MY ACNE STORY

Hi folks!

This is my first post, so much pressure! I want this blog to be a personal yet anonymous beauty, lifestyle and inspirational blog. It will feature beauty advice, monthly picks, product reviews, and other stuff to meditate upon !

Let’s will start off with the basics which will make all my other beauty posts much more relevant: my acne (never-ending) story.

My skin is mixed/sensitive and blessed with gorgeous adult acne <3<3

This is my left cheek and jaw today #scarredforlife #thuglife

Yes, I can laugh at it now. I have cried myself to sleep and cancelled enough meetings because of break-outs. I’ve learnt to deal with it now – at least psychologically. I had mild acne as a teen, but it wasn’t as bad and scarring as my microcystic adult acne. It started when i was 22 and I’m now 25. 3,5 years. At my worse, I could have over 20 mycrocysts ready to burst into flames and 5 fully-bloomed spots and many many scars and blemishes. Right now I have about 10 really small microcysts, 3 inflamed ones and a couple of scars.

My acne is caused by many, many things:

Lack of self-control
I can’t stop touching my face. It’s like an addiction. I know how bad it is for the skin, but I can’t help it. The urge to feel the spots, try to squeeze them or peel the dead skin off is simply too strong. It’s sick, I know.
Lack of hormonal balance.
I usually get small microcysts before my period who bloom during my period and heal… well when it’s time for the next menstrual cycle. There’s not much to do about this unfortunately.
Lack of will.
I smoke. A lot. Smoking is very bad for the skin: it clogs pores and gives you a dull complexion. But godammit I’m french, I’ll stop when I have kids. I also drink alcohol 1or 2 (or 3) times a week.
Lack of sleep.
I sleep an average of 6 hours a night. I’ve had insomnia in the past, and the moment all the lights are out and I’m trying to sleep is something I always try to put off that moment for as long as I can. I’m also a very stressed person, and stress is not good for the acne. Fun fact: According to a Chinese face-mapping, having acne on your chin is a sign of needing to chill.
Lack of hygiene.
I wash my hands about 20 times a day, clean my face twice a day and change my pillow often because of my allergy to dust/mites – but I don’t wash my brushes and clean my phone as often as I should. If you have acne on your cheekbones and ears like me, you probably should do it too.
Lack of diet.
I just know there is something I’m eating that is causing some of my breakouts. I’ve tried keeping a skin/food diary and cutting out dairy, but I haven’t found any particular intolerance or acne . I must say cutting down sugar helped. That one time when I cut down on sugar… As a true frenchie, I’m also addicted to bread and wheat in general. I have high amounts of Candida in my body, a bit above normal. Candida feeds off wheat. Candida can cause acne. That’s all I know, because I have never tried cutting off gluten, it’s just not for me. Cutting off gluten would be like cutting off a source of happiness in my life. A baguette a day keeps the psychologist away !
Lack of good skin genes.
My mother had adult acne during most of her 20’s and had huge cysts on the neck for 2 years in her 40’s. She also has thin, sensitive skin with visible veins – just like I do. Thanks for the DNA mom!