Peter DeVito is “so f*cking sick and tired of the Photoshop.” The 20-year-old photographer is making waves for his unretouched portraits that normalize and even celebrate acne. As someone who deals with acne, he wants to remind the world it really shouldn’t be something we’re ashamed of.
DeVito told Elle he was inspired after seeing the body-positivity movement explode on social media. “I felt like there was an absence of people with acne,” he said.
The self-portrait below, featuring lyrics from “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar, helped DeVito gain widespread recognition. Even model Cara Delevingne took notice and reposted his photo, saying, “It’s so wrong that if I had taken this picture of myself, then I wouldn’t have posted it.”
“Skin positivity” is a growing trend in the beauty world. Skin issues are common, yet they cause major self-esteem issues for so many of us because most what we see in the media is Photoshopped and edited to perfection. So when people like Kendall Jenner rock acne at major award shows, we get excited.
“Having acne is normal and doesn’t make you any less of a person,” DeVito says. He’s right, so it’s time to embrace natural beauty and stop thinking about pimples as imperfections. Love the skin you’re in—scars, bumps, and all.
