Kosta
(Text only clips) Kosta has had acne for about 8 months. His acne can be painful and make him feel awkward sometimes, but he is accepting of his skin condition and thinks that it will go away after puberty.
Kosta has had acne for about 8 months. He remembers first getting some spots around his mouth and down the left side of his face. Most of his acne is on his face but he has recently had some spots on his chest and back which have been uncomfortable. Kosta thinks that his acne has recently become more severe because of irritation from sea water on his summer holidays. He thinks that acne is expected by most teenagers, although he says that not many of his classmates at school have yet hit that stage of puberty.
Kosta saw a doctor in his home country, but he has not seen a GP or dermatologist about acne in the UK. The doctor gave him advice such as to wash his face more and to avoid picking at the skin. He says that the reason he hasn’t seen a doctor in the UK is because he’s mostly accepted having acne and doesn’t know if they could offer any other solutions. Kosta currently uses two kinds of creams for his spots which he bought from a shop. One cream dries out his skin and the second cream cleans off the dried skin. He has been using the combination of treatments at night time for about a year. His face feels very dry and irritated after applying the creams which can make difficult to fall asleep.
Kosta finds that his spots sometimes make his face ache. He has had to stop shaving his face as he finds this can be painful and cause more spots. Sometimes he accidentally scratches his skin which causes bleeding, something which he tends to do more if he’s feeling anxious or annoyed. His skin can also become itchy when he’s sweaty after playing sports, which makes it more likely that he’ll pick at the spots.
Kosta knows that acne can have a big impact on someone’s confidence, although he says that he himself copes well with this. He thinks that a lot of importance is placed on image within teenage society. Kosta thinks that his spots will eventually go and that he just has to be patient in the meantime, but there are a few ways that acne sometimes affects his confidence. For example, he prefers to have photographs on his social media accounts that are at a distance rather than close ups. He also finds that it can be awkward hanging out with girls and having photographs taken of him whilst he is performing with his band.