Picture Perfect Squeaky Clean

Prompt from DailyPrompt.com

Cleansing. That’s what it promised. “A cleansing scrub”. Refreshing foam. Gentle exfoliation. Secret super-modern science drawn from ancient wisdom formulated to revitalise your appearance.
She left it unopened by the sink for a few days. The promises were always far sweeter than the reality. Reality contained the risk of allergic reactions. The possibility of symptoms worsening. The fear of being in the pitiful 3% of those polled who didn’t “agree that it improved their complexion”.
The other bottles leered from the shelf. She ought to throw them away. Perhaps she wanted a reminder of which brands not to try again. Or a monument to how hard she was trying, really she was, she didn’t want to be the last person in class with acne. Didn’t want to be surrounded by mature, sophisticated complexions while a disgusting mess.
Maybe she needed somewhere to store the loathing so she could pretend it wasn’t inside her. Bottles and tubs and tubes emptied of product, replaced with disappointment and blame and shame.
Her hands were trembling as she read the instructions on the back. Just one more time.
She had the timer ready, set to five minutes. The sponge, freshly sterilised. The entire sink scrubbed spotless and rinsed four times. The tap had been lined up to the 7:00 position where it produced lukewarm water.
(Or did they mean warm warm? Should the tap be at 8:00?)
She caught herself chewing her lip and pinched her arm with a growl. Upper arm, left, on the inside. Where nobody would ever see.
End of year photos were two months away and everyone agreed that even the best skincare products took two weeks to work. She was running out of time.
Just yesterday one of her friends had shared a “worst year photos ever” page and every time the thought crossed her mind her stomach clamped and heaved.
Having her photo laughed at. Shared. Having it follow her around the rest of her life, even if her parents were right and her skin did “settle down”. Every time she met someone not knowing if they saw her as a meme, had already made up their mind about her.
Those comments those comments she shouldn’t have read the comments.
Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths. Read the instructions again.
And then just, just try it.
Something had to work. Something had to give.

Prompt was the first word.