Acne is a common skin condition that affects most people, but for a lot of us, dealing with it on a day to day basis can be a challenge. As a dark-skinned Black woman in my late twenties, I’ve been dealing with acne and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) – which is common for those with darker skin tones – over the last few years. Even though the battle against the breakouts continues, I have figured out practical steps to manage it, as well as learning to manage the mental and emotional side.
As a teenager, I didn’t have acne. In fact, I always thought I was lucky to have ‘clear skin’ (except for the odd pimple on my forehead that would appear a few days before my period) and I would even receive compliments on my ‘flawless’ skin. But I was much younger then, I thought I got away with it and had managed to reach adulthood without a serious case of acne.
However, almost out of nowhere, I started experiencing acne just as I was approaching my mid-twenties. Initially, it started off with the odd pimple that would appear on my face from time to time. I was in my final year of university and I was juggling tight deadlines, exam revision, applying for post-graduate and preparing for life after university, so I put the breakouts down to stress and eating too much sugar.