How much of your confidence relies on feeling good about your appearance? For me it’s always weighed heavier than I wanted it to. Blame it on societal pressures or being a perfectionist, but when I step out the door with a giant zit, I don’t feel good. That’s not okay. Zits happen to everyone, for all sorts of reasons. Holding yourself back because of one isn’t the way to live. So, I’m making an effort to deal with this insecurity, and at the same time deal with my breakouts by using the right products.
Coming to the conclusion that literally nobody cares about my zit has been an important realization for me. Chatting with Psychotherapist, José©e Gué©rin, president and founder of Clinique Psychoalimentaire Inc, helped me reach that realization. The more one is able to recognize our values, strengths, vulnerabilities, skills and capacity, less body image will be the only element that will determine my self-esteem, she explained to me. And that makes sense. Plus, the more you stress about your appearance the more likely those breakouts will continue to reappear. Either through over treating it or just the stress alone. Stress is powerful and can cause your body to do all sorts of silly things. First, it is important to recognize the stressful situation, says Gué©rin. What is really stressing me out? What are the elements that I have control of and those which I have no control? The second is to accept this situation and to do the best we can with the elements with which we have control of. So when I feel overwhelmed, perhaps I should take a moment to meditate and bring myself back to a place where I am seeing the situation for what it is and not how I am catastrophizing it in the moment. Again, nobody cares about my zit but me.
But, at the end of the day, we still want to get rid of that spot and so while I am doing my best to feel more confident, and reducing stress-inducing breakouts. I can also do my best to use the right products. For me I look for a product that treats and repairs the skin. Because anyone who has dealt with acne scars knows that there is no worse feeling than finally having clear skin only to continue to have to cover up those scars with concealer everyday. The whole point it is to feel good makeup free.
Right now I am using La Roche-Posay’s Effaclar line-up of products. The reason I was attracted to them in the first place was because of the active ingredients they use that not only treat the skin but also repair and heal it. Which is important as I approach thirty because my skin doesn’t bounce back as quickly as it did in my early twenties. Plus, the products don’t irritate my skin leaving it dry, red or itchy. Which many acne products do. Leaving you with another skin problem to deal with. Here are the ingredients you should look for, all part of the Effaclar line-up:
Niacinamide “ An anti-inflammatory ingredient that reduces sensitivity in the skin and inflammation
Procerad “ Corrects post inflammatory marks, like acne scars, but also works to prevent the reoccurrence
Piroctone Olamine “ Anti-bacterial ingredient to purify the skin
Zinc Pidolate – Anti-bacterial and works to regulate oil production in the skin
The stand out product from this line is without a doubt the Effaclar Duo+ Unifiant. It is a dual action product that clears your skin while covering the imperfection. We all know that wearing a ton of makeup to mask your acne only causes more acne. We put so much effort into treating our skin only to take ten steps back when we cover up. But, the Effaclar Duo+ Unifiant gives you that instant gratification of diminishing the spot while making sure it doesn’t come back, and the light coverage doesn’t block pores, allowing your skin to breathe. An important thing when I am debating whether or not to cancel a meeting over a breakout.
Feeling good in your skin, especially when dealing with breakouts, is hard and doesn’t happen overnight. The key is to stop stressing and start looking at the ingredients you are using. That combo is sure to do wonders for both your self esteem and your skin.
If you’d like to win my anti-acne (La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel, Effaclar Lotion Astringent, and Effaclar Duo+ Unifiant) or anti-shine (La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel, Effaclar Lotion Astringent, and Effaclar BB Blur) routine visit Effalclar Contest for more details on how to enter.
This post has been brought to you by La Roche-Posay but the opinions are my own.
