Hot TikToker shares secret to treating adult acne

It took Tefi Pessoa years of trial and error to find a skincare routine that worked for her. Her biggest problem was acne. “My mom never had acne in her life, but I had really bad acne,” she says.

Tefi Pessoa is a comedy content creator and pop culture enthusiast. Born in 1990, she has nearly 2 million followers on TikTok and is a social media contributor for Instyle and is the host Merch Masters of MTV.

She confided: “As I got older, I realized my skin was more sensitive and easily irritated. I thought my acne and skin sensitivity were due to too much travel, the amount of sugar I ate, or improperly filtered pool water. Then I thought it might be a probiotic problem, so I supplemented with a lot of prebiotics, probiotics…”

According to the magazine Glamourbetween 12 and 22 percent of women between the ages of 26 and 44 suffer from acne. This number may make you feel less alone when you know you’re not the only adult still struggling with acne.

Tefi Pessoa revealed that she loves and often pops pimples. Previously, she would wrap her fingers in tissues to pop pimples, knowing that they would leave countless dark spots on her face. The TikToker started using acne patches to break her habit of popping pimples and get closer to “living with” them naturally.

It was only later that Tefi Pessoa discovered that her acne was hormonal. She discovered that her menstrual cycle went through four phases, and that around the time she was about to get her period, she would develop a rash of acne around her mouth and under her jaw like a 13-year-old girl.

The TikToker started using skincare products according to her menstrual phase. “I didn’t think about hormones and my menstrual cycle before, now I’ve found peace in my skincare routine.”

These days, the social media star still gets the occasional breakout, but she doesn’t let it ruin her mood. She’s reframed her outlook on acne and tries to look on the bright side.

Products that have helped Tefi Pessoa stay happy on her acne journey include a daily detox cleanser, acne patches, and Rael’s pore-clearing clay mask; Face Reality’s scar-fading serum; and Youth to the People’s hydrating serum with hyaluronic acid and cactus extract. To hydrate her skin, she uses moisturizers from both Rael and Youth to the People as a makeup primer, adds a layer of clear moisturizer, and treats her skin with a Sola Wave red light pen.