A Canterbury student has opened up about her battle with severe and painful acne.

At one point, Ellie Smith, 21, says the spots she first developed as a teen, which later became aggressive red cysts, made her feel so self-conscious she wouldn’t leave her house without covering her face with make-up.

The primary education student at Christ Church University, now in her final year, would avoid nights out and always edited pictures to cover up her blemishes.

“I got acne like any other teenager when I was 15. But while everyone else’s skin started to clear up by the time we took A-levels, mine just got worse and worse,” she said.

“By the time I was 20 and had started university, my normal teen acne had turned into severe cystic acne. My face was constantly red and sore and very painful to even touch.

“I went from wearing not much make-up at all even when I went out to feeling like I had to wear full coverage make-up all the time, even to pop down to the shops.

“When out with friends I used to think everyone was looking at my face. No-one ever said anything, but I was always nervous people were looking or saying something about it.”

Ellie, who also works at a nursery, first sought help from doctors at the end of 2016.

“It’s awful to live with and is very uncomfortable, I don’t think other people realise how painful it can be,” she continues.

Although antibiotics helped bring the cysts under control, Ellie says her acne would often come back even worse when she stopped taking them.

“I was always constantly going back to the doctors,” she explained.

Despite her boyfriend Ryan’s support - who she met when her skin was at its worst last year - helping to improve her confidence significantly, she still felt like she had to wear thick make-up wherever she went.

But at the start of this year, she discovered skincare brand Clarol’s Silver Serum, which re-balances the skin’s natural bacteria, after her mother came across the product in a magazine.

In just four weeks, Ellie says her spots began to reduce and her skin started to feel smoother, and she now feels confident enough to go to university and work without any make-up.

“It's a lot less harsh on my skin. With other products, especially face-washes, I would always feel like it was stripping my skin, but this works really nicely,” she continued.

“I would say the improvements have been at least as good as the acne medications I have taken in the past but without any negative side effects.

“My friends have really noticed the difference.

“The fact that they are mentioning my skin really shows its positive effect on me as normally I think they kept off the subject.

“I feel more confident to go out, and I wear less make-up. People compliment my skin and it’s been a real confidence boost.”

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