My name is Wawa, and I am from Negeri Sembilan, Seremban, Malaysia. I have experienced many difficult things whilst living with acne. However, these experiences also keep me confident about posting my acne. Because of everything I've been through, I know that I must help normalize it. It wasn't always this way though. Having sensitive skin is quite hard, and I have had many ups and downs.
At first, I didn't feel any impact on my self-esteem from acne, but once I began to see the skin of other women, I started to feel insecure. Then, when people began to make comments, I lost my confidence. Of course, I felt like I had to wear makeup all of the time, but even when I wore makeup, I still could see a lot of texture and bumps. Even with makeup, one of my former bosses saw how my skin had acne everywhere, and he said, “You need to go somewhere to get treatments, and you need to watch what you eat.” I had to work so I felt like my life was being controlled by him. I was working as a customer service person in a beauty salon. I was the receptionist so when customers came, they met me first. Given that, my boss said that I needed to have ”perfect or at least good skin” to present to the customers. I still remember the words he said to me one day. He said, “If you didn't have any acne, I think you would be beautiful.” This made me even more insecure, and likewise, I decided to go see a dermatologist. I did a lot of treatments, and there was an improvement. But nevertheless, when I switched to another company, my new manager said, “If you don’t wear makeup to cover it up, we’ll take it out of your check.”
The beauty standards here are quite hard. But, I have come to the point where I want people to know that it’s normal to have this kind of skin. You don't have to have perfect skin all of the time. Acne is there, and it will never go away. For example, whenever you have a period, you might face a seasonal breakout at least once a month. Acne will come for different reasons because it's normal.
Another reason I've begun to think acne is normal is because of my husband's support. When I had a lot of hormonal and cystic acne, I did not wear makeup. I was always wearing acne patches, but the cysts were still visible and quite huge. However, my husband didn't mention anything to me about my acne. I would talk to him about it, and he would just say, “It's okay, it will go away.” That made me comfortable with my skin, and as I explored more on Instagram, I began to embrace normal skin. I want to help as many people reach this point as I can.
You don't have to feel sad or embarrassed about acne because a lot of people have faced this. You don't have to constantly strive to fix your skin with skincare. Sometimes skincare cannot fix our skin and we need more, but you don't have to feel self-conscious about seeing a dermatologist. There are a lot of people out there embracing their own skin. Everyone has different skin, and you don't have to feel discouraged. You don't have to feel like you are “not perfect” just because of flaws. Everyone has their own flaws, and flaws are not necessarily something that should make you feel bad about yourself.
Be patient with your skin. Even though everyone wants flawless skin, healing takes time. It's a process, and there will be ups and downs. There will be stages, but your skin will be okay.
@wawadaneally
