I've Had Acne My Whole Life. And It's the Reason Everything I Do Exists.

June is Acne Awareness Month. This one is personal...

If you have acne, I get you I really do, in fact my own acne journey is the very reason I got started in my first aesthetics business which then has led to the rest of the journey and has been at the heart of it all.

I was that spotty teenager, the one that got made fun of at school. Learned to try and hide it with make up or the way I did my hair. Yep that was me.

I thought it would be over by the time I was in my twenties. It wasn't.

I thought it would be over by the time I was in my thirties. It wasn't.

I tried everything. I mean that literally. The toothpaste hack. Back in the day it was either Clearasil or Clean & Clear - both so harsh on the skin. I also had prescription treatments from the doctors.

Over the years I have tried all sorts of new stuff that has come out and lets be honest there has been loads! I went on to have skin treatments such as chemical peels that would give me two beautiful weeks and then, like clockwork, it would come back. Because a peel can resurface. It cannot fix what's driving the problem underneath. I didn't understand the mechanism of it all then like I know it now. And what was driving my acne wasn't just my skin. It was my lifestyle, my stress, my diet, my hormones. All of it. The skin is a mirror. It was showing me everything. But then 9 years ago I discovered AlumierMD.

I want to be careful how I say this, because I am not someone who throws words like "life-changing" around lightly. But AlumierMD genuinely changed the course of my life. Not only because it helped with my acne prone skin, but I little did I know that it was actually going to change the projection of my life. I want to be clear it did not fix my skin over night, or give me perfect skin because it didn't. I still have flare-ups. In fact when I have a flare up I try and show that because the truth is it is an inflammatory condition and it can have many triggers and I will never pretend otherwise.

But what AlumierMD was give me the first skincare approach that not only helped calm my skin but actually worked to prevent the cycle from starting again. It helped treat the condition, not just the symptom. That distinction is important, and something that I hadn't found anywhere else. When I realised how good it was I really wanted to help others with their skin and this became a passion, it became the beginning of my journey - both personal and business. .

I actually started out offering Botox and fillers, honestly, because I didn't think anyone would come to me for just for their skin. It sounds ridiculous now. Three months in, I did my training with AlumierMD. Eight years later, acne is still one of my absolute favourite things to treat. It is the thing that feels most personal to me, every single time.

However along the journey my acne came back with a new vengeance, worse than it had been even in my teens. This time it was different though - like something I hadn't experienced as a teenager. I didn't want to go out when it was flared, it was hard in my work as people were relying on me to help them with their skin but how could I do that if I couldn't even manage my own. It all came flooding back, that particular erosion of your confidence that acne causes. Not vanity. Not superficiality.

What I didn't know at the time was that I was going through menopause. My hormones were changing in ways I hadn't begun to understand yet. The acne made sense once I did. It made complete sense. And it reminded me that this is not a teenage condition. This is not something you grow out of. Acne does not check your age. It does not care that you are a grown professional with a clinic and a business and a life. It comes when hormones shift. When stress spikes. When your gut is unhappy. When your skincare is wrong. When your lifestyle is working against you.

It is almost never just one thing.

That is what I want people to understand, acne is not a hygiene problem. It is not a willpower problem. It is not something to be embarrassed about or pushed through silently. It is a condition with multiple drivers, and it deserves proper, considered, personalised treatment.

From a clinical perspective, there is so much we can do. Medical grade skincare that actually addresses the root cause. Chemical peels used correctly and in the right sequence. LED therapy to calm inflammation, reduce bacteria and support skin healing. Hormonal conversations that are often overdue. Gut health and diet discussions that most clinics never even have.

From a home care perspective, there is also so much that makes a difference. The right cleanser. SPF every single day (yes, even if you have oily skin, yes, even in Cumbria). Not picking. Not reaching for every new product you see online. Consistency over novelty.

And the lifestyle piece, which I spent years ignoring, turns out to be the final part of the puzzle I was always missing. Sleep. Stress. What you eat and drink. It is all connected.

I don't share my story very often. I prefer to keep the focus on the people sitting in front of me. But Acne Awareness Month feels like the right moment to say it plainly: I built everything I have because I struggled. Because I searched. Because I found something that helped and I couldn't keep it to myself.

If your skin is making you unhappy right now, I want you to know that it is treatable - it's not a quick fix, an overnight change, not always completely, because skin is complex and honest treatment means honest conversations. But manageable, yes. Improvable, absolutely. Worth addressing, without question.

You deserve to feel comfortable in your own face. I spent a long time not feeling that. It is why I show up to do this work every day.

If you'd like to talk about your skin, come and see me. That's what I'm here for...