Staying Confident Despite Having Acne

Staying Confident Despite Having Acne

By: Khotijah Suki Zuhrowati

Chemistry Education Student

Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training

UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta

Having healthy, fair, and clear skin is the dream of everyone, especially women. Having glowing skin seems to have become a goal in life. Many women out there try all kinds of ways to make their skin look glowing. Having clear, glowing facial skin with no visible pores, no acne, and no dark spots is the dream of many women. However, achieving glowing, healthy skin without any problems is not easy, especially for acne fighters.

Acne fighters in this context means people who struggle with acne, whether on the face or on other parts of the body. For acne fighters, having smooth skin seems like the proverb “like an owl longing for the moon”. And no wonder, getting rid of acne is no easy matter. But if we know what causes our acne, it will be easier to treat and overcome it.

Acne is caused by blockages in the skin pores, precisely at the root of the hair (the hair follicle). In the hair follicle there are oil glands (sebaceous glands) that normally produce oil (sebum) to keep the skin moisturised and protected. Acne appears when the channel through which the oil exits becomes blocked because of excessive oil production, a build-up of dead skin cells, or bacterial infection. Acne can appear as comedones or bumps on areas of skin with many hair follicles, such as the face, neck, shoulders, chest, and back. The shape and size of acne depend on its severity, ranging from blackheads or whiteheads, to small reddish bumps (papules and pustules).

Besides blocked pores, there are several other factors that cause acne, including genetic factors, environmental factors, hormonal factors, lifestyle factors (such as bad habits like smoking and drinking alcohol), lack of sleep, stress, and diet, as well as the use of cosmetics and medication. If we know what causes our acne, it becomes easier to cure it. Even though it feels very hard to heal, there will surely come a time when our acne heals by itself, of course with efforts such as using spot treatments for acne and a healthy lifestyle.

Basically, acne is not a dangerous disease. It is a common condition that can happen to anyone. Even so, acne can leave scars (acne scars), which are scar tissue resulting from imperfect healing of acne. This often reduces the self-confidence of those who experience it. An acne fighter often feels insecure or lacks confidence because of the acne they suffer from. In truth, acne is not a contagious disease or a disgrace that has to be tightly hidden away.

Acne is not always regarded as bad or shameful. On the contrary, acne teaches those who suffer from it to practise patience. Acne is considered able to train patience because its healing process takes a long time. It takes weeks to heal the acne itself, let alone the acne scars. Healing acne scars usually takes longer than healing the acne. For acne fighters, patience is the key.

Acne fighters are often looked down on. Many people out there act as if they are disgusted by acne, which makes acne fighters feel inferior. Acne fighters are usually regarded as dirty or unable to keep themselves clean. In fact, there are many causes of acne, not only cleanliness, but many other causes as mentioned above. That is why being an acne fighter requires a patient mindset. A patient mindset in this context means being patient not only in healing the acne but also in facing the reactions or mockery of the people around us.

As it happens, I am also an acne fighter. I have been fighting acne since 2020. This is certainly not easy. At first I felt inferior because I had so much acne on my face, especially when I heard many of my friends constantly asking about my acne that would not go away. But gradually, I came to feel confident. The acne on my face is not a disgrace that I must hide tightly.

Here I would like to invite the acne fighters out there to stay confident. Having clear skin is a blessing, and so is having acne. The acne we have is not an obstacle to doing any activity. On the contrary, let the acne we have become the spur for our spirit to make ourselves better than before. Perhaps we as acne fighters have a shortcoming, namely having acne. But behind that shortcoming we surely have strengths that we can still discover. To the acne fighters out there, keep up your spirit; there will surely come a time when our acne heals and the skin on our faces becomes glowing again.  

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