

I Went From 'Skin Goals' To Adult Acne, Here's How I Bounced Back
Not to toot my own horn, but 90% of the time, my skin is flawless. My most recent revelation of this? Being featured by a popular site in a video segment and the entire comment section asking, "Green sweater, what's your skincare regimen?" They completely ignored the takeaways of self-love and wellness that I shared with them. My point? Outside of that time of the month, my skin hardly ever fails me unless I'm suffering from intense anxiety.
The last time I recall having breakouts, was during finals in my first semester of grad school. I woke up, and the right side of my face was covered in acne. Nothing helped until after exams were finished, and weeks later, all of the acne disappeared.
COVID-19 has impacted my life, and my skin, and unlike the weeks of discomfort that I endured last winter, the highs and lows of my skin breaking out have lasted for months this time and I needed answers. Due to the dermatologist offices being closed in quarantine, I had to get creative and explore alternative methods of getting my skincare game, and life together.
If the Rona is messing with your skin, explore these options to bring it back to life.
Evaluate your skincare routine pre-pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, my skincare routine included sunlight, additional water intake due to cycling workouts, and swimming three times a week followed by the sauna, a place where my skin was nurtured with heat and jojoba oil. If I'm lucky, these days I get outside 1-2 hours a day and that can't compare to the environment my skin was used to. Additionally, your skin feels the pandemic's stress, and when our bodies feel that pressure, it releases cortisol.
When this occurs, it lowers the estrogen production, which can lead to a spike in androgen levels. And as androgen plays a role in connecting with the sebaceous glands when they feel stressed, those glands overproduce oil. That oil clogs our pores and leads to inflammation that causes breakouts - it's a never-ending cycle of stress that shows up on your skin. Consider what products you used to use to show your skin a little extra love previously, and do more of that to see change.
When complying with PPE rules, find a face mask that doesn't irritate your skin.
For weeks, I'd seen adult acne form the corners of where I place my face mask on daily when I work out, and even though I didn't pop the pimples, they left dark marks (as most acne scars become due to melanated skin.) Weeks into quarantine, after realizing that washing my sheets weekly versus. bi-weekly hadn't helped, all roads pointed to my mask, so I opted to work out in an area where I'd hardly ever come in contact with anyone, without a mask - versus the park, where I'd work out in days prior to. Unfortunately, some instances of "maskne" aren't avoidable, for more info on how to avoid mask-related breakouts, check out "8 Tips to Prevent Acne Caused by Face Masks".
I increased my water intake.
While I only drink water and coffee daily, I still have to admit that social distancing hours will pass and I'll forget to take a sip. And due to sitting at my desk most of the time, working for hours on end forgetting to do basic things such as stretch, and take adequate water breaks, my skin was impacted. Intentionally stopping to drink water in intervals daily has helped me hold myself, and my urine color accountable. My skin has also flourished because of it.
Steam your skin (I repeat steam your skin).
About two months into being met with skincare woes, I decided that I'd call in for skin reinforcements in the form of re-upping on my favorite products and steaming. Steaming your skin by way of a steamer, a pot of boiling water and a towel, or a sauna helps to unclog your pores. I have access to a sauna and I've noticed that the weeks I steam and go visit the spa, my skin recuperates and glows more as a result.
Detox.
If you're like me, the first few weeks of quarantine were filled with snacks and Netflix. And while that escape from reality felt good initially, our bodies and skin are asking for a detox when acne shows up on our faces. Consider a cleanse with a natural detox tea, green juice, or supplement with adding probiotics, and leafy greens to your diet to improve the clarity of your complexion.
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Featured image via Yasmine Jameelah/Instagram
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Dubbed one of the "21 Black Women Wellness Influencers You Should Follow" by Black + Well, Yasmine Jameelah continues to leave her digital footprint across platforms ranging from Forever 21 Plus, Vaseline, and R29 Unbothered discussing all things healing and body positivity. As a journalist, her writing can be found on sites such as Blavity, Blacklove.com, and xoNecole. Jameelah is also known for her work shattering unconventional stigmas surrounding wellness through her various mediums, including her company Transparent Black Girl. Find Yasmine @YasmineJameelah across all platforms.
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Savannah James Opens Up About The Ways She’s Becoming A Better Woman And A Better Mother
Savannah James is opening up about her personal life like never before.
The 36-year-old talked about her transformative journey to become a better person and how her positive changes, combined with her childhood experiences, have molded her into a well-rounded parent for her children.
Savannah is married to Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. The couple, who have been together for over two decades, share three children Bronny James, 18, Bryce James,15, and 8-year-old Zhuri James.
During her May/June cover story issue with The Cut magazine, Savannah revealed the importance of therapy and caring for one's physical and mental health.
Savannah On Becoming A Better Woman
In the conversation, the mother of three expressed that she has attended therapy in the past because she wanted to "find out more" about who she was as an individual and how her mind operates in "certain situations."
In addition to therapy, she has been finding new ways to enhance her physical and mental health by staying active, removing toxins from her body by incorporating juicing, and following a detox program.
"I've gone to therapy. Anything just to find out more about myself and the way that my brain functions in certain situations. I am a woman getting to a certain age and I need to be aging like the most amazing 19-whatever vintage wine on the market," she stated. "I took a super-heavy intention with my health, moving my body, doing things that may sound weird, juicing for three months. I went on a detox program. I enjoyed it. I felt like I was able to tap into meditation, and my mind was much clearer."
Savannah On How Her Childhood Experiences Have Shaped Her As A Mother
As the conversation transitioned to parenting, Savannah reflected on her childhood experiences and how it has impacted her parenting skills.
The mother of three revealed that growing up, she was always surrounded by love from her family members, including her extended relatives, so much so that they would often frequent and spend quality time at her grandmother or aunt's house.
Savannah shared that those cherished moments made her want to pass that tradition on to her own family --which also consisted of her close friends--- when she eventually had one.
"Growing up, we always did something together. It was always a gang of us. I had a ton of cousins, aunts, and uncles, and we always had fish fries and things like that at my grandmother's house or at my aunt's house. Having that sense of family, I always wanted to have that from my family. When we moved from Akron, we had to create a new family. Our friends became our family," she said.
Another factor that helped "shape" Savannah's parenting skills was how "super-understanding" her parents, Jennifer Brinson and JK Brinson, were to her as she aged.
Savannah revealed that her parents allowed her to "make mistakes and work through them" and gave her the opportunity to express herself in various ways, which she says she does for her three children now.
"I think also having super-understanding, amazing, positive parents in my life was a part of what shaped me and my parenting style," she stated. "I was given opportunities to make mistakes and work through them. I was an athlete, so I was given the opportunity to express myself in the ways of sports, and they let me jump off the walls and do all of the things, so a confidence in that and a freedom in that, which I also give my kids."
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Feature image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images