This article was written in partnership with Blume—they’re dedicated to building a safe space for young women to thrive through self-care, naturally. Our editor was given Blume’s Glowy Skin Bundle free, all opinions are her own. ~ ed.

I have been on a journey with acne since I was 13.

When acne first made an appearance in my life, I remember going into the gym locker room of my high school, looking in the mirror, and thinking, “Oh my god, there are mountains on my face.”

I was heartbroken by my own appearance—genuinely mortified by how my skin was transforming during puberty and on top of it all, there was physical pain associated with the acne!

To make matters worse, I didn’t have the little, a zit here or there type of acne that so many of my peers had. I had (and still have) cystic acne—the deep reaching, under the surface, what seems to be living and growing, incredibly painful, seemingly unmanageable acne. I felt like I was living with exposed wounds on my face that anyone I talked to could observe and ridicule.

The journey to obtaining healthy skin then began.

I started with skin treatments advertised on TV that were promoted by celebrities. It didn’t work.

Next, I went to a dermatologist and religiously used all the chemical filled, topical creams and gels, which provided little to no relief.

I took antibiotics aimed at healing skin, which worked for a few months, but then my acne return with a vengeance after I stopped taking them.

My last attempt with medication was with an incredibly powerful and a bit scary acne medication that makes you pledge to using two forms of birth control and getting monthly blood tests taken while using the medication.

The side effects (mentally and physically) were dreadful and I was devastated when the “end-all” medication stopped working a year later and my acne returned.

Frankly, it was demoralizing. But that was years ago and I am happy to say I have grown mentally and spiritually since then.

Lately, I have given up on perfect skin.

I come from genetics and a biological make up that does not easily allow for flawless skin. That includes having Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), hence the relentless hormonal acne. I am okay with this now.

Life is about so much more than appearance and acne.

Instead, nowadays, I focus on lifestyle, joy, diet, and using simple, natural products that don’t harm my mental or physical well-being. I have stopped trying to solve “the problem” for the most part.

So, I was asked to try out Blume’s Meltdown serum, I was intrigued but hesitant.

I loved that Blume is a female-led company creating chemical-free products for uniquely female issues. After the roller coaster I’ve been on, it’s also important to me that the products I use are not a threat to my body. And, as an environmentalist, I also care about the larger impact.

I was immediately sold on the “naturalness” of the product—but, as I am sure many people with sensitive skin can attest to, even natural products can cause skin to flare up wildly. I was also a little fearful of trying something I had never heard of before.

Additionally, nothing I’ve ever tried has worked miracles on my skin. Nothing. So I was not expecting this serum to be any different.

But I have been pleasantly surprised by the results so far.

Blume’s Glowy Skin Bundle: the ultimate trio for extreme self-care >>

Left: the night before I started using Meltdown. Right: the morning, 3 weeks later. (Blume recommends giving Meltdown 3-4 weeks to see the best benefits.)

Within two days I started noticing it calm my breakouts and the scarring getting better after about 2-3 weeks. My acne has not gone away entirely, but then the core problem of my acne is not topical—it is internal and hormonal. The severity of my acne has improved. Impressively so, considering I’ve tried a lot of products on the market and, so far, this has beat out everything else (both natural and not natural). Here’s why:

I know that when I go to bed after putting Blume’s Meltdown serum on a blemish, I am going to wake up the next morning with a less severe “situation” happening on my face than the night before.

The redness, tenderness, and size of the blemish will inevitably go down when I use the serum. This fact alone makes me want to continue to invest in this all-natural solution.

It’s proven more reliable and effective than any blemish spot treatment I have used to this date. And I have used them all.

Going to bed with a sense of assurance that something is actively working to help my skin is a tremendous anxiety reducer for me and something I am grateful for.

Using Meltdown, together with Blume’s Super Gentle Face Wash and the Jade Roller that comes free in the Glowy Skin pack has helped reduce the appearance of scarring on my cheeks.

With most acne products, you’re lucky if they don’t add to peeling or scarring. So it’s an unexpected, pleasant bonus when they actually help with this side effect of years of battling my skin.

My scars are luckily not deep, but they are noticeable and stubborn. I usually cover them up with makeup, but as they have started to fade, I have been wearing makeup less frequently.

This is a huge bonus for me because I would really like to feel comfortable wearing little to no makeup. I just don’t enjoy putting the stuff on!

My skin is less inflamed and irritated overall.

My goodness! I cannot emphasize how meaningful this difference is. I have a strong mind-body connection and when my face is irritated, it disrupts my whole day.

I am less present, more irritable, and my insecurities surrounding my skin are hard to ignore. Not only to the touch, but the untouched skin feels calmer and happier as it sits on my face. This has been huge for me!

Less pain equates to less worry about what is coming out of my face at any given moment and the thoughts people are having about it and that equates to more joy for me.

It doesn’t leave my skin feeling oily or dry.

Blume has somehow created a magical serum that leaves my skin feeling perfectly hydrated at the same time as helping its problematic side. And I can rest easy knowing it’s BPA free, gluten free, aluminum free, paraben free, alcohol free, no added fragrance, vegan, cruelty-free, and organic.

I am not aiming for perfect skin. I let that ideal go a long time ago.

What I am looking for are natural products that help me manage my skin and take the pain away. Blume has done wonders for this.