During our puberty days, acne became a skin condition that was frowned upon, and as crazy as it sounds, you automatically became subject to bullying once you hit puberty and had acne.
Many of us (myself included) used to look for ways to try and conceal our acne to achieve the poreless look using thick layers of foundation, trying to squeeze our pimples in hopes of getting rid of the acne or trying to strip our skin of its natural oils because we were told that oil was the enemy.
It somehow felt embarrassing to have a skin condition that you literally did not have control over and that came with a lot of psychological and emotional damage that some of us are still living with today.
Even having dark marks due to acne was equally embarrassing because we all fell for the advertising of “poreless and glowing” skin products that were being advertised by huge brands.
After all the efforts and being gullible enough to believe that your skin would magically change in a week, you would end up with a drawer full of both expensive and cheap products that did not work for your skin.
From blemish cover-up to beauty accessory
However, gone are those days when we tried to hide our acne because today, the very same skin condition that was frowned upon is being embraced boldly and proudly.
We are witnessing a cultural shift whereby people are using acne as a fashion accessory through wearing acne patches.
Although acne patches have long existed, they were originally designed to hide blemishes and were also considered to be worn inside the house only. Others would simply apply the patches over the pimples and cover them with make-up to hide them.
Today, we have celebs like Hailey and Justin Bieber, Kylie Jenner and Justine Skye who proudly wear acne patches as a form of fashion.
While Hailey, through her brand, Rhode, launched new products during Coachella week this year to introduce the “pimple stickers”, which, according to the brand's website, are “clinically proven to minimise the look of spots” and are made to be worn on the go.
The couple have also created colourful acne patches through the use of playful stickers like clouds, mushrooms and flowers, jelly beans, and bubbles to put on your face and embrace your imperfections.
From hiding imperfections to embracing them
Through their launch of the acne patches and of course their influence as public figures, we have seen how a lot of people on social media proudly wear the acne patches as a fashion accessory.
Now a lot of people on social media always have on acne patches even when they are running errands, going to the gym or simply just going out with friends and family.
Rather than retreating into a space of embarrassment, we are seeing a movement where skin imperfections are being met with acceptance.
Those small and translucent stickers are now being traded for vibrant, bold different types of shapes and bold colours, all serving the purpose of validating a skin journey that nearly every person has navigated at some point.
Perhaps the biggest change isn’t that acne patches have become colourful. It’s that we are no longer treating the skin underneath them as something that needs to be hidden.
kamogelo.makhura@nationalmg.co.za