Daughter has low self esteem - Chickenpox scars...x How to reduce?

Shanelle

Hi
DD had a breakout of chickenpox just over 3 months ago, she had it mildly when she was young and I unwittingly thought she wouldn't get it again.. We're not even sure of the source...
Anyway, she's been invited to be a bridesmaid next month, and has had really low self esteem ever since the chickenpox cleared up and left acne like scars and pimples around her chin and forehead. She was prone to the odd breakout before but overall had good skin, needless to say she's freaking out about being a part of this wedding!
The pimples around her chin are not too noticeable, but she has a dark spot on her nose and quite deep indents on her forehead near hereyebrows. These have sort of filled in with darker skin, i'm assuming. I've spent hours reassuring her that they're hardly visible but I can see her self esteem ripping itself to shreds
Overall her skin when looked at very closely looks a tad pimply (her words not mine).
She was adamant on trying the all natural approach in the hope it would clear itself up, but there's been no major improvement. She's also tried clearasil. Her regular skin routine was literally soap and water as DD is blessed with naturally very soft never drying skin so no need to moisturise really!
I really want to build up her confidence again and the solution seems to be to help her reduce her skin problems. Does anyone have any suggestions please, I just want to see her happy again

Melonade

I'm not sure if it's worth trying Bio Oil if she hasn't already tried it. I've got quite a large chicken pox scar next to my eye, kind of on the side/top of my nose. Bio Oil has helped it a little bit even though I was using it for something else. My scar is from 30 years ago so it might work better for your daughter if the scars are more recent.

Drinking plenty of water will help her skin no end. I'm not really sure what else to suggest though as my skin is pretty rubbish

thehappybutterfly

Chickenpox scars are just one of those things that take time to fade but fade they will. I second the use of Bio-Oil on the scars.

Re the pimples. I would suggest Evening Primrose Oil supplements, a healthy diet with lots of fruit and veg and plenty of water. And tell her not to fiddle with her spots if they're not really big whiteheads. It'll take much longer for them to clear up and she'll be left with scars.

None of which helps her now. What about you and your daughter go for a facial a good 2 weeks before the wedding? I say 2 weeks because a facial could result in a break-out and this would give her another couple of weeks for the new spots to disappear. This way she'll get a bit of pampering, some excellent skin care advice and maybe even follow it up with a make-up and hair appointment the morning of the wedding? Not that I advocate young girls wearing make-up but for a special occasion, I'd make the exception.

I've just noticed that you've not said how old your daughter is but I envisioned about 13?

Shanelle

Melonade wrote: »

I'm not sure if it's worth trying Bio Oil if she hasn't already tried it. I've got quite a large chicken pox scar next to my eye, kind of on the side/top of my nose. Bio Oil has helped it a little bit even though I was using it for something else. My scar is from 30 years ago so it might work better for your daughter if the scars are more recent.

Drinking plenty of water will help her skin no end. I'm not really sure what else to suggest though as my skin is pretty rubbish

Hi

Will definitely try the Bio oil for her. Thanks for the suggestion.

aliasojo

I burnt myself on the cooker and once the scab had come off I used Bio Oil on it, it's hardly noticeable now. The quicker you use it, the more effective it is.

Shanelle

thehappybutterfly wrote: »

Chickenpox scars are just one of those things that take time to fade but fade they will. I second the use of Bio-Oil on the scars.

Re the pimples. I would suggest Evening Primrose Oil supplements, a healthy diet with lots of fruit and veg and plenty of water. And tell her not to fiddle with her spots if they're not really big whiteheads. It'll take much longer for them to clear up and she'll be left with scars.

None of which helps her now. What about you and your daughter go for a facial a good 2 weeks before the wedding? I say 2 weeks because a facial could result in a break-out and this would give her another couple of weeks for the new spots to disappear. This way she'll get a bit of pampering, some excellent skin care advice and maybe even follow it up with a make-up and hair appointment the morning of the wedding? Not that I advocate young girls wearing make-up but for a special occasion, I'd make the exception.

I've just noticed that you've not said how old your daughter is but I envisioned about 13?

DD does have a good varied diet with lots of fresh and water which I think is why she never really suffered from breakouts too much before. The pimples that are there were present during the chickenpox outbreak, and although have reduced are still there, the skin looks kind of bumpy.
DD is 15, so i was suprised to learn that she'd got chickenpox.
The bride has arranged for all the vital wedding roles to be made up before the wedding, but she worries that a load of makeup specifically for disguising the spots will make it look worse. She'll probably use light makeup which will even up her skintone a little but the spots are still likely to be visible.
I'll see what she thinks about the facial, she's qutie conscious of going to beauty clinics etc at the mo. Thanks for all your help.

podperson

Would it perhaps be worth speaking to the bride and seeing if she is having a make-up 'practice run' before the wedding that DD could go along to and them try out hers as well? Failing that could maybe try some demos at makeup counters, eg Debenhams and see if they can suggest something that's quite light but still gives a bit of coverage for her. If she can see beforehand that they can be covered then may make her feel a little more relaxed and confident about the day.

Nicki

When I had my make up done for my own wedding, the make up artist told me that the week before she had made up a bride who was recovering from chicken pox, and that none of her spots were visible on the day, but it had taken her ages to do it. I think that if she is going to wear make up she'll be fine, but you may want to tell the make up lady in advance and have her allow some extra time if her remaining scars are bad.

nikki2804

Have a watch of Lisa Eldridges acne covering video on youtube. It is amazing, still a really light base but with 'problem' areas concealed.

McKneff

nikki2804 wrote: »

Have a watch of Lisa Eldridges acne covering video on youtube. It is amazing, still a really light base but with 'problem' areas concealed.

Do you happen to have a link for that please, I dont know how to work this youtube business.

Artytarty

Acne/blemish covering make-uphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwngbzv0gbY