In medical terms acne is a non-serious condition because it isn't life threatening. However it's a condition that can ruin people's lives, sometimes driving sufferers to depression, chronic insecurity and, in the most tragic of cases, even suicide.
Here one brave young woman talks about her acne journey and how it left her so insecure she didn't have a relationship with a man until her 20's, after Silver Serum helped turn her life around after her skin dramatically improved from using it. Charlotte Hall, 26, is a legal secretary from Ashford, Kent Charlotte says: "If anyone was to ask me what the worst thing is that remember about growing up, it would be acne. Acne ruined most of my teens and my early 20's. And when I say ruined, I mean it literally ruined my life. I first started getting acne when I was 12 years old. My skin was incredibly oily and at school I used to have to go to the bathroom every hour or so to blot my skin with tissue and apply talcum powder to soak up the oil. I have a twin brother and he also got acne but it was much milder than mine and much later. Neither of my parents had it. I was basically the only one. People used to laugh at me because my face looked so oily. I’d wear gallons of make-up to try and cover up my acne but it would slide off my face within a few hours and I’d have to replace it. I could never wash my face at school as I was worried about anyone seeing my skin without make up. I even wore make up in my house as I didn’t want my parents or my brother to see me bare-faced. From the age of about 18 onward I hardly dared to leave my house because I was so self-conscious about my skin. I couldn’t even speak to boys, let alone go on a date or be intimate in any way. When all my friends were dating and falling in love. I hadn't even kissed a boy let alone had a boyfriend. My boyfriend, Constantin, is the first and only boyfriend I’ve ever had. We met very briefly when I was 14, he was on a school exchange at my school. I was very shy when we spoke and back then my acne hadn't even reached its height. He could see how hard I found it to speak to him so he asked for my address so he could write to me. He began writing to me as soon as he returned back to Germany and continued to do so for the next ten years despite never seeing me again. Even though when I met him I barely said a word, I found writing back to him easier because he couldn’t see my face. He always wrote that he wanted to see me again, but I always refused even though I really liked him. I was just too anxious about my skin to agree to seeing him. It took ten years ten years before I finally agreed to go on a date with him. During our correspondence, I went to hell and back with my acne. I lost friendships over my acne. I had friends take it personally as they didn't understand why I didn't want to go out clubbing or meet up, people thought I was unfriendly. . I wouldn’t even do sleep overs at friends or anything like that. People thought I was super anti-social and strange but it was all linked to my skin. By my late teens my acne had gone from bad to worse and I’d developed a serious social phobia about going out at all. I was deeply psychologically scarred about my skin. I didn’t even like to go down to the corner shop near my house. Going to school was an emotional hurdle every day. My dermatologist told me I was the worst case of acne he’d ever seen. I was prescribed hormone pills, antibiotics, prescription creams and gels. Everything you can possibly imagine. They also tried me on the contraceptive pill even though I’d never had sex. Nothing worked and so in my first year of university, I was prescribed Accutane. I went from feeling very down to feeling extremely depressed. I almost left university as I just couldn't cope. I felt tired, depressed and ill all the time. After six months I had to come off Accutane as I had already been on it longer than is recommended and as a result I’ve been left with permanently dry eyes and dry lips. When I smiled or laughed it caused all my skin on my lips and around the corners of my mouth to crack, bleed and peel off. After the Accutane I then tried a course of microdermabrasion and light therapy, which improved my skin a bit but it was such agony to have the treatments. It was like being shot in the face several times, I was crying so much I couldn't carry on. After the therapy I felt drained. I’d been through so much pain and had been feeling so ill for so long I just wanted to stop everything and just let my body 'breath' for a moment. It was while reading endless blogs and articles on-line while shut away in my room that I came across Silver Serum. I had read about so many miracle cures for acne, but this product seemed to be taking a completely different approach. Instead of promising to zap zits or dry up sebum, it was saying that it helped increase the skin’s good bacteria which would help the skin to naturally fight the acne bacteria. I didn’t even know we had good bacteria on the skin. After reading about it, I realised that mine must have been non-existent after all the strong anti-bacterial medications and products I had used over the years. I read the many reviews on the website about Silver Serum to see what others had say and the more I read the more I felt convinced that this product seemed worth a try. I wasn't expecting amazing results, even if it helped a bit I'd have been grateful. So imagine my utter amazement when within a week I could start to see a serious difference. The redness and inflammation had started to calm down. Within two weeks my actual spots had started to decrease. Within two months of daily use only using Silver Serum, my skin improved by about 60%, which is incredible. I was using Silver Serum on its own, but recently I have been using it in combination with a weak retinol cream that someone on another blog had recommended and it’s like a magic combination. My skin has got even better. I'd say its now about 90% better than it was. I still cannot believe it and I keep thinking it’s just a phase or a fluke but my skin has now been totally clear for a year. When people look at me now I don't think they would say I have acne. In fact a few people have even told me I have lovely skin. It wasn’t until my skin began to heal after I discovered Silver Serum, that I finally built up the courage to go and visit Constantin in Germany. It was such a huge step for me and I was wracked with anxiety about staying with him and him seeing my skin without full make up as it was not entirely healed at that point, although it was so much better than it had been. Even now Constantin is still the only adult outside my family who I allow to see me without make up. When we finally met again as adults it was love at first sight. I felt he had been waiting patiently for me for all those years until I was ready. I only realise now how incredibly romantic that is. Although I’m still very insecure about my skin, Constantin is completely aware of my insecurities and anxiety and helps me deal with it. He’s always telling me that I’m beautiful. Aside from falling in love with Constantin, my entire world has changed since my acne cleared up. I started actually talking to friends and began tentatively going out now and then, just to the pub down the road from my house to begin with and then further afield. I also began to take an interest in my clothes and even started letting myself be photographed. These might seem like nothing but they were huge steps for me. Going to see Constantin also gave me a lust to travel. I had not even been on an aeroplane before. I’m still emotionally healing and I know that my struggle is not over yet but I’m getting there. Acne t ends up being the thing that defines you. To have the first reaction of most people being a horrified stare is something that leaves scars not just on your skin but emotionally. I’m still trying to get over the devastating effect it's had on my life. I feel very lucky that I managed to find something that worked for my acne and that I'm now able to get on with my life. I also feel very blessed to have a relationship with someone who has shown such incredible patience and dedication. I'm sure may people suffering from acne don't get the kind of understanding from others that's so crucial to helping deal with it."