Actress Ini Dima-Okojie has spoken about her struggle with hormonal acne, a skin disorder that develops in maturity and is brought on by an overabundance of sebum in the oil glands.
The Nollywood actress said in a long Instagram video that she initially became aware of her acne in late 2023, but that it got worse in early 2024, leaving her feeling “downcast” and “guilty.”
She claimed that the acne remained in spite of her best attempts to lead a healthy lifestyle, which included going to the gym frequently and eating a balanced diet.
Given how much her acting profession depends on her physical looks, Ini acknowledged that the illness had a negative impact on her confidence.
The actress said she even had to film two movies while struggling with the acne, which she described as “pretty tough”.
“I want to talk about skin, acne, and hormonal acne in particular, and my experience with it. Most of you do not know this but I had a very traumatic experience with my skin last year. It was pretty bad and I just remember feeling so sad, downcast and guilty. I felt like I was going to the gym, eating right, I felt like I was doing all the right things and I did not know why this was happening to my face,” she wrote.
“And you can imagine, as an actor this is literally where the money is and I actually shot two films in that state. For those of you who have seen ‘A Night In 2005’, that was what was going on there. I had to find a way to still perform truly, luckily the character was dealing with so many things internally and I drew from what was going on with me.
“That was that film. I shot another film, a beautiful film, it is not out yet, ‘The Fire and The Moth’. I shot that going through that experience as well and this character, was not wearing any makeup, she was with her natural hair.
“So it was pretty tough. The beauty standards for women are already high, no one wants to have acne, and it hurts your self-confidence. It affects work, everyone is wondering what is happening to your face, telling you one million and one things to do.
“It was November 2023, I was filming a film in Namibia, it is called ‘Skeleton Coast’, but it is not out yet. I just noticed that I was breaking out more than normal. Usually, I would only break out maybe when I was on my period or if I was a little stressed but nothing serious like one or two.
“Fast forward to 2024, end of January I literally started having acne from my arm, from there it progressed to my neck, then to my face and my ears and I was like what is going on? There is nothing I did not do, I went to so many aestheticians. You know how it is with aestheticians, they would clear your whole skincare routine and replace it. It was very expensive and nothing was working. My face was getting worse and worse. I almost gave up and I did not know what to do.”