Home » Entertainment » Despite her severe acne, Lore (27) wins a beauty contest. “I want to discuss my condition” | InstagramHLN

Despite her severe acne, Lore (27) wins a beauty contest. “I want to discuss my condition” | InstagramHLN

Lore Fri (27) will represent our country as Miss International Belgium in Japan. But behind her good looks lies a long agony towards a difficult diagnosis: PCOS. A hormonal disorder that affects one in ten Belgian women and has several symptoms, as in the case of Lore: fierce acne. De Kempische wants to use her title to give more attention to the disease. But what exactly is PCOS? “The exact triggers are not known.”

In two weeks, Miss International will take place in Japan, one of the “Big Four” major pageants along with Miss Universe, Miss Earth and Miss World. Lore Ven from Geel will represent Belgium there. “Miss contests still have a negative connotation in our country,” she tells ‘Het Nieuwsblad’. “There are still a lot of prejudices around and I think it’s a shame. Because my story proves you don’t have to be perfect to win.”

Ven is alluding here to having PCOS, a gynecological disease that affects one in ten women in our country and one in five women worldwide. The disease has various causes and various symptoms, such as mood swings, increased hair growth, obesity and, in Lore’s case, severe acne. “As women, we shouldn’t be ashamed of it, because it happens so often and there’s nothing we can do about it,” she told Radio2. motto ‘never give up on your dreams’.


After years of excruciating pain, Lore decided to stop taking the pill. The result: a little less pain, but suddenly she had no more rules and very bright acne. Not long after she was diagnosed: PCOS. “My first reaction was: that explains a lot. But secondly it was also like: What am I with this now? Because after making the diagnosis, you will mostly be told that there is little you can do about it. The solution that was suggested to me was… the contraceptive pill”. According to Ven, the birth control pill is one of the reasons she got PCOS in the first place, she said in an Instagram story.

Do You Get PCOS from the Pill?

Because the disease is still so new, there’s still a lot of uncertainty about PCOS. Gynecologist and fertility doctor Guy Verhulst tells us: “The exact triggers are not known. There are several types. Some types are more common in certain families—for example, a mother and her daughters may have the same complaints—suggesting that genetics play a role. There is nothing you can do preventatively to avoid PCOS. Not even the pill has anything to do with it. Scientific research has shown that PCOS occurs no more often in people who have been on the pill for many years than in women who never use the pill or use it only for a very short time.”

After the finals in Japan, Lore has big plans. “I would really like to build a campaign because I hope help around PCOS is improved and increased. At the moment we often go no further: here is the pill against acne, or here are the antibiotics. Doctors do more to treat symptoms than to look at the real cause. Because PCOS can be effectively reversed or you can still fight the symptoms naturally. By changing her diet, Lore’s acne has reduced in the meantime.

Read also:

1 in 10 women have PCOS, but lifestyle has a major impact: expert explains what you can do yourself (+)

“’Do you still want to have children?’ my gynecologist asked me”: 1 in 10 women have PCOS, but what is it? (+)

Are you at risk of infertility or premature menopause? The new home test promises to tell you

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