Recently body positivity has been everywhere, and rightfully so. But it has had a focus mainly on encouraging people to be happy with their body types, what about their skin types?
I have dealt with acne for years, it has always been a huge source of insecurity for me as I am sure it is for others. Growing up the only people on TV to have acne were the freaks and geeks. And as I grew up and developed worse and worse acne it made me feel ugly, disgusting, and guilty. Yes, I felt guilty that people had to look at me. I would stand a certain distance so that people wouldn’t have to be too close to my face. I wouldn’t even let anyone touch my face because I was scared they’d be disgusted. I would wear pounds of makeup every day, only to make my acne worse, and felt like a goblin without it. I tried every medication from drugstore to prescription to natural medication. Nothing worked. I felt defeated, my acne had bested me, exhausted all my hope and drove me to believe I’d never be beautiful. But the new year, 2018, changed my perspective.
First Kendall Jenner showed up to the 2018 Golden globes with acne.
Before I could even read the headlines, I recognized the small bumps that sat on her cheeks, because my cheeks look the same when I wear foundation. This took the media by storm. People were quick to either support or tear down Jenner. But after replying to one supportive fan she shut down any people spewing hate. She replied in a tweet saying, “Never let that sh*t stop you!”.
This was a game changer, I had never seen a celebrity proudly talking about their acne outside of a proactive commercial. But Kendall Jenner looked gorgeous, not in spite of her acne, but because she didn’t let it stop her.
A few days later I was on Twitter once again and I found a Twitter moment about a famous Instagram user who goes by the username Pigss.
Pigss, otherwise known as Haley Wait describes herself in her Instagram bio as pro pizza face. She has also suffered from acne for the longest time. The reason she stopped suffering is not because she cured her acne, but because she accepted it. One of her most notable Instagram posts is captioned with, “reminder that acne doesn’t make you ugly a heart full of hate does”.
I urge everyone to follow Wait on instagram, she truly is a role model for body positivity.
And within the course of a month my whole perspective had changed. Having acne is not the be all and end all, it is a part of my body, a part of my face and for the first time in a long time I believe I am beautiful. I also challenge anyone reading who struggles with acne, to embrace their acne. Accept that it is a just another feature of your body no different from having brown eyes or green eyes. 2018 is the year we accept our acne, the year we stop letting it take control of our lives and allow ourselves to feel beautiful.