My Journey to Skin Positivity

Editing photos to rid them of “imperfections” seemed almost like second nature to me. I used to be a wiz with Facetune, using it to smooth out my texture and cover my blemishes that were popping out from underneath foundation and concealer. It was that extra step that seemed absolutely necessary for the photos to go out into the public on Facebook, Instagram, and my blog.

For years, I have been so focused on my “imperfections” and what other people thought of my appearance, but I write this to say no more.

Before diving into the rest of this post, I do want to say you can love makeup – you can love a full face beat with foundation, concealer, contour, blush, etc. and STILL have a positive attitude about the skin you’re in. Personally, though, I used makeup as a mechanism to cover my face because I was ashamed of what I saw. NOT EVERYONE WHO WEARS MAKEUP HAS THIS MENTALITY.

With that being said, let’s move dive into the rest.

My insecurities began at a very young age. Pretty much when I hit puberty and my skin started producing more oil and acne. I quickly became aware of all the messages directed at me, and I started to believe them. I believed that because I had acne my skin was covered in “imperfections” and that acne was caused by “dirt,” therefore, I was dirty, and because I was aware of all of these things, there was no doubt in my mind that others were also aware. I clearly remember instances of where I would purposefully look down, not make eye contact with others, and wear my hair heavily around my face.

With each product I have bought over the years, I would hope that I would find the holy grail that would miraculously “cure me” and bless me with clear skin. The thing is, I do not need curing.

Yes, it is okay to aspire for a specific version of skin, but you shouldn’t let it define you. Clear skin is not the only version of good skin. Ultimately, good skin is determined by YOU because here’s the thing: SKIN IS AS UNIQUE AS YOU AND ONE DEFINITION OF “GOOD SKIN” DOES NOT FIT ALL.

I will admit though, it’s not easy to get to this place. There were significant mental and emotional challenges that I had to get over to accepting the skin I’m in and reaching skin positivity.

This is what I did:

I banished words like “imperfection” from my vocabulary because babe, you are perfection.
I stopped wearing makeup every day. This was essential for my process because I needed to be able to see my skin – my oil, my acne, and my scars – to accept them.
Dump the shame and express self-love through positive affirmations (more on this later).

Acne awareness month is June. Yup, it’s a thing! Would you be surprised to know that 80 percent of people have acne at some point in their life? Or that there are 40-50 million people in the country living with acne? It’s very common! So common that we can rewrite the social stigma and marketing surrounding acne.

I challenge you to not pick on your acne, but to celebrate it. Spend at least a day or two (maybe your weekend) without makeup on, so that you can come face to face with your natural skin. Lastly, make this your mantra: “I am beautiful. This is my skin. My skin is beautiful. I deserve to feel beautiful in my own skin.”

My hope is that this will slowly transform that negative self-talk into positivity. Remember, this is about kicking shame’s butt and embracing self-love. And to help you along the way, here are some of my favorite acne-bearing, skin positivity Instagram accounts.