“I still am amazed that the beauty industry managed to convince 85% of the population that they were wrong, or dirty, for breaking out when it’s overwhelmingly normal,” says Jamika Martin of ROSEN Skincare. “I think we have a long way to go when it comes to the conversation around skin expectations, the journey of people of color with acne, and the overall expectation of ‘treatment’, but I think we’re moving in the right direction.” Glover just wishes she could turn back time and have the shift happen sooner: “I wish that shift had happened when I was growing up! As a still-ongoing acne sufferer, it was always embarrassing for me and made me feel like it was my fault for not taking care of my skin better, when any dermatologist can attest that it’s not a personal failing.” And that’s the issue at it’s core: We have treated having acne as a personal and moral failure. What the actual hell is that? Having acne should never make you feel unworthy in any way, shape, or form. Your skin is something that is forever changing, and this absurd idea of having “perfect skin” is, well, a lie. Your skin is a progressing biome, not a smooth, perfect canvas. and not the perfection that so many people think they need to attain to be “beautiful.”
