im planning on joining the coast guard in a couple years so my questions and concerns are similar to yours. But i do hear that many skin conditions like that clear when going to basic because your not suffocating it with pounds of makeup. Idk thats just what i heard. Try not to worry about it and enjoy yourself

I'll probably be fairly clear by the time I get there...so I think I'll be able to at least not have to worry about that. It'll be the staying clear that will be the difficult part. lol. I'm actually excited to be forced to not wear makeup. I think it will do wonders for my skin. I already exercise a ton and eat well...I think my skin just needs that extra care (not spackling makeup into my pores...haha...oops). It's funny how this is making me more nervous than most other aspects of BMT. Oh well...it's just 8.5 weeks I guess!

Hi!

I feel really silly about this post, and I'm a little embarrassed about it because I've heard countless times that "acne is the last thing I should be worrying about when in the military!" I can't ask this on the air force forums because they're really insensitive about it all.

Regardless, I'm going into the Air Force as an Airman First Class (E-3). I'm a 23 year old female-- I'm enlisting, despite having a bachelor's degree, and I couldn't be happier or more excited for the chance to become a Cryptologic Linguist! I leave for basic (BMT) in February, and of course, won't be wearing any makeup during that time. The thing is, makeup has been my "security blanket" for the past 7 years or so. I'm nervous about people seeing me without it, and I'm nervous that I'm going to be the oldest one there, but with the most teenager-y skin. The great thing is, I've almost completely cleared my active acne through birth control and Spironolactone!-- but my red marks still make it look like I have bad skin. I'm not very nervous about the PT part of BMT because I'm a runner and I've been preparingly physically for about 6 months now. I'm not afraid of being yelled at or told what to do. I'm nervous about not being taken seriously because of my skin (not by my superiors...I know they won't take me all that seriously...but by my peers).

So, here are my questions for the tl;dr kids:

1. Will I be able to continue to take my medications when I get to basic? I know that I can bring my prescription papers, but will I have time to take it? It's one pill in the morning, and one at night.

2. Will I be the only female with bad skin? I was looking at the BMT facebook page, and it looks like they all have nice skin! Will they respect me as a peer?

3. Will I be made fun of by the TI's at basic because of my skin?

I want to mention that I'm not a "prissy" girl, and I'm not afraid of looking "uncute" for anyone. I just feel very uncomfortable without makeup. Thank you to anyone who has any insight on this!

That's funny I was wondering the very same thing! but I am 17 so I have some time to explore more things, but I totally see where you're coming from. if it's you on your Avatar picture, I think you're more then beautiful and no one will noticed you bad skin, but they will notice how beautiful you are. sometimes it's better look more human then a robot, we all get acne. good luck!

That's funny I was wondering the very same thing! but I am 17 so I have some time to explore more things, but I totally see where you're coming from. if it's you on your Avatar picture, I think you're more then beautiful and no one will noticed you bad skin, but they will notice how beautiful you are. sometimes it's better look more human then a robot, we all get acne. good luck!

Daniel, what a sweet thing to say 🙂 It's me in the avatar, but of course, I'm wearing lots of makeup! haha

I agree-- seeing human faces that aren't painted to perfection is really refreshing. Thanks for reminding me of that 🙂