Alix Earle has called out her acne as the reason behind her TikTok success

Unless you were one of her very Earle-y fans (sorry, we had to), you mightn’t be familiar with Alix Earle's origin story. In other words, how she came to be an overnight TikTok star. The 5.7 million followers, celebrity friends and endless brand deals didn't arrive on day dot. In fact, it wasn't until Earle ditched the polished, overly-curated content in place of documenting her acne struggles (and her covetable makeup routine) that things really took off. 

“When I started out, I had no idea and I was trying to be picture perfect,” she shared during an interview on The Howard Stern Show. “I thought that was the way to go, then it honestly was the summer when I was at probably at my lowest point. I was dealing with a bunch of acne and I started posting about it.” The rest is history. 

For those who haven't been following along on TikTok, here's exactly how Earle transformed her skin and the side effects she experienced along the way.

How did Alix Earle treat her acne?

A year on since her acne was arguably at its worst, Earle’s skin is looking as though it’s made a complete 180. “This time last year I would cry three times a day. I did not want to leave my house. It’s also painful, your whole face hurts. My self-confidence was negative 1000,” she recalled during a recent TikTok.

Which begs the question, how’d she do it? Well, just as she was open with her struggles, she’s been equally as honest with her journey to turning it around.

Though she says the initial catalyst to the breakouts was a hormonal imbalance, it was the anti-acne, prescription drug Accutane that helped Earle get her complexion back in check.

 “That stuff clears you right up. It’s amazing.”

What side effects did Alix Earle notice taking Accutane?

In terms of side effects, Earle revealed that her lips were very dry but “manageable”, she experienced regular nose bleeds and though she “never had a problem with my mood or anything” during her first round, the second round presented its own set of mental challenges.

“I keep going through little spurts of feeling really sad,” she said. “Like I’ll just want to cry and I’m not a big crier so I don’t know what’s going on with that.” One positive, however? Due to the reduction in oil that her skin was now producing, hair wash day became few and far between. 

“The more that we start to normalise acne and having imperfections in your skin the less insecure people are going to feel about it.” Preach.

Main image credit: @alixearle

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