I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had someone say something like,
“I think I’m doing everything right so why is my skin still breaking out?” during a skin consultation. 

Most  of us were taught that acne is just clogged pores or dirty skin. Like if we just cleanse more, exfoliate more, don't eat pizza 🍕😭 (a tragedy), or use stronger products it should go away.

But that’s not really how acne works... at all 🥲. It’s not just one thing, it’s layers. What’s happening on your skin is usually a combination of multiple things all interacting at the same time.

Your skin might be producing more oil than it needs to ✅ 
maybe your pores aren’t shedding properly ✅ 
maybe there’s some bacterial overgrowth ✅ 
maybe your internal health is off ✅ 
maybe your lifestyle habits are at play ✅ 
And almost always there’s inflammation involved. 🔥 
The list could go on and on, you get the picture! 

The tricky part is there's usually a reason (or multiple) your skin is behaving these ways. 

Let's take oil for example: 
Oil isn’t the enemy! Your skin actually needs it. But when your body is under stress, your hormones are shifting, or your blood sugar is all over the place your skin can start producing more oil than it knows what to do with. People try to fix that by drying their skin out, which feels like it should help right?! But usually it just creates this cycle where your skin gets stripped, panics, and produces even more oil. So now you’re oily, irritated AND still breaking out. 😞 

Then there’s the lovely buildup factor. 
Your skin is constantly turning over — shedding, renewing, doing its thing. On average our body sheds about 30 to 40 thousand dead skin cells per minute in fact! But when that process slows down or is disrupted this can lead to acne. Go ahead and mix that with excess oil and now your pores are definitely getting clogged. Once something is trapped in the pore it creates the perfect little environment for breakouts to form. 🌋

Now this is where people start thinking “I just need to clean my skin better.”
But acne isn’t because your skin is dirty. 

There’s a bacteria (cutibacterium acnes) involved in acne, yes — but it’s actually something that naturally lives on your skin already. It only becomes a problem when things are imbalanced which allows it to overgrow and trigger inflammation.
And oof, inflammation, this can make acne feel overwhelming for those experiencing it. 

Inflammation can come from soooo many places: stress, gut health, hormones, over-exfoliating, using too many actives, even just constantly switching products trying to “fix” things.

Now to top it off when your skin is in that inflamed state it’s just more sensitive overall. 😭 
It breaks out easier ✅ 
It heals slower ✅ 
It’s much more reactive to everything ✅ 

So as you can see clearly, acne isn't just a clogged pore. 

It’s your skin responding to a complex combination of internal and external stressors.

Which is why two people can use the exact same products and have completely different results.
And also why you can feel like you're doing all the right things and still feel stuck. 

But your skin isn’t difficult, it’s communicating 🗣️ It's giving you insight to your overall health and once you understand that you are able to feel more gratitude and appreciation for your body's largest organ 🥰 

When working with acne we can't just look at what's happening on the surface. We need to look for patterns. Acne isn't something you aggressively fight into submission. It's something you need to learn to support and guide back to balance ⚖️

I know how discouraging it can feel when your skin isn’t where you want it to be. I've experienced acne in various forms , areas of my face, and types since the age of 22. I had "perfect" skin until then and for those that have a similar story — you know how shocking it can be to have acne explode when you think that phase of life is past. P.s. - acne is not just a teen condition and yes it does happen into our later years. You are not alone there either 🫶 

I can promise you with confidence (and I do not promise easily!) — your skin isn’t stuck like this forever.

Once you understand what’s actually causing your acne and understand your unique skin everything becomes so much more clear and manageable. This is what Estheticians help with best  😊 

If you’re in that place where you feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing is quite clicking, this is exactly what I help my clients work through — figuring out your skin specifically so you’re not just guessing anymore.

You deserve that level of clarity—and to feel truly confident in your skin 🩵
If you’re ready to begin, you can shop the starter routine below. It states step-by-step professional guidance so you can feel confident from day one.