Anna Smith, 24, is air stewardess. She's single and lives in Eastbourne.

LAST week I came back from my first US flight as an air stewardess. This is the job I had always wanted but even in my wildest dreams never imagined I'd achieve because I has such terrible acne.

I wouldn't have even gone for an interview as it would have been too embarrassing.

The strange thing is, I never had acne at all in my teens. I was 20 when I developed
some spots which I assumed were something to do with my diet. I stopped eating wheat
and started drinking a lot of water but nothing changed and the spots grew worse. They
looked like boils and my face was very red and swollen.

I tried all sorts of lotions, potions and prescription drugs but nothing helped, causing me
to become self-conscious and miserable. I felt ashamed when people looked at me and
hated anyone coming close. I hit a real low when I overheard a guy telling his friend; "She
wouldn't be too bad if she wasn't so spotty."

I found having relationships with men particularly difficult. I covered up the spots with
heavy foundation and although it initially helped all I wanted was to look fresh-faced and
tanned. In the end the foundation started clogging up my pores, making my skin even
worse.

After university, I took time off to go travelling in Australia and was excited because I
was sure the sun would heal the spots. But nothing changed and I came home after six
months disappointed and depressed because it seemed nothing would cure this dreadful
affliction.

It was my aunt Jo who, last year, suggested I went to a clinic in Harley Street because a
friend of hers had taken her daughter there with terrific results.

I took her advice and was put on a regime which involved going there for three
treatments of pulsed dye laser called NLite, each three weeks apart, to kill the bacteria
which causes acne and rebuild the collagen in the skin.

The next step was three gentle Glycolic Aid peels, each a month apart, to remove
scarring and even up the skin's appearance.

At first, I was disappointed because nothing seemed to change. The treatment was pain
free and I concluded it couldn't be working. However, after the second NLite session, the
redness had calmed down and I could see a good improvement.

Five months later, once I'd had all the treatments, my skin had completely cleared so I
decided to try and fulfil my ambition by applying for training to become an air stewardess.

As I looked at myself in the mirror before my first flight as a stewardess, admiring my
Virgin Atlantic uniform, I smiled at the irony. Never in a million years would I have put on
a bright red outfit when I had a faceful of acne. The fact I can now do this seems like a
symbol of how my life has changes.

NLite from £100 per treatment. Glycolic Peel £150.


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Nearest Underground stations are: Regent's Park, Oxford Circus, Baker Street and Great Portland Street
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St.James's Building, 79 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 6EJ
Nearest British Rail Station: Oxford Road
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EMAIL: data@theprivateclinic.co.uk

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