We LOVE everything about the skin/ body positivity movement. Why? Because it’s all about loving ourselves the way we are. We all have flaws, or things we don’t like about our skin or our bodies… but why should these dislikes cause us insecurity or self-doubt?
The body positive movement inspires us to be our best, most confident version of ourselves, even on bad skin days, or when we hate how our clothes fit. The movement is about seeing ourselves and what we have to offer as a whole person, with all of our beautiful qualities as well as our funny quirks.
Here are some top tips for feeling your best self and rocking your skin!
"You are more than your skin! Stop comparing your skin to skin you see on social media because most of the time, it’s not real skin. Filters, photo editing apps, skin smoothers, the clone tool etc are used now more than ever, which means a lot of people are comparing themselves to unrealistic beauty standards.
It’s normal to see pores.
It’s normal for your skin to have texture.
It’s normal to have smile lines.
It’s normal to have acne."
Firstly, please don’t compare yourself to photoshopped images. Social media is not real life. Secondly, there will be many ups and downs through life but it’s so important to make yourself a priority. Do things for you. Never listen to the negative opinions that others may have and try your hardest to talk to yourself like you would a best friend.
I’ve had many downs throughout life. I was severely bullied in secondary school and this affected me for many years.
As soon as I left school, I focused on myself and practised self-love.
If you are having a bad day, don’t feel guilty because of this. No day will be the same.
There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, just remain strong.
Your skin is healing every single day.
Acne will never define you. You’re more beautiful than you can imagine.
I have always struggled with confidence. I’m quite a shy girl but force myself to do things that get me out of my comfort zone. In school I was exceptionally shy, to the point even making and receiving phone calls from strangers was a real struggle for me. I then decided to push myself to not be so fearful of things. Another one of my fears was showing my real skin to the world and this is something I wanted to face. In September of last year I made my very first post on my acne positivity page. I didn’t think anyone would notice but since that day, I get hundreds of messages from people around the world, telling me that I helped them to love themselves. This warms my heart. If I can help just one person, this means I’m doing my job. Feel the fear and do it anyway!
"I am not acne free but I am free to…
Love my skin regardless of the spots or scars
Feel the sun on my skin without hiding under layers of make up
Leave the house make up free and feel confident
Challenge unrealistic beauty standards
Educate my friends and family about acne, it’s causes, how it made/makes me feel and that it’s completely normal
Don’t let society’s unrealistic ideas of beauty stop you from being free. I wasted far too many years trying to conform to these unrealistic beauty standards and it made me miserable. You are free to be you - just as you are ♥️"
I started to change the way I spoke to myself in the mirror, when my skin would flare up I would put on my favourite song and dance while I did my skin care routine every morning and say positive affirmations to myself in the mirror. I would tell myself that I am beautiful, intelligent, caring and compassionate. After a while the voice in my head wasn’t so harsh anymore. I started working out In the gym a couple years ago, the more I started to take care of my body, the more confident I became, the more grateful I was for my body and the joy life can bring.
You are more than just your skin. Let your personality shine and others will see you for who you truly are. You will start to attract people who are interested in getting to know you and your skin won’t matter to them because they will be too busy noticing your smile and the way your eyes light up when you’re talking about something you love. There are good people out there, you need to put yourself out there to find them. Write down a list of things you are good at and that you love about yourself and read that list every time you feel insecure.
My skin journey has been a roller coaster, when my skin has its flare ups it can be upsetting, I’ll cry and let it all out and then I’ll take deep breaths and calm myself down. Once I’ve calmed myself down, I will go for a walk, listen to my favourite playlist and take in the beauty around me. I’ve also been following more people on Instagram who have similar skin problems as I do because knowing that I’m not the only one going through it makes me feel less alone and talking about it to people who understands helps a lot.
Thought your days of acne were long gone, only to find those spots have popped up again in your 20s and 30s?
Don’t worry, it’s very common... 50 percent of women in their 20s have acne, and it affects over 35 percent of women in their thirties too.
Adult acne most commonly appears on the chin, jawline and lower cheeks. This is the “Uzone” of the face, and blemishes in this area tend to be deep, red and painful spots which take a while to go down. Teenage acne however, tends to appear in the “T-zone”, which is the forehead and nose, as often shown in face mapping.
Chin, mouth and jawline spots usually have a hormonal cause. Androgen hormones are the common culprit when it comes to chin pimples, especially in adult women - with levels shown to be significantly higher in adult females with acne, than those without acne. Elevated androgens are also one of the main causes of bacne (back acne).
Androgens are a group of hormones including testosterone and it’s more potent dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which binds to androgen receptors in the oil glands, stimulating excess oil production. This excess oil causes clogged pores and allows P.acnes bacteria to grow; causing inflammation and hormonal acne breakouts. Hormonal spots are typically unresponsive to topical products, which don’t address the root cause from within the body.
Some women might be naturally predisposed to higher androgen levels due to genetics, and might find acne is present regardless of the stage of the menstrual cycle. Whereas many women will notice an increase in chin, jawline and neck breakouts in the premenstrual week before their period. This is actually due to a drop in estrogen during this time. Estrogen usually keeps androgens in check, but before our period, estrogen drops and androgens are free to roam and wreak havoc on our oil glands.
One of the causes of excess androgens in females is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
PCOS is a condition in which women have low levels of estrogen and progesterone, and high androgen levels.
PCOS symptoms include irregular periods; hair on the chest, face/ chin and nipples (hirsutism); hair loss or thinning hair; oily skin and acne.
Other hormonal triggers of excess androgens include perimonopause, menopause and pregnancy, which can also cause acne breakouts.
Combined birth control pills can have an anti-androgenic effect. When switching birth control, or stopping the pill, the androgen hormones can start to rise again and increase sebum in the oil glands.
Progesterone only pills (the mini pill) or the implant, can make acne worse by causing the androgen levels to fluctuate.
Luckily, there are a number of botanicals that balance androgen hormones. Our botanical supplement, SkinClear Elixir contains saw palmetto berries, coconut oil, acerola cherries, natural mixed carotenoids and high oleic sunflower oil to help balance androgen hormones, alongside promoting skin healing, collagen formation and cell turnover.
]]>