Acne is the most common dermatological condition, encountered in more than 80% of people, at least once in their life. Although it represents something common in theory, practice shows the opposite, being otherwise an avoided topic. The epicenter of this problem? Of course, the society which conditions us to believe that we MUST reach unrealistic standards such as having perfect skin all the time, without pimples, pores or other "impurities". Things are not like that at all: although many of us try to mask our acne, it will not disappear, but will still be visible as daylight. Present as a rule since adolescence, it manifests itself differently in each individual: the most common is facial acne, but unfortunately, too little attention is paid to body acne (it can appear on the shoulders, chest, back, posterior, intimate area, etc. ). The point, in fact, is that whatever forms we face, the feeling of shame it has nothing to do with the emotional amalgam that comes "as a package". 

The time has come for society to stop treating acne as a taboo defect, one so controversial that we have reached a point where we feel the need to stop going out in public because of the well-known "looks". What most people don't realize is that acne has severe and long-term consequences especially psychologically, resulting in low self-esteem, anxiety, stress, fear, exhaustion, and the list doesn't stop there. Today, everywhere we look, we notice that the unrealistic image of perfection is being propagated, which inevitably causes or influences those around to either judge or hide. As a result, the main obstacle in the collective awareness of the fact that acne is absolutely normal is it social media. We see it daily representation of a non-existent reality through the posts of top models who display their clean skin, ideal smile and supple body and who, thus, erroneously stipulate to an enormous number of people, a good part of which is made up of children and young people, the idea that if they do not fit that pattern, they automatically makes "ugly/not good enough". Obviously, they will greatly minimize their confidence and self-love when no one seems to be going through similar difficulties to them, and so end up imitating the appearances embodied by the accounts they follow. 

Instead of coming to the rescue, Industry from the market rather perpetuates the false portrayal of the human body. Until and in ADVERTISING, respectively magazines, even when it comes to acne, the spotlight is on products to get rid of it, not to mention its naturalness. The thirst of companies to market their goods on the conveyor belt, the desire to make a profit is today above reality, the spread of positivity, the creation of safe and quality products. Take for example the television industry: there is no film, series or show in which the actors do not play according to the current beauty stereotypes. Those that do are far too few and not popular enough. Photoshop is used to design simple fantasies. The sad thing is that all this becomes a routine and devastates the youth, who, affected, begin to believe everything that is distributed around them. They live with the thought that they don't fit in, that they will fail because of their physical appearance, and that they are not loved, dark emotions that scar in MIND. The environment based on these unjust principles is, therefore, an aberrant, toxic and unfavorable one, in the end. 

There are also campaigns campaigning for the normalization of acne, as well as celebrities, models revealing the secrets behind the curtains of screens, cameras, make-up, touch-ups, etc. We all know about the confessions of Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Lili Reinhart, about hashtags #acnepositivity, #AcneIsNormal, #freethepimple and yes, it helps support its movement, but it will take a long time for the world to fully understand, perceive, and embrace acne as completely normal. 

The battle with this condition will never be easy, but always unpredictable. You don't know exactly where, when, how it will appear, what triggered it, and then comes the why. Why are you going through this? Well, the factors can be diverse: from nutrition, hygiene, hormones, drugs, heredity, stress, and up to interpersonal activities, school, work. Literally, a war with the unknown and your inner self. The states you go through are overwhelming and sometimes they can even induce you into depression. It is also necessary to realize that acne lasts, and its healing can take even longer. It costs you time, money, hope and optimism, because the treatments are expensive, they work in at least 2 months, plus you have to find the right one for you first. Hence the acquisition patience always means a virtue when it comes to acne. 

The most important in this whole equation are in the fund acceptance and unconditional self-love. Whether the treatment will bear fruit or not, acne remains a normality and does not change in any way our outer and inner beauty. We should not treat acne as something negative, as an "imperfection", but consider it unique, an addition, be it temporary or permanent, and learn together how to appreciate ourselves with or without it. 

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Sources:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/will-we-ever-normalize-body-acne
https://bioclinica.ro/pentru-pacienti/articole-medicale/acneea-cauze-simptome-tipuri-diagnostic-preventie-tratament
https://www.reginamaria.ro/utile/dictionar-de-afectiuni/acneea