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I’m Depressed and My Adult Acne is to Blame
I started to get breakouts when I was 13, which is pretty typical for the start of puberty. I tried everything to clear my acne.
I tried steaming my face with a hot towel. I tried every over the counter spot treatment that my measly allowance could afford.
Having a clear complexion, even at the tender age of 13, was more important to me than buying a new computer game, pair of shoes, or lipgloss. I wanted to get rid of my unsightly pimples more than anything.
At 29, the feeling has not changed.
Adult Acne Is On the Rise
Apparently I’m not alone.
In 2012, the American Academy of Dermatology published data on acne sufferers in the U.S. They found that more than 50% of women between the ages of 20 and 29 deal with acne. 25% of women between the ages of 40 and 49 do too!
And the numbers continue to grow.
Acne Embarrassment
When I was in college, a very cute boy asked me on a date.We went out to dinner and as a broke college kid who wasn’t paying, I splurged and ordered a soda.
The server barely left the table before my date looked at me and said, “You know, if you stop drinking soda, your acne will clear up.”
I was mortified. I tried to keep up appearances throughout dinner but I ended the night crying into my pillow.
I stopped dating for a while after that. My social life was ruled by my acne and I was depressed.
Science Says, Acne Causes Depression
One study looked at the effects acne has on a person’s quality of life. It concluded that not only does acne contribute to psychological trauma like depression and anxiety, it also creates other issues like, self esteem problems, social isolation, and body dissatisfaction.
Many women, myself included, want to feel in control of our lives. We’re high functioning with jobs, children, and a slew of responsibilities. When a problem arises, we’re the ones who people turn to for a solution. Not in the case of acne though, and it’s leaving us defeated.
Let’s Lose the Stigma
Getting society to change their views on acne is even harder. But you don’t have to start a hashtag-free-the-pimple campaign to make a difference, because someone else already did.
Louise Northcote, Britain's Next Top Model finalist started the movement to open up a community of people who could share their acne trials and triumphs while normalizing breakouts.
Other celebrities, like Katy Perry, Zendaya, and Kate Bosworth, have jumped on the bandwagon to tell their acne stories and send the message: ‘It’s normal, we all deal with it, no shame.’
If You’ve Got It, Treat It (Acne, that is)
As a fully grown adult human, I’ve never stopped looking for ways to clear my skin. Yeah, I still get depressed about my acne, but I’m not ready to give up hope just yet.
Then I discovered Averr Aglow.
A month into using my Clear Skin Kit from Averr Aglow and my self esteem has already begun to rise. I’m still in the dreaded purging stage, but I can see an overall improvement in the tone and texture of my skin.
I’ve learned so much about why I have acne and what it takes to treat it. I’m starting to understand the importance of natural ingredients, exfoliation, and a healthy lifestyle.
Obviously I wish I could’ve skipped the acne aspect of the last 16 years. But maybe my experience can help yours end a little sooner. Have you tried Averr Aglow yet? It’s time, everyone deserves clear skin. Everyone.
Feel like There Is No Way to Get Rid of Acne and Breakouts?
No creams, diets, or pharmaceutical drugs can help?
Continue reading: I'm going to share my personal story of 16 years battling acne...
And How I Healed it Using These Natural Products...
I looked over at my mom with a tear running down my cheek. This is ridiculous, I told her, throwing my hands in the air:
“I’m almost 30 years old and look like I have the face of a sweaty, teenage boy who hasn’t showered in a week.”
Not Too Much Had Changed
I walked over to the mirror and studied the very red and very irritated bumps on my face one more time. I squinted and thought to myself, I think I see a difference.
I was excited, I had just started a new cream that others swore by and praised up and down on the forums. Perhaps this is finally it, the holy grail of creams, the one I have been waiting for.
Weeks went by, and optimism gradually faded to fear then disgust, and finally, anger as my new found cream was added to the pile of half-used tubes hiding in the back of my drawer. Why can’t I figure this out? So many questions came to my mind, each more puzzling than the next.
I had heard every name in the book from pizza face to Rudolph.
I had been battling acne on and off (mostly on) for 16 years. I had been to the moon and back and was desperate for something, anything to work.
At 13, I rode my bike to the local drugstore to buy makeup and zit cream.
I would lather my face with clean and clear products hoping by some miracle, they would whisk my puffy whiteheads away to be quickly forgotten about.
They did make me forget about my zits because I had a new problem.
The flakes and dusty layers of skin I acquired looked like I could be a prime candidate for a head and shoulders commercial.
Back down to the drugstore, I went, and variations of creams, gels, pads, strips, and wipes were purchased, each creating more trouble than the last.
Every time I shopped, I was ever more drawn to the makeup section with its gleaming bottles and colorful promises.
The model’s picture smiled out to me that I too could have beautiful, radiant skin, no strings attached with the introduction of foundation and concealer.
I happily took my basket to the counter and smiled as I delightfully handed over my hard earned babysitting money. I slathered and covered and forgot about the ugliness I felt underneath with my cover girl cocktail.
Ultimately, I am not sure what was worse, the patches of red from my nose to my chin, or the orange line left on the side of my jaw and hairline from my caked on Wet and Wild concealer.
I was a modern-day Oompa Loompa.
Getting my mother to take me to the dermatologists was like pulling teeth, but after much whining, she conceded.
My new skin routine consisted of a nurse brushing on a tingly, itchy glycolic peel and a prescription for a cream I had heard good things about.
Promise filled the air, as I happily handed my newly scribbled doctor’s note to the pharmacist at Walgreens.
Minutes later, he gave me my package while muttering the words, “If this doesn’t work for you, there are literally hundreds of more creams you can try. Talk to your dermatologist, and have him write you a new prescription if this one doesn’t do anything in the next few months.”
My eyes glazed over, as promise was run over by the 80-year-old lady, white-knuckling the steering wheel, pulling up to the window at the pharmacy drive-through.
By the time I had turned 21, my skin was no better than I had started at 13. The only thing that became smaller was my tolerance and my wallet.
As my budget increased on products and possible treatments to try, so did my acne.
These painful, horrible red splotches stayed for weeks on end and were worse than any white or blackhead. Just when I thought I was healing, 3 more popped up in its place.
My hands got antsy, and I started picking, only leaving me with brownish scars, redder cheeks, and no more answers than I had when I started this battle.
In addition to my rosy complexion, I had small, white bumps on every inch of my skin making it feel like rough sandpaper.
Dreams of clear skin became distant and unlikely.
Back down to the doctor I went, and this time with hopes of a new cure: birth control. Many peppered their fantastic results all over the internet and at this point, what did I have to lose?
The nurse practitioner was happy to give me my prescription along with a sample of the newest wonder birth control, guaranteed to clear up any acne issues.
Not too long after I began taking it, my skin cleared up.
I was dumbfounded.
Who knew all this time that this was the answer?
I happily told others of my new found fix, until new problems started surfacing. Not only did I gain about 10 pounds, but for the first time in my life, I had a yeast infection, which was incredibly gross, irritating, and painful.
I found myself once again back down at the drugstore for my new problem.
One hurdle down, now I had to handle my newly developed pounds. I only thought this was my problem, when not but a month later and again, for the first time in my life, I developed a bladder infection.
After the purchase of about a case of 100% Pure Cranberry Juice (not your Ocean Spray cocktail, this stuff will make you say pucker up buttercup), prescription antibiotics, and bladder pain relief pills that turned my pee orange, I worked through the trauma of my new found issue.
About two months later, I acquired another bladder infection. This became a new staple problem I had to deal with every other month. I started to order cranberry pills by the dozens on Amazon.
About 9 bladder infections later and upon digging, I found that my current birth control had side effects a mile long including the possibility of bladder and yeast infections. This was just one of the many byproduct possibilities of what it was doing to my insides.
