Don’t believe what you see on Instagram. Just don’t. Make that any social media. So many beautiful people fall into the trap of seeing a heavily filtered photo with perfect lighting and makeup and think that they are the only ones in the whole world that deal with troublesome skin. I am here to tell you that is not the case! I’m proof positive.
There isn’t a person walking around that either hasn’t or isn’t currently dealing with different issues with their skin. A lot of the time, especially for women who have the ability to cover anything with makeup, those issues go unnoticed by the passerby. Let me tell you though, there are probably dealing with the same skin problems you are.
I want to take you back to when I was younger and share my own story. One that is still being written to this day. Like most of us do, I remember the exact moment I got my first real pimple. I was 13 years old and had just woken up for school only to discover a monster staring back at me in the mirror. In that frantic moment I thought I was going to struggle with acne my whole life. Thankfully my teen years were kind to me and breakouts were few.
I was determined to not have a face full of acne so if there was an over the counter remedy out there, I probably tried it. For me though, my troublesome condition was painful cysts that develop under the skin. No matter how many trips to CVS or Walgreens I took, nothing seemed to help. It was time to get serious. The first time I stepped foot into a dermatologist’s office I felt like many people do. Anxious about my skin. Anxious about what the doctor might say. Anxious about…well basically all of it. The problem was that every time I developed one of those nagging cysts, all I wanted to do was take it out. Let me tell you the struggle was real! It was nearly impossible to keep my hands off my face. It was like those times when you were a kid and your parents told you that you weren’t allowed to do something. All you wanted to do was the one thing you were told not to. And just like when we would all do that one thing, I would pick my skin. I just couldn’t help it. I was prescribed topicals like Benzaclin, Clindamycin Gel, and also multiple dermatologists’ own acne line made specifically the way they liked it compounded. These topicals did help some but I was still experiencing cysts developing and when they started to appear on my back too, that’s when I had it and wasn’t playing games anymore.
Enter the oral medications. First let me preface this by saying there are obvious things you need to be aware of and take into consideration before starting oral medications. Those should always be discussed with your doctor and if they are affecting you in any way you need to speak up. There really are three main ones that are the most commonly prescribed. Doxycycline, Cefadroxil, Spironolactone, and even a short course of Accutane. The dermatologist I was seeing and I decided on the latter and I began the short course of Accutane. I wasn’t out of the woods yet. Although it was a vast improvement over other treatments I had tried, I still needed something else. What about once the course of Accutate ended? Answer, SkinCeuticals. While waiting to see my doctor for a follow up visit I noticed that they had added a line of skin care products in their office for patients to purchase. Knowing nothing about how well they performed, I asked and googled. Not knowing if I should believe the hype I decided to give them a shot. Let me put it this way, (SPOILER ALERT) SkinCeuticals is all I use in my professional treatments on my clients and the only line of skin care products I sell. I swear by them and anyone that asks, they are one of the only line of products I would ever recommend.
So many skin conditions can have such a toll on you not only physically, but mentally. Endless mornings of not wanting to head out the door because there wasn’t enough makeup in the world to coverup my skin. Not having enough confidence to look people in the eyes because I was so worried everyone would only be counting the number of pimples on my face. There were even weeks where I picked my skin so badly that I was forced to cover up areas with Band-Aids. Looking back I don’t remember anyone taking the time to truly go over what lifestyle and dietary factors directly impact the health of my skin. Limiting unhealthy foods like chocolate, cheeses, spicy foods, milk, high carb diets and more are all key contributors. Preventative measures like washing your face not only every evening, but every morning and making sure all your makeup is completely removed that way the products you are using can actually penetrate and be effective. Even washing your pillow case covers every week, bringing face wipes for when you sweat, or even applying sunscreen to prevent more redness from the scarring. It seems like common sense but you would be surprised how often those little things don’t happen and it takes more than a great skin care regimen to prevent stubborn breakouts and to have healthy skin.
Now you can see why I do what I do. I never want someone to feel like they are powerless to change the health of their skin. If some of my experience can help someone, then my struggles were and are worth it. Just remember, you are beautiful. Inside and out. And never let anyone tell you otherwise.
