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Riverdale's Lili Reinhart Opens Up About Cystic Acne Struggles: 'My Breakouts Don't Define Me'

Actress Lili Reinhart may have a lead role on one of Hollywood’s most popular television shows at the moment, Riverdale, and scored every fan of the show’s dream guy, Cole Sprouse, as her on- and off-screen beau, but the 21-year-old rising star is once again proving how relatable she is.

The actress, who plays Betty Cooper on the CW show, is coming clean about her cystic acne — and she’s sharing how its been a burden on her self esteem since she was 12 years old. After a day-long photo shoot on Monday, Reinhart opened up to her Instagram followers about her day in front of the camera with a pimple on her forehead.

“I have a cystic breakout on my forehead currently. And I had to do a photo shoot all day long,” she wrote in a series of posts on her Instagram story. “I’ve had cystic acne since I was 12. And it has caused major self esteem issues ever since. I had to put my biggest insecurity on display. There was nowhere to hide. 20+ people were studying my face on the camera monitor at any given time during the 11 hour shoot. And all I could think about when I was in front of the camera were the pimples on my forehead.”

RELATED: 17 Stars Who Get Real About Their Acne

Whenever Reinhart finds herself in similar situations, she says she turns to her mom for comfort. But she’s eager to one day feel comfortable in her own skin.

“I always text my mom when I have a bad breakout. I tell her how ugly I feel and how these breakouts shatter my confidence every time they appear,” she says, adding, “But I’m hoping that someday I can feel beautiful even if I’m having a breakout. And that I won’t feel obsessive or paranoid.”

And now, she wants her fans and followers who have experienced the same trouble to join in on the acne conversation, with the hashtag #breakoutbuddy.

“My breakouts don’t define me. To anyone out there who feels embarrassed or ashamed by breakouts… I feel you,” she says. “We have each other. So let’s get through this acne experience together. I’d love to hear your skin story. Write or post about your acne experience under this hashtag I just made up off the top of my head.”

The star has opened up about her acne struggles in the past, saying she uses the Renee Rouleau Rapid Response Detox Masque every day when she’s breaking out, and also turns to the Mario Badescu spot treatment on pimples. She also shared that she swears by an Aztec clay masque, which is “amazing for cystic acne,” she says.