• About

    Lou Northcote

    Changemaker Lou Northcote, best known for her unwavering commitment to her skin positive movement #freethepimple, is a ‘Real Skin’ advocate, forward thinker and fashion creative.

    Lou started as a model at 10 years old, but as she grew into puberty, she began to suffer from acne breakouts and as a result her career became strained. In 2017 she coined the hashtag #freethepimple and cultivated a global community of likeminded individuals bringing awareness of others living with skin conditions, by sharing skin-positive selfies. As a key voice in the skincare space, and speaking in solidarity with the community, Lou was tapped to appear in La Roche Posay’s “Skin Hero’s 2023” advertising campaign.

  • Always one to push boundaries and defy the archaic traditions of the modelling, beauty and skincare industries, led to Lou being cast as one of the cover stars for Love Magazine - shot by Davids Sims. She was also the first model with acne to star in an un-retouched beauty editorial for Boots Health and Wellness Magazine.

    With talents beyond that of a content creator, Lou has written several articles – including for The Guardian skin health supplement, Health Awareness. The “go-to” voice of authority amongst real skin activists and advocates, she has been interviewed by the likes of Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Teen Vogue, Vogue Germany, Women’s Health, Sheer Luxe and more.

    In 2023, Lou led a TEDxShoreditch talk ‘What constitutes as real beauty’ outlining the obstacles she has overcome and how that has shaped her. She also appeared in i-D Magazine’s ‘Is Acne the final frontier of Body positivity?’, as well as Channel 5’s Bad Skin S.O.S.

    Her brand alignments include global names such as: Murad, L’Oreal, Shiseido, SkinCeuticals, Rose Inc and more. Outside of what she’s known for, Lou also maintains a full-time career in fashion buying, and works for Luxury Scandinavian brand Rotate.