RTE’s Laura Fox talks about painful back acne struggle and Roaccutane journey

Laura Fox is one of RTE’s most prominent young stars as the host of her own 2FM show and presenter of Ireland’s Fittest Family.

In the new issue of RSVP Magazine, Laura opened up about her skincare secrets and shared her painful struggle with acne.

After partnering with gentle skincare brand Human+Kind, Laura explained that she has very sensitive skin.

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“To be completely honest, skincare – especially my body skincare – is very hard for me to manage. I have got incredibly sensitive skin. If I try anything that remotely doesn’t suit me I will break out in a big red rash, eczema, I’ll get crackly hard skin.

“I’m also on Roaccutane [a strong prescription medication to treat severe acne] so I need something that is very moisturising, I have to moisturise my body twice a day. But even prior to being on Roaccutane, my skin is super sensitive.

“I asked Human+Kind if they could send me out some testers of everything they had to make sure it actually suited me, and my skin just drank it up. It was phenomenal. It worked for me and then I was begging for more. I really like their ethos across everything, it’s not just the formula, it’s the packaging.

“We all know coming up to Christmas, everything is packaged so nicely, but it weighs a lot and there’s so much waste. Theirs is made from sugarcane and it’s traceable, it can go in the recycling bin and all that. So they’re doing everything right inside and out”.

Laura has been taking Roaccutane for three months, but she’s always struggled with acne.

“I have had severe back acne for most of my life – more so than facial acne. I don’t remember a time where I haven’t had back acne. I had been on the waitlist for it all summer, way before I got engaged. I finally got in with a dermatologist and she took one look at me and said, ‘You’re never going to get rid of this on your own’.

“I always get breakouts all around my chin, but when I was 28 I broke out in a full face of acne, so because of that I had accepted that four or five little spots on my face all the time was fine. Like it could have been worse.

"But my back was always really bothering me, they were like boils and it would hurt if a bra strap hit off it or if I was rolling over in bed. I’m three months into it now and I haven’t seen any new spots, but with that comes some downsides.

“Your skin is quite dry, but I think because I’ve always been so meticulous with moisturising my body anyway, it’s not that big of a deal for me to keep on top of it. It’s not a linear route in any form, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, but so far it’s going really well”.

• Laura is an ambassador for Human+Kind. Their Christmas gift sets are available to pre-order and purchase online at humanandkind.com and stockists nationwide.

Read the full interview in this month's issue of RSVP Magazine - on shelves now