A young model has bravely revealed how she overcame a life-long battle with insecurities over her acne and stretch marks by putting them on show for the world in an unretouched swimwear campaign.
Nia Pettitt, 20, is one of several stunning stars in fashion brand Aerie’s un-edited new ads, posing proudly in different swimwear designs. But while the British and Zimbabwean model looks carefree and confident in the pictures, she has revealed that it took her a long time to feel so happy in herself.
Nia shared a heartfelt message with her 413,000 Instagram followers – while also posting it on Twitter – in which she candidly detailed her struggle to accept her flaws, revealing that they once reduced her to tears whenever she looked in the mirror.
Brave: British model Nia Pettitt shared a brave Instagram post about how she has dealt with insecurities like stretch marks and acne her whole life
Moving on: The 20-year-old explained that she finally learned to love her scars and marks after putting them on full show in a recent un-edited swimwear campaign for Aerie
Positive message: Nia revealed on Twitter that she once ‘cried’ about her bacne and her stretch marks – but she is proud to be ‘flaunting’ them in the stunning new shoot
The beauty and lifestyle blogger posted two photos of herself from the new Aerie campaign alongside a post which read: ‘I used to cry in front of the mirror about my bacne.
‘I never used to wear anything that showed my back and I always covered my bum because of my stretch marks. Now I’m on Aerie flaunting them.’
In an additional Instagram caption she added: ‘I remember when I was seven, acne started to show on my face and I used to get bullied in school all the time about it. It didn’t go till I was 17 but by that time it had spread onto my back.
‘I used to be so self-conscience. I remember going to a party and wearing this cute dress but I had to find a sweater to put on over it because it showed my back. Then when my little cakes decided to show, wearing bikinis was never a thing.
‘I would always cover up and feel ashamed of my skin. In changing rooms, I’d always deter from looking too intensely at myself or I’d end up pointing out every single flaw on my skin.
‘I’ve had family members emphasize it to me at occasions and it took me so long to finally embrace and accept it. Yet, despite all of that I am now about to be all over America with Aerie flaunting my lines of love.
Carefree: Model Nia also models other designs in the campaign, including comfy-looking sweatpants and a sweatshirt
Acne: The beauty and lifestyle blogger wrote in her post that she suffered from acne on her face and back and used to never wear clothes that showed her back
Bikini: As well as suffering from acne, Nia shared that she was always insecure about all of her stretch marks and would cover them all the time, but has learned to love them
‘If you have them, rock them. Look in the mirror the next time you get dressed and tell every stretch mark and every acne scar that it is a part of the magic that makes you, you.
‘Wear that dress without worrying about what people will think. Wear that bikini without hesitation. You got this baby girl. You got this Queen.’
And it was this touching confession about her insecurities that has really touched people, prompting an outpouring of praise from followers around the world.
Not only did Nia open up about all of the hardships she experienced due to her stretch marks and acne, she sent a message to all insecure girls out there that it’s ok to look the way you do and embrace whatever skin you’re in.
When Aerie made the switch to stop photo-shopping their models in 2014, many consumers were skeptical, but the models, who had to show every inch of their skin were especially timid.
Natural beauty: Nia has become much more confident about her body in recent months and happily poses in bikinis on her Instagram account
Happy as can be: The model’s carefree attitude and open honesty have earned her hundreds of thousands of fans online
Strike a pose: She confessed that she used to hide her body – but now knows she is beautiful in her own way
Nia shared what it felt like to be a part of the campaign, telling Cosmopolitan, ‘I’ve never done a shoot where they let you be 100 per cent yourself.
‘There’s usually such a focus on makeup or a glam squad, but Aerie is all about being natural, and I hadn’t experienced that.’
Since posting her Instagram, it has immediately gone viral with almost 18,000 likes and tons of positive comments with people praising and thanking her.
Some of the comments included, ‘Thank you for showcasing your raw, unfiltered beauty, it’s truly an inspiration,’ and ‘I absolutely love you. There needs to be more people like you in this world.’
One user thanked Nia saying, ‘That gave me so much confidence because you are a beautiful woman and I would have never know that about you. Now I will try to come out of my shell more, thank you.’
However, her Instagram feed wasn’t always filled with positive comments from people. She shared to Cosmo, ‘Before, I would see every comment of people saying, “You’re ugly” or, “Your hair is fake.” I was so consumed by it, and it wasn’t healthy.’