My acne started when I was a teenager and around the age of 13. Oh I was always worried I would develop severe acne because I knew both of my parents had had it. It also seem to run in the family’s since my relatives seemed too have suffered from the problem as well. When the experts tell you that genetics plays a part in acne formation, I know for a fact that it happens to be true to two personal experience. I still remember the day when I first saw a pimple on my face and had a feeling it was going to be the beginning of something horrible. I thought that I could bypass the problem or eliminate it completely by watching my face as much as possible. I was only a kid at the time so it seemed reasonable that I should be able to use soap and water two scrub the problem away. Obviously this was not an effective solution and now I know it if actually make the problem worse.
Dealing with how to get rid of acne takes a good degree of self control and a gentle touch, something that I wasn’t aware of when I was a kid. But can you blame me? I was just a teenager and when you are that age it’s all about fitting in with the crowd. I didn’t want to look like the other people who had severe acne although that is exactly where my path was going to lead. I remember the gradual progression of acne formation on my face until it seemed like I had exploded over night. Believe me, I had severe acne on every place on my face and it was extremely uncomfortable. If you know anything about having bad acne then you will know that it actually hurts. My face would constantly ache as my skin contorted and there was a build-up of white blood cells and press that would stretch the limits of my face.
A lot of people focus on the physical aspects of acne, but I can tell you firsthand that there is an emotional factor as well. When you feel like a freak you don’t really want to be outside too often. I remember stained by myself a lot and being afraid of other people seeing my condition. I also remember a lot of folks saying that my skin was not as bad as I thought, but it was very difficult to convince me otherwise. After all, why would they even bring up the topic of my skin if it wasn’t bad in the first place? It eventually got to the point where my acne impacted me negatively and I became obsessed with how to get rid of blackheads, white heads, and every other form of acne that we’re showing up on my face.
At the time there was no Internet so my resources for finding information and home remedies for acne were limited. A lot of what I thought I knew about acne we’re actually based on myths that had been passed down for generations. Some of these acne myths still persist to this day even though there is scientific information that disproves them. There is something about acne that makes everyone thinks that they are an expert in some way even if they have not suffered from severe acne themselves. I remember getting a lot of advice and I only a now realize that a lot of it was misinformed. I would even go so far as to say if you encounter someone with bad acne then it’s probably best not to offer advice if you don’t know what you’re talking about. Even if you think you know about some acne treatment that has worked for you, sometimes it’s better not to say anything if the other person doesn’t ask first.
This has been my first entry in my acne journal and I will continue to share my thoughts and feelings in the future. Hopefully knowing that someone else has gone through the difficult situation of having acne will help you to know that you aren’t alone.
