Healing the skin _ from deep inside

I suffered greatly from my acne before realizing that my skin was a messenger. I felt so uncomfortable in my own body that for years I was unable to take off my T-shirt and expose my body covered in spots—even in front of those close to me. I hid it so well that they didn’t even know. But what a torture it was. I was wearing daily hundreds and hundreds ofpimples from black spots to big white spots, all over my back, chest and face.

At school, I always sat at the back of the classroom so no one would see my neck. If I arrived late and had to sit in another row, I wouldn’t take off my coat or my scarf—even in the middle of summer. I was in a constant state of alert, overwhelmed by shame.

Understanding what acne is and what it represents was a very long journey, because where I come from, all the solutions offered to me were either ineffective or even dangerous. Yes—dangerous.

Even today, modern Western medicine still offers very dangerous treatments, which I personally experienced. A treatment that is now widely prescribed—despite being denounced by many associations following the suicides of young people who used it—dries out the skin by destroying the body’s natural functioning. Among many devastating consequences, the acne disappears. It does not heal; it annihilates life from within.

Today, I am almost grateful for it, because it was the trigger. Nothing I had tried up to that point worked. Dermatologist visits with my mother only made things worse. The creams I placed so much hope in didn’t work, nor did the medications—and something I didn’t know at the time is that these treatments only increased my distress by causing hormonal imbalances and chemical alterations in my body.

There were also the torture sessions of skin “cleansing,” which consisted of extracting pus from each of the hundreds of pimples. I would leave feeling deeply ashamed, covered in red wounds, knowing perfectly well that the pus would reform very quickly—and that I wouldn’t even get to enjoy clear skin for a single day. Not even close.

The final disturbing element that triggered my awakening was my last experience with a dermatologist, who recommended Curacné or Roaccutane—those names have probably changed again by now. It was an extremely violent treatment. In reality, it is a molecule used in chemotherapy. After observing skin dryness and a significant reduction in sebum in chemotherapy patients, the drug was repurposed by dermatologists to treat acne in adolescents.

After taking what was supposed to be a daily treatment over several months, I experienced a violent state of distress that lasted about a week, with moments so unbearable that I had suicidal thoughts. I heard noises in my head—whistling and feedback so loud that I wanted to crush my own brain. Today, I know that my body saved me that day.

Because that was it—I became lucid. Coming from where I do—Parisian, from a well-off family one might assume had access to the best medicine—there was nothing that worked. Everything seemed upside down: treating acne externally when it was obvious it came from within; receiving ineffective and disruptive treatments; receiving deadly treatments. Nothing worked. Not even a little—and certainly not sustainably.

The only thing I had found was to escape on sunny vacations whenever I could, to do intensive sun and seawater “cures.” I knew that in two weeks I could suddenly and almost miraculously regain beautiful skin with almost no trace of acne by tanning intensively and bathing in seawater every 20 minutes of exposure. It came to me intuitively, and it worked incredibly well.

Of course, it was neither healthy nor sustainable because it was too extreme. Although, as we will see, sun exposure and seawater baths do have many benefits when done properly. This strategy allowed me to have, for one or two months a year—by carefully planning it (I was always planing to go alone to the beach for two weeks at the beginning of summer so I could later travel with friends without the anxiety of exposing my skin)—skin that was presentable and that I loved to show. But once back in Paris, within a few weeks, the nightmare returned.

A real solution had to be found. Living in the sun all year and burning my skin to hide my acne was obviously not sustainable. After being so shocked by the fact that the chemical treatment I mentioned had led to the suicide of thousands of young people, I decided I had to look for a natural solution.

I searched and searched. I started with all kinds of natural or grandmother’s remedies, internal and external: eating garlic, drinking teas, rubbing onion on my skin, and so on—of course without results. Not that everything should be discarded, but a global approach is necessary. Eating raw garlic on an empty stomach or drinking herbal infusions are very good practices, but completely useless if you continue to eat poorly afterward, and if you don’t adopt a wider view on the manifestation.

To begin with, acne is not treated from the outside but from the inside. Then, with nutrition, exercise, and changes in my emotional state, the first results appeared—quickly and healthily. I could feel it clearly: I was on the right path. I felt much better, healthier, more radiant.

After years of adjustments, I realized I was repeating the same pattern of putting all my energy in fixing the problem mechanically : using intense sport and extremely strict nutrition. Yes, all of this is healthier—but not in excess, not to the point of exhaustion. At 20 years old, it works for a while, but again, it wasn’t sustainable. Still, it had worked well enough that I could slow down and maintain a certain well-being and clear skin, with only minor flare-ups.

Then I discovered many more things. I refined my diet, continued exercising more gently, discovered Ayurvedic medicine, meditation, the use of plants, the link with emotions, and more deeply my relationship with life and how to be in the world.

Around the age of 27, I discovered the profound link between skin and emotions. Immediately after experiencing very, very strong romantic emotions, I saw—within a few minutes—about ten large white pimples appear on my chest, ready to burst. I was stunned. Never had I seen something happen so quickly and so intensely. Incredible.

And yet, I was still exercising and eating healthily. At that moment, I hadn’t eaten bad stuff or done anything that could explain it—I had simply felt intense emotions. I had no doubt left: the cause is deeply emotional.

I then began studying a new approach—more emotional and psychological—and I discovered an enormous amount. It is very closely related to self-psychology, personal development, and even spirituality.

Healing acne and other skin problems happens gradually, alongside the development of inner well-being, self-acceptance, and self-fulfillment. That is the truth.

Of course, you can choose Roaccutane and, at the cost of damaging your body from the inside, have clear skin within six months. However, you will certainly not be freed from the emotions that were the cause—and they will most likely manifest again through other ailments.

If you continue here, a true journey is beginning—and I’m telling you, you are not alone. I know what it’s like, and my desire is to spare years of suffering for those who struggle, who otherwise would have to find answers starting from nothing.

I am not doing this for money, I am just asking for a compensation for the time spent. I truly want to pass this on and support people by helping them feel better. This has now become part of my own path of fulfillment. To continue it, I need to share my experience with others and help them.

In truth, I feel called to take on this role. It is about helping one another.