What You're Acne Means

Hello Everyone!

When you break out on a certain part of your face, your acne is telling you something about your overall health. Sometimes it's just dirt/oil (either from over-washing or just being...dirty), sometimes it's from hormones (being a teenager really does suck sometimes), but sometimes it's something more. Something so simple you probably didn't even realize it could be the cause. Count how many times I wrote "some" in that paragraph.

Here's a map of a face, and I'm going to explain the different parts and what they mean when they break out.
The rule when reading these, though, is to not immediately blame your acne on every one of these causes. Not all of them contribute, especially not all at once.

A. Forehead. When you break out on your forehead it usually means you haven't been drinking enough water and as a result have poor digestion. It can also mean you've been eating a lot of sugar, you've been sleeping irregularly, or you've been worrying or stressing over something. Drink lots of water (lemon water especially) and green tea, and make sure you eat your veggies/fiber. Try to sleep on a schedule, the recommended amount is 8 hours. I know that for students 8 hours is hard to get, but my motto is that sleep and a healthy body always comes first. Acne on the forehead can also be caused by certain hair products or your fringe (bangs), so if the health route doesn't work maybe try out a different shampoo.

B. Eyebrows and Temples. Breaking out here usually has to do with your liver. Rich food, lots of sweets and salts, processed food, alcohol, tobacco, and a diet high in fat can cause your liver to have to work harder to break it all down and get rid of all the toxins. Sometimes there are too many toxins and the liver can't flush them all out, so they are flushed out through the skin. The result: your acne. Make sure you are eating a healthy, balanced diet, at regular times of the day. Another cause of acne could be lactose. I switched to soy milk a year ago and I do see a difference in how often I break out.

C. Upper Cheeks: Your upper cheeks are linked to respiratory problems, such as smoking, asthma, or bad air/pollution. It can also be caused by simple things such as a dirty pillow or phone. Overeating, your liver of course, and stomach problems could also be the cause. If you live in a city, pollution could be getting to your skin, so make sure you wash your face at least twice a day. Clean your phone and pillow regularly.

D. Lower Cheeks: These have to do with the hormones. People have smaller pores on their lower cheeks, therefore when girls go on their period and the excess oil gets produced in this area, they get clogged easily. Hormonal problems are unfortunately a part of life. If this acne really bothers you or gets to be really bad, talk to your dermatologist (and your mother if you're still under 18) about birth control. It should help control your hormones and in effect control your acne.


E. Nose: The nose is linked to your heart. This means that high blood pressure and a poor diet could be causing your acne. Constipation and bloating are two other causes.


F. Ears: Your ears breaking out is painful and confusing, because you don't normally think of your ears as a place for pimples. But a salty diet and too much caffeine can cause it. Try not to indulge too much on snacks at parties, etc. Talk or dance instead.

G. Chin and Sides of Chin: This, like your lower cheeks, is linked to hormones. But it could also be due to stress, lack of sleep, or a kidney imbalance. Kidney imbalance also has symptoms such as aversion to light, pale skin (due to the lack of light..), depression, and having to pee a lot. Go see your practitioner if you have any of these other symptoms.

H. Chest: Last but not least, your chest breakouts could be due to stress (surprise surprise!), humid weather, or even the fabrics from your clothing. Check to see maybe if you have any allergies?


Common among the reasons for your breakouts listed above are stress, poor diet, not enough sleep, and your liver. Your face can be a display of how healthy you are, even with acne on it. Take care of yourself, and make good choices! You'll feel great and you'll look great, too.

Maybe in my next post I'll list the foods can can be good for you, as well as bad for you, and some may surprise you.

Until next time!
Love and Courage,
Abby

PS: Check out Bubzbeauty below! I have one of her recent videos, but she has made tons of great skincare videos in the past, so check them out if you can! She's also hilarious.

The Different Kinds of Acne

Hello Everyone!

I felt like this topic would be a good place to start, because knowing what you're fighting is smart.
I didn't learn all of this until recently, and I wish someone had told me that the acne around my face was not all the same. So here we go!

The definition of a pimple: a clogged pore/hair follicle
The definition of acne: an occurrence of multiple pimples due to a common source in the clog of the pores.

Now for the different forms of acne.


Blackheads- These are my most common and hardest to get rid of, simply because they just stay around forever! Blackheads are what they sound like: little black dots due to clogged pores mostly found behind the nostrils of your nose. They are not meant for popping because they are not enclosed; they basically sit in your pore. The reason they are black is because they are exposed, and the air oxidizes the sebum (bacteria and oil) and keratin (skin debris) stuck in that pore and turns it black. Exfoliation is the most common trick for removing blackheads.



Whiteheads- These are basically enclosed blackheads that formed a little bump. They are white/skin-colored because they don't come in contact with the sun. Like blackheads, they are not inflamed, and you should not pop them. Popping a pimple that is not inflamed does more harm than good, because you have now inflamed it and it will get bigger and grosser and start to hurt.

Sebaceous Filaments- Please read this one! It is related to blackheads. These are the light brown spots you find on the top or tip of your nose; they are not blackheads, they are not even acne. They should not be touched, because they are natural. Almost like freckles. Messing with them will probably just give you tiny pimples on your nose from touching the area so much. I did not know this for years and years, and I thought my nose was just covered in a lighter form of blackheads. Do not worry about these!


Pustules- These are what you think of when you think of a zit. They are the inflamed red pimples that come to a head (when you can see the white pus, aka when they are ready to pop). Do not pop these unless you can clearly see the head and the zit is practically asking to be popped. Clean your hands and the area on your face extremely well if you do. They are meant to pop whether you do it or not, but if you do it you risk more inflammation and more bacteria getting caught inside.


Papules- These pimples are the early stages of pustules, though they don't always turn into them. They are the little red bumps you find all over your face, and they hurt. Do not try to pop or squeeze these...you really have nothing to pop anyway.

Nodules- The absolute worst. I did not get these until my senior year of high school, therefore I treated them like every other pimple I had previously gotten...NOT a good idea. Nodules are hard, large bumps, with no pus inside of them. They are really deep under the skin and really hard to get rid of. They are caused by the body producing excess sebum which in turn does not have enough time to travel to the skin's surface. Hair follicles get clogged, and when they are deep, they form nodules.

Cysts- These are nodules filled with liquid-looking pus. But just because these have pus in them does not mean you can pop them or squeeze them. Cystic Acne is the acne that scars. Don't be scared of it though, it will go away, I've gotten through the worst of it and so can you! My suggestion for treating it is to see a dermatologist about it. Ask them not only for a solution, but for tips and an explanation as to how you should treat it on your own, every day. Never rely on products your doctor gives you alone. I'll talk about that in another post.


I hope this clears up at least some confusion about the different forms of acne, or at least demonstrates that not all of it is the same. I know acne is frustrating to deal with and it all seems hopeless, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel even if it seems far off. Never give up!

And now, I leave you with this gem of a video.

Lots of love,
Abby

My Background

Hello Everyone!

Earlier today I was reading a blog post of someone who I really enjoy watching on YouTube, zoella280390, who I only recently started watching but I really enjoy her, so please go check her out! But her blog post about her anxiety attacks and how they have affected her life really related to me, even though I've never experienced an anxiety attack. Thank you, Zoe, for sharing that with the world, I know it took a lot of courage.

But she related to me in the way she repeatedly talked about how these attacks prevented her from going into social situations and making new friends and basically living her life. I have been afraid of meeting new people since the 6th grade, when I first started getting acne, because I was afraid of their judgment, and even more afraid they wouldn't want to talk to me because to do that they would have to look at my face. Acne is not something that has been a light part of my life, and if it hasn't been for you either, I'd like to share in your experience and let you know: you are NOT alone.

So now finally for the background.....

Hi, my name is Abby. I'm currently on break after my first semester of college at Auburn University. I'm originally from Atlanta, Georgia, and I've lived there my whole life. I enjoy reading, painting (though I'm not good at it), science, nature, photography, and eating mint Oreo's. I have struggled with acne for going on 8 years.

I got my first pimple in the 6th grade, right under my nose, in my opinion one of the worst places to get one. They hurt. Of course I had no clue what to do and kept touching it, etc. This caused the bacteria to spread, and by the end of the school year I had acne all the way up on my forehead.

I was young and didn't take it seriously. I knew absolutely nothing about acne. I didn't know I shouldn't touch it, that I should wash my face daily, that this was a part of growing up and it was going to be around for...well...probably most of my life. And so by the 8th grade it hadn't gotten any better, only worse. I was wearing concealer daily because I was afraid to go out without it on. I went to sleepovers and slept with it on because I was afraid of  how people would react to my bare face. I wore it when I exercised and sweat because even though most of it came off from the sweat, I was still scared for those minutes between the locker room and when my sweat glands started. For these reasons, I avoided sleepovers and exercise and pretty much anything that might involve my makeup being removed. Pictures were out of the question, which is why I'm looking down in the rare ones above. I became a social outcast because I didn't want to talk to anyone straight in their face. I styled my hair with bangs and refused to tuck it behind my ear, hoping to cover as much of my face as I could. Looking back, I am extremely grateful to the people who overlooked my rudeness and shyness and saw enough of the real Abby behind it all to be my friend, however grateful I was towards them.
I never tried to be mean, who really does? I was just scared of how people thought of me, and worried they thought the worst of me because my face was the worst in my class. Silly, I know, but at the time, mixed with all the other middle school insecurities kids go through, it's really not surprising. This might make me sound a bit like a bully but really I was just the girl in the corner who you might want to try to talk to but she'd just blow you off. People started to ignore me and avoid me, and I associated it with my acne. Not true, but that's what was always at the forefront of my mind, and everything in my life was centered around it.

Acne took over my thoughts and my actions and became my life.

In high school I was not used to having so many people around to talk to (I went from a VERY small private school to a public high school). People did try to talk to me, but I was so surprised and embarrassed and ashamed when they did I didn't really respond and it became very hard for me to make friends. And repeat middle school....
But the Lord wanted me to break from this habit, and he gave me people who overlooked my shyness and rudeness and hung out with me. Not to mention my amazingly wonderful friend Kate who was my right hand girl throughout it all (I mean seriously, people asked us all the time if we were sisters). But I was still acne-controlled and refused to go to things such as dances or hangouts. And during that summer I didn't want to swim, and promptly stayed indoors. Sounding familiar? It did to me, too. But this time I was making new friends and meeting new people, whether I wanted to or not. And I realized that something had to be done. That's when I talked to my dermatologist about options other than topical treatment.

I had been seeing a dermatologist since late-6th grade. All that was prescribed to me were topical treatments such as Differin, Epiduo, Retin-A, and many more I no longer have/remember the name of. I also tried many drugstore systems, such as Clean and Clear, ProActive, and AcneFree. They only seemed to dry my skin out and made it super sensitive (to the point that if there was too much sweat, sunlight, or chlorine my face stung massively) and none of them really truly worked. So I opted for the other route: working from the inside out. That was the point I was introduced to Isotretinoin, a drug that dried you up from the inside out. This stuff really works, but at a price. My hair started to fall out, my face was dry, my lips constantly cracked (people always commented on how much I loved chapstick), and I had a few mood swings (though how much of that was to be associated with being a teenager, we'll never know). All completely worth it. My skin had not been this clear in 4-5 years. Going into my Sophomore year of high school I felt great.

Ah, Sophomore year....probably the best year of high school for me. At the time, all the great things that happened to me (making tons of new friends, going new places, my first boyfriend) were attributed to my lack of severe acne. In reality it was just my attitude on life because of the lack of acne. But life was great and nothing could stop me.....except the thing that started it all.

Junior year, the busiest year of high school for all, I took on a lot. I had my first job, I joined Colorguard/Winterguard, took AP classes....basically my week was always full. Stress overload. I started to get my acne back. Right around that time, worried about why it was coming back, my boyfriend and I broke up. It was for many reasons, but I couldn't help but notice it was right when the acne showed up again. It was like a curse...the coming of acne meant misfortune. I stressed even more, and you know the rest. By my senior year I had horrible cystic acne, something I had never encountered before. I came out with scars, and still get the occasional cystic bump. And then halfway through that year, I was fired from my job.

I thought my life was cursed. I thought maybe I was being punished by God for the way I acted towards people for so long. I vainly thought at one time I was better than people who didn't have acne because I knew daily suffering and they didn't. I thought everything was hopeless, that I was a disappointment to my family, that there was no point in really trying. I cried numerous times over how my face looked and how I felt.

Depressing, right? That's how I looked at myself, too. Argh, why was I so sad all of the time!?

Now enter the college scene. I'm growing up, I've had a great summer, and now I'm starting something new. My acne is pretty under control, nothing great, but I've learned a lot since my high school years about how to handle it and what's best for my skin. But the biggest change was, even though to this day I have them, awful breakouts no longer phase me. I finally realized that life is way too short to even begin to worry about what your face looks like. There are plenty of other things that are way more important to focus on. Plus, college is a once-in-a-lifetime experience (hopefully) and I want to enjoy it to the fullest. I am no longer ashamed of my acne; I walk all around the dorm with no makeup on at night, I take it off to exercise, I take it off for sleepovers, and I am happy no matter how many pimples I wake up to on my face.

I am proud of where I am today, even though my skin will never look as good as it used to. If you've managed to read this far and last with me this long, I hope you can find inspiration in my future posts. I want to show you all how I live with acne. It's not hard, it just takes a little confidence and determination.

I leave you with a little song from a few cheeky British boys. Happy Saturday!!
<3 Lots of love,
Abby