Logging into Instagram to post a quick #OOTD? Or maybe even a crafty, well-photographed #foodie pic, because, if you didn't upload it — did you really eat it?

Unlike most of our carefully thoughtout posts our Nolababe, Kiana Wallace, isn't keeping up with what's trendy on Instagram. Instead, she's taking a stance, creating content for people to relate to, people like us — battling with the hardships of acne.  

What does your skincare routine consist of? Do you have a night and morning routine?

Kiana: “My skincare routine varies from morning to night but always consist of all natural products with ingredients that aren’t tongue twisters. I start off my morning routine with a bar soap that contains turmeric, tea tree oil, Shea butter and charcoal from TheSheashoppeco . After, I cleanse, I use the vitamin C toner from BreedLoveBeautyCo. After toning I follow up with the Brightening C Serum from Nolaskinsentials.

After following up with a few of the same products, Kianna also incorporates the Glycolic Night Cream and the Iconic Elxir into her routine as well as African Black Soap.

Kiana:“On Mondays and Thursday nights, I exfoliate with the Pumpkin Enzyme Mask and on Saturday nights I create a mask with activated charcoal and calcium bentonite clay mixed with apple cider vinegar.”

What are your thoughts on Accutane?

Accutane is an acne fighting drug that can cure some of the most severe cases of acne. Although, usually recommended by a dermatalogists,an up-side for a lot of individuals with acne prone skin — Accutane is quite strong and can lead not only to dry skin, but depression and fetal deformities. 

Kiana: “Battling cystic and severe acne is hard and sometimes this seems like the only way out. I’ve thought about going this route but while educating myself I became a little discouraged. I started out by watching others on their Accutane journey and I can honestly say that they are brave. I can’t say that I would never go this route but I know that if I do, I’ve done all that I could to my knowledge to help my skin.”

What do you look for in products?

Like many of our Nolababes that shop with us, Kiana also looks for items that fits her lifestyle as it’s very important to her. Shopping for skincare items, she often looks for words that stand out, which happens to be a few of our favorites, such as: “natural, vegan, and organic”.

Kiana: “I often try to support small black owned business that offers ideal products for my skin concerns like, hyperpigmentation, scars and acne. I dislike for my products to have more than 10 ingredients and even that is excessive.  I also like for all preservatives if necessary to be natural and anything that includes dyes or perfumes is never welcomed in my shopping cart.”

How you feel about the skincare community and the support you receive?

At NOLA, we love hearing from our babes in the skincare community. Joining the skin positivity movement and hearing different prospectives allows us to make conscious efforts to ensure that everyone is included and we’re hand-crafting products to help with your skincare needs as well as your best friend, because after all, maskin’ is always better with your bff.

Kiana: “I thought that I was happy with myself but with the continuous support from others with some not even on skin care journeys I’ve become more confident. It’s a beautiful place, this small community of “flawed” beauties coming together to support each other from all over world. The only thing that is dissatisfying about this community is that when it comes to males and people of color they are outnumbered by white women in Europe and the UK. This is why @myseveracneblog was created. I’m a woman of color in America battling sever cystic acne and knowing that I wasn’t the only one pledged to take a part in this community to be there for those like me and even those who aren’t.”

Who inspired you to document your skincare journey?

Kiana:“When I first started documenting my skincare journey after hiding for years I never thought I would be as transparent with not only my skin but my life the way I am now. I was inspired to do so by seeing the lack of women of color when scrolling though skin related hashtags, searching for “miracle products” to help stop the war on my face.”

What advice would you like to give someone dealing with acne issues?

We get it, you’re trying to fight the good fight with acne and sometimes the journey seems unbearable. But, the great news is — you’re not alone! Our nolababe, Kiana couldn’t have said it any better.

Kiana: “Give yourself time, for anything and for everything. One amazing thing about being human is that you can always be improved, you can always alter something about yourself and all you need is your mind … “It’s all in your head” What you think about yourself is what you’ll create. If you want to see something beautiful in the mirror, keep in mind that YOU are beautiful.”

How do you confront your issues of acne-prone skin? What products do you use? We'd love to hear from you!

Xoxo,

The NOLA Team