If you told me when I was 14 that I’d be writing a blog in my 30s about how to heal acne scars and how I actually became content with my skin, I would have been excited to know what was ahead. At the time, I had no clue what my skin future was. Maybe that sounds silly, but try suffering from acne, at any age, it’s the absolute worst.
I had acne on my back and my face for a good 3-4 years. I remember being in grade 6 and I started getting pimples, before anyone else in my grade. One friend even liked to point them out to me, that sure didn’t help my self esteem at the time! I grew up in a very middle class, white, and pretentious small town. Most of my friends had money, everyone was skinny and no-one had any skin concerns. Except me. 🙋🏼♀️
Two photos, 10 years apart. First one being when I was part way through my healing journey. I don’t have any photos online from when I was in grade school, when my skin was at its worst.
I was chubby from the age of 10-13. Then when I lost my pre-teen weight and grew into my body, I got hit with acne and I mean bad acne. This combination wasn’t great for my self-esteem. It took almost 10 years to fully heal and actually become confident in my skin, through and through. Don’t get my wrong, I’ve always liked who I am as a person, I think I have good character, I work hard and I’m kind. (Having to rely on my personality and not my looks probably helped with this haha!) But I never really felt like I was overly attractive, I really wanted to be! Having idolized Hollywood and actors as a kid, all I wanted was to be skinny and pretty. That was the only way I’d make it as an actor and model, or at least that’s what I believed.
But I’m here to tell you now that first of all, that’s not true. Luckily the world of entertainment has changed since the early 2000s, people have become a lot more accepting. And to be honest, so much of what you see on the screen is edited. I worked in film for many years so I know this first hand. Of course there are different character types when it comes to casting and a lot of modelling is still very focused on body image, but I do believe we’ve made some great progress.
“It took 10 years to fully heal and actually become confident in my skin, through and through.”
Today’s blog isn’t just about loving and accepting yourself. It’s really to share how I was able to heal my acne scars, and become confident in my own skin! Hopefully this will help others in their journey and possibly give some insight on skincare and what I found to be helpful. Because trust me, I tried everything. I’ll break it down into 3 points that I know helped me in my skin healing journey. And share how I rebuilt my confidence over the years!
Full disclaimer, in Grade 8 I was prescribed Acutane. I had been suffering from bad acne through grade 6, 7 and into 8 and I was not ready to go into high school looking the way I did. It truly changed everything for me. I still had many years of healing to go after that (like some pretty big scarring to work on and still some acne but not as cystic, more “average” level acne I’d argue.) Acutane was a big decision as it is really bad for you, but it was truly the best decision for me at the time. So let’s dive right in take a look at what made a world of difference for me!
3 Main Takeaways:
Nourish your skin
Putting oil on your face actually isn’t counter productive!
I saw a facialist in my early 20s who said to me “you actually have nice skin!” – she said what?! I couldn’t believe it, no one had said that to me before. And then she continued to educate me on how to continue healing my face and how to help my skin thrive. Well, she was right. I started incorporating oil cleansers, serums and actual skin oils into my routine and that’s when I think the changes really started to happen.
Oil heals your skin by deeply conditioning it. I’m not a skin care professional, so I won’t go into all the specifics, but I know that different oils are good for different concerns.
Here is an article that dives into the different types of oils and what they’re good for.
https://www.nordstrom.com/browse/content/blog/face-oil-benefits
A few of my favourite oils over the years have been:
Province Apothecary, their whole skincare line is beautiful. This is where my introduction to oils started.
Wildcraft, another Toronto based company that has some awesome skincare options that are actually still affordable. I’ve been using their facial oil all winter!
Eminence products are beautiful! The Citrus & Kale C + E serum is a really nourishing oil that truly makes a big difference on your skin.
Using a variety of oils and specific serums over the past 10 years, helped sooth and nourish my skin and have allowed it to shine!
Select Treatments
I’ve never done any major treatments on my skin, mostly because they cost a lot of money! But I have tried a variety of things over the years that have definitely contributed to the success of my healing. Even in the last 2 years I’ve seen a noticeable difference. When I first moved to Alberta, I didn’t have any active skin concerns, but you could still see some small dents in my skin from the scarring. Now, I don’t even notice it anymore. I think the biggest change was getting a couple rounds of a chemical peels and micro needling. After those procedures, I saw the biggest change.
Facials: This is where you can start. Facials are a good habit to get into a few times a year that can help keep your skin clear of congestion, and just keep things glowing. I don’t always do them as they are an added cost, but I like to get at least 1-2 a year when I can!
Microderm Abrasion
This is a relatively gentle treatment that you can do every 6-8 weeks to clear dead skin cells. It will keep the skin feeling and looking fresh. It’s a good alternative to cosmetic procedures like botox as you aren’t injecting anything into your body, you’re just clearing way for new cells. It isn’t going to have the same effect obviously, but it’s a great preventative for aging and fine lines. It’s relatively affordable and pairs well with facials.
Chemical Peel
I have 2 chemical peels done last winter and wow was my skin smooth! The weeks after the treatment, you are GLOWING! It’s a bit of a painful procedure as it’s peeling off a layer of skin, but I think it was worth it. The more research I’ve done, I feel like certain skin types should stay away from them, as it is quite harsh. I am not sure if I’ll get one again as some professionals say my skin layer is too thin and fair to be getting chemical peels, but I do think it worked. As I mentioned above, my scarring indent have gone down since having this procedure done.
Micro Needling
I paired one micro needling treatment with the chemical peels and with the mix of the two, that’s where the real major results came from. The micro needling poked little holes into my skin, which forces the skin to reproduce new cells and produce more collagen. Which in turn, heals the skin that is under a deeper layer. I was numb for this one, so it didn’t hurt as much!
At the end of the day, treatments can definitely help move you along in the healing process. I was doing facials and microdermabrasion years before I tried the chemical peels and micro needling. Skin care will maintain the results you get from the procedures and keep your skin glowing as the months go by. Also remember to switch up your skincare for different seasons as you may have different needs.
Here are a couple articles that break down the different treatments in depth.
https://www.byrdie.com/spa-face-treatment-5211345
Remind yourself: You are more than your skin.
I had a friend once tell me, “if someone doesn’t like you because you have a few little dents in your face, they are not worth your time. That’s absurd!”
At the end of the day, if someone doesn’t like you or thinks less of you because of your skin, they really shouldn’t be in your life. Skin is a part of who we are, but it has nothing to do with our personalities, how we treat others or our character. Yes this is hard to remember when you’re suffering from acne. And if you’ve never experienced bad acne, you will never fully understand how brutal it is. I felt unattractive as a kid and believed people wouldn’t like me (mostly boys), because of my skin. Which maybe that was true, but really, who cares! The people who love you, will love you no matter what. We’re never going to feel amazing about every aspect of our bodies, that’s just life! And what you see online is not a good representation of reality, just remember that.
If you’ve made it to the end, thanks for following along on my skincare journey. This blog was a bit vulnerable for me to write, and I’m just being honest when I say, it’s not a topic that I speak about too often or share on my personal channels. Obviously I’m open to speaking about it and all of my friends are aware of what I went through, but it’s something of the past. There definitely was a time where I would obsess over my skin, it would never be good enough or as smooth or clear as other people’s. Now, I just accept it. Yes I have larger pores and I’m starting to develop fine lines, but what ya going to do lol! I am very happy with how far I’ve come and I rarely wear makeup anymore. It’s liberating! And if I can get here, you can too.
If you have any questions or tips you want to share, comment down below. If you’re a skincare nerd like us, check out our summer skincare routine for hydrated skin, linked here!
Xo
Cornelia
