Acne Awareness Month – Evie’s Acne Story

acne

As part of Acne Awareness Month some of the Face Fit team are sharing their own experiences with Acne. It is our hope that if you have had similar experiences or you are starting on this journey with your teenage kids that this insight will give you confidence in our team, knowing that they have been where you might be and our passion for treating problem skin runs deep.

Evie’s Acne Story

Hello! For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Evie and I work as a Clinical Naturopath here at Face Fit. For acne awareness month, I thought it would be beneficial for me to share with you my own acne journey and experiences with treatment so you can get to know me as your practitioner, but also so that it can bring you some comfort if you are experiencing acne and to highlight that there is hope and options for you.

It all started in high school

My acne first started in high school, like a lot of people’s acne. I had acne on my chest, back and whole face. As a young teenager, I wasn’t too concerned with my acne however, classic comments in the P.E change rooms about my back acne did impact my confidence as a young teenage girl.

At that stage I had no idea what a Naturopath was. Another girl at school was on Roaccutane (a professionally prescribed medication for severe/ extreme cases of acne) and it helped significantly with her acne, so of course I thought, why not I’ll definitely go and try the same thing.

I took two courses of Roaccutane, alongside stripping my skin barrier with harsh topical creams like benzoyl peroxide. Luckily for me I did not suffer from serious side effects or liver damage like others have from Roaccutane, so I thought it wasn’t a big deal.

Acne Triggers

My acne cleared for quite a few years, however, started to come back pimple by pimple in my last year of university, whilst I was completing my Naturopathy degree. I was under high stress at this time and had moved into an apartment that had significant mould in the car basement (mould is extremely toxic to the body and hormones).

A bit of stress and toxin exposure to my body was enough to set my acne off again… yay! Since then, I have supported my body to clear mould toxins, restore low nutrient levels, worked on stress reduction and dietary changes, alongside a helpful skincare routine with our Face Fit Skin Therapist Hannah, which has really helped to manage my acne.

I am still continuing to work on my acne and have breakouts here and there. I am currently focusing on my hormones and gut microbiome (I recently had antibiotics for a surgery which has caused a big flare in my acne), so I will be doing gut microbiome testing for my own skin healing. These results will allow me to see if I need to address any microbiome imbalances that could be contributing to my current acne flares.

Empowerment!

I now feel empowered with the knowledge that I have as a naturopath to treat the underlying causes of my own breakouts, instead of a ‘quick fix’ and doing more harm than good to the body. I love naturopathy as it is about supporting and building up the body to regulate itself, instead of continuing to suppress symptoms and avoiding dealing with the root cause. It might be tougher and take longer, but often the long term results are better. An added bonus is that other areas of my health are amazing due to the work I have put into my health, which I am grateful for.

This is why I am so passionate about treating patients with skin conditions such as acne, because I understand and know just how frustrating acne can be and I wish that I had the knowledge and support/other treatment options such as Naturopathy as a teenager.

If this resonates with the journey you are currently on yourself, or maybe a journey you are on with your teenage kids, come in and see me, I would love to support you on your journey to healthy skin.

Evie, Face Fit Naturopath

Our Naturopath Evie holds a Bachelor of Health Science in Naturopathy and since beginning her career has gained a wealth of experience treating and supporting patients with a multitude of health complaints.