Her Skin Story
I first became really aware of my skin when I was in high school and started experiencing quite bad blemishes. At the time, I felt like I was the only person going through it, even though looking back now, I know that probably wasn’t true. It definitely made me feel self-conscious and more aware of my appearance.
I’ve never felt particularly embarrassed talking about acne, though. I think it’s one of those things that so many people experience, and sometimes being open about it can actually help someone else feel less alone in their own journey.
Over the years, I’ve received advice from beauticians and aesthetic professionals, as well as doctors when I was younger. I remember being prescribed a topical treatment at one point, and later being put on a contraceptive pill that also helped improve my skin. More recently, I had been considering going back to the doctors to explore acne medication again, but ideally, I wanted to try improving my skin through skincare before going down the medication route.
Breakouts can definitely impact my mood, even though I try not to let them. It becomes exhausting when you feel like you’ve tried so many different things and nothing seems to fully work. I think there’s also pressure to cover blemishes depending on the situation - if I’m attending an event or doing something special, I’ll usually try to hide them with makeup, although sometimes too much makeup can make them look even more noticeable. On bad skin days, it can affect my confidence socially too, making me feel more reserved or less willing to have photos taken. I do think there’s more stigma around adult acne because people often assume it’s something only teenagers deal with. That can make it even more frustrating when you’re still experiencing breakouts as an adult.
I’ve also definitely made my skin worse in the past by over-treating it, using products that were too harsh, overusing active ingredients, or scrubbing too aggressively with physical exfoliants. That’s partly because choosing skincare for acne can feel incredibly overwhelming. There’s so much information online, and so many products claiming to “fix” your skin, that it becomes difficult to know what to trust. One minute you read that active ingredients are essential, the next you’re told to avoid them completely and stick to gentle skincare. It really can feel like a minefield, especially because everyone’s skin reacts differently, and what works for one person might not work for another.
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