{"id":3145,"date":"2022-01-30T00:39:42","date_gmt":"2022-01-30T08:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/?p=3145"},"modified":"2025-06-25T16:38:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T23:38:00","slug":"the-great-skin-de-stressing-of-2022-meet-the-skinfluencer-behind-the-freethepimple-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/the-great-skin-de-stressing-of-2022-meet-the-skinfluencer-behind-the-freethepimple-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"The great skin de-stressing of 2022: Meet the skinfluencer behind the #freethepimple movement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The vicious skin-stress loop: We stress when our skin is less than desirable, but stressing about skin inevitably worsens skin. London-based skin activist and acne influencer Lou Northcote<\/a> knows that cycle all too well, but instead of succumbing to it, she bared her blemishes and invited others to show theirs, too.  

After bouts with cystic acne shut down her modeling career in 2018, the 25-year-old turned to social media, where she boldly posted a makeup-free photo of herself along with #freethepimple\u2014and a new movement was born. Today, the hashtag is attached to 35,000+ Instagram posts from people all over the world sharing photos, videos and stories about their acne experiences. Northcote manages the @freethepimple<\/a> account, where she posts these stories, as well as her personal account, where she chronicles her own skin journey. We chatted with her via Zoom to find out how she copes with stress and how she maintains skin positivity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Lou | real\/acne skin awareness (@lounorthcote)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote> \n\n\n\n

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2021 was a stressful year for a lot of people. What has the year been like for you in terms of stress?  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lou Northcote: <\/em>Working from home, you spend more time on your computer than ever, which has been my problem when it comes to stress. I will sit there the whole day without taking a break. Also, my family is not in this country, so I haven\u2019t seen them in more than two years. I have no idea when I\u2019m going to see them next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress can manifest in different ways. What does stress look like for you and particularly for your skin? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Northcote:<\/em> For me, stress looks like ignoring myself. I will spend too much time doing something that I forget to drink water or eat. Or if I do eat, it\u2019s not the best, most nutritious food. I\u2019m quite an anxious person and over-thinker, which doesn\u2019t help.  

Because I\u2019m acne-prone, as much as I\u2019ve taken medication for my skin, it\u2019s not all gone, and I still get breakouts here and there from being inside and wearing masks. It\u2019s all about understanding what my triggers are, drinking more water and remembering to look after my body\u2014otherwise it shows up on my skin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you like to de-stress? Have you developed any new practices or habits to help relax? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Northcote:<\/em> I\u2019ve made it a practice to go for a walk every day. I don\u2019t think about anything. I\u2019m not on my phone. I just walk. I also like to take the time for myself to do skincare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell us about your de-stressing skincare routine. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Northcote:<\/em> I love doing a very long routine to de-stress. I start with running a bath using bath oils because I come out soft and it smells luxurious. When I\u2019m in the bath, I put on a mask, usually something quite hydrating. Then I do a full routine, starting with an exfoliant, serum and eye cream. I love moisturizer\u2014I usually use a gel moisturizer because you get that cooling aspect. I love facial massage using jade rollers or a vibrating T-bar. Your skin feels more flushed and alive. Then I\u2019ll finish off with oils. I joke that I look like a glazed donut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a skin activist who regularly shares your experiences, as well those of others on @freethepimple, what are the challenges to embracing skin positivity? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Northcote<\/em>: It\u2019s a roller coaster. I think people believe that skin positivity means waking up every day and saying, \u201cI\u2019m happy with my skin.\u201d It\u2019s not always that because we are human. You have days when your mind is completely different. You\u2019ll see an image that makes you feel bad. We all have ups and downs.  

Not to oversimplify, but for me, it comes down to just looking after your skin. If you can hydrate and exfoliate your skin, you\u2019d be surprised what you can actually overcome. And you\u2019ll get to a point where you don\u2019t care what people think and you can go makeup-free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve received when it comes to loving the skin you\u2019re in?  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Northcote:<\/em> I spent all my time when I was younger focusing on my skin. Because I had acne, I thought it meant I wasn\u2019t worthy of having friends or a boyfriend or I wouldn\u2019t get a job. I really thought all those things wouldn\u2019t be attainable. People have always said: \u201cYou are more than your skin.\u201d So I started focusing on that and being myself, and it changed how I lived my life. I realized it wasn\u2019t about my skin. It sounds so obvious when I say it, but you always just have to remember that life is about so much more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more Q&As in our series, \u201cThe great skin de-stressing of 2022\u201d: <\/strong>
\u201cWhy cosmetic acupuncture should be on your self-care radar,<\/a>\u201d featuring licensed cosmetic acupuncturist and herbalist Daphne Lim 
\u201cChecking in on mental health before a cosmetic procedure? One of L.A.\u2019s top RN\u2019s mission to transform the industry,\u201d<\/a> featuring celeb-sought medical aesthetic provider and registered nurse Vanessa Lee 
“A rising DermTok star shares how NOT to get skincare-scammed on social media,”<\/a> featuring board-certified dermatologist Mark Strom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The vicious skin-stress loop: We stress when our skin is less than desirable, but stressing about skin inevitably worsens skin. London-based skin activist and acne influencer Lou Northcote knows that cycle all too well, but instead of succumbing to it, she bared her blemishes and invited others to show theirs, too.   After bouts with cystic acne shut down her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":3278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-skin"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1750894682:21"],"_edit_last":["21"],"adobe_analytics_repeatable":["a:1:{i:0;a:2:{s:4:\"name\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"value\";s:0:\"\";}}"],"show_featured_image":["1"],"_show_featured_image":["field_609ee1cf1ce13"],"primary_category":["5"],"_primary_category":["field_608c33bdd26d5"],"mobile_image":[""],"_mobile_image":["field_60bf7692abe28"],"_post_views_count":["field_6107dfafd6a27"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["4"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["5"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["90"],"post_views_count":["3818"],"_wp_old_date":["2022-01-27"],"_thumbnail_id":["3278"],"sidebar_products_use_global_default":["0"],"_sidebar_products_use_global_default":["field_63a349a11086a"],"sidebar_products_title":["Related Products"],"_sidebar_products_title":["field_6408d62123449"],"sidebar_products_items":[""],"_sidebar_products_items":["field_63a349a110878"],"sidebar_products":[""],"_sidebar_products":["field_63a349a0dadad"],"_yoast_wpseo_title":["Inside the \"free the pimple\" movement | Murad Skincare"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Meet the skinfluencer behind #freethepimple movement. Acne acceptance and breaking beauty standards for real skin positivity."]},"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":{"show_featured_image":true,"primary_category":{"term_id":5,"name":"Skin","slug":"skin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":238,"filter":"raw"},"mobile_image":false,"post_views_count":"3818","sidebar_products":{"use_global_default":false,"title":"Related Products","items":""}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3145"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13524,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions\/13524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/3278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}