Keke Palmer Shows Her Acne After Learning She Has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: 'You're Not Alone'

Keke Palmer is showing her acne in the hopes of helping others who are also struggling with their skin.

The Hustlers star, 27, posted three bare-faced selfies on Instagram and shared that after years of trying to get rid of her acne and working with doctors to understand why it wouldn’t go away, she finally learned that she has polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS.

“For some of you this may be TMI, but for me my platform has always been used for things much greater than me,” she said. “Polycystic [ovary] syndrome has been attacking me from the inside out my entire life and I had no idea.”

Palmer said that she has “tried EVERYTHING” to minimize her acne, including doing two rounds of Accutane, an intensive treatment for severe acne, changing her diet and drinking more water. The actress and singer said that she had trouble finding a doctor who would investigate her skin trouble.

“It took ME taking a personal look into my family that has a history of diabetes and obesity, to understand what was ACTUALLY happening with me,” she said. “And unfortunately doctors are people and if you don’t ‘look the part’ they may not think that’s your problem. They may not even suggest it if you ‘look healthy’ whatever that means!”

Palmer said that after reading up on PCOS, she went to a doctor who was able to confirm that she has the hormonal disorder, which causes enlarged ovaries and cysts and often comes with side effects like acne, excessive hair growth and weight gain. But that she needed to do the research on her own frustrated Palmer, and she said that her family similarly struggled to understand their health.

“This especially makes me sad because my family struggled for years and no doctor could help them, they actually mislead them and just took their money,” she said. “It’s only because of what my family sacrificed that allows me to even have the resources to share the information I’m sharing with you! Their fight out of poverty gave me a better life and I just want to share what I learn.”

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Palmer said she’s sharing her story — and her acne — to let others know “that it’s okay.”

“My skin has made me sad many nights but I do not give up on myself. I know this is not me and my body has been looking for help,” she said.

Palmer plans to figure out how to treat her PCOS, and in turn, her acne. But she added that she’s not going to hide her skin anymore.

“The least harmful thing PCOS can bring is acne. To all the people struggling with this please know you’re not alone and that you are still so f---ing fine! MY ACNE AINT NEVER STOPPED ME. But we don’t have accept this. Now I can really help KEKE! And I love her so it’s ON,” she said.

“Pray for me on this journey and I will pray for you too. I’m not afraid to show myself to the world and you shouldn’t be either.”