My Struggle with Acne

Jul 17

Sorry, I can’t make it, I’m just not feeling well… my infamous excuse… If I had a dollar for every time I’ve said this over the past few years I’d quite literally be wealthy enough to get every laser treatment available to us! I spent way too many months of my life trying to hide my skin from the world because of the judgment and pity of others. Everywhere I went it felt like everyone was staring and analyzing how horrible my skin was… the amount of comments asking if I was stressed, what’s going on with my skin, or the WORST … “You should try this.” Like I hadn’t already tried everything… I mean, I’m an esthetician who couldn’t even clear her own skin, talk about a feeling of disappointment and embarrassment. My acne was beginning to take over my life.

Now, when I say I tried EVERYTHING… I mean it… dermatologist prescribed creams & antibiotics, no dairy, no gluten, limited sugar, staying active, washing my face after every workout, not touching my face, double cleansing morning/night, washing my pillowcase/sheets every two days, no fabric softener, no drier sheets, fragrance-free detergent, and SO MUCH MORE. The one thing I had a hard time taking, and put off for years, was a probiotic. Before I go any deeper into this I have to mention, I have A LOT of food allergies… dairy, gluten, peanuts, soy, whey, almonds, walnuts, sesame, shrimp, scallops, the list goes on, but I obviously always have tummy and skin issues because how can one cut out basically all food lol… well, it seems like all I needed to add to my regimen was Seed probiotic. Within a week of taking Seed, my skin started to clear up. Around the same time, I also amped up my skincare game and began to use SkinBetter Science and Hydrinity skincare products as well as religiously using my red light mask which has worked immensely on my scars and inflammation. If you’re looking for more of an affordable option for skincare, Face Reality is AMAZING for calming and treating all acne. When I started Face Reality last year along with bi-weekly facials my acne began to clear up immensely.

Skincare will always be evolving, and if you’re acne prone, it feels like it will always come and go. Managing it and feeling confident no matter what stage my skin is in is my mindset now. No one on this earth has perfect skin. We are all beautiful and perfect in our own ways and we should embrace our beauty. As long as I can manage the pain and inflammation of my horrible acne, I am going to accept me for me.

PS - if someone can’t fix something in under a minute, then do not mention it. Mind your business. BE KIND. You have NO idea what others are going through. Something that may be minuscule to you may mean something so deep and painful to someone else. I can't tell you how many times my acne was just the tip of the iceberg and felt like I had hit my breaking point.

There will never be a definite answer to skincare or how to perfect your skin. Everyone is different so that means our skin is also different. What works on one person, may not work on another. Go gentle on yourself.

Your acne does not define you.