Lena Dunham talks rosacea and acne in new essay

It’s not just teenagers who struggle with acne; even 30-something-year-old celebrities get self-esteem-shattering breakouts.

In an essay titled ‘My Perfect F***ing Skin’ in her newsletter Lenny Letter, Lena Dunham, 31, opens up about her complexion issues.

‘I really thought I never cared what I looked like,’ the Girls creator wrote before revealing how her recent encounters with acne and rosacea have affected her confidence.

Free the pimple: Lena Dunham, 31, pictured with boyfriend Jack Antonoff, detailed her struggles with acne and rosacea in the most recent edition of her newsletter, Lenny Letter

In the essay, Lena explains that she’s always had ‘good skin’ and that she often received compliments on her clear complexion. ‘Sometimes I forgot to wash my face, and I still glowed. It started to feel like a superpower,’ she said. 

It’s thanks to her endometriosis and an accompanying autoimmune disease that she’s now been diagnosed with rosacea and has acne on her shoulders and back.

‘My face felt like someone had given it a nice, slow sandpaper massage by candlelight,’ she said.

Kristin Chenoweth, 49, a spokesperson for the facial redness-controlling topical cream Rhofade, recently revealed that she’s been battling rosacea for much of her career, too.

‘I started to notice red bumps popping up on my cheeks and forehead. Maybe it was all the stage makeup, the travel, airplanes, different hotels, different climates, different running water. These have all become huge triggers for my constant rosacea,’ she told refinery29.com. 

Getting real: Kim Kardashian, 36, opened up about dealing with psoriasis, which is visible on her left shin, on her app last year

Getting real: Kim Kardashian, 36, opened up about dealing with psoriasis, which is visible on her left shin, on her app last year

Keeping it real: Kim Kardashian, 36, opened up about dealing with psoriasis, which is visible on her left shin, on her app last year

Bella Thorne, 20, hasn't been afraid to discuss zits on social media. 'It is normal to have acne. EVERY1 does!' she wrote on Instagram earlier this year

Kylie Jenner, 20, hasn't been afraid to discuss zits on social media

Owning it: Bella Thorne and Kylie Jenner, both 20, haven’t been afraid to discuss zits on social media. ‘It is normal to have acne. EVERY1 does!’ Bella wrote on Instagram earlier this year

Kim Kardashian has taken to her app to reveal why she’s no longer covering up her psoriasis (‘I’m learning to just accept it as part of who I am.’) and other celebrities, like her sister Kylie Jenner, Lucy Hale and Bella Thorne, have proudly posted pictures of themselves wearing pimple cream on social media.

Despite her frustration, Lena acknowledges how lucky she and other famous females are to have ‘the resources to deal in every possible way,’ referring to top dermatologists and pricey skincare treatments.

‘I’m starting to believe that speaking this pain aloud isn’t just good for my own healing,’ she said, adding that she hopes young women with similar issues will take comfort in the fact that ‘nobody is immune’. 

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