If you have been along for the ride
with me here, I hope you are ready for an unexpected turn in this
post. No, I don't have a big announcement or anything like that but
this post is going to be completely different. Deep down I know this
post is going to be a little hard to write and the photos I will be
sharing here as well will also be hard to share, but life is all
about stepping out of your comfort zone right?
I mentioned in my last post that a few
years ago began my ongoing struggle with a random acne outbreak.
Truthfully, I wanted to share my story here to possibly help someone
out that is possibly looking for some advice like I was desperately
seeking a few years ago, but also to empower myself a bit and finally
take the step that shows that something like this does not have
control over me.
About 2 years ago now I was a new
college graduate (with an English degree... which I am sure you can
guess isn't that easy to find a job with) that was desperately
seeking a full-time job. I was working part-time at the job I
graduated high school with and a student loan payment starting in
only a few months. To say I was stressed would be a huge
understatement. On the day before a job interview I started breaking
out... and of course had a full section of new breakouts the next
morning at that interview. Despite being confident I nailed the
interview I did not get the job. I honestly was starting to panic. I
felt like I was at rock bottom at this point. All of this stress
caused me to have the worst face full of acne I have ever had in my
life... including when I first hit puberty. The picture I have in this paragraph here is when it got to its worst point. Few people have
actually seen these pictures. I know some of you are looking at them
probably thinking “really? That isn't even that bad!” and you
would be right, I have seen some cases far far worse than mine was,
but to go from pretty clear skin to that pretty much overnight takes
a bit of a toll on one's self esteem.
This was just the beginning of my
journey of trying pretty much everything to get my face to clear up.
When I mean everything... I pretty much mean it. I really don't even
want to think about how much money I probably spent on all different
kinds of products that I thought would be a magic solution. From many
different cleansers,scrubs, toners, and masks to ridiculous tricks I
read about online such as apple cider vinegar toner (I can't even
tell you how bad that smelled). I seriously tried everything I could
think of, and I am sure you can guess just how well that worked out.
Before I get on to a few tips I have I
want to kind of tie this into my page. Acne seems to some people like
such a small thing to have to deal with every day, but it truly can
be a huge factor in you self esteem! Some days I just wanted to stay
in bed and hide from the world. I even had a customer at the grocery
store I worked at point out that I “have a lot of zits on my face”
and proceeded to go to on my break and cry in the bathroom soon after
that. Things like this absolutely do not contribute to your self
worth though! I felt like I couldn't leave the house without makeup
on. Now I still really don't leave the house without makeup on but
that is my choice... yes, it was my choice before I understand that
but I absolutely was not comfortable not wearing makeup and exposing
my true skin to the world. It really is enough to absolutely wreck
one's self confidence... but to everyone reading this: your flaws and
how you handle them are what make you beautiful. I have finally
learned this. Below is an older picture I shared on social media
when my skin first started clearing up and I finally felt okay
without foundation on, to the right of that is a more recent picture, with
makeup. In my opinion both are me, both show someone showing signs of
confidence. One without makeup, one with. The only difference in that
person with is the reason the makeup is on her face. I do it as a
hobby now. It is something I truly enjoy doing every morning. The
only difference is the makeup is helping the true me shine and come
out instead of covering it up.
I want to end this post by giving a few tips that I have learned while dealing with problematic skin:
- Be Gentle!-I found I really started seeing results with my skin when I stopped all the harsh cleansers and scrubs. Think of how much damage you are probably doing to your skin with all of those. Start your routine with a very gentle cleanser and if you do some sort of treatment follow up with that after you cleanse.
- Take Your Makeup Off!- I cannot even begin to explain how important this is! I was terrible about this before I started breaking out. Honestly I probably am lucky I didn't have an outbreak sooner. Think of all the dirt and sweat clinging to your makeup at the end of the day and that only stays on your skin all night if you don't take it off. It really only takes a few minutes as well, there really is no excuse not to.
- Moisturize!-This is the step I had the hardest time learning. My face is an oil slick. I cannot even describe how oily my skin is... so moisturizing seems silly right? Wrong! If you don't moisturize your face your face produces more oil in order to make up for that, thus producing more breakouts. Find a good moisturizer for you face, trust me.
- Stick to a Routine!-This is also so important. Once you find something that is working don't mess it up! If it is not broke why fix it?
Here are a few photos to show just how
much my skin has cleared and I couldn't be happier. I didn't want to
go crazy listing all of the products I use in my routine, but if you
are curious just send me a message or a comment and I will be happy
to share! Just remember loves that something like this does not
define you. Thank you as always for reading... sharing this story in
particular was very empowering for me. Something like this shouldn't
have any power over you, and it no longer does for me.
