This is a difficult story to tell. It involves a lot of personal emotional pain but also has a happy ending and it is an unfiltered account of my skin journey. You may not know me personally but it took a long time to get my skin to where it is today. If you have met me, you probably would never have guessed how shy I was growing up. I was the type of girl who would hide behind her mom at dinner parties and avoid talking to boys in elementary school because I struggled with acne at the very young age of 12. As soon as I got my period my skin was like, "HAHA NOPE!" I spent about 4-5 years in and out of dermatologist offices, medical spas and my poor mother spent A LOT of moula on my skin. In high school, I went on antibiotics and birth control to manage my acne and it worked! It was the first time I could see my skin clearly and quite honestly felt “pretty”. Isn’t that fucked up? That a young girl with the world in front of her could feel so held back and unpretty because of a skin condition. Unfortunately that’s what acne does to people and there’s no sugar coating that. It is just as much, if not more of a mental struggle as it is a physical one. I enjoyed about 16 blissful years of clear skin. I also tried going off the pill a few times but without fail, my skin would regress so I would jump back on the pill popping train and wait for clearer days. At 31 I decided enough was enough and swapped the pill for a non-hormonal IUD. I was done w/ the fake hormones pumping through me and was hopeful that my body was on the same page. Girl was I ever so wrong, because my skin lost it! A couple months into getting my IUD I started breaking out constantly, usually daily, with painful, inflamed pimples. My bacne wasn’t terrible but it was starting to make a re-appearance. I had dark scarring all over my face and there was no stopping it. I was basically reliving my adolescent years as a grown woman only this time, it hit me harder. I had just started my dream job and was going to be helping others with their skin issues, with a face full of acne. It killed me that when I finally found my calling in life, I found it very difficult to advise others on their skin issues when I myself, didn’t have clear skin. Despite feeling confident in my knowledge and expertise, there were days that I really didn’t want to face the world because once again, I just felt ugly. There were many failed attempts at covering it up (totally made it worse), I cried a lot to my boyfriend now fiancé and I was a very sad version of myself. Those were dark days and I would never wish this upon anyone. In hindsight I really feel like all the years being on birth control suppressed my acne and never cured anything. It was a band-aid solution. Then something magical happened. No, I didn’t buy one product and wake up with clear skin (that doesn’t exist). I took my own damn advice, reworked my whole skincare routine & started a chemical peel series in the fall of 2019. In about four months, I got my inflammation under control and I moved to a series microneedling treatments in January 2020. As each month passed I assessed, adjusted my routine as needed, started really understanding what my skin needed and never missed a day with my skincare. EVER. In 2020 I stopped wearing makeup. I pivoted from wearing full coverage foundation every single day to not owning a foundation. I started to take better care of my overall nutrition and also made working out a priority. Those two still play an important role in my lifestyle. My clients who have been with me since day one, have witnessed and experienced these struggles and have stuck with me through my own flare ups and for that I am forever grateful. I am in the maintenance stage with my skin where I expect the occasional hormonal pimple, the usual scarring (not from picking of course) but my skin seriously GLOWS. I still perform facials regularly on myself, especially the DMK Enzyme, to maintain my results and I continue to strive for healthy skin because there is no such thing as PERFECT PORELESS SKIN. Let me repeat that. There is NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT PORELESS SKIN My relationship with my skin and myself has changed a lot since I was 12. Self-love is easier said than done I know, but it’s important to recognize that having a chronic skin condition never diminishes your worth and potential as a person. It’s also hard to feel your best, when you don’t feel you look your best and I get that! That’s why I love my work so much. My job isn’t just to help you achieve healthy skin free of dysfunction, it’s also to help you gain more confidence in your own natural skin. It’s to educate you to care for this amazing live organ, properly. It’s to help you invest in yourself and regularly practice acts of self-love because you deserve to make yourself a priority. My relationship with my own skin changed my life and do I wish I never had acne? Uh, hell ya! But then again, where would I be today without having gone through my own personal struggle. I hope that my story gives you some hope if you are really struggling with your own skin. It’s never too late to take care of your skin and I am here to help you. If none of this really applied to you, I will leave you with this: Healthy skin is a lifelong commitment to self-care, but more importantly, self-love. ![]() Wishing you all an acne-free week & lots of love!
xoxo Alicia
1 Comment
Joe Ng
8/4/2021 11:49:51 am
Hey Alish:
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
CategoriesAll Business/Personal Services Skincare
|