Manitoba woman shares her battle against severe acne

A woman battling severe adult acne has shared revealing pictures of her make-up free face while bravely opening up about her skin struggles.

Steph Klassen, from Manitoba, Canada, has been coping with a bout of severe acne since September. She has previously struggled with the condition, but her doctors currently have no idea what caused it to return.

The mother of two, who at 29 years old has also dealt with anxiety, depression, and type one diabetes, has been posting regular updates along with make-up free photos, showing how the acne has left her with painful bumps, swelling, zits and scarring.

Breakout: The mother, who is based in Canada, has been coping with a bout of severe acne since September and sharing regular updates with her Instagram followers

Symptoms: The mother of two, has been posting make-up free photos, showing how the acne has left her with painful bumps, swelling, zits and scarring

Changes: Growing up, Steph, now 29, never struggled with acne, saved for occasional pimples appearing during her menstrual cycle

Steph told the DailyMail.com her current breakout came ‘out of nowhere’ at the end of September, and that within two weeks it had escalated to a severe stage.

She has candidly told her Instagram followers how difficult it has been to wrestle with the condition as an adult, and how it has made it hard for her to go out in public.

‘My sense of self-confidence is slightly askew,’ she wrote earlier this month in apost.

‘I feel SO great around loved ones—close friends and close family. But then I go out and I have a hard time making eye contact or even holding my head high. I end up exhausted from trying to keep myself from bawling or just straight up loosing it.

‘I feel like I need to explain myself like—what it is, why i have it, how it started… Like yes I’m 30 not 15. I’ve noticed that some people I know actually avoid me because they don’t know what to say? 

‘I don’t know. Being in public blows. But being around my loved one i feel so normal…’

Past: Steph (pictured left in September and right earlier this month) once suffered from similarly serious acne when she was 25 years old

How it began: The mother told DailyMail.com her current breakout came ‘out of nowhere’ at the end of September (pictured), and that within two weeks it had escalated to severe

Treatment: In order to get rid of her acne, the mother, who is relying on her two children and on her husband for support, has begun taking Accutane

Remedies: She is also using hormone-balancing capsules and cream, iodine drops, essential oils, and turmeric supplements in addition to following an anti-inflammatory diet

Growing up, Steph never struggled with acne, saved for occasional pimples appearing during her menstrual cycle. Her first serious experience with the condition came when she was 25 years old and pregnant.

She developed serious cystic acne and says she ended up suffering from sepsis, a severe condition that occurs in reaction to an infection, which caused her to be admitted to the ICU.

Doctors saved her life, but several days later, Steph ended up losing the baby at 18 weeks of pregnancy.

In order to get rid of her acne, the mother, who is relying on her two children and on her husband for support, has begun taking Accutane, an acne medication that can have serious side effects.

She is also using hormone-balancing capsules and cream, iodine drops, essential oils, and turmeric supplements in addition to following an anti-inflammatory diet and drinking lots of water.

Despite the treatments, Steph, who said she was ‘devastated’ when the breakout occurred, still finds it hard to look at herself in a mirror.  

‘I’m pretty sure i have a warped image of what’s actually looking back at me at this point,’ she said. ‘People tell me it’s looking so much better. But I just see a mess. Some days I feel like a monster.’

Painful: Despite the treatments, Steph, who said she was ‘devastated’ when the breakout occurred, still finds it hard to look at herself in a mirror

Suffering: During the first six weeks of her breakout, the mother (pictured last week) felt ‘debilitating pain’, ‘like a million lightening bolts shooting all across [her] face’

Family: The acne currently means Steph’s children cannot touch her face, which has been a heartbreaking experience for her

Support: Still, the mother has found an ‘amazing’ support system in her husband, her friends, her family and her community as she continues battling the condition

During the first six weeks of her breakout, the mother felt ‘debilitating pain’. 

‘The cysts were so deep they were hitting the nerve endings in my face. The feeling was like a million lightening bolts shooting all across my face,’ she said. ‘I would actually twitch involuntarily. I couldn’t wash my face or touch it. Sometimes I felt so helpless I’d just sit and cry.’

The acne currently means Steph’s children cannot touch her face, which has been a heartbreaking experience for her.

‘It’s been hard to literally coil back in fear as my three-year-old approaches me,’ she said. ‘It’s heartbreaking. He doesn’t really understand. But he will come up to me and pat my arm and tell me I’ll be all better soon.’

Her 11-year-old son, meanwhile, has been ‘really worried but very supportive and loving’.

‘He can understand that I’m sick and need extra rest,’ Steph added. ‘The side effects that come with the Isotretinoin (Accutane) are harsh and exhausting.’

Still, the mother has found comfort in her family and community as she continues battling the condition. 

‘I’ve had an amazing support system through this season in my life,’ she said. ‘My husband, friends, family, my faith and even strangers have kept me going when I thought that there was no way i could.’