Saturday 26th of April 2025

Nairobi, Kenya

Breaking the Cycle: How Acne Shaped and Strengthened My Journey to Self-Esteem

Titilade Ilesanmi, How My Face Acne Affected My Self-Esteem, Breaking the Cycle, Overcoming Acne and Rebuilding Self-Esteem.

By Titilade Ilesanmi

In a moment of childhood innocence, I unknowingly spoke a desire into existence. At 11 years old, I wished for acne, perceiving it as a sign of maturity. What followed was a lifelong battle with acne that scarred not only my face but also my self-esteem, culminating in a struggle with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Reflecting on my journey, I now understand the profound truth of Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

Words have immense power, shaping our realities in ways we often fail to recognize. My experience with acne and the resulting body image issues taught me that healing requires addressing both external symptoms and internal struggles. Here’s a detailed look at the challenges I faced and solutions that helped me regain control of my life.

The Challenges

1. Fear of Rejection
Acne consumed my thoughts, and I constantly worried about being judged or ridiculed. I avoided social interactions, withdrawing from people and opportunities. Seeing a friend with severe acne embrace her skin with confidence was a turning point; I realized that self-acceptance was an internal battle, not just an external one.

2. Financial Strain on Skincare Products
I spent excessive amounts on skincare, chasing temporary fixes that never provided lasting results. Each new product promised hope but left me in a frustrating cycle of disappointment, fueling my insecurities.

3. Anxiety and Overthinking
Anxiety dictated my daily life. Attending university classes or events became daunting as I obsessed over my appearance. Makeup felt like a mask I hated wearing, and my constant worrying robbed me of joy and spontaneity.

4. Self-Comparison
Fashion magazines and celebrity images exacerbated my insecurities. I believed clear skin equaled beauty, success, and acceptance. Comparing myself to friends and public figures only deepened my feelings of inadequacy.

5. Compulsive Habits
I developed unhealthy routines, from obsessively checking the mirror for improvement to strategically selecting hairstyles and clothes to hide my face. These habits consumed my energy and overshadowed the joy of self-expression.

Solutions for Acne and Restoring Self-Esteem

1. Seek Professional Help
Consult a dermatologist to address acne effectively. Personalized treatments tailored to your skin type can prevent the trial-and-error cycle of skincare products. Additionally, therapy can help address the emotional impact of acne, fostering self-acceptance and building confidence.

2. Adopt a Holistic Approach
Acne isn’t just skin deep; diet, stress, and hormonal balance play crucial roles.
– Diet: Limit sugar, dairy, and processed foods while increasing water intake and incorporating fresh fruits, vegetables, and omega-3-rich foods.
– Stress Management: Practice mindfulness, yoga, or meditation to reduce stress, which can trigger breakouts.

3. Set Realistic Expectations
Avoid comparing yourself to airbrushed images in magazines. Remember, even celebrities deal with skin imperfections hidden by makeup and editing. Celebrate small victories and focus on progress rather than perfection.

4. Positive Affirmations
Replace negative self-talk with affirmations. Remind yourself daily that your worth isn’t tied to your appearance. Statements like “I am more than my skin” or “I am confident and beautiful” can shift your mindset over time.

5. Cultivate Self-Care Practices
Invest time in hobbies and activities that make you happy. Celebrate the features you love about yourself and express gratitude for them.

6. Build a Support Network
Surround yourself with friends and mentors who uplift and affirm you. Sharing your struggles with trusted individuals can lighten the emotional load and provide encouragement.

The Journey to Self-Love
My journey with acne taught me resilience, self-awareness, and the importance of holistic healing. Overcoming body image struggles wasn’t just about clearing my skin—it was about transforming my mindset, embracing my imperfections, and rediscovering my self-worth.

To anyone struggling with acne or self-esteem issues, remember: you are not alone, and there is a way forward. Healing begins when you choose to speak life into yourself, take proactive steps, and embrace the unique beauty within you.

Content courtesy of NFH Digital Team

What Is Skin pH? How to Tell if Yours Is Healthy, and Why It Matters

It’s official: pH is the new black. From dermatologists’ offices to the aisles of Sephora, “pH balance” is the phrase on every beauty maven’s well-moisturized lips. The market has started to flood with pH-focused cleansers, toners, moisturizers, pH strips, and even high-tech wearable pH sensors. When it comes to beauty treatments and products that claim to restore the skin’s pH balance, today’s marketplace is a bit like the Wild West: There’s a rush to stake some big claims, and certainly some snake oil being sold.

While aestheticians, dermatologists, and wellness gurus may have divergent philosophies, all agree that pH levels are important to overall skin health. So we thought it would be a good time to step back and ask some basic questions, like: What is pH balance, anyway? And why should you care about it in your quest for great skin?

What’s pH Anyway? A Quick Science Lesson for Beginners

Let’s go back to high school science class for a moment. The pH is a numeric scale that indicates how acidic or alkaline something is. On the pH scale of 1 to 14, 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, and above 7 is alkaline. What does that have to do with your skin?

“The pH of your skin is normal at 4.7,” says Anthony Youn, MD, a plastic surgeon based in Troy, Michigan. “The thought is that if you alter that pH, you’re altering how healthy the skin is.”

PH isn’t the only trending buzzword beauty insiders are also increasingly talking about how pH can affect what’s called the “acid mantle,” a thin barrier on the surface of your skin that helps maintain its slight acidity. Dr. Youn explains that if you disturb your acid mantle by using overly harsh products, you’re going to suffer the consequences, and they won’t be pretty. While it has recently re-entered the lexicon, the term “acid mantle” actually dates to 1928, when it was coined during one of the earliest studies on skin surface pH, according to an article published in August 2018 in the journal Current Problems in Dermatology.

How pH Became One of the Hottest New Trends in Skin Care

“Your acid mantle is made up of amino and lactic acids, plus sebum, also known as fatty free acids,” says Tiffany Masterson, the founder of the Houston, Texas–based skin-care line Drunk Elephant, which ensures its products are pH balanced. Self-trained on the subject of pH, Masterson has become a leading voice on the topic largely through the success of her brand.

“The acid mantle just so happens to protect skin from environmental factors that lead to aging and all-around irritation,” she says. The brand’s Slaai Melting Butter Cleanser debuted in April and instantly drew raves from beauty insiders for its pH-balancing powers.

Other products, like Tula’s Pro-Glycolic 10 Percent pH Resurfacing Gel, are so popular that they’re often sold out completely both online and in department stores. The buzz is so big that retailers, including Sephora and Dermstore, have dedicated spaces on their websites to pH-balancing products.

And taking the obsession with pH-awareness high-tech, La Roche-Posay in 2019 released My Skin Track, a prototype of a wearable sensor that detects trace amounts of sweat from your pores and promises an accurate skin pH reading in just 15 minutes.

Some credit the surging popularity of pH-focused skin care in the West to the success of Korean skin care worldwide. “Many people living in Korea identify with a sensitive skin type, and some of the redness and irritation is attributed to the high pollution levels in Korea,” says Charlotte Cho, a cofounder of the K-Beauty website Soko Glam. “As a result, Korean beauty brands often formulate products with low pH.” Bestselling K-Beauty brands like Corsx and Acwell, the latter of which lists the pH of each product on the label, are at the forefront of the trend.

But some medical experts question the extent to which all this focus on pH-balanced products matters to the average consumer. “The reason why we don’t put too much thought into it is because the skin-care scientists have already done that,” says the New York City–based dermatologist Cheryl Karcher, MD. “They’re very smart people, these PhDs making these skin-care products. They know that you have to have something close to the pH of the skin or else it’s not going to be cosmetically appealing it’s going to burn.”

“The skin’s barrier is slightly acidic for a reason: to keep moisture in and bacteria out, Dr. Karcher says. “If your pH balance is off and it’s too alkaline, your skin is going to look flaky and red. If it’s too acidic, you’ll increase your chances of inflammatory skin conditions like eczema and acne.”

Masterson believes that common ingredients in products cause many of our skin troubles. Those ingredients include fragrances, essential oils, drying alcohols, and harsh cleansing agents such as sodium lauryl sulfate, which can cause inflammation and disrupt the acid mantle. “No product can make a difference in the health of your skin barrier if you’re using another product that is actively causing it harm,” says Masterson. “Your body doesn’t work that way  you can’t smoke a cigarette and then eat some broccoli and hope they cancel each other out so why would your skin be any different? This is why we are adamant about both the importance of pH balanced formulas as well as avoiding the categories of ingredients that can cause the acid mantle harm.”

Why pH-Balancing Products Might Matter Less if You Have Healthy Skin

As much as pH balance and the acid mantle matter, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Much depends on the natural state of your skin. Karcher explains that healthy skin is about more than pH alone. “pH is the flavor of the month, but it has to be part of a bigger picture,” she says. “Yes, you need to have an acidic pH to have healthy skin, but if your skin is healthy and you use an alkaline cleanser, your skin is going to revert back in just a few minutes.”

Karcher believes that pH is one of the myriad components that keep skin healthy, but it’s not the only one, nor is it necessarily the primary one. “There are so many factors that contribute to overall healthy skin that if you focus just on pH you’re going to miss so many others that are just as important, or in fact, more important than pH,” she says.

And Cho agrees, but notes that by keeping your pH at an ideal level with the right products, you may get ahead of some common complaints. “The pH of your cleansers matters because something that is high pH, 9 and above, can be too drying and stripping for your skin, says Cho. “When your acid mantle and skin barrier is compromised, it can lead to bacteria, which causes acne and dehydration, which leads to wrinkles. And when the pH of your skin is normal, it should look smooth and hydrated.”

How a Growing Understanding of Gut Bacteria Has Fueled Interest in pH Imbalance

A plastic surgeon specializing in holistic beauty, Youn believes that one reason pH balance has become so trendy in skin care may be growing research about the microbiome, which protects us against germs, breaks down food to release energy, and may affect the skin. “There’s something now called the gut-skin axis where we’re finding that the health of the gut also impacts the trillions of bacteria that live on our skin, and when your pH is imbalanced it may affect that,” says Youn, citing a review published in July 2018 in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.

Youn says that while many in the holistic beauty world have become obsessed with pH, the acid mantle, and the microbiome, it’s not the case in the medical world just yet. “The real question is just how much impact does the pH of a skin-care product have on the skin, and for how long? I don’t think we know. If you ask 10 plastic surgeons who are recommending skin-care products about the pH of the skin and the acid mantle, they probably would have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sometimes research follows marketing, Youn adds. “It remains to be seen what role pH balance plays in disturbing the microbiome, but if it affects bacteria on the skin, that might explain the origins of inflammatory disease skin problems like eczema, rosacea, and acne which have no known cause in science as of now.”

Trevor Cates, ND, a Park City, Utah–based naturopath who addressed the American Academy of Antiaging Medicine about the skin’s barrier functioning in December 2018, says the foods we eat can play a part. “Eating a lot of sugar or dairy products can increase sebum production,” says Cates, who is also the author of Clean Skin From Within. “Those things can impact the acid mantle from the inside-out. But also, what we put on the skin can impact that. And the first thing that people do is use a cleanser, so it’s important that it has a mild acidity.”

The Best Way to Find Out if Your Skin-Care Products Have a Low pH

It may be that you don’t need to worry too much about the pH of your products if you have healthy skin. But if you already suffer from inflammatory skin conditions, such as acne or eczema, you’ll want to stick to cleansers, serums, and moisturizers that range from 4.6 to 5.5 to avoid stripping the skin, says Cates.

Because the majority of skin-care products in the United States don’t list the formula’s pH on the label the way many K-Beauty products do, you can find out what the pH of a product is by checking the brand’s website, or call the company and ask. If you want to be sure, you can also purchase pH strips and test a product yourself. “If you live in a location where the tap water is hard, that can cause your skin’s pH balance to become more alkaline,” Cates says. (If you see white spots on your glassware, or calcification on your showerheads, you likely have hard tap water, according to Sciencing.com.) One solution is to try cleansing with micellar water, which French women have been hailing as the secret to great skin for decades.

A review published in July 2014 in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology cites research that suggests diet may have a bigger connection to skin health than dermatologists formerly believed. On the basis of existing data, a plant-based diet that’s low in refined carbohydrates is a good idea for overall skin health, researchers concluded.

And when all else fails, sometimes it’s best to remember that less is more. “There’s something I call the ‘hospital phenomenon,’ says Masterson. “When I was delivering my babies, I was in the hospital for several days each time and then at home in bed recovering. I really didn’t pay much attention to my skin then, and guess what? My skin was never happier. It’s because I allowed it to function on its own and left the acid mantle alone to do its job, which it did very well. If you struggle with skin issues and you don’t know what else to do, the answer is almost always: ‘Do less.’”

Content courtesy of Everyday Health & Nairobi fashion hub 

Benefits Of Lemon For Skin That Should Be An Essential Part Of Your Beauty Routine

You might love a cold glass of lemonade, a steamy bowl of lemon chicken, or, if you’re a Real Housewives of Orange County fan, you might put nine in a bowl (what’s up Shannon Beador?!) but did you know that there are tons of uses for lemons outside of the kitchen?

Turns out, your skin and hair love lemons, too. Lemons have a wide range of beauty benefits. Here are the best beauty uses for lemons:

1. Clarifying Moisturizer

Lemons have strong antibacterial properties, which makes them perfect for nixing breakout-causing bacteria. To DIY your own version, mix a few drops of coconut water with a few drops of lemon juice. The coconut will hydrate your skin, and lemon will clear and brighten it. Note: If you have sensitive skin, do a patch test on your skin first.

2. Elbow And Knee Lightener

Lemons are packed with vitamin C, a natural brightening ingredient. “If your elbows and knees appear dark, simply rub them with half of a lemon,” says Patrice Coleman, owner of DaBlot Beauty. “It’s like magic!”

3. Blackhead Treatment

It might sound too good to be true, but lemons can also help treat your blackheads. This is because they contain citric acid, a natural form of alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). After cleansing, rub a slice of lemon over your most blackhead-ridden spots (typically your T-zone) to let the AHAs work their pore-clearing magic.

4. Cleansing Wipes

“I like to mix a couple drops of lemon and tea tree essential oil in about six ounces of distilled water. I recommend it as a toner or for use with cotton pads as a cleansing wipe for problematic skin,” says Becky Sturm, founder of Storm Sister Spatique. If you’re not into making one yourself, check out this pre-made version from Clean & Clear.

5. Teeth Whitener

Does at-home whitening leave your teeth sensitive for days? Try this instead: Mix baking soda and lemon juice, and apply it to your teeth with a clean Q-tip. Then, use your toothbrush to scrub your teeth and rinse.

6. Skin Brightener

Lemons are rich in vitamin C and citric acid, so they can help brighten and lighten your skin when used over time. “Vitamin C is a great antioxidant for neutralizing free radicals and boosting collagen production,” says Marina Peredo, MD, a dermatologist. That means it can help lighten dark spots. Try it in this moisturizer from Fresh.

Just remember to wear SPF when using lemon juice on your skin, though, since the citrus fruit can make your skin more sensitive to UV rays.

7. Shine Eliminator

The citric acid inside lemon juice works as a natural astringent. If you’re prone to a greasy complexion, add a few drops of lemon juice to a cotton pad, then wipe it over a freshly washed face to stop oil in its tracks.

8. Lip Exfoliator

Mix a little lemon juice with some brown sugar to create your own lip scrub. The lemon juice’s AHA will work as a chemical exfoliator to loosen up dead skin cells while the sugar will work as a physical exfoliator to slough them off.

One caveat: “Obviously, if you already have severely chapped lips that have any cuts, do not try this,” says Gary Goldfaden, MD, a dermatologist.

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9. Nail Strengthener

Have you been getting too many gel manicures? Make a mixture of your favorite cooking oil (try olive oil) with lemon juice, and soak your nails. This is a good practice if your nails are dry and brittle, but it’s also a great way to help fix nails that have yellowed.

10. Hair Lightener

If your hair is already on the lighter side, score dye-free DIY highlights with lemon juice. Apply it before you expose your hair to sunlight to score a sun-kissed color. For a trendy ombré effect, focus the lemon juice just toward the ends of your hair.

If you notice start to see too much orange poking through, color correct using a blue conditioner, like this one from Joico. Remember, blue is opposite orange on the color wheel, so the two will balance each other out.

Content courtesy of Women’s Health Magazine & Nairobi fashion hub 

What is Foundation?

Lately, things have been pretty stressful and the emotional strain is showing on your face. It’s the same way a face can tell you that life has been harsh and unforgiving.

Of course, it feels like you’ve been living in the deep end and things have been becoming hotter and hotter by the day. Sometimes, you wake up on top of the world and other times you just can’t catch a break. However, life never stops and you still want to put your best foot forward.

 

Foundation is make-up that gives you a flawless, even look regardless of what’s happening beneath. Ladies have different seasons and sometimes it feels like little volcanoes are erupting all over your face yet you haven’t touched dairy and it definitely isn’t that time of the month. So foundation lets you get your inner confidence back if your face is acting up including acne and hyperpigmentation. 

 

Hence, it’s created to match your skin tone so that it can cover up flaws and you can even use it to alter your skin tone. It can also function as a moisturiser, sunscreen or a base layer for other make-up.

 

There are different types of foundation that include liquid foundation, cream foundation, cake or stick foundation, powder foundation, waterproof foundation & mineral foundation, spray foundation, cream-to-powder foundation, tinted moisturizer and mousse foundation.

 

Of course, you want your foundation to last as long as possible.

So we have a few tips below that will help keep your foundation in place, all day long.

Always, start with a clean face. If your face is prone to acne break-outs then start a skin care routine that includes exfoliating your face weekly. It’ll make it easier for your face to hold the foundation nicely.

Moisturize your face before applying foundation so that application is even.  

Apply a primer to your face so that your foundation lasts all day.

Make sure that foundation type matches your skin type e,g. cream foundations are perfect for ladies with extra dry skin.  

Use the right shade so that it blends perfectly with your neck.

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