Woman labelled ‘pizza face’ because of her acne finally has a clear complexion – thanks to cannabis

Emily started taking CBD oil capsules, a legal part of the cannabis plant, to help with her skin.

Dubbed “pizza face” and “a spotty freak” during her eight-year battle with virulent acne, an attractive young woman revealed how she finally has a clear complexion – thanks to cannabis.

So self-conscious she did not want to leave the house, after years of trying everything from antibiotics to homemade face washes, Emily McClarron, 25, started taking CBD oil capsules, a legal part of the cannabis plant.

Emily now with partner Connor (Collect/PA Real Life)

Stock controller Emily, of Rayleigh, Essex, tried the controversial treatment after declining the powerful anti-acne drug Roaccutane, which can cause depression, saying: “The cannabis capsules make me feel more relaxed and stress was a huge trigger for my skin-breakouts.”

She continued: “I read online that cannabis oil can help relieve inflammation, provide pain relief and reduce anxiety. There may not be many conclusive scientific studies on it, but it’s certainly worked for me.”

When persistent, angry spots first erupted on her cheeks and chin at 17, Emily began a tireless trawl through every skin treatment she could find.

Emily had bad reactions to everything she tried for her skin, pictured here (Collect/PA Real Life)

“It was awful,” she said. “I tried everything, but nothing seemed to help.

“I’d try and cover up the spots with make-up and just felt so down and depressed about how I looked. All I would see when I looked in the mirror was the acne.”

Back and forth to her doctor over the years, Emily, who has been dating plasterer Connor Lepine, 27, for nine years, was prescribed everything from antibiotics to gels, in a bid reduce her livid red skin, but nothing worked.

“I had bad reactions to everything,” she said. “I had a rash all over my body and my face swelled up like I had been stung by a wasp.

“With one gel I even felt like the top layer of skin had burnt off. I begged my doctor to refer me to a dermatologist, hoping they would be able to suggest something else.”

Emily now and partner Connor (Collect/PA Real Life)

She added: “I was at my wits’ end. My skin was so bad, strangers asked me ‘What’s wrong with your skin?’, called me a ‘spotty freak’ and ‘pizza face’ which hurt a lot.”

Finally referred to the specialist earlier this year, after eight years of suffering, Emily was offered the powerful acne drug Roaccutane.

“I knew I didn’t want the drug as, even though it works for a lot of people, it does come with a lot of bad side-effect warnings, including depression and mood changes,” she explained.

She added: “I was already really down, because of my skin and didn’t want to risk feeling any worse.”

Emily's cannabis capsules (Collect/PA Real Life)

Both her mental health and her social life suffered, because of her acne.

Emily continued: “My fella would ask me to go out to the pub, or for dinner, but I wouldn’t want to leave the house.

“My anxiety got worse, as I was so insecure about how I looked. Connor would tell me I looked gorgeous, but I didn’t believe it.”

Feeling helpless, Emily turned to her kitchen cupboard and started making her own skin care products.

“I didn’t want to put a really strong drug into my body, but didn’t know what else to do,” she said.

Emily's acne made her feel down (Collect/PA Real Life)

“So, I started researching how to treat acne online and read that honey and turmeric can help. I was honestly at the point where I would have tried anything.”

Mixing the two ingredients together, Emily started using her concoction as a face mask, then making a face wash from honey, jojoba oil, evening primrose oil and lavender oil.

Noticing a change in her skin, but not a transformation, three months ago Emily discovered cannabis capsules and began taking one 10mg tablet every day.

Containing CBD oil, which does not make people “high” and is legal, Emily started to notice her stress levels – a trigger for her acne – plummet.

She continued: “Since I started taking the capsules, combined with homemade skin products, people have told me how amazing my skin looks.

Emily was cruelly called “pizza face” because of her skin problems (Collect/PA Real Life)

“When I tell them it’s down to cannabis capsules, they do ask if it’s legal, which of course it is. Before this, if I was feeling anxious, I’d have a really bad break-out if, but the tablets have made me feel much calmer, so I am not getting the terrible acne I was.

“The cannabis hasn’t cured me, but it has helped take control of my severe acne once and for all.”

Now Emily is even looking into selling her homemade skin products to help others, and already sells cannabis oil capsules across the UK.

Emily now and partner Connor (Collect/PA Real Life)

She said: “Now my skin is 99 per cent better. I still have some scarring, but now I have been able to have treatment to help them, and even finally feel confident to go out without make-up on, which I never did before.

“I have got to the point where I don’t care what people think, I feel so happy with the way I am.”

NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of lighting a woman on fire on a New York City subway and fanning the flames as she burned to death made his first appearance in court this week, while authorities were yet to publicly identify the victim.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, was arraigned on murder and arson charges on Tuesday afternoon in a Brooklyn court, where he was remanded back to custody. He did not enter a plea and his lawyer did not speak to reporters assembled inside the courthouse. His next court date is scheduled for Friday.

Authorities allege that Zapeta, who federal immigration officials say is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally, calmly approached the woman aboard a stopped F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn on Sunday morning and set her clothing ablaze.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Sunday described the case as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being.”

Here's the latest:

Zapeta was taken into custody on Sunday, hours after police disseminated images of a suspect in the woman's death.

Police said three high schoolers called 911 after recognizing the person in the image, and officers found him on another subway train in the same gray hoodie, wool hat, paint-splattered pants and tan boots.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Jeff Carter said Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally after he had been previously deported to Guatemala in 2018. It is unclear when and where he reentered the U.S., Carter said.

Zapeta was arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court on Tuesday. He appeared before a judge in a white jumpsuit and did not speak.

Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg, during Tuesday's court hearing, alleged that Zapeta lit the woman’s clothing on fire and fanned the flames using a shirt.

Rottenberg added that under interrogation Zapeta claimed he didn’t know what happened, noting that he consumes alcohol. But he alleged that Zapeta identified himself to interrogators in images of the attack.

A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police matches a service center for Samaritan Daytop Village, which provides housing and substance abuse support. The organization did not respond to a request for comment.

The victim has not been publicly identified as of Thursday. Police have described her only as a woman.

On Thursday, Rev. Kevin McCall led community leaders in a prayer vigil for her at the Coney Island station.

Tisch said Sunday that the victim was “in a seated position” at the end of the train car when she was set on fire. NYPD transit chief Joseph Gulotta said police do not believe the suspect and the victim knew each other and they did not interact before or during the incident.

Police patrol the New York City subways, and there is a vast network of cameras in stations and all subway cars.

But the sheer size of the subway system — 472 stations with multiple entry points and millions of riders each day — makes policing it logistically difficult.

On Sunday, officers were at the station but were patrolling a different platform. They responded after seeing and smelling smoke coming from the fire.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year directed members of the state's National Guard to assist with random bag checks at certain stations.

Violent incidents on the subway and in stations often put people on edge, partly because many New Yorkers take the train multiple times a day and often have their own experiences with uncomfortable interactions in the system.

Broadly, crime is down in the city transit system this year compared to the same period in 2023. Data compiled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows a 6% decline in what the agency calls major felonies between January and November of this year and 2023.

At the same time, murders in the transit system are up, with nine killings this year through November compared to five in the same time frame last year.

High-profile incidents on the train often attract national attention and further unnerve passengers. Daniel Penny, a military veteran who placed an agitated subway rider in a chokehold, was acquitted of homicide this month.

“When you have these incidents, it overshadows the success and it plays on the psyche of New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a Monday interview on PIX 11, noting that many high-profile incidents in the transit system involve people with mental health issues.

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)

Sebastian Zapeta, accused of setting a woman on fire inside a New York City subway train, appears in court, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Curtis Means via Pool)

A suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, is facing murder and arson charges in New York City for allegedly setting a woman on fire inside a subway train and then watching her die after she was engulfed in flames, police said Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (WABC-TV via AP)

FILE - New York Police officers clear a train at the Coney Island Stillwell Avenue Terminal, May 5, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file)