Acne, medically known as Acne Vulgaris is a skin disease that involves the oil glands at the base of hair follicles. It commonly occurs during puberty when sebaceous (oil) glands come to life - the glands are stimulated by male hormones produced by the adrenal glands of both male and females. Anybody who has ever had to experience Acne can agree with me when I say that is something that not only has the ability to leave scars on your face, chest and back but can also leave internal scars.
I remember having Acne as a teenager. It was very difficult dealing with pimples and spots on my face. I remember my baby brother asking me why I have spots on my face and I couldn't answer that question because I really had nothing to do with those spots being on my face. Now that I am reading the definition, I have always suspected that I have male hormones somewhere somehow inside of me and this confirms my theory. Lots of myths have tried to explain why an individual develops Acne and the most common one that was told to me was that eating chocolate causes Acne, so because of this myth, I avoided chocolate with my dear life but the Acne did not go away.
When I reached the age of 23, my Acne miraculously disappeared and I had the most beautiful skin. My skin was so beautiful that every time I went for a shoot, the makeup artist would think that I have makeup on, can you imagine? The perks that come with a clear acne free skin are just amazing. I realised that chocolate had nothing to do with my skin so I started indulging, maybe a tad too much. I guess that is why it is currently such an addiction now. One could say that I am overcompensating for all those days I deprived myself.
Everyone around me forgot that I once had Acne and I almost had to remind them about my spotty days. July 2012, I had my first breakout, and then the second and then the third. My face started to itch and I remembered that feeling very well. I remembered that I had read somewhere that Acne can rear its ugly head back into adulthood. Imagine that one minute you have clear amazing skin and then the next your face starts to break out, it becomes a bit too hard to deal with it. Adult Acne affects 1 in 5 women between the ages of 25 and 40. So firstly I have male hormones and secondly I had to be the 1 out of 5. Why couldn't I be the 1 out of 5 to win that trip to Cambodia? It had to be the Acne bit right? Well that's the reality and I must admit; it is harder the second time around. You can't treat Acne the same way you treated it when you were a teenager.
One must be willing to pay the dermatologist a visit to seek some help. I am still in denial about what is happening to me by the way. I mean why must I battle for what used to be mine, why did it go away? In my state of denial, I have to explore various of options of how to manage this Acne. I cannot imagine paying thousands of rands trying to clear my skin so I decided to try some homemade remedies out. When such a situation is before you, you have to make a conscious decision to take care of your skin. So I have adopted a consistent routine which I can see that over time, my skin is getting its glow back.
Lemons have become my best friend - lemon juice s very good for acne both when applied on the skin or as a liquid beverage. So I make sure that every single night I prepare a jug of water and sliced lemon. This is what I drink when I open my eyes right up to the time before I take a shower. I wash my face with my Ganier even tone face wash and tone with lemon juice (concentrate or freshly squeezed) and moisture with the Ganier even tone moisturiser.
I mask once in a while with yoghurt and honey and exfoliate with brown sugar and olive oil.
I use olive oil to also remove my make up before I sleep and occasionally the castor oil as these oils are very good in fighting Acne, By the way, Castor oil is brilliant at removing Eczema and stretch marks and if you mix your body cream with olive oil, you will thank me after a month. This is my religious routine and I have seen a major difference, except here and there; but sometimes I have to deal with a face filled with pimples and spots - maybe because my hormones are flaring at that particular time - but when I am a lady, my skin behaves. It's going to take some getting used to plucking up the courage to get out of the house without any makeup on but one thing that I am certain of is that inner beauty always wins.
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