It's never too late to reconnect with my skin. I’m allowed to start my skin journey again.

If you’ve experienced the journey of hormonal acne, you’ll understand the quiet fear that never fully goes away—the fear that it might come back. For me, that fear became loud when I began thinking about coming off the contraceptive pill.

What if my hormonal acne returns?

After a decade of living with clear skin and investing so much time, energy, and care (not to mention money) into healing the physical and emotional damage from my teenage years, it felt like reason enough not to take the risk. My skin had come so far, and so had I.

I had been here before. And my acne did return.

What if I ended up back at the very beginning, again? Was it something that I was going to be able to handle?

I may have had clear skin now, but I didn’t truly know my skin, naturally.

I had become so used to relying on the pill to manage my acne that I didn’t know if my body could find balance on its own.

I was in my mid-twenties – it felt daunting to open a door that might mean starting over again, at an age when I hoped those struggles might have been behind me.

But as loud as this fear was, I felt differently now.

I knew that the longer I delayed this decision, the longer it would take to truly understand my body. So, I chose the daunting path anyway. I chose to pursue it with patience, not urgency, with trust, not fear.

I knew that healing wasn’t always linear. And if the path ahead curved or circled back to where I started all those years ago, it didn’t mean I have failed, or that my body had failed me.

It simply meant I was one step closer to understanding my skin.

One step closer to learning how to be in harmony with my body.

My best wishes to you as you navigate your skin journey. Remember, you are beautiful, and you are worthy, always.

— Dana

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