Acne-Scarred Teen Model Undergoes Amazing Daily Makeup Transformation
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Courtesy of Cassandra Bankson
Every day, Cassandra Bankson wakes up, washes her face and does a makeup routine that dramatically transforms her looks.
The California teen has severe acne. It’s so bad that it covers most of her face, as well as parts of her neck, chest and back.
But Bankson is now able to model, and her shots are picture-perfect. How?
Bankson performs a daily makeup makeover, expertly hiding the extensive blemishes that cover her face and neck with a technique that she says she learned after hours of research and practice. She demonstrates her method in a before-and-after YouTube video that’s had more than 2 million views.
“It’s been overwhelming,” she said today on “Good Morning America” about the response online to her video. “It really is an eye-opener. I never knew that for men, for women, even for adults, it’s such an epidemic. Yes, it’s cosmetic, but it goes deeper than that. I think that’s something that’s a little bit of a misconception.”
At the beginning of the video, Bankson is made up. Her skin is clear and her cosmetics look natural and fresh. Then she explains that she’ll remove the makeup to show her face and demonstrate her technique.
When she appears again, her face is covered in red acne spots.
“I am the most self-conscious person about my acne … taking my makeup off is one of the most insecure things that I could probably do, for me,” she says, her voice shaking.
In the moments that follow, Bankson goes through a comprehensive routine that includes the application of foundation, concealer, powders and spray. When she’s done, her face is transformed. Her skin appears flawless.
Because of her transformational routine, she’s able to book modeling jobs, and is reaching out to other teens to help them with their own skin troubles.
Bankson, who got her first pimple in the third grade, has a powerful message for other teens who are suffering with acne: “I know exactly where you are, I’ve been in your shoes and there is hope,” she said on “GMA.” “Someone else has been there and there is a way for you to feel confident…you just need to kind of search around for what it is that makes you lighten up.”
Bankson describes her drive to help people as her “passion” and “duty.”
“I hope this helps you if you guys have acne, or even if you don’t have acne and you just want really pretty skin,” she says at the end of the tutorial.
While most viewers posted overwhelmingly positive comments, some have accused her of being “fake” about her looks. She is undeterred.
“It took me a month to post. …I thought I was going to get the same hate as school for my skin,” she said on “GMA.” “I thought if it helped one person, one girl or even one guy who was in the same condition, it would be worth it.”
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Wow, the transformation is amazing. But perhaps she needs a dermatologist and an endocrinologist to look into why she has such severe acne. Dietary changes and hormones can cause acne. She is fortunate to be female, since she can wear makeup to cover her acne. Boys with acne don’t have that option unfortunately.
Posted by: wilner | December 6, 2011, 9:19 am 9:19 am
I couldnt imagine that being my everyday makeup routine- to have to put 8+ different products on my face alone! But… I guess with acne that severe a girl will do anything to feel beautiful.
Posted by: Crystal | December 6, 2011, 9:52 am 9:52 am
Amazing makeover. If her hands aren’t completely sanitized though, I would think that bacteria trapped between her skin and the makeup is a problem. I’ve been dealing with acne prone skin for years and being scrupulously clean about things that touch my face is critical. I also had to eliminate non-organic dairy (I think due to rBgh hormones in regular dairy) and caffeine.
Posted by: DNS | December 6, 2011, 9:56 am 9:56 am
What a wonderful person to help people with this condition. For some people, we just simply have acne. Many people spend thousands of dollars in doctor bills, diet changes, product changes, etc and never find a cause. At some point, we have to just accept that we have it and do what we can to make us feel better about ourselves. Thank you so much Cassandra I hope you continue to be successful!
Posted by: TC | December 6, 2011, 10:35 am 10:35 am
Great reach out. I too hope she can get some help. If Accutane is too severe, taking daily antibiotics–Bactrim, Tetracycline, etc. has helped a lot of people.
Posted by: EGBOK321 | December 6, 2011, 10:56 am 10:56 am
In enough foundation, all things are possible.
Posted by: Jenn | December 6, 2011, 12:51 pm 12:51 pm
Good for her for being able to do that routine day in and day out. I had severe acne in HS. It isn’t as bad as it was but I still have scars, but I could not imagine doing that routine every day, that is too much make up, I know that she already had the problem before adding the make up but I’m sure the oils in the makeup aren’t helping her skin any. It needs to breathe..
Posted by: jrigglem | December 6, 2011, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
Amazing transformation and so nice of Cassandra to share her her tips Cassandra have you ever tried Accutane? We spent 5 years with my son at the dermatologist trying every product available. They would initially work, then the acne would get bad again. The doc finally prescribed Accutane and it was like a miracle!! Within one week his skin was clear!
Posted by: KW | December 6, 2011, 1:12 pm 1:12 pm
The real story here is not about the physical transformation but rather this young lady, who shows resourcefulness, grace and an unusual openness about how she deals with a very difficult and painful subject. As someone with a young daughter, I am inspired by her willingness to show how she manages the issue so publicly. Forget the makeup, she is simply a beautiful human being for doing this.
Posted by: CK_Atl | December 6, 2011, 2:04 pm 2:04 pm
What a beautiful young lady, inside and out! Her parents should be very proud to have raised such a wonderful girl. Keep on keepin’ on, Cassandra!
Posted by: Whatthewhat | December 6, 2011, 2:11 pm 2:11 pm
Is that really good for the skin? Must have long arms to do her back?
Posted by: greg | December 6, 2011, 3:22 pm 3:22 pm
Maybe if she leaves the pounds of make-up off of her skin and let it breathe a little bit, then she wouldn’t have such a problem. Perhaps some antibiotics from a dermatologist and a trip to the tanning salon. My skin always clears after one or two sessions in the bed. It helps with Psoriasis too although a dermatologist will most certainly advise against it!!!
Posted by: Manda | December 6, 2011, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm
I hope she gets to have a cleared blemish face one day. Now I know what the Kardashians do to cake their faces.
Posted by: Yousandi | December 6, 2011, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm
As someone who has dealt with acne for 25 years, it is frustrating to hear people tell you to just change your diet, don’t use products on your face, use accutane. I have tried every prescription and non prescription thing possible. Accutane made me feel like a raving lunatic and the acne did not clear up. Daily antibiotics and sun do not help. I have tried anything. I think most people dont understand how frustrating it is and how it makes you feel so horrible.
Thank you Cassandra for showing everyone your routine. You are beautiful not because of your makeup (which is great) but for your great personality and self confidence about yourself!
Posted by: Beth | December 6, 2011, 3:43 pm 3:43 pm
@ Beth: I deal with acne and psoriasis….the tanning bed and the sun are two different animals….and the tanning bed does make a world of difference on my skin. Perhaps try the Proactive?
Posted by: Manda | December 6, 2011, 3:49 pm 3:49 pm
“Maybe if she leaves the pounds of make-up off of her skin and let it breathe a little bit, then she wouldn’t have such a problem. Perhaps some antibiotics from a dermatologist and a trip to the tanning salon. My skin always clears after one or two sessions in the bed. It helps with Psoriasis too although a dermatologist will most certainly advise against it!!!
Posted by: Manda | December 6, 2011, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm”……………………………….. I’m sure this kid’s tried everything. What works for some won’t for others. What I don’t get is why people dog on her over makeup. Like she’s less because she wants to cover this. She’s a girl. It’s what we do.
Posted by: lexingtonlady | December 6, 2011, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
i am 46 y/o…if i did not/do not use a birth control to control my hormone balance i would have
more acne to deal with. i know it is a bit off the wall for young teenagers to use birth control, because we think it will make them more sexually active…but ask mom to check into it w/a doctor and see if that can help. also, people have your tyroid glan checked…its called a TSH level. it helps control and regulate hormone balances and this is not just a female problem…when talking about the thyroid glan…read and research…GOOGLE!!! THYROID GLAN
Posted by: Penny | December 6, 2011, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
Make-up is not good for your skin! I got the feeling that she was doing a bit of product placement in this video. The transformation was insane, don’t get me wrong, but just the fact that she has to do this EVERYDAY is pretty unbelievable. She needs to go to a dermatologist to get it looked at. From the video it looked like she has more of a problem that they would be able to help her with.
Posted by: Kati | December 6, 2011, 5:17 pm 5:17 pm
Very Impressive! She isn’t putting too much make-up on at all, you have to do what you need to feel good about yourself. Actually, with any good skin care routine foundation is key because it protects your face from all the nasty particles in the air. Normally foundation only causes a problem when you sleep in it. I’m glad that Cassandra is showing others one way to deal with acne.
Posted by: Bekah | December 6, 2011, 5:57 pm 5:57 pm
I have severe acne too (not as bad as this). I’ve been to the dermatologist, tried multiple antibiotics, birth control, every kind of cream, etc. Nothing takes it away. I’m so sick of getting told that it would go away if I would only do everything right… it doesn’t. I’m glad that there’s someone making videos about how to cover it up since that’s all that can be done at this point.
Posted by: Amy | December 6, 2011, 6:15 pm 6:15 pm
I’ve known two people who used thick make-up to cover severe acne, and the thick make-up was a large part of the cause. Putting all that crap on top of your skin is not going to be good for it.
Posted by: Doris H | December 6, 2011, 6:24 pm 6:24 pm
You are just a wonderful person, not to mention beautiful, Thank you. I am 50 & I have dark circles under my eyes that I can’t cover up. I haven’t gone to utube yet but I am going to watch all your tips. But if you could show me a way to help the dark circles that would be so great. As I said I will be watching all your tips & I plan to go makeup shopping right after. You are a wonderful person to share this with all of us & Lord knows I need all the help with makeup that I can get. I am so hoping that the makeup you used on gmac will help with wrinkles also. Do you have any advice of a good wrinkle filler & firming cream. I know you not old as me & you don’t have wrinkles but maybe you know what I can use. I just can’t say how wonderful you are enough to share your tips with everyone.
You are a beautiful girl & I hope that your acne will go away so you don’t have to do all of this. Unfortunatley my skin will not change so I will always have to use makeup. The only problem is that I was never very good at it anyway but I believe by watching your tips I will improve. THANKS SO MUCH !
Posted by: Gina | December 6, 2011, 7:10 pm 7:10 pm
would you please list all the make up names she wears and the brands in order to look for them in the stores? I have suffered from acne all my life and I really know how she feels being humiliated, people are very cruel and make you feel bad about acne blemishes.
Posted by: elizabeth marroquin | December 6, 2011, 7:59 pm 7:59 pm
She needs to visit a nutritionist. Her acne is hormonally based, and can be remedied with the right amounts of certain key nutrients. Any acne on the skin is a sign of inflammation within the body and needs to be addressed as a health issue, not a cosmetic issue.
I applaud her efforts to make her skin look flawless, but she needs to work from the inside out to achieve naturally clear skin.
Posted by: Maire | December 6, 2011, 10:16 pm 10:16 pm
This is to all of the women lambasting the thick makeup over such skin. Get real. So she should go thru life feeling like she looks horrible in public to maybe starve off a few extra pimples? The type of acne she has is not because of what is on the face. I have known people with this type acne problem and the ONLY thing for this is Accutane if you can stand to take it. It is a serious difficult drug. If all of these easy fixes such as diet were possible everybody with this would for sure be doing it. Let people have acne without blaming them for having it. If you don’t have this you know less than she does by far. Geeez.
Posted by: lexingtonlady | December 6, 2011, 11:27 pm 11:27 pm
Incredible – I can assure all those commenting on what this model is or isn’t doing right are clueless in my opinion. Anyone who has ever suffered from chronic acne or any other medical condition have at some point exhausted every resource,explored every procedure available, tried every quick cure, doctor’s advise, therapy. Kudos to this model for exposing her natural self in such a public format…how many of us would be willing to do the same – I for one would not be jumping in front of a camera to expose all my flaws I work tirelessly to hide.
Posted by: 5shotaries | December 6, 2011, 11:36 pm 11:36 pm
You are beautiful even without makeup ! you have amazing features, and bone structure, not to mention a beautiful personality, and an intelligent mind to get ahead alot of your counter part teens in the commerical sense…The cover up is a bonus ! bless you and all the best in all your endeavors !
Posted by: valerious | December 7, 2011, 10:45 am 10:45 am
I don’t think anyone has mentioned using Spironalactone. You’ll have to Google it, but it has something to do with blocking too much testosterone in the body, which is one reason for the excessive oil. My daughter had horrible cystic acne for a couple of years, from age 24-26. she’s started the spironalactone in September of this year and her face is nearly clear. I also gave her some of my Walgreens Alpha Hydroxy cream and she said it’s making her face improve even more. She tried everything except Accutane because it’s too risky. She also tried eliminating dairy, caffeine, sugar, chocolate AND tried eating all organic…didn’t work. Antibiotics will only mess up your intestinal tract in the long run by eliminating all of the good stuff. Google “spironalactone for cystic acne” and see the hits you get. Yes, it’s a drug, but not as dangerous as Accutane. It’s basically a diuretic. And if you’ve never had acne like this, please don’t judge. It’s a very devastating condition.
Posted by: Diane | December 7, 2011, 4:17 pm 4:17 pm
As a former teen with bad acne i completely understand what she is going through. I tried everything and it just took time and years of washing and scrubbing and crying and praying. But the most important thing is to know you are beautiful with or without makeup and you should know that!
Posted by: Ron | December 8, 2011, 6:07 am 6:07 am
wow this is amazing!it has helped me alot and has opened my eyes.i would never have the guts to post a video of me without makeup so you go girl! Thanks a tone
Posted by: katelyn | December 8, 2011, 8:55 am 8:55 am
so how do you keep it on all day? doesnt it ever wear off?
Posted by: alyssa | December 8, 2011, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm
Please send me a list of the brands of make up I tried to keep up but didnt get all of them. I have a 17 year old daughter that has been told she looks like she is on meth or has herpes because of her ance. I as a mother will do anything to help her. You are gorgeous and thank you so much for the video.
Posted by: Gracie Hudgins | December 8, 2011, 8:12 pm 8:12 pm
I wish she would just live her life how she is instead of hiding under layers of makeup to try and trick everyone. She should live life how God made her
Posted by: matt | December 10, 2011, 11:09 am 11:09 am
“I wish she would just live her life how she is instead of hiding under layers of makeup to try and trick everyone. She should live life how God made her.”
She’s not trying to trick everyone. She’s trying to live a normal life without being ashamed of her skin. My skin isn’t anywhere near as bad as her’s, but I do have cystic acne that flares up when my hormones are going haywire, so I understand perfectly well why she would through so much on a daily basis. I hate walking out of the house without any makeup on. I don’t feel “normal” because of the deep purple scars that have culminated around my chin and jawline.
I hate that everyone keeps saying, “Oh, she should see a dermatologist, or a nutritionist.” Really? You don’t think she hasn’t already? I’ve subscribed to her channel on youtube and she’s always talking about nutrition and how it affects your skin (as well as the rest of your body). With acne like hers, much like mine, there’s not much you can do. It’s not as though she has terrible acne BECAUSE of the makeup, it’s not like surface skin acne, her acne is much deeper. I’ve seen recent videos of her and her face is clearing up very well.
Posted by: Nicole | January 17, 2012, 3:50 am 3:50 am