Seven stars who have struggled with their skin (like everybody else)

Considering we've all got so much of it, skin can be a real nuisance sometimes. On The Surgery on Radio 1 this week, Katie Thistleton and Dr Radha will be discussing skin and the problems it can cause.

Whether you're a supermodel facing comments on social media about your vitiligo, a celebrity who suffers from confidence problems because of their acne or someone who struggles with psoriasis or eczema; everyone has struggled with their skin.

So if you needed a bit of a reminder that you're not the only one struggling with yours, here's some A-list stars who have had some very public (and very visble) skin issues.

"Our skin is so important as it regulates our temperature, protects against infection and helps us to sense our environment. It is our largest organ with an estimated area of 20 square feet, so we need to look after it.

"Skin conditions are common problems we can all face at times, ranging from eczema and psoriasis to warts and cold sores.

"Our skin is often the first thing we see when we look at other people and so sometimes skin problems can affect our self esteem and confidence levels, or make us feel socially isolated. That's why it's so important to talk about how you feel and get the right help if you have a skin condition that's affecting you."

Approximately 1% of the world suffers with vitiligo, a skin condition which leaves white patches on the skin and is more visible on people with darker skin.

It's a condition that Michael Jackson suffered from during the peak of his fame, but today model Winnie Harlow has broken down barriers by rising to the top of her profession and has taken vitiligo to the catwalk.

But despite being celebrated as one of the most beautiful women in the world, Winnie still faces harsh criticism online for her appearance.

"My skin's not a normal sight," she told The Guardian in 2015.

"I get comments saying that I'm a leper, I control how my skin changes, I bleach my skin, my skin's burned. None of those are true."

She has also stated, however, that despite her celebrity status, she is reluctant to be seen as the face of the skin condition.

"I’m very sick of talking about my skin," she told Elle magazine in 2015.

"I am literally just a human. I have the same brain as you; there’s a skeleton under my skin just like yours. It’s not that serious."

Miley Cyrus was in the spotlight from a young age and when acne struck in her teenage years, it wasn't just her skin that was affected - it was her confidence too.

"I had kind of bad skin when I was younger and that was always my insecurity," Miley told Elle magazine in 2014.

"I went through a time where I was really depressed.

"I locked myself in my room and my dad had to break my door down."

She says she later learned that when her skin flared up to seek professional help and not try to tackle the spots herself.

"You start reaching for whatever and you end up messing up your face," she adds.

"Let professionals do it and don’t start getting in there and giving yourself scars."

Instagram is a great place to pretend your life is perfect and every day is another glorious adventure. But sometimes that's not the case and sometimes even the biggest stars in the world are willing to admit that on social media.

So it's no surprise that Lorde got almost 130,000 likes on a photo which showed her in bed with spot cream on. The rest of her face looks blemish free, but it makes a refreshing change to see a non-filtered insight into a superstar's life.

Kim Kardashian may appear to live a charmed existence but she struggles with psoriasis, a condition which can leave the skin sore, dry and flaky.

She suffers from psoriasis across her body, including on her face.

"I don't even really try to cover it that much anymore," Kim wrote on her website in October 2016.

"Sometimes I just feel like it's my big flaw and everyone knows about it, so why cover it?"

"Everyone with psoriasis has different symptoms; sometimes the rashes are itchy, sometimes they're flaky. Mine flares up from time to time for different reasons.

"I'm always hoping for a cure, of course, but in the meantime, I'm learning to just accept it as part of who I am."

Acne strikes us all, but it seems that more women than men are willing to speak about their skin problems. Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, however, has revealed that he suffers confidence problems to this day when his acne gets bad.

"I’ll be honest. As a teenager, I had horrible breakouts," he told Access Hollywood in 2013.

"I would hide from cameras, hide in my room. I was just ashamed of my acne.

"Today, even though I’m a celebrity, I’m no different than anyone else.

"Acne just shows up and causes trouble. And it can mess with your confidence."

James Arthur has made a huge return to the pop world over the past year, but he believes his tattoos are holding him back from achieving his future goal of becoming a Hollywood star.

He regrets getting so much ink on his skin, because he feels it will mean he gets typecast when he auditions for acting jobs.

"I’ve already had nine sessions," James told The Daily Star in 2016, speaking about the painful procedure to have his tattooed removed.

"They take a while and cost a lot of money but it will be worth it."

"I really want to do acting and don’t want to be typecast because of my tattoos."

Emma Stone lives her life on camera and her skin caused problems during her breakout movie, Easy A, in 2010.

She had struggled with acne during her teens, but the pressures of Hollywood caused her spots to return as her fame increased.

"I had bad hormonal acne when I was 17, and they put me on Accutane for it," she told Refinery 29 in 2012.
"Then, I had stress acne when I was 20, when I did Easy A, which they kindly video-airbrushed out of the movie.

Emma says that, despite having editors and post production workers make her look flawless for the viewers of her movies, she fully understands the impact of acne on people's confidence and mental health.

"I realized how debilitating and embarrassing it can be to have cystic acne."

Listen to The Surgery on Radio 1 at 9pm on Wednesday