Finally happy in my own skin
Teacher Karyn tells how she rediscovered her self-confidence after undergoing laser treatment to remove scars caused by teenage acne
SCARRING caused by teenage acne knocked teacher Karyn Hamilton’s confidence – but now she’s happy in her own skin.
She got a boost after undergoing the latest in laser technology to smooth her face.
Karyn, 26, from Glasgow, said: “It feels amazing and has given me so much more confidence.”
Before, she had tried to cover up her scars with make-up but now she is able to forget about her skin.
Karyn first suffered acne at around the age of 13.
She said: “It got worse as I got older. I tried every cream and tablet but couldn’t find anything that worked.
“I resorted to Roaccutane medication but it made my skin quite red. Eventually my skin went back to normal but I was left with these really deep scars from the acne and my confidence was gone.
“I had a big fringe as I didn’t want anyone to see my skin. It was getting me down. Luckily, no one ever teased me but in my head I worried what other people thought.
“When I started working as a primary teacher, kids would point and ask, ‘What’s that on your face?’ I didn’t know what to say.
“Another time I went for an interview and was sitting there thinking about my skin and worrying about what the interviewers would think of my scars.”
Karyn decided she needed to take action and went to cosmetic surgery clinic La Belle Forme in Glasgow in 2015.
She has undergone a range of treatments – including CO2 laser and specialist skin care – over the past two years to resurface her skin.
Karyn said: “My skin needed to heal in between treatments so I had to keep it covered with sun block and stay out of the sun for a while.”
She had laser treatment during school holidays which resurfaced her skin, initially leaving it very red. Karyn says it took about seven days for her skin to appear normal.
But the result was the skin had plumped up and the dimpled scarring had disappeared.
She said: “There are parts of my face which were scarred before and now there is nothing noticeable. If you didn’t know, you would never guess I’d had anything done.
“Before, when I washed my face, it would go red. That doesn’t happen any more either and it has reduced the size of the pores around my nose.
“Now, I can walk about without make-up. I’m so much more confident because I’m not thinking about my skin anymore – I’m getting on with things.
“Family and friends are so pleased because they can see how happy I am now and how my confidence is up. I’m glad I’ve done it – it was worth it.”
Taimur Shoaib, of La Belle Forme, said: “Acne can be a very debilitating condition and there are two things that we see with it – active acne and acne scarring.
“With active acne, we see inflammation, over-production of sebum, blocked pores and infection. We can target treatments to all four to reduce inflammation, cut down on sebum production, clear the blocked pores and kill off bacteria.
“We use a combination of medical grade skin care, such as Obagi, and the latest in laser technology to treat active acne. When acne goes untreated, we see acne scarring.
“With acne scarring, we need to smooth off the skin to improve the texture and tone of the skin.
“The best methods for doing this involve resurfacing the skin with a CO2 laser. Karyn had this treatment to help smooth some of the acne scarring and also had some medical grade skincare treatment to help treat the active acne that was also present. It’s extremely satisfying to hear how much difference we can make to people’s lives by giving them smooth skin that looks and feels fresh.
“When someone tells us they no longer need to spend their morning applying make-up and feel confident in their own skin, it makes it all worthwhile.” ● For more information, go to www.labelleforme.co.uk or call 0141 552 0828.
I’m so much more confident because I’m not thinking about my skin anymore