If you feel like a failure in any area of your life, then you are in need of some self-forgiveness.

Don't forget that healing takes time. Don't expect to try meditation and a new skincare line and end up with perfect skin in a week. Give yourself the gift of time and patience. The body is a complicated, miraculous system and each body processes change in its own time.

Wash, wash, wash. Tone, tone, tone. Strip the oil, then add an oil-free moisturizer to replace the oil. This is how we've been taught to care for our skin. It seems a little crazy when you see it in print, right? Take all that oil out and add chemicals to replace it. Nuts!

Don't rely on labels to give you the information you need. Trust only the ingredient list and your gut.

For most of us, the most common and unfortunate side effect of skin problems is isolation. We don't want to be seen the way we look. You can hide a lot of physical flaws, but not acne. It's right there, on the first thing people notice about us - our face. And it's hard for some of us to imagine that people can see the face - the PERSON - behind the acne.

I had to learn the hard way that treating the skin like an A-bomb drop zone is completely counterproductive. And through my healing journey, I've discovered something miraculous: that moisturizers can heal in unimaginable ways.