She may be a stunning supermodel, gracing billboards and high-fashion photo shoots, but Kendall Jenner was once an awkward, acne-covered teenager, just like Us!
In a new post on her personal webpage, the 19-year-old Keeping Up With the Kardashians star reflected on her transitional phase and the effects it had on her self-esteem when she was growing up in a family in the spotlight.
“Where it really impacted me was how self-conscious I became about it,” Jenner wrote. “It completely ruined my self-esteem. I wouldn’t even look at people when I talked to them. I felt like such an outcast; when I spoke, it was with my hand covering my face.”
Fortunately, her famous family was there for her during the difficult time, and she had three older sisters — Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian — who had already experienced similar acne issues.
“I was thankful we always talked about it in my family,” the Vogue model continued. “They would help me work on my feelings about it and how I would move past that stage of my life. I remember on Christmas Eve one year, I was sitting in my bedroom upstairs crying and Kim walked in and we talked about it together — she felt so bad for me.”
Jenner noted that her sisters encouraged her to “keep my hands off my face and to never pick,” which is why she has such flawless skin today. She also went to a dermatologist and began doing Laser Genesis, a treatment to help reduce wrinkles, large pores, redness, and scars.
Noting that she’s been acne-free for three years, Jenner added, “Slowly, I’m working towards not caring and I’m just in so much of a better place about it all now that I’m older. I realized that it’s a part of life for some people and it doesn’t define who you are.”
