Cassandra Bankson, a 19-year-old model who once wouldn’t leave her house due to the severe acne on her face, is using her makeup know-how to help others. She overcame the embarrassment of her acne with simple foundation techniques, and now, her YouTube videos have nearly 6.5 million views.

Bankson spoke with TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie about her transformation from a reclusive teenager to a self-made model.

“I wasn’t talking to friends and family,” she said. “I would do homework, play with my cats, and essentially learn how to put on makeup, and a lot of trial and error really got me there.” When Bankson started her videos she was completing high school as independent study, since the bullying she’d endured at school from her acne was so severe she could not attend classes.