Skincare enthusiast Vanessa Sasada appeared as a guest speaker during UCI’s “Skincare 101: Acne Edition” webinar on Jan. 22. She shared her journey dealing with acne and offered solutions to the audience that also struggled to tame their skin.
In the webinar, Sasada discussed the multiple different types of acne one can experience, such as blackheads, papules, nodules and cysts. According to Sasada, there is not just one thing that triggers a breakout.
“Your acne can be caused or triggered by a multitude of different things,” Sasada said.
Some of the causes she included were inflammation, vitamin deficiency, stress or hormones. For Sasada, stress is also one of the many reasons why her skin breaks out into intense acne.
These breakouts caused Sasada to form a negative self-image of herself, so much that she would often go to great lengths to make sure that no one — not even her family — saw her bare skin.
“Because of my acne, I was rescheduling my life around my breakouts … scared to go on dates or be in relationships … wearing full coverage makeup every single day … [and] either avoiding mirrors or spending hours over-analyzing my skin,” Sasada shared.
When the topic of treatment was brought up, Sasada says most of her solutions were only “temporary” and that her skin would still break out eventually, bringing her back to square one.
Sasada said she now wants to “help others conquer their own skin insecurities” to make sure that “no one is alone” when dealing with acne.
“I like to share my story, but I also like to share the stories of other people in the acne and skin positivity community … and I’ve made a lot of great connections and friends all over the world, who also have dealt with skin insecurities and who are now embracing their skin and being unapologetically themselves,” Sasada said.
After Sasada shared her personal experience dealing with acne, several other students stepped up to talk about their own stories of battling unwanted breakouts. These included struggles of taking pictures from only one angle, people pointing out the flaws of their skin or being peer pressured into using skincare products that only further damaged their skin.
At the end of the webinar, Sasada opened a Q&A for the audience to ask her questions about skincare routines and advice. One of these questions included the promotion of #acneproneasian, a community that Sasada created for people sharing the same skin insecurities to talk about their individual stories and create a safe place for them.
“It kinda stemmed from my past … as an Asian with acne … it [felt] like I was having an identity crisis because none of my friends or my family dealt with acne or skin issues … If they get acne, it’s like one pimple here and there,” Sasada said in response to a member of the audience asking why she created the hashtag.
The webinar ended after just over an hour with an audience of 51 UCI students. While it was a short event, the webinar taught many students how to tackle their own insecurities about acne and that it’s not something to be ashamed of.
“I wish I took a picture of my acne … so I could show to you all that a lot of people go through this kind of journey,” event host Katarina Rose Perez said to the event attendees at the end of the webinar.
Kealani Quijano is a Campus News Intern for the winter 2021 quarter. She can be reached at kaquijan@uci.edu
