Things You Don’t Say to People Suffering with Acne

The acne struggle is REAL. I’m not talking about a few small pimples around the time of the month or after a bad weekend of binge eating. I’m talking about waking up everyday unsure if a monster has festered under the skin’s surface. If you don’t know what that feels like, then consider yourself lucky and be cognizant of what you say to others who suffer from it. If you’re unsure what not to say, here’s a good place to start. Believe it or not, these are real things people have actually said to me over a lifetime!

“What’s wrong with your face?”

Thanks, I really had no idea that I have a bunch of painful pimples all over my face. I mean, I do just look in the mirror everyday hoping that it miraculously changed over night, but it hasn’t. I guess I didn’t notice…thanks for pointing it out so subtly.

“What is that?” while pointing at a particularly heinous zit.

Oh…I dunno, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Oh do you mean this giant zit on my forehead that is throbbing and is the focal point of my face? Oh I have no idea what it could possibly be, and how can I possibly expect you to know?

“Woah, you have a lot of marks on your face.”

Coming from an Indian family, even my 85 year old grandpa who has weak eyesight can see my scarring and choses to point it out. When dealing with acne, leaving the house without make up is a hard enough struggle, but sometimes you just want your skin to breathe. I mustered up all the courage to do so, please don’t remind me. I know, believe me I KNOW!

“You should stop eating greasy foods.”

Says the person whose diet only consists of pizza, McDonalds and fried chicken, with perfect poreless skin and gets a tiny zit once every 3 years. If eating greasy foods was correlated to acne, there would be a simple cure, but each person’s struggle and reason is different. Also, I eat lean meats, lots of veggies and drink water all day. Please don’t assume I eat unhealthy because I’m suffering from acne.

“Have you tried Proactiv?”

Yes those commercials are incredibly convincing and ads are everywhere, but these are ads. Unless you’ve suffered from acne personally and Proactiv worked for you, chances are you don’t have any sound advice. People suffering from acne have probably tried many things and Proactiv is probably one of the first ones. It may work for some, but it’s not a one size fits all. Thanks Captain Obvious for giving me useless advice.

“Maybe if you didn’t wear all that make up, you wouldn’t breakout so much.”

Maybe I’m wearing make up because I’m trying to cover up my acne so I don’t hear all these comments?

“Ugh…I broke out SOOOO BAD.”

Oh I really feel your pain. I mean…that freckle on your face that you are mistaking for a zit is a really bad break out. I’m so glad you can relate to my giant zits popping up on my face daily. It makes me feel like my breakouts are a walk in the park next to yours.

All said and done, I know there are far worse problems in life, but acne really takes a toll on your self esteem. Even if you’re not staring into a mirror, you can feel it hurt your face. You feel everyone is staring at your acne and not you. So next time, unless you have something productive to say…