67 replies to this topic

[Stella the diver]

I'm heading for the big 40 and I'm still suffering.  It's not as bad as it was but my skin is definitely not 'normal'.

 

Acne memories..

 

1. After school one time, before I even understood acne and what it was doing to me, another kid said "you're sweating, why are you sweating?".  I hadn't been doing anything strenuous, I couldn't understand it.  Later I came to realise it was my skin covered in oil.

 

2. When it was at its full cystic worst (before I'd been to the doc and tried Minocycline), aged about 17, my form tutor stood and examined my cheek like it was some sort of art exhibit and said to me "that's quite amazing" with a big smile on his face.  He was a bastard generally.

 

3.  Aged 25 at work, someone asked me why I had chocolate on the back of my shirt.  "Chocolate?" I said.  I had no idea.  When I checked it out in the bathroom mirror I realised it was a large burst zit that had dried blood into a half inch square in the middle of my back.  Stuck at work, I had to get through the day knowing that was on show.

 

4. Another time I'd had a bad zit right in the middle of my forehead and in a moment of desperation I tried toothpaste on it.  It came up bright red and at work I got asked if I'd joined the Sikhs.

 

Some stories here are hair-raising.  It chips away at self-confidence and it has ruined my life when I really sit and think about it.  I try not to do that but it enters my head from time to time.  My skin, mirrors and my self-image are still a daily concern.  People with normal skin don't know how lucky they are.

 

Wow, #2, especially! I wonder what was going through that weird tutor's head! 

About six years ago, I was at work in a restaurant and one of the delivery guys told me "What's that you got on your nose there, a nose piercing? Don't worry, the pimples should go away after the age of 18."  He was referring to my pimple on my nose which was located in the area where people usually pierce their nose!!! And I'm 22 now, and still break out. 

[lifeisgoing]

Wow, #2, especially! I wonder what was going through that weird tutor's head! 

About six years ago, I was at work in a restaurant and one of the delivery guys told me "What's that you got on your nose there, a nose piercing? Don't worry, the pimples should go away after the age of 18."  He was referring to my pimple on my nose which was located in the area where people usually pierce their nose!!! And I'm 22 now, and still break out. 

The teacher was just an idiot who liked to make these comments to amuse himself.

 

Like your nose comment, some are from people who have good intentions but it can still be very embarrassing.  I'm sure I have done it to people with other afflictions without realising.

[dizzyabby]

 I had a new lady start work with me who was also an avon lady, and she would bring the magazines in and try to make us buy stuff. So she ended up sitting with me and started flicking through the pages, and i knew immediately what pages she was heading for, and as she landed on the page marked "Clear Skin" i felt my blood boil. She said "you should try these products,they could sort out all that" then she proceeded to pull a face and pointed at the areas around my chin and mouth. I told her that 3 courses of accutane had not worked for me so i doubted her avon face wash would be any help. I went home and cried alot. I left the job shortly afterwards. People can be so ignorant!

 

Also, at school, it wasn't great for me being called Abby which unfortunately rhymes with scabby. My sister also had acne and we once had to get on a different bus home from school, and one boy on the bus said "oh look, it's scabby Abby and her even scabbier sister".  I've seen that boy on facebook, and all his hair ended up falling out in his 20's. I know thats horrible, but i cant help feel it was karma!!!!!!!!!!!

[AuguriesofInnocence]

thats horrible! I have a friend who also has acne and has a really cute boyfriend...people have actually said things to her face about how shes not up to his 'level" . Level of what, algebra?. god some people are just. big. jackasses.

Everyone posting in here gives me such strength! I have dealt with the stares and being surrounded by friends with flawless skin for years and it depresses me to no end. I have been asked by countless people why I wear so much make up and it takes all my efforts not to cry right then and there. There was a time where I left the house for nothing for months, literally. I was too embarrassed to see anyone for I felt so hideous and like a failure.

One very recent embarrassing moment for me was this New Years. I have a boyfriend who I love to no end (unfortunately he has yet to see me without makeup, I'm so scared) and he invited me to his house for a small party. I felt very under the weather and looked it too, but he wanted me to attend so I did. I dressed rather casual thinking I would have no one to impress and of course, I was broken out. We arrive and an hour later people start piling in. The girls were all gorgeous, dressed to the T with flawless skin. My boyfriend's best friend's girlfriend looked adorable, as always, with not one flaw. I felt so ugly and out casted, I did not want to meet anyone and when my boyfriend introduced me around I swear everyone looked at me like "Really? Her?" I was so humiliated. To top it off everyone kept coming up to my boyfriend's friend's girl and telling her how beautiful she was right in front of me, giving me a glance and looking away immediately. I wanted to walk out the door and not come back. Instead I went to my boyfriend's room, shut the door, turned off the lights and tried so hard not to cry myself to sleep.

As ugly as I feel, I feel worse for my boyfriend. To have a girlfriend with such bad skin? That must be so embarrassing. He tells me how beautiful I am everyday, but I am lying to him by wearing makeup. I have cancelled dates and lied to him saying I'm sick so I won't have to go out. Writing all this I want to cry. I know my skin will get better, but I fear once he sees the truth he won't wait around for that to happen. I know that if that happens that means he's not the right person for me, but I will be devastated and I won't get over it for a very, very long time.

Reading all these stories with people who share my pain gives me such a warm feeling inside. I'm not alone! I wish I could giveyou all hugs. :,)

what on earth is a form teacher?

too bad you didnt "accidentally" trip the bastard, preferably into an open sewer... or get your kid brother to kick him in the goolies.

I'm heading for the big 40 and I'm still suffering.  It's not as bad as it was but my skin is definitely not 'normal'.

 

Acne memories..

 

1. After school one time, before I even understood acne and what it was doing to me, another kid said "you're sweating, why are you sweating?".  I hadn't been doing anything strenuous, I couldn't understand it.  Later I came to realise it was my skin covered in oil.

 

2. When it was at its full cystic worst (before I'd been to the doc and tried Minocycline), aged about 17, my form tutor stood and examined my cheek like it was some sort of art exhibit and said to me "that's quite amazing" with a big smile on his face.  He was a bastard generally.

 

3.  Aged 25 at work, someone asked me why I had chocolate on the back of my shirt.  "Chocolate?" I said.  I had no idea.  When I checked it out in the bathroom mirror I realised it was a large burst zit that had dried blood into a half inch square in the middle of my back.  Stuck at work, I had to get through the day knowing that was on show.

 

4. Another time I'd had a bad zit right in the middle of my forehead and in a moment of desperation I tried toothpaste on it.  It came up bright red and at work I got asked if I'd joined the Sikhs.

 

Some stories here are hair-raising.  It chips away at self-confidence and it has ruined my life when I really sit and think about it.  I try not to do that but it enters my head from time to time.  My skin, mirrors and my self-image are still a daily concern.  People with normal skin don't know how lucky they are.

One of the things which hurt my feelings was when I was in my early teens, after parents were divorced, my dad used to mess with my face. I didnt see my father much but when I did he would obsessively try to squeeze blackheads... um yeah, what teen girl wants to spend "quality time" with dear old dad picking at your face? He probably didnt even wash his hands first. I will say, my mom did everything she could to help me with my acne, bought all the products, skin doctors etc but when I got cystic acne she kept asking "what are you doing/not doing to your face?", as if I was somehow causing it myself. My mom had acne for years but she just covered it up with heavy foundations--youd think shed know better than believing we can control our acne.

My mother-in-law has that dry, perfect skin and she said she''never uses anything but water and she is fine" No point even going there people who never had a breakout dont and will never "get it".

Edited by AuguriesofInnocence, 08 May 2013 - 11:50 AM.

[Perseverance92]

After reading so many posts in which people have mentioned about their unpleasant experiences of  others being mean to them because of their acne,i feel i am really blessed! I have had mild-severe acne since 4 years.While it's coming to a standstill recently (I hope and pray),my near and dear ones and even my friends have never made fun of it! My parents are so supportive that they even tell me that nothing is there on my face! My friends are beautiful ,one of them even defended me once while a guy in my class tried to mock me for my acne.I love my friends and family!

It was a Sunday night and Monday was going to be the first day of my college! I had a small red bump on my left cheek which was becoming bigger with time.The next morning to my horror it became a bigggg bump! I thought of missing the college but it was the first day after all!And so i went...The day began with introductions in every class.I had to go in front of everyone and introduce myself.There were like 30 girls! All of them hot... I was so mortified. Horrific experience. The worst day of my life.

Acne is a curse to mankind :/

It however taught me some healthy habits which will go a long way in keeping me fit
 

[lifeisgoing]

what on earth is a form teacher?

too bad you didnt "accidentally" trip the bastard, preferably into an open sewer... or get your kid brother to kick him in the goolies.

 

Well for me, a form teacher was the teacher who oversaw a class of "Sixth Form" pupils doing their A-Level qualifications here in the UK.  The individual subjects (3 usually) would have their own teachers but this guy was the one who is supposed to keep an overview of your progress and the one you'd speak to if you had any problems.  As you can imagine, I didn't bother.  Goolies   - not heard that in a while!  Yes, a swift kick to his plums would have been very satisfying.

[elliew8]

This page is making me realise how evil some people can be! Is there such a thing as acne-ist lol the thing I try and remember is putting things into perspective, some people physically cannot leave their houses every day and the only thing that stops me leaving the house is my own bad mentality...leading onto a very embarrassing moment for me, although it did help with the 'putting things into perspective'...

 

So I woke up in really early in the morning boiling hot and hearing a crackling noise from our back garden which happened to be our fence and huge conifur tree on fire...like huge orange flames and spreading into neighbours gardens! I got up, woke my family up and called 999...however when it came to going next door to let my neighbours know their garden was also on fire, the minute they opened the door I remembered I'd had a picking session the night before and was all red, bumpy and bloody on my whole face. I was so embarrassed I quickly told them what was going on and ran back into the house...on the plus side at least I'd covered up the mess by the time the firemen got there Luckily my neighbours didn't say anything (probably because they have 2 young children and their garden was burning!) It made me realise that there were quite a few people in danger and yet I was more concerned about how bad my skin looked rather than the raging fire...now how ridiculous is that!

 

I also remember when I was 13/14 and hadn't learned how to cover my spots there was one time I wore a scarf to my mouth all day (thank god it was winter) to hide a big chin breakout...another time I SLOWLY drank a bottle of water all day at a shopping centre to hide more chin spots...on a sports day I styled my hair completely to one side (which looked awful!) to distract from a giant spot on my cheek...and another time I remember being round a friend's house and I spent the whole time on my own on the top bunk bed looking down chatting to him, thinking he wouldn't notice a horn-like spot on my forehead, until he asked me if I was just sitting up there because I was turning into a rhino...I had to laugh at the time (even though I was cringing inside!) because it showed me even though he noticed the spot, he really didn't care and was more bothered by the fact he'd been craning his neck to talk to me the whole time!

[Stella the diver]

 I had a new lady start work with me who was also an avon lady, and she would bring the magazines in and try to make us buy stuff. So she ended up sitting with me and started flicking through the pages, and i knew immediately what pages she was heading for, and as she landed on the page marked "Clear Skin" i felt my blood boil. She said "you should try these products,they could sort out all that" then she proceeded to pull a face and pointed at the areas around my chin and mouth. I told her that 3 courses of accutane had not worked for me so i doubted her avon face wash would be any help. I went home and cried alot. I left the job shortly afterwards. People can be so ignorant!

 

I hate it when that happens! It's happened to me loads of times, at the mall and with salespeople from Mary Kay!