As the world has embraced skin positivity, this incredible movement of acceptance and inclusivity for all skin textures, conditions, and tones has created an inspiring environment to help people discover how to stay positive with acne.

If you have acne, you know the angst and hours lost fretting about your skin, scrolling to find the next “holy grail” acne solution, or doing an elaborate make-up application to hide your breakouts. Can't relate to having a bad skin day? It’s like having a bad hair day, with the difference being your face is usually what people notice first. You can throw your hair in a ponytail or rock a cute hat, but it isn't practical to cover up your face. While you can’t recapture the moments you missed out on, with acne positivity you can forge a new, healthier, happier way forward. Acne is one of the biggest concerns in the beauty world today, as evidenced by the surplus of acne positivity influencers and celebrities working to change the conversation and defy societal pressures.

In the spirit of National Forgiveness Week, we admonish you to forgive your skin. It may seem like it is breaking out “at you,” but it really isn’t. The feeling that your skin and body have wronged you is understandable. But, for your acne healing journey, accepting your skin where it is right now is a significant first step towards loving yourself. In fact, this approach may be the medicine you and your skin need to make the turning point. In some, if not most respects, you are powerless over your breakouts, which we’ll get into next. But, informing yourself about acne, its triggers, and its impact can empower you, helping you feel more in control.

Your Acne Is Not Your Fault
Just like some people are born with fair skin and hair and others with darker complexions and strands, your skin also has unique characteristics and differences! There is a genetic component involved in acne. You likely inherited the acne gene from one or both of your parents, so, despite how much you cleanse, scrub, or treat, you can’t change your genetics. That’s right - acne is a genetic disorder. But rather than develop resentment towards your folks for passing down this condition, it is best to accept it and start exploring solutions to help you feel better about the skin you are in.

How Acne Affects Mental Health Acne is normal, and so are the mental health challenges that accompany it. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), “Acne is the most common skin condition in the United States, affecting up to 50 million Americans annually.” In addition, the AAD indicates that “Acne occurring in adults is increasing, affecting up to 15 percent of women.” This likely explains why the cosmetics foundation market continues to experience exponential growth, as people attempt to conceal their skin imperfections, a term we are trying to abolish. Acne can erode self-esteem, causing embarrassment, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Worries about how others perceive you and the endless chatter from your inner critic can heighten these feelings, causing acne experiencers to feel unworthy of finding a mate or successful career while simultaneously wanting to isolate.

Insecurity about acne may trigger people to pick at their skin to try to achieve perfection. However, when picking becomes compulsive, this condition is called excoriation disorder or dermatillomania. Related to OCD and body dysmorphic disorders with impulse control issues, it exacerbates acne and causes worse damage than if breakouts were left alone. If you feel unable to cope with frequent acne shame spirals or feel that out-of-control picking is affecting all aspects of your life, it is important that you seek professional help.

You can begin by gently challenging the harsh things you say to yourself about your skin. Don't beat yourself up! You are not your skin, and your breakouts don’t make you a bad, unattractive person. You are enough - whether your skin is clear or not! Also, try not to let what other people say affect you (we know this can be hard)! Like the saying goes “What other people say or think about you is none of your concern”, and the skin positivity movement is trying to overthrow all the negative, damaging messages (theirs and yours) one condition at a time! Our flaws are part of us, and the sooner we quit fighting their existence, the sooner we can get on with living healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Embracing Skin Positivity
There are several ways to embrace the skin positivity movement and discover that you are truly perfectly imperfect! Sure, you may not have the glass skin you crave or haven’t put as many “good skin days” together as you’d like, but finding things you like about yourself can help shift your perspective. When your confidence tank is empty, you need to fill it up with positive thoughts. Focus on your assets, not your acne. Perhaps you are kind, honest, dependable, or creative. Or maybe you are a great leader, have a great sense of humor, or were blessed with great hair, nails, or legs. Whatever positive traits you have, we know they far outweigh the state of your skin.

What about your achievements? Maybe you aced it on a work or school assignment, have been killing it at the gym and have the new muscles to show for it, or have volunteered to give back to your community. Consider starting one new self-esteeming act per day to help fill your tank. Reminding yourself of these qualities or accomplishments and that your acne does not define you will help you see yourself in a brighter light and gain self-acceptance for the way you are right now. Recognizing what your skin does for you may help relieve stress and anxiety and change your feelings about it. Keeping skin gratitude front and center by thanking your skin for what it does for you is another excellent way to improve your mindset. Here are a few ways your skin keeps you safe, healthy, and happy:

1. Protects against environmental aggressors like UV radiation, germs, and impurities
2. Prevents moisture loss to ensure your body stays hydrated
3. Regulates your body temperature
4. Helps eliminate toxins
5. As a sensory organ, it alerts us to danger
6. It also allows us to touch and feel good sensations

Saying positive acne affirmations directed at your complexion may help you feel more at peace. If “I am beautiful” seems too lofty or unbelievable right now, you can try for more gentle affirmations that reinforce the steps you are taking to care for your mind and body:

1. I am healing my acne
2. My skin is improving every day
3. I am learning to love myself
4. My imperfections make me unique
5. I take proper care of my skin
6. My healthy skin habits are helping my complexion
7. I am developing a healthy acne self-care routine
8. My skin is healthy
9. I am more than my skin

Once you get the hang of this softer approach, you can work up to wholeheartedly loving and believing in yourself from head to toe. Using these tools when your confidence wanes will help rebalance your perspective.

Why Acne is Normal
Everyone has pores, oil, dead skin cells, bacteria, and hormones that affect skin appearance. While oil normally helps lubricate your skin, those with acne simply produce more of it, with a thicker, stickier composition and a tendency to hold onto those dead skin cells longer than others. People of all ages and races experience acne, a disorder that affects approximately 4 out of 5 people during their lifetime. If you are one of the 4, you don’t have to hide or let it rule you!

Newsflash: You nor your skin will ever be perfect because perfect skin does not exist. If it did, photoshop, photo editing apps, or filters wouldn’t exist. But that doesn't mean you can’t help it out on the days, weeks, or seasons when it needs a little extra pampering. Beating yourself up about it can worsen your skin condition. This is because stress triggers our bodies to produce stress hormones that trigger inflammation and increased oil production that exacerbate acneic conditions. Working on your mental health and wellness by embracing acne positivity can improve your outlook and the state of your skin.

Hope After Acne
When you’re in a shame spiral, ideas about how to stay positive with acne can seem far-fetched. We assure you it will get better!  As a recovering acne sufferer, this writer knows firsthand how challenging it can be. Today my skin is clear (for the most part), but through most of my adult life, breakouts sent me into an endless cycle of picking to try to remove the offenders, then spackling with heavy make-up to conceal my complexion from the world. I felt unattractive, undesirable, and hopeless that my skin would never clear up.

But it wasn’t just my face. Trying to find clothes that wouldn’t reveal my back acne sent me spinning…and shopping. If you have "bacne," you have likely experienced searing pain upon throwing your purse over your shoulder as it made contact with your latest “friend.” So, we understand that acne, and all that goes with it, may make you want to stay home or hide behind filters, but thankfully today’s society acknowledges that acne happens to the best of us. Depending on the extent of the acne, most will find that topical acne treatments and lifestyle changes do the trick. The ProCorrective Clear-Control Line and SpaTeen Line can help you regain your serenity. The only drawback? You may not be able to resist revealing your skin au naturelle every chance you get. Of course, you don't have to cover up, but if you choose to, because YOU want to feel more comfortable in your skin - not because it is expected, you can blur your blemishes with the YouthRenew Tinted Cream.

Want to maximize results for your healthiest skin ever? Boost skin health with an in-depth consultation for your ideal products and a series of professional treatments, such as the ProCorrective Clear-Control Treatment, SpaTeen® Blemished Skin Treatment, Plantomer Treatment, YouthRenew Hydra-Glow Peel and Lacto-Flora Peel. Then, visit Find A Spa for an oasis near you offering Pevonia!