Acne:

Everyone has experienced its traumatic appearance at some point in their lives. For many it's just like high school, you suffer for 4 years but then by some miracle you finally graduate, in this case you are graduating into adulthood. But for some of us it is far more complicated than that.

I was always a late bloomer. I got braces my senior year of high school, I didn't start developing until I was 15, and I still suffer from acne at 21 years old.

It all started in middle school when I was in 7th grade and an 8th grader commented on how clear my skin was and how she was jealous of me. Little did she know that right after she said those cursed words that I would be fighting an endless battle with acne. We were at a time when girls started to experiment with makeup, including myself, but I never felt pretty. I would apply layers of foundation just so I could hide my flaws but it still felt like people were staring. Makeup didn't seem fun anymore and started to become a chore, like something I HAD to do.

Years of experimenting with acne cleansers, spot treatments, home remedies, and acne clearing makeups went by, but if anything my acne seemed to have gotten worse. To this day I cannot remember a day where I had fully clear skin without a single new pimple or acne mark on my face. I was always so self conscious and cared what people thought that I would wear makeup everyday for every occasion. I would even reapply my makeup after I had already taken it off for the day just to go to my work study for a few hours. People would continuously tell me that the makeup is doing more harm than good but I never wanted to listen. Lets just say that I'm very stubborn when it comes to people questioning my decisions so it wasn't a surprise that I didn't listen.

It wasn't until very recently like about 6 months ago that I finally caved and stopped wearing makeup all together. I cannot tell you how freeing it felt to just wake-up in the morning and have my morning routine mainly consist of taking a shower and getting dressed. It was a big step for me and I cannot tell you that it wasn't difficult and that I felt comfortable in the beginning, but it became easy once I made a vital realization. Once I finally realized that no one was treating me differently and that the only person noticing and commenting on it was me.

I'm happy to report that ever since I stopped wearing makeup and only using gentle face cleansers that my skin has improved tremendously. I am still not at the point I want to be, but my skin is finally heading in the right direction. It is still difficult everyday to avoid my previous vices but I keep reminding myself that each day without is a day closer to clearer and healthier skin.

Moral of the story........

Don't fixate on what others may think, just do what is best for "you" in the moment.