My acne story and what I learnt over the years.

 Before starting the post I would just like to thank everyone of  you who has supported my blogs and shared it and always had my back. And with that  being said I would also like to apologize for not posting for such a long time as this month  has not been the best and I am honestly not doing very well with my thoughts and having some difficulties with respect to my career. Well, now onto the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to treat anyone and it is meant for review purposes only. I am not a dermatologist or a skincare expert and this post is merely from the viewpoint of a consumer and skincare enthusiast. 

    Acne has been part of my life for a long time now. While it is not the end of the world problem it surely does mess up your self esteem and confidence. And while many like to say that looks don't matter and beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder it really doesn't works like that in real life or at least hasn't been that way for me. Be it the rude snarky comments about how my face looks to the weird looks you get when you just exist is just very telling. The idea of fair and spotless beauty in the Indian society has been ingrained in one's mind to such an extent that people either consciously or sub-consciously say or do things that just ends up hurting the person on the other end. Right from people preferring fair skinny kids for the main lead in dance choreography for school annual days to pretty people having advantage in college I have seen it all unfold right in front of my eyes.

    In the initial years of college I woke up early in the morning to conceal all my flaws to look 'presentable' and at that time skincare was all about burn your skin till you achieve the fair complexion with no laws. Yes I have applied lemon on my  face in a turmeric mask and yes my face stung so much that my eyes got red and thankfully I did not apply this in the morning and go out but yes I have done it all. For the longest I just did not know what to do so I used products with denatured alcohol and then did not moisturize or use sunscreen and I did mess up my skin's barrier and then covered it up with makeup. When the lockdown started this was the time when I got into skincare youtube and discovered skincare and acids and anti-oxidants and the wonderful sunscreens. Though initially I was lost and I might also have ended up spending a lot on products which did not do anything for my skin and were just paid promotion done by influencers I finally found the Indian Skincare Addicts Subreddit and this page had consumers reviewing products and the environment there was just so welcoming. From there on my perspective of skincare changed from using everything to only using what my skin needs and going from 5-7 steps to cutting it to 4 steps and using sunscreen religiously. 

    Its been over a year since I started following a regular skincare routine and one thing I can tell you is don't lose hope. I still have white heads and acne popping here and there but I am at a much better place than where I used to be two years ago. I now don't feel the need to conceal my face before getting out of my house because I am comfortable in my skin and while this has not been easy it sure feels good once you start being easy on yourself. It is also important to acknowledge that what we see on the internet is not real as there is a lot of  technical retouching and photoshop work which goes on behind the scene so holding oneself to that pedestal and wanting to achieve that level of perfection which doesn't exist is being unfair and cruel to oneself and this will hurt us mentally. 

    I feel like with introduction of brands like minimalist, deconstruct, etc. the skincare industry in India has gotten more competitive which has given us ingredients which are currently trending in the west which has made people think beyond Hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C and has made companies reduce their price while giving good quality products which delivered results to stay in the competition. And with the market expanding people have now stopped trusting brands who do not disclose their ingredients and are more informed than they ever were and there is something for everyone in this current market which just makes me so happy because when I started my skincare journey there were only a limited number of skincare brands who were hyped by influencers and their prices were pretty high to say the least. 

    From all this what I have learnt is to have a realistic expectation of what skincare can do oneself as there are over the counter products and their potency is not as strong as the products you get from prescription. Fragrance in skincare is not the end of the world. While people with sensitive skin may want to stray away from fragrance we cannot say that fragrance in products is bad per say. I personally do not mind fragrance in skincare mostly unless the fragrance is so high that it gives me headache. And lastly, preservatives like parabens are not bad. I would rather use a product with paraben as a preservative than buy a product with no preservative. I prefer preservatives over mouldy products. 

    Currently, I am at that stage where in skincare I just love hydrating products. Yes I still  do use exfolatiors but from what I have experienced hydration is the key to having a healthy skin. Though, I still do have bad days I do not feel the need to use a filtered version of my photo to get compliments. While I still have a rough time accepting my features I think I have come a long way that I at least don't feel the need to change myself to get accepted by others. I still have a lot of body issues and I still have a bad time when I hear things being said about my body by people who do not even matter in my life but it takes time for self acceptance and sometimes you may never achieve the  100% of self acceptance ratio. We are humans and at the end of the day even when we have everything we may long for something we see others have and that is okay because that is how humans work. All this being said I still have a long way to go and a lot of self healing to do but I am proud of where I am right now.