Alix Earle Recaps Her Skincare Struggles, Journey to Launching Reale Actives

The content creator, who launched her brand in March, has candidly shared her skincare struggles with her followers for years.

Alix Earle | Taylor Hill/Getty Images

In a new Instagram post, Alix Earle gave her 5.7 million followers a bit of insight into her years-long struggle with acne that led to the creation of her skincare brand, Reale Actives.

The 25-year-old content creator rose to fame on TikTok by being transparent about everything from her skincare struggles to her breast augmentation, and in her July 26 post on Instagram, Earle got vulnerable by sharing photos of her acne over the years.

The Get Real With Me host noted that right before she went off to college in 2019, she started her first round of Accutane. By July 2022, she began her third round of the acne medication with less than stellar results. “The medicine would clear my skin, but after about six months or so my acne always seemed to come back and this time it was the worst it had ever been,” Earle wrote in her caption. “I didn’t wanna leave the house, it was painful, and I hated every time I had to face the mirror to wash my face.”

A year later, she finished her third round of Accutane, but by October 2023, Earle began breaking out again and started looking for a different solution. By the following fall, Reale Actives (which hit the market in March 2026) had been in the works for a year and “it was time for [the brand’s] next step,” Earle wrote.

In December 2024, Earle met with Dr. Kiran Mian, who put her client on a “temporary routine.” Today, the board-certified dermatologist serves as the Director of Clinical Innovation for Real Actives, where she helps develop the brand’s product line. Throughout early 2025, Earle’s skin continued to “have its ups and downs despite being on spironolactone and trying to stick to a routine,” and in April of that year, she began putting Reale Actives products to the test.

“We went through many iterations of the products to get to this point. I wanted them to feel comfortable,” she wrote of the brand’s offerings. When Reale Actives launched this spring, it sold out on the first day.

Earle’s 18-slide carousel illustrated her skincare struggles throughout the years, featuring photos of the content creator in the midst of breakouts, with bumps on her skin and with her complexion looking dewy and fresh. Clearly, many of her followers felt seen, as they chimed into the comments section to remark on the relatability of Earle’s skin struggles.

“Beautiful then & now 🤍🤍🤍,” pal Kristin Konefal wrote.

“Beautiful in every single photo. [Be] so proud of what you’ve created 💚,” fitness guru Christin Rutley added.

“Thank you for always being so open and honest about your skin journey ❤️,” model Marina Adams applauded.

“This has helped my 21 year old daughter out so much 🥹 now my 14 year old son uses it too 💚💚,” a follower offered of Reale Actives.

Fans can shop the complete lineup of Reale Actives skincare products—including the Reale Essentials Kit featuring the complete routine—here.

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