Understand my skin

How to prevent oily skin? Healthy skin tips

Let’s be honest, it’s not easy living with shiny skin and pimples, especially when you want to be attractive, and when your friends have perfect skin… Psychiatrists all say that when you’re young, you’re right in the middle of building your own self-image, and it’s not easy when your face is shiny and full of blackheads! You often feel left out, even rejected. It’s hard meeting other people’s eyes.

That should put things into perspective. What’s really important to understand is that oily skin problems are only a phase. True, not the most fun, but hang in there and it will eventually come to an end. Especially if you talk about it and do something about it.

MEANING:

It feels like everyone sees nothing but your pimples, but actually, that’s not true!

Doctors call it dysmorphia. It means you see your physical faults totally out of proportion compared to what they really are. Here’s an example. ‘It just seems like everyone looks at my spots and nothing else. But actually, most of the time, my friends never even notice the fat pimple that’s been sat on my cheek since last night.’

All your oily skin problems crowd everything else out of your head, and you think that it must be the same for everyone else when they look at you. But remember that we all tend to be a lot harder on ourselves than everyone else. #AcceptYourself #LoveYourself

But you have to be brave enough to talk about it. With your parents, with your friends or family. If needed, don’t hesitate to see a dermatologist, or a GP, who can find the right treatment. You’ll feel a lot less alone almost immediately… And keep following your oily skin hygiene routine, cleaning morning and night – everyday!

You can have spots and feel anxious, but you’ve also got lots of other things going for you. What if you focused on all of those instead of staring into a magnifying mirror 24h? The #BodyPositive movement has shown the way. So take a step back from your fantasy self-image. Stop the harsh judging and celebrate who you really are.

Remember that your acne doesn’t define you. You’re a person, with your strengths, weaknesses and talents. So don’t let acne rule your life. Be confident and find inspiration on social media. Thanks to #Freethepimple and #LoveYourSkin on Instagram, lots of people post their selfies au naturel, without photoshopping or make-up to hide their shiny skin and blemishes. And it doesn’t stop them from continuing to fight the good fight against their oily skin problems, proudly and honestly. Nobody is perfect, and freeing yourself from other people’s looks is the best way to regain your confidence. There are inspiring teens out there, like Em Ford, the blogger @mypaleskinblog with 858k followers who launched #RedefinePretty. The account @stillbeautifulnow also does a world of good!

In summary…

Yes to conscientiously following an oily skin care routine, cleansing morning and night with the right products, doing what it takes to get your healthy skin back.
Yes to make-up that helps you feel better some days. But beware of becoming addicted to it and of the risk of acne cosmetica, linked to the overuse of cosmetic products and not washing thoroughly enough… You need to have days #WithoutMakeup and get used to this different side of you.
No to letting yourself be stigmatised by acne, and making it more important than it really is!