'Acne Positivity': The Do's & Don't Of How To Deal With Acne

Your skin is yours. You don't need any other reason to love it. We live in a time where social media has allowed us to voice our frustrations and thoughts on matters and possibly affect change by doing so.

Though the progress is slow, we’re seeing more diverse and complex representations of previously excluded people. Which we, undoubtedly, love to see. However, as prevalent as acne may present in our daily lives, we hardly get to see people with acne in mainstream media hence the need for acne positivity.

Stars such as Justin Beiber, Kendall Jenner, and Alicia Keys have opened up about their acne experience in adulthood. We need to do the work of normalizing real skin. Whatever it may present itself as. Here are some do's and don’ts to encourage acne positivity:

Don't Diagnose And Give Unsolicited Advice

“You should try blah blah blah. That helped me with my blah blah blah”. Prescribed the random person who happens not to be a dermatologist or skin expert in any capacity.

An unfortunate consequence of living in the age of social media is that people feel the need to give their opinions on just about everything. A few things are more annoying than having you zits pointed out to you like it doesn't already cause you so grief as is.

Don't Point It Out

If you’ve experienced acne as an adult, you know what that can do to your self-esteem. Being self-conscious when getting your picture taken or when you’re having a conversation with someone and their eyes occasionally land on your pimples or your focal point when you catch a glimpse of yourself reflected in the mirror.

Having someone point out your ‘blemishes’ is quite frankly unnecessary. Moreover, the likelihood of someone not knowing there’s a zit on their face is rather slim.

? Do Mind Your Business

At any point when you feel like you have the strong urge to point out someone’s acne, may these gentle words come to your mind as a reminder. Repeat the mantra if need dictates.

“It’s none of my business.” And this one goes for any skin condition that you might find yourself wishing to comment upon.

? Do Embrace Your Skin

We love to see prominent faces normalizing adult acne. The office actress Mindy Kaling, supermodel Taylor Hill and founder of Gurls Talk Adwoa Aboah are among the influential personalities who seek to do the vital work of reminding us that adult acne is 100% normal and promote pimple positivity.

“In a society that profits from your self-doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act.”

- Amy Pence Brown