My Acne

First of this isn’t a “how I cured my acne” post. This is a post of my story, for those who have also struggled with this, in hopes you won’t feel alone.

My struggle with acne began my 1st year of college. It was honestly a very difficult time for me as I was starting a whole new part of my life and I never thought it would happen to me. I broke out like crazy and I had cystic acne all over my cheeks, forehead, and jaw. I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror anymore. I struggled with my image that year and the year after that. I tried all the home remedies you can think of, acne treatments, I changed what I ate, and I even went to a dermatologist. However, nothing seemed to work for me. I started to feel ashamed of myself, as if I had somehow brought this upon myself. I can’t count the numerous times people told me to drink water and wash my face. No duh! Something I learned was that people didn’t really understand that the advice they had heard from friends, shows, and beauty gurus didn’t actually work for everyone.

I was prescribed Retin A my 2nd year of college. I was on it for about 3-4 months and it burned my face and made it extremely dehydrated. I was more unhappy then when I had started it (again, just because it didn’t work on me, doesn’t mean it won’t work on you!). I quit Retin A and purchased a Mia Clarisonic.

It took a while to get to where I am today, comfortable in my skin. I don’t hide at home worried about what people will think of it, instead I embrace it and enjoy life for what it is. My skin is still far from perfect and I have a lot of hyper pigmentation, but the scars and acne remind me that no matter what I may go through, physically or emotionally, I can get through it! I love my skin for what it is, and I hope you too can love it, “imperfections” and all.