When Tyler Perry saw Keke Palmer's struggle with her skin, he did what he could to help.
While sitting down for a new episode of PEOPLE (the TV Show!), the Hustlers star, 27, reveals that her acne was "so traumatic" that Perry helped send her to the "best dermatologist."
"I remember when I was 14 and Tyler Perry pulled my mom aside at the NAACP awards and literally said, 'I would pay for her to go to a dermatologist, to the best dermatologist, to help her with her skin,'" Palmer recalls in the clip above. "So what I've dealt with, with my skin, has been so traumatic and big that people have literally reached into their own pockets to help me."
"I'm grateful to Tyler Perry to this day. I don't tell many people that story, but I was so grateful to him for helping me because he had the resources and he was paying it forward," she later added. "And he was giving me that kind of first introduction to doing that personal care and knowing that I don't have to live like that. If there's something I want to improve about myself, there are people that can help me with that."
Noting this, she says she knows how lucky she is to have the means to see specialists that have helped her manage her acne breakouts and finally diagnosed her polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
"I had to go to so many specialists, that a lot of people don't have the money to even go to one doctor," she said.
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However, her PCOS diagnosis came after some of her own "personal research" into her family's history, which is why she decided to speak out about her battle with acne.
"I just thought it was important to let people know that for years, you could be struggling with something that people don't have the answer to, and that you have to kind of take the matters into your own hands and doing your own personal research," she said. "And it wasn't until I did my own personal research and actually looked into my family bloodline and realized that a lot of people in my family have struggled with insulin resistance, that has led to obesity, that has led to diabetes and that has led to PCOS."
"And I discovered all that and then brought that to my doctor and then that's when I was diagnosed with PCOS," Palmer added. "So when I put that up on my page, it was to say, 'Hey, this is what I've learned. This is what I realized.' So when people keep throwing out at you 'drink water,' 'don't wear makeup,' or 'stop eating so much,' … it's just like, 'screw you.' You know what I'm saying?"
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Learning to ignore these comments while focusing on her progress and feeling like the best version of herself has made all the difference.
"It took me a really long time to get to the place that I am now, being just like, okay with it and not worrying about the things that people say," Palmer said. "Because still, to this day, everybody wants to tell me what to do about my skin, but they don't realize that I'm not telling them what to do with their life."
"So I know what's going on with me. I'm figuring out what's going on with me and I'm going to have to figure that out on my own," she added. "And I think people need to learn to have more grace with that."
Another thing that's helped is learning how to do her makeup so that she can always feel confident and her "very best" when it's time to be in front of the camera.
"It was just a lot of trial and error," Palmer said. "I like Bobbi Brown, I like MAC and those are the things that I use that I go to that have given me full coverage."
Palmer recently shared a makeup tutorial on her Instagram page, showing her followers the step-by-step routine she follows to achieve a full coverage look to cover up "extreme acne."
The Akeelah and the Bee star is also now partnering with Olay Body to help unveil its new nighttime retinol collection, which hits shelves nationwide early next year.
Olay Body's new nighttime duo — a Cleansing & Renewing Body Wash and Rinse-Off Body Conditioner — "helps renew the skin's surface overnight to reveal its natural vibrance and radiance," according to the brand.
And Palmer is excited to be a part of the launch.
"Let's take the same time and effort in our body regimen as we do with our face," she shared. :The Cleansing & Renewing Body Wash and Rinse-Off Body Conditioner uses retinol, and you usually see that on face products, but they’re now bringing it into body wash so you can upgrade your nighttime routine. It makes my skin feel soft and it’s a cool little duo to add to my routine."
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