As a teenager and through half of my 20’s I always had clear skin - no bumps, no scars, no agony, no stress of feeling like I had to cover my skin or do anything different to manage it.
It was great. I felt like I had been given the winning lottery ticket in life as I pained watching my friends suffer with acne in all its different forms. Though, my own battle started when I lived in Abu Dhabi working as a Flight Attendant.
Wearing tights and a uniform which didn’t breathe much for such extended hours, my bum was the one to get hit - and with painful, cystic acne. Luckily, only one of these angry bumps would appear at a time, but it would stay with me long - sometimes for months - and sometimes they were so painful I couldn’t even sit down.
After a year or so I started seeing specialists and was given creams, pills and soaps to help, but nothing ever really did. Not ideal for a young woman whose favourite outfit is a bikini, but again luckily, I managed to live life normally despite this, which I know for some wouldn’t be an option just because of how deeply it could affect you.
As I then eventually moved to London and kissed my uniform goodbye, these unsightly, agonising cysts came to visit less often, but they still did every once in a while, and each time, they left a dark scar. These scars and occasional cysts started to feel like an issue as I started modelling more, but they soon only became part of my problem, as my whole face, like as if overnight, broke out.
I was so worked up proving my abilities in my newly chosen field in London, leading a high-paced life filled with work, that I didn’t stop to think WHY my whole face was covered in what looked like hundreds of small, painful pimples. Around the same time, I also started getting cystic acne on my cheeks, again often only one at a time, but they were so sore, and so huge. I ventured to specialists here for a bit too, bought expensive potions to help and again nothing did, and it was only when I after 4 years stopped, took a deep breath and made some huge changes in my life that the skin on my face calmed down. Reading this you can probably diagnose me already - S T R E S S.
Ever since this revelation I get the occasional - though much smaller - cystic bump on my bum or my face, usually the week before my period, accompanied by some smaller regular pimples. Like most people I also get pimples from eating too much sugar, sleeping too little, or experiencing stress.
Working as a model you would think that I look after myself very in-depth on a daily basis. The truth however is quite often the opposite, especially if we speak about ‘looking after oneself’ in the expected ways of modelling life. I don’t for example deny myself the treats I love or crave, nor do I inhibit my love for wine and to some, I may be seen as a person who indulges. And to be fair, I am. I love the life I am given, and I love enjoying it in all its ways. To me, wellness is giving yourself what will make you happy, and not to beat yourself up for that. This of course is a balancing act of internal, external and mental wellness, but that is a whole different topic (and blog!).
Enter Kallistia, Australian made Acne Cleanse capsules made by Kallistia herself who is a nutritionist with passion for skincare. She’s created supplementary capsules from all natural ingredients to alleviate breakouts and improve skin health from the inside out.
The Kallistia Acne Cleanse capsules are formulated using a blend of some really exciting traditional herbal ingredients. You will find vitamins A and C to brighten skin, Wolfberry which acts as an antioxidant that promotes collagen production, White Willow Bark Extract that contains natural salicylic acid and has remarkable anti-inflammatory properties as well as Witch hazel Leaf, also an anti-inflammatory.
They recommend taking two capsules per day, ideally with meals. I find them easy to take with water or another drink and to me they have a slight herbal taste as they briefly pass your mouth to be swallowed whole.
Though I still get small pimples and bumps from some of my less healthy eating habits, I haven’t had any hormonal cystic pimples since I started taking Kallistia’s capsules. My skin also looks brighter, feels more moisturised and glowy and I can only imagine this is all thanks to Kallistia as nothing else in my life or regimen has changed. Do check out my before and after images below - I was pretty positively shocked myself seeing them next to each other!
I am going to purchase more and keep these as part of my daily supplement regime - if you are keen to try it as well, you will get 10% off your order using code CHARLOTTA10.
Let me know if you do try it and what you think!
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Before I started consuming Kallistia, and after a 45 day course! Photos taken on my iPhone, in the same bathroom, with the same light (no window/natural light) - the only difference is that I wasn't smiling in the first image. Seeing these images next to each other I am even more in awe!