Millie's Skincare Story

It all started with a few innocent spots on my forehead when I was around 11. After that, it escalated. By fifteen, my life revolved around monthly dermatologist appointments, prescription meds, including antibiotics, and a dozens of different face creams that would do nothing besides making my skin ache even more. My face was covered in pimples, especially on my temples. I suffered from chronic inflammation, I was in constant pain all the time - when it wasn’t from inflamed spots, it was from the super harsh chemicals in creams, gels, exfoliants and face washes that would literally burn my skin. I tried pretty much everything, from magnetizers to facials.

Then, I met my two saviors - the pill and most of all: accutane.

5 months later, I finally had clear skin.

After 6 years of battling with acne and being in constant physical and emotional pain, the suffering was gone. But it left me with a few scars, and life-long trust issues with the cosmetic/skincare world.

How the internet changed my skincare forever

Blogs were not that popular when I was going through my skincare journey and Instagram was only for you to post pictures of your cat or flower bouquet, aimed at your friends. It slowly evolved into what it is today - the internet is now filled with precious advice, good information, well-designed blogs & more holistically focused brands.

The wellness craze also opened a whole new world of possibilities, where you actually had to take care of yourself internally to see results on the outside. This idea was pretty new to me to be honest. I already thought I had a good diet (when my acne was bad), with fruits, veggies, proteins and grains but I was eating dairy daily, not really taking care of the glycemic index, eating refined grains, occasional sugar and “healthy” cereals for breakfast (they are usually not healthy at all!).

I never thought my diet had anything to do with what was going on with my skin...

The diet-skin connection blew my mind!

A few months later, even though my acne was gone after accutane, I was shocked to discover all these explanations on mechanisms such as inflammation, blood sugar, hormones, detoxification... which could all have played a part in my skin’s misery back then! After this realization I began searching the web endlessly, reading for days, everything I could find out about health.

The trauma left from my acne years made me skincare & diet obsessed. After all, I had suffered so much and thought I could do nothing about it, so when I found out there were holistic ways I could help my skin I wouldn’t be making the same mistake twice! I turned to clean beauty - trying to stay away as much as possible from makeup, took more care choosing the right skincare products, and slowly healed my skin… and my relationship with it.

This story was written by Millie, who is passionate about skincare and health. Capture her daily adventures on Instagram @absolutely.millie and read more about Millie on her blog Absolutely Millie :)