Why I Stopped Apologizing for My Skin
Have you ever found yourself saying “sorry”, just because you felt like you had to? “Sorry, I know my skins really bad today”, “Sorry, it was fine yesterday”, “Sorry, I didn’t have time to cover it up.”
I lived my teenage years like that.
Feeling like I had to apologize before people even looked at me, because maybe if I said it first, they’d judge me less. Nobody told me to say sorry. But the world taught me acne was a flaw, and flaws were meant to be fixed, hidden and apologized for.
And one day, I just couldn’t do it anymore.
“I was apologizing for existing in a body that didn’t fit someone else’s definition of beautiful”
The Breaking Point
I still remember the first question I asked myself back in March 2020, “If this never goes away, will I just hate myself forever?”
Sad right? But that’s the reality most of us face, quietly hating ourselves away until we become numb to the feeling. It’s fair to say that hit me hard because the truth is I was waiting to start living. To show up. To feel good in a photo. To stop overthinking everything. To just exist without feeling like I had to explain why I deserved to be there.
That was the day I decided, I was done saying sorry.
What Your Body Isn’t the Problem
I used to think confidence would come when my skin cleared. That if I found the right product, diet or routine, i’d finally feel good in my body. But here’s what I learned and what no one talks about enough:
The way we’re taught to think about skin is the real issue. We’re not just fighting breakouts, We’re fighting a beauty standards that teaches us to fix ourselves in order to be worthy of love. That mindset seeps into everything. Your mirror, dating life, social like, self worth. And until we unlearn that, no product in the world will make us feel better.
You’re allowed to heal while feeling confident. These aren't mutually exclusive. Stop apologizing for existing in your body. Start living now, not when you reach some arbitrary standard of beauty.
Actionable Steps to Stop Apologizing:
1. Catch yourself mid-apology, replace "sorry" with confident statements
2. Practice mirror affirmations daily, “My body is worthy of love.”
3. Challenge negative self-talk immediately, what’s making you feel this way and why is it so important to you?
4. Find what you love about yourself, instead of “I hate my skin, it looks so ugly”, say things like “I love the lessons my skin has taught me”, “I love my smile.”
If you’ve ever felt like you needed to apologize for simply existing, remember: You don’t need to hide yourself away, you don’t need to shrink and you don’t need to fit a beauty standard to start living your life.