Coming to you live this Wednesday with a #realtalk post! I’ve been told that these kinds of posts are your favorite, so A) thank you! and B) I hope this one doesn’t disappoint!

I’m going to try not to rant, but… no promises. Basically, I’m frustrated, really, really frustrated because my acne is the worst it’s been in the past year, yet I’m at the healthiest I’ve been. Aside from cutting alcohol out of my diet (difficult!), I’ve cut out 99% refined sugar, and almost 100% gluten, this is on top of my already dairy-free diet. We all know gluten and dairy have inflammatory properties, which is why they get such a bad rap. I love pasta, bread, cheese, gosh I love cheese, more than anything, but I made the tough choice to cut them out to be healthier and to help my skin. Did it work? Yes and no.

When I cut dairy out of my diet four years ago (Wow, four years ago?! That’s such a long time!) I was able to control my cystic acne. All those cysts, those painful cysts that stay on your face for weeks without going anywhere, yeah those, those luckily went away for the most part. Success!! With that being said, it didn’t solve all my acne problems, then again, nothing does. Sorry, I’m just so sour!! My cystic acne was gone 99% of the time, as was my enjoyment of cheese and ice cream, but it was worth it. Unfortunately, my regular acne was still totally there and sigh, wouldn’t go away.

Fast forward four years and now I’m desperately trying to get rid of my acne. I’ve tried every product out there. I’m on the strongest topical, prescription creams, and in my mind there was only one next step: cutting out gluten and (a ton of) sugar. Now let me be clear, I’m one of those people who is actually addicted to sugar. I’m a dessert every night kind of girl. Born and raised baby, born and raised! So now I’m baking a lot with unrefined coconut sugar (thank you for existing!) and testing out gluten free options. Cutting out pasta and bread was really depressing, but pretty easy since I just steer clear of bread and have protein pasta options instead.

So where am I going with all of this? Unfortunately for me the dietary changes haven’t solved my acne completely. I’m sacrificing so much in my diet and yet I’m still battling my acne. The only thing that helps my acne is this: covering it up, being able to look in the mirror at my best self, and dressing up in stylish outfits for blog shoots. Sometimes I look in the mirror after washing my makeup off, and my reflection makes me cry, a lot. It’s not so much about the superficial aspect anymore, it’s the fact that I feel helpless. At twenty-two I can’t shake my acne, and I’m tired, so tired of it. Can anyone relate? I honestly hope the answer is no because I wouldn’t even wish this on my worst enemy. (Trust me, I’ve got plenty. Ha! Kidding. I needed to lighten the mood!).

I’ll leave you with this: I realize that I’m lucky if my acne is the worst health problem I’m currently facing, but with that being said, this is something I’ve been struggling with for years. The harder I try to combat my acne, the more frustrated I get when nothing works. So now I spend my weekends throwing on cute outfits and spending a little extra time on my makeup before heading out to shoot some blog photos. That’s what works for me, at least for now. If you are struggling with severe acne, what works for you?

Outfit details below…!

cardigan: Zara (similar here, here) • scarf: Echo (similar here) • cords: Gap (similar here) • booties: Jack Rogers