BEAUTY

Aussie Model Georgia Gibbs Bravely Opens Up About Her Acne Battle

"I felt a responsibility to share my flaws"

For Aussie model Georgia Gibbs, life seems pretty perfect. That’s why, after sharing a raw picture of her skin transformation to her 600,000 Instagram followers, she quickly went viral. 

With a busy career as a successful model, including on the pages of Sports Illustrated, as well as having co-founded Any Body Co, Gibbs found herself suffering from adult acne. “As a founder of a project that encourages all women to embrace what society deems as ‘flaws’ I felt a responsibility to share them because I knew thousands of people were suffering with their skin too and sometimes seeing one person sharing that hard time with you can make all the difference,” Georgia told marie claire Australia. “I’ve never felt more isolated than when my skin was at its worst, it was such a shock to the system that for a while I avoided my boyfriend and friends.

RELATED: Elyse Knowles And Georgia Gibbs Get Brutally Honest About Their Acne Battles

Gibbs’ and co-founder Kate Wasley created Any Body Co as a platform to help women of all shapes and sizes feel comfortable in their own skin. Despite Wasley having stepped aside from the project, Gibbs still passionately advocates for body positivity through the channels social media page and felt a responsibility to share her own insecurities. 

“I refused to even FaceTime my mum because I was so in my head about what people would think. I truly never want another person to isolate themselves because of their health or their skin and I felt if I shared my struggle maybe they would feel okay to embrace their struggles too,” Gibbs added. “My face is my work, it’s how I make money, my appearance is what I depend on to keep me afloat, this experience truly taught how it feels to have that stripped from me and taught me to truly embrace that I am more than my appearance.” 

Speaking in a YouTube video about the ordeal, Gibbs explains that focusing on her mental wellbeing manifested positive results for her physical wellbeing. 

“I’m so grateful for this experience, I’ve grown so much as a woman. It made me realise my passion for mental, emotional and physical wellness and the priority mental health needs to take in our busy lives,” she says. “People that haven’t suffered from a skin condition will see it as a first world superficial problem, I see that, but when you’re in it, it’s the toll it takes on your mental health that really needs addressing and support from the people around you.” 

On top of hugely successful Any Body Co., Georgia will be releasing her own program Joy, an online platform that gives women the tools, education and confidence to empower. 

WATCH: Signs You Need To Change Your Diet. 

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