her face. My skin is much much better, even though my scars take sometimes a full year to go away. You went from adorable to a full on stud, and anyone who made fun of you before is probably going insane right now. Thank you so much for this video. Take care ❤
During my teenage years I didn't mind my acne, but in uni it got worse and I reached that point of wanting to hide and destroy all reflective surfaces until I could shed my skin like a snake, I felt so isolated and selfconcious.... My point is if it's affecting you mentally, seek medical help, it can be remedied.
I'm 22 and I teared up watching this video, because I haven't really seen one like it. I had terrible acne when I was a teenager, probably on the same level as yours, and I always felt self-conscious and depressed about it. Seeing old photos is such a weird experience. It's still 'you' but it seems so foreign because there are negative feelings and memories associated with it.
as someone who is 3 months into roaccutane and never knowing that you were on it this was lovely to hear! I've seen alot of videos of people talking about it but that was always their first video is seen and my only reference for them but I've been watching you for ages so idk I got weirdly happy hearing you say that! your skin is so lovely now
i have the WORST acne. thanks for giving me at least some hope
Don't feel bad guys if acne Jack can turn into the amazingly handsome man he is now then there is always hope.
It's interesting how if you've been through a really painful experience you can immediately recognize it in somebody else. I see Jack physically recoil with anguish and I'm like... man, I feel your pain. I really feel it. I've been there too and I'm feeling it with you.
I'm a girl but I do appreciate you, as a male, talking about this kind of thing. I feel like people generalize the idea that "boys don't care about their appearance" which is obviously not true. Guys shouldn't feel guilty about taking steps to improve themselves both physically and emotionally. :)
I just wrapped 8 MONTHS of Accutane, and while the whole experience sucked, the result has done wonders for my self-esteem. I do have scars and hyperpigmentation, but compared to the acne I welcome those haha.
watching reaction videos (on certain selected subjects) is one of my guilty pleasures.
I started getting acne when I was 11 years old and I'm now almost 22. When I have really bad flare ups I get a lot of the cystic acne and it is just so painful to the point of not being able to sleep on the side of my face with the cyst. When my acne gets bad I have strangers (mostly customers at work) comment on my skin and tell me about all the face washes and facials they recommend when they get a few pimples. I have had co workers come up to me and complain they feel ugly when they get one pimple on their otherwise perfect skin. I'm sick of putting makeup on when I go out for slightly social situations just in case someone decided to take a picture of me.
Then I heard my brother's friend talking about Roaccutane and I saw how clear his skin was at the end of his treatment. I heard of all the horrible side effects and I have just been diagnosed with depression but I was willing to do anything to get rid of it. So I am on my fourth day of taking Roaccutane and I cannot wait til the end of the course because I can't remember what it is like to feel confident in my own skin. (Pun intended)
really curious what the results look like 1 year later..
A really honest and raw video, I am lucky enough not to have suffered with acne, i did however have friends who had this problem and to see you still have that reaction to old photos brings back memories of the struggles they went through
This is helping to push me to a doctor. I'm 21, and while I never had acne during my high school years, I have had bad acne for the past couple of years. It's especially bad because everybody I know has grown out of their acne stage, and I just started mine. I think it's a hormonal imbalance, and this was just the small nudge I needed to visit the doc.
Whilst I agree with you on the "don't only buy drugstore products and seek medical aid", medical care for most girls (at least in Germany, don't know about the UK but could imagine it being somewhat of a similar thing) often means going on the pill. Doctors usually don't inform you about all the side effects the pill has on (young) girls. It definitely did cure my acne, but it comes at a prize. I guess I just wanted to put this out there since nobody did when I was younger. By the way, this is a really good video Jack, especially for young people because having acne - from my experience - can be a very alienating experience.
Isabelle G the pills are awful. i haven't taken them, but my sister did when she was very young, and it was incredibly bad. it definitely helped her, but there were awful side effects
Alberte Solveig Bækgaard Mortensen 100% agreed. people suffering from acne should consult a dermatologist in the first place, not their gynocologist. It's a problem since the longterm effects of the pill are unknown and it's a ton of hormones young girls are flushing through their systems every day.
most people in the uk don't actually go to specific doctors ie gynecologist vs dermatologist, we just go to a gp and only in specific cases do you get referred otherwise you can't get it on the nhs and have to go private directly which isn't an option for everyone. i don't actually have a regular gynecologist and never have and I'm 21 because I always see my gp and go to an nhs sexual health clinic every time I've wanted sti testing etc. i've been on the pill for over 6 years and it was really summarised well for me in terms of side effects and risk factors beforehand so it possibly varies how much information is given? I never went on it for acne issues though so I can't comment about what doctors tend to prescribe for young girls here :/
ah thanks for clarifying. like i said, not from the uk and more often than not people, like me now, don't know that much about the health care system of other countries. the reason I thought it was somewhat similiar was because of the recent "coming off the pill"-Trend, which in germany, is often directly linked to not being well informed when first getting the pill.
I'm from Germany too and I and the first time I heard of the bad side effects of the pill was when I had already been taking it for 3 years. But I didn't here form a doctor, no I heard it from social media. When I finally decided to stop taking it the doctor just wanted to give me another from of hormonal contraceptive. Even though I experienced bad hormonal migraines and mood swings.
Thank you for this video Jack. I've been struggling with acne for a couple of years now and seeing how great your skin looks now gives me a ton of hope :)
Your skin is amazing now! I had acne since I was in year 6, it was awful. I took a drug called oxytetracycline to clear up my skin and I was scared to come off it because I thought my acne would come straight back. But after two years my skin was so clear compared to what it was before, it was such a relief. I feel like doctors should prescribe this stuff more often because having acne is so harrowing as a teenager.
I appreciate how difficult this must've been for you, but thank you for doing it because it really does give us hope.
I used to have pretty bad acne in my first few years of college, but I think it was mostly due to wearing makeup everyday and not taking good care of my skin. It's still nowhere near perfect, but I take MUCHH better care of it now and let my skin breath every now and then. Everyone's skin is different, and no matter what you are all beautiful!!
It was weird looking at those pics of jack from secondary school because he went to the same school that I go to at the moment and I recognise the walls/bricks! 😂
this is actually really refreshing to watch - its okay to react to stuff jack !!!! and i have horrid acne and coincidentally, a week ago i started taking pills (at the 10mg only) of pills that clog the oil pores for my acne and my skin is slowly clearing up - i really hope my life is turning around soon !!!!
This video was so great and has given me a lot of hope, I've struggled with really bad acne for 4 years now and I'm about to start the tablets you mentioned, it's amazing to see how clear your skin is now and it really helps to see that people can move on.
this is what my skin looks like now and tbh it makes me so happy to see how nice your skin is now IT GIVES ME HOPE
i've struggled with acne for years now, and i can completely understand how you felt and what you thought because it is exactly that way for me. i still have a major problem with scaring and sometimes get depressed thinking about it so this really helped. hopefully my skin will look as good as your in the future and i can look back at the old pictures and think thank god that's in the past.
I am so incredibly happy that you've started posting again!!
I have had acne for 6 years (I'm 19) and yeah, it's shit, but it's also not that big a deal to me. I know that a lot of people who have it suffer a lot and lose their confidence and self love, but I can still look in the mirror and like what I see. I often forget that I even have it lol. I wish everyone felt like that... The way you look is the least interesting thing about you 💜💙💚💛❤️
I know that "wanting to peel your skin off" feeling all too well. My acne was really bad when I was around 14-15 and I couldn't stop picking at it (really bad habit btw), and I used to have so many scars and red spots that I just imagined it was a mask and that my "real" skin was hidden underneath it. i even had some on my upper back and couldn't stop scratching at it, so much in fact that I now have a whole bunch of white scarring marks over my shoulders. I did one year on Accutane and I have to say, my skin came out almost perfect. I'm so happy about it, especially since other people noticed it :')
I think Jack's always been very handsome. He's got a really nice smile :3
I just want to thank you for making this video. I just recently went on the pill and epiduo gel for my acne because we finally got to the point where nothing else was working. It hasn't really made a difference yet but your video has given me a boost of hope that it will all be better one day. It just makes me really happy to see that I'm not the only person who is struggling or has struggled with really bad acne and that it can get better. Anyway just thank you, Jack, for showing this because i know it probably wasn't easy.
Back to this video 7 months later and I just revisit this. So turns out the pill and epidural gel did very little so I ended up going on isotretinoin (more commonly known as acutane and what I think jack is referring to in this video) and I have not yet finished my treatment but holy moly has it changed my life. Having clear skin has completely changed the way I think about my self, I don’t spend ages fretting over my skin attempting to cover it with anything that will work, I don’t have to worry about how I look in pictures because my skin is actually smooth and not all red. I can totally agree with Jack that seeking medical help is a very good idea for kids with harsh acne. But it’s definitely a last resort, try everything else but if that doesn’t work go for the medical help. It’s a different experience for everyone but going on these pills have been the best choice I have ever made.
I also suffered with acne and it was...horrific.i got spots in places i didn't know it was possible to (behind my ears, under my chin, on my scalp) as well as the huge under the skin lumps. And bacne. I was stupid and didn't stick to my treatments properly, I seem to remember at the time thinking I was that ugly that trying to fix my spots wouldn't help me anyway (which was a RIDICULOUS attitude).At the age of 26, I still have a fringe because of the scars on my forehead. Good on you for getting proper treatment, and thank you for sharing this video.
This was intense. But good, in a personal authentic way. Always love how you tell stories and stuff. Thanks for sharing!
The way you reacted to your photos is exactly how I react to my old photos. I remember looking at other boys and thinking about how ugly I looked and how much I hate myself, on top of all that I was the only person in my school who wasn't white and I was picked on daily for it, and I walked weird (scoliosis). I took those pills and they made my skin so much better. It's been years, I remember my year 11 photo was on the very last day of taking those pills and it was a moment for me. I can't say I'm happy with my self, but I certainly don't hate my skin anymore and it's a step in the right direction
Oh my this video just went straight to my feels. I had almost perfect skin throughout my childhood/teen years until last year just 2 months before i was turning 21 and graduating from college I had out of nowhere suddenly gotten cystic acne (what horrible timing). I was so confused and sad. Going from clear skin with no problems to suddenly my cheeks being covered in pimples was horrible. I'm now on Roacutane, and it has done wonders for my face. I'm still a little red and in the healing process.. but my biggest fear is if i will end up with horrible scars. You have given me a beacon of hope and i got super teary in the end knowing that you had gone through what i'm going through right now. Scary coincidence, but thank you for the video. Tis a good one Jack
This is so relatable. You seem so confident (not to mention handsome) now that it's a little shocking this was in your past. It sucks bc it's not something everyone has to go through, like puberty or getting your period, but just the select few unluckies, rare enough to make you a leper amongst your friend group. Thanks for sharing!!
"Cringy gold mine"
I think it's just a pure gold mine.
For people with ovaries who get really bad acne, especially if you also get super irregular periods, you may have polycystic ovary syndrome. It's not necessarily super bad, but it is quite a hormonal disbalance. I have PCOS, and the only thing that helped my acne was going on the pill. Now trying to reduce the dosage of my pill, to see if my skin develops acne again, or if it's better now.
Thankyou for making this video Jack! I have cystic acne now, been taking some tablets for 3 years now which kinda helped but starting Roaccutane soon (its sounds like the tablets you were on) and really hope it works. Its nice to hear about people who have gone through it and how its helped. :)
Seeing how your skin looks now gives me hope :') I've had acne since I was about ten. These days the spots aren't really lumpy, but my whole face just has that redness and oiliness and going out without makeup isn't really an option. I think it's a shame that boys covering up acne isn't really socially accepted (I know it's not a cure, but it helps), but then again, I think if you're a girl, people look at acne and think, "well... Why isn't she covering that up?". It's a double-edged thing
Yeah I'm 23 this year and I'm still very much suffering from spots all the time. I'm on tablets too, very depressing
this is so good for me - as a 22 year old with pretty bad acne, and about to go on those tablets, to see that your skin just looks incredible really gives me hope that my acne will go away. it is such a demon, and I hate it so much! so, thanks for putting your pride (I guess?) aside and showing us this, it really helped me :)
I just recently stumbled upon your Christopher Nolan video. I've been on a binge of your videos and I'm really a fan. It seems like you can inspire and make complicated life issues uncomplicated.