I'm in my second year of college, and I have severe cystic acne, I have not been made fun of once, and actually no one really gets made fun of. By the time you're an adult with acne, people start to realize that it's more of a serious condition than what teens have from being dirty or whatever. You'll be fine, there will be other people with acne. Worry more about expensive textbooks lmao

My freshman year of college, my skin broke out horribly. This was before I used foundation or any make up to cover it up, too! They were red and covered my cheeks. Despite the acne, I still made tons of friends and even had a boyfriend during this breakout! What I'm trying to say by telling this story is that the friends you make in college, who are REAL, authentic friends, won't care if you have marks or acne! They'll see past it. Will you encounter some people who might comment on your skin or look, or think something about it? Of course. But like I said, real friends won't care I promise you!

As for covering the marks up, if you really want to, I would say go for it. I've seen guys purchase foundation or concealer to hide their acne or blemishes. If you don't want anything too noticeable, maybe try to go for a tinted moisturizer,BB cream, or concealer  Those are often less noticeable than foundation. If you do decide to purchase some, make sure it matches your skin tone or even buy 2 or 3 close to your skin tone just in case. 

Good luck! I hope you enjoy your college experience  

Oh also, the acne.org AHA is really helpful for fading marks  It worked wonders for the marks on my cheeks haha

On 8/19/2016 at 1:08 PM, sbabs45 said:

I am an 18 year old African American guy. So I leave for College in a week, which is 5 hours away from me. I have struggled with social anxiety from 10th grade when I began to develop acne. It didn't not get really bad but I wasn't conscious about it. I was more anxious about things like my health, and stuff like that. The anxiety I am surely caused me to develop more acne. It wasn't until 11th grade where the acne got really bad. 

Now it's after high school and I don't have any more acne but I am left with dark spots. The marks make it look like I still have a lot of acne. So It's a week until college and my marks have cleared up but nowhere significant. I have contemplated on putting on concealer or a light makeup for the marks but I am certain it would be noticeable and the embarrassment would be unbearable. I just don't want to be made fun of when I go to college   The acne scars I have are pretty bad too and I feel as if everyone I come in contact with will always talk about them. 

I have gone to a dermatologist and right now I am on a regimen that the dermatologist prescribed so hopefully that makes the Hyperpigmentation go away. I'm just in panic mode right now and I want to make friends in college but idk how that would be possible because of how I look. Thanks

There are still tons of people in college with acne and the result of having it: dark marks.  Also, I've always noticed that any complexion issue on a afro-american does not stand out as much.  Dark marks fade in time, and you will still make plenty of friends in college.  I remember seeing this one kid with horrible, scarring cystic acne who was getting high fives every couple of steps because he had so many friends on campus.  People tend to care less as you get older.  I'm 25 and still have bad skin, and I'm about to start teaching college.

My only advice would be that if it gets tough, keep trying. I psyched myself up the summer before I started university, which was probably the bravest and most improbable decision I ever made. At first it was great, but after a couple of months I started to lose steam. I lost patience with myself and my acne, which I had always assumed would be gone by the time I was 18. I gave up on my social life and consequently didn't really make any friends. I stopped getting invited to things and had a petty dull three years. Once you give up its really hard (although not impossible) to get started again.