Spots and scars

I hear that June is acne awareness month and I am feeling inspired to share my acne journey. I will be honest, I never wanted to publicly address my acne until my face was totally clear of all the hyperpigmentation scars but here I am, feeling what? Inspired.

So let's start right at the top, shall we? The last time my skin was close to being spotless was in 2016, just before I came to the UK *cue sad music*

All my life I heard about the abroad glow and how people's skin transformed for the better when they left Nigeria but as I am different in all things, my skin did the exact opposite. Just a few weeks after my arrival I began to have terrible breakouts. And this was just the beginning. This continued and progressively worsened for the next 4 years.

I have always been confident in my own skin and absolutely love to be in my natural element, be it with my skin or my hair. I rarely apply makeup and never felt pressured to cover up my scars with it. I was fully aware of it and embraced it. I was determined to be as confident as I have always been and not allow my self-esteem to be affected by my scars.

My experience with acne has been a long one filled with positives and negatives. I am surrounded by amazing friends and family who constantly remind me that I am beautiful, full stop. There is no irrespective or despite and I appreciate them for that.

But I also had to endure a lot of unwanted remarks or silly questions about my skin, some of which may have been birthed from the best intentions and some just downright insensitive. And of course the skincare product suggestions by the random lady at Primark or the stranger on the bus who knew just what my skin needed. I was mostly unbothered by such comments but every now and again would refrain from posting that selfie or video to avoid them.

What caused my acne?

This was the golden question for the longest time and it wasn't until last year that I came to some sort of conclusion about it.

As some of you may know, there are numerous causes of acne, including puberty, environmental irritants, diet, hormonal imbalance, underlying health conditions such as Cushing's syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome, androgen-secreting tumours and much more. And sometimes there is just no specific cause.

The spots, the scars, the rough surfaces and the pain may only be the surface of what could be a much bigger problem.

I explored the idea that my acne was due to the change in environment but I soon deviated from this line of thought as nothing seemed to improve it after my first year in the UK.

It wasn't until last year that I finally discussed my acne with my GP. There was no special revelation but given my history with severe dysmenorrhoea (menstrual cramps) which only started after I came into the UK, we both agreed that I had hormonal acne which is acne that arises as a result of fluctuations in one's hormones.

How did I manage my acne?

I started like most people do, the wrong way! I tried many DIY methods such as turmeric, honey, lemon and the likes, but these did absolutely nothing.

I graduated from that to skincare brands and started with Garnier face washes and toners, again, zilch. My next stop on the tour was Clinique. I was really hopeful about it but still no clear skin.

And finally, in December 2020, I made the decision to try The Ordinary. I was keen to get a set and not individual products from different brands so I got the Balance set as well as the Glycolic acid 7% toning solution and Borage seed oil. I also unlearned the idea that black people do not need sunscreen and got myself some Garnier 50+ SPF sun cream magic. It has been over 6 months and I believe I can say that I finally found the one(s).

But that was not all that I used. Given that my acne was sitting comfortably in the moderate severity category, my GP also prescribed Differin 0.1% w/w cream and a 3-month course of Lymecycline. Lymecycline is an antibiotic and is one of the pharmacological options for people with moderate acne that can be obtained only with a doctor's prescription.

Hold on, that's still not all. Due to my history of debilitating dysmenorrhoea, I started using the combined oral contraceptives (COCP). This was to give me the opportunity to have a normal life that does not involve me taking a week off work every month. The COCP had an added advantage. Because it helped to regulate my hormones, by extension, it also reduced the occurrence of breakouts.

I am amazed and grateful for my progress with these products and hope things only get better from here. I have gone from having painful cystic breakouts almost every month to being in my 3rd month without a single pimple.

While I am grateful for all of the above, I am achingly aware that there are millions of people that are yet to find their solution for various reasons. So for that woman or man out there whose self-esteem has been tossed in the dirt by comments and remarks about your skin, first of all, I am sorry you have had to endure that. But I want you to know that you are beautiful, all of you is beautiful! Your spots and your scars, your pimples and all the rough edges. It might take you a few weeks or months or even years to get your skin to be what you want it to be. But while you are on the journey there, I want you to hold your head as high as you can and remind yourself that you are a boss and you are fantastic and you are gorgeous!!

Have a beautiful and peaceful week!❤️❤️