NOT PERFECT, BUT BETTER
What my skin told me
The change of environment affected my skin so badly, I started to feel like it had declared war on me. Every day, I woke up to a new breakout, a mysterious acne scar, or peeling skin , like I was a snake shedding its identity. Yes. I said it. A snake. đÂ
I tried everything that used to work back home. My trusted shea butter. My black soap. Nothing. Then I tried new products, expensive serums, cold water rinses, hot water rinses ;still nothing. My skin wasnât having it.Â
I started to hate looking in the mirror because the person staring back didnât feel like me anymore. I didnât want to go out. People would look at me funny on the bus and I swear, if the only seat left was beside me, people would rather stand. And honestly⌠I couldnât blame them. If I couldnât look at my own reflection, how could I expect strangers to feel comfortable?Â
The worst part was having no one who truly understood. Iâd complain to my sisters back home, but they just said things like âdrink more waterâ or âmaybe itâs your soap.â They didnât understand this foreign winter skin betrayal I was experiencing.Â
But one random winter morning, I decided to go to Aldi. Somewhere between the cold wind and my endless inner monologue, my Leap Card slipped out of my pocket. I didnât even notice. But someone walking behind me did and ran after me to hand it back.
That small moment,a stranger’s kindness turned into a full-on conversation. We talked about Ireland, about missing home, about how the weather was confusing all our systems. I told her about my skin struggles, and she got it. She told me about a dermatologist who truly understood how melanin-rich skin reacts to cold, dryness, and stress.Â
I booked an appointment that same week.Â
My skin still isnât perfect but itâs not what it used to be. The peeling has stopped. The breakouts are less frequent. And most importantly, I can look in the mirror again without fear.Â
Sometimes healing starts with a kind stranger and a returned Leap Card.Â
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