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Keke Palmer has always been open about many things pertaining to her beauty journey [3], but the actress recently got real about what it's like to struggle with PCOS-related acne in a lengthy Instagram post [4]. On Dec. 1, Palmer took to the platform to share a photo of her blemishes, discussing how difficult it had been for her to nail down what was causing her breakouts until recently.
"Poly Cystic Ovarian syndrome has been attacking me from the inside out my entire life and I had no idea," she wrote. "My acne has been so bad that people in my field offered to pay for me to get it fixed. I tried EVERYTHING. I did Accutane TWICE."
PCOS is a hormone disorder [5] that affects women in their reproductive years. As the NHS [6] explains, a few common symptoms are "irregular periods or no periods at all", as well as acne and excessive hair growth (usually on the face, chest, back, or bum). Palmer also explained that some of her peers advised that drinking more water would clear her skin — a very common misconception that's been debunked by experts in the skin-care community — and that, overall, getting a proper diagnosis proved to be difficult for her because she's a seemingly healthy 20-something.
"It took ME taking a personal look into my family that has a history of diabetes and obesity, to understand what was ACTUALLY happening with me. And unfortunately doctors are people and if you don't 'look the part' they may not think that's your problem," she wrote. "They may not even suggest it if you 'look healthy' whatever that means!" The actress ended up having to do a lot of her own research that she later brought to a doctor before they were able to narrow down the issue. While she isn't condoning that you believe everything you read after Googling your symptoms, she notes that her point was to share how "no one can help us like we can help ourselves."
Palmer went on to express her gratitude for having the resources to seek out help for her problem before wrapping things up with a hopeful message for her followers. "The least harmful thing PCOS can bring is acne," she wrote. "To all the people struggling with this please know you're not alone and that you are still so fucking fine! MY ACNE AINT NEVER STOPPED ME. But we don't have accept this. Now I can really help KEKE! And I love her so it's ON."
Read Palmer's full caption above.