As a beauty queen Lauren Parkinson has travelled the world and stayed in some of the most luxurious hotels on the planet.
The former Grand Miss Wales winner seemed full of confidence but her world fell apart when she suddenly developed extreme acne while competing in an international beauty pageant.
Lauren just wanted to shut herself away and hid her skin issues behind make-up and social media filters - never revealing her true face.
But now the 24-year-old had bravely decided to share her 'true' skin with the world - and has been stunned by the response.
Lauren, from Chirk, North Wales, is now preparing to compete in the prestigious Miss Wales contest next month and has her sights set on the Miss World title.
She said: "You shouldn’t have to hide away from acne. I’m very guilty of over-editing pictures and feeling like I need to airbrush pictures to be at a certain standard for social media, until I just decided one day that I couldn’t carry on doing that.
"I’ve had parents contacting me saying I’ve really helped their kids and teenagers saying I’ve made them feel much better."
Lauren had suffered with mild acne when she was a teenager but took it all in her stride.
She said: "Having the odd spot or two can be irritating, but bearable. It was no big deal, really.
"A lot of my friends were experiencing greasy skin and spots etc. It did make me self-conscious, but it wasn’t really a problem.
"It was only when I got into to my twenties that it really started to get out of hand. They seemed to come with a vengeance."
But then in October 2018, while she was at a huge event in Myanmar, South East Asia, Lauren's face erupted in acne.
She said: "I had to cover up the best I could and go out on stage in front of thousands of people.
"My face was plastered over internet sites and social media pages with millions of followers.
"The stress of being in such a massive spotlight was almost too much to bear.”
"I had negative comments and people pointing the finger at me because of my spots.
"It was horrendous. I felt like I could not go out without people staring at me."
Her GP prescribed several different types of antibiotics but nothing seemed to work and Lauren was sent to hospital to see a dermatologist.
She said: "I was put on Roaccutane, which is a very controversial drug. It can cause severe depression and psychosis among other harsh side effects.
"I couldn’t wear make-up during the drug treatment because it could make my acne worse.
"So, I was avoiding it in everyday life unless I was going to an event which meant I would have to wear it.
"I was working without wearing make-up and some of the comments I received from people were quite nasty.
"I remember over-hearing a woman saying to her young daughter ‘look at her face’.
"Other times people would stop in the supermarket and give me advice. I felt like I was dying inside. I just wanted to be left alone.
"The medication works by bringing the acne out more before it gets better, so I had to deal with comments like that. It can knock your confidence at times."
But after shutting herself away, Lauren decided to bare all in social media and talk openly about acne.
She started sharing her story and her photos in in a bid to encourage people to not feel ashamed.
She said: "When competing in beauty pageants, you’re doing things where you have to present yourself to a certain standard, so that was difficult.
"It can knock your confidence when you have to face every day with acne on your face.
"I’ve shared through social media before and after pictures, and kept people updated throughout the progress.
"Parents of younger girls got in touch with me to say their daughters had been struggling with acne and seeing me being so open about it and honest has helped them to deal with it.
“It’s not something that you have to hide behind, it’s something you just have to learn to embrace because it does get better.
“You shouldn’t have to hide away from it. I just decided it was best to confront it."
And she has words of warning for people who rely on social media for a confidence boost.
Lauren said: "Social media makes it quite difficult for younger people, because they can often feel there is such a high standard that they have to achieve.”
"My friends and family, in particular my mum and two best friends, helped me to get through the difficult periods of having acne.
"Being on the medication meant I wasn’t an easy person to deal with at times, but knowing they were there to talk to helped me to come to terms with it.
"Having people say to me how much better my skin looked over time helped my confidence to grow so much.
"Everyone’s different and some people might be more comfortable being open than others, so I wouldn’t recommend opening up about it until you’re ready to do that.
"But there are support pages on social media, and if people want to reach out to me on social media, I’m always happy to help."
Acne affects around 95 per cent of people between the ages of 11 and 30 in the UK according to the NHS, with the condition ranging from mild to severe.
