This brave woman shares her extreme struggle with acne and how after nearly two decades she is finally seeing results.
Ashlee Crumpton, from Bridgen, Wales, shared her 15 year battle with nodularcystic acne online, in the hopes of offering support and finding a community.
After finally coming out the other side of her medical condition, the factory worker shared her honest experiences with medication, symptoms and self confidence.
Ashlee said: “I have never known anyone with nodularcystic acne.
“I feel like I didn’t know anyone with acne at one point – I felt like it was just me.
“Then I started documenting my journey on TikTok and I think even then only 3 people came to me and said they suffer with the same.”
Ashlee first experienced mild acne at the age of 14 and it carried on for several years, until she was in her mid twenties.
Over the years, she went back and forth to doctors and onto different medications and creams but found that nothing worked for her skin.
When Ashlee was 25 years old, her mild acne soon turned severe and in the form of nodularcystc acne after a highly stressful period in her life.
Nodularcystic acne is a type of inflammatory acne that causes firm, painful lumps to form under your skin and red bumps to appear on your skin’s surface.
It can lead to severe scars and these lumps can even join and knot into each other.
After seeing a dermatologist and being told it was the worst case of acne she had seen in her career, Ashlee was adamant on going on accutane after seeing the wonders it had done for people on TikTok.
Accutane is a type of retinoid medication that can treat nearly all types of acne, including deep cysts and nodules, and prevent new scars.
After not knowing of anyone with her type of acne, Ashlee started documenting her journey on her TikTok and has helped many young people with her advice.
The factory worker explained: “Absolutely nothing would work for me, it wasn’t going away, and I kinda gave up for years about it because I didn’t even know about accutane.
“I went through an awful relationship for 4 years and just as that ended my severe acne came, so I believe it was from a lot of stress.
“It really did take all my confidence away and I wouldn’t leave the house without a scarf or plaster covering my face.
“Makeup did nothing because my face was literally deformed and disfigured from the nodules.
“I was in pain constantly, it really was the worst time.”
She added: “Since I had nodularcyst acne I’ve been quite lucky as I work in a factory with all old men and they have been so lovely and understanding.
“I would still wear my scarf and plasters and still feel self conscious.
“I stopped going out with friends and family at one point because people would look if I didn’t cover it.”
After she started to lose hope, Ashlee heard about a medication called accutane and became obsessed with the possibility of finding a treatment that works for her acne.
She followed many accutane journeys from people online and claimed it helped her seeing the behind the scenes of the medication.
When talking about her own acne journey, she admitted to feeling scared to share her experiences online due to her severe type of acne but has no regrets now.
Despite her positive review of the medication, Ashlee explained her side effects: “My symptoms were severe accutane purging, super dry lips, peeling, bleeding cracking, dry and itchy nose, flaky dry skin, fatigue and, because of the type of acne I have, nodules that would grow into huge massive painful cysts.
“Accutane purging is where the accutane pushes everything to the surface so your acne will get a lot worse before it gets better.
“After 16 months on the treatment, I finally took my last pill last week and no longer have any current side effects”
Ashlee said: “I know I’ve helped so many people who suffer with acne, or who are going onto accutane.
“I have mothers of young teens messaging for advice and I honestly love being able to help where I can.
“I have grown an amazing community of TikTok people and have really been so supportive.
“I have finally got my confidence back and I don’t cry when I look in the mirror.”