‘First And Foremost You Need To Be Kind To Yourself’: Sophie Habboo On Her Experience With Pigmentation

Made In Chelsea's Sophie Habboo has always been vocal on social media about her dealings with pigmentation. Now let's be clear about what pigmentation is straight out of the gate. When it comes to skincare, pigment means colouring. Pigmentation refers to a build up of colour. Cells in your skin produce melanin, and that's what fires up when you're in the sun and deepens the colour of your skin. When these cells become damaged or malfunction, the production of melanin is altered and sometimes they can go into overdrive, resulting in deeper areas of colour on your face, whether that's dark spots or shapes that look like faint birth marks. Those experiencing pigmentation can often suffer from a loss of confidence and Sophie is adamant that we should be spending as much energy on embracing our complexions however they look, as we do finding on ways to better their tone and texture.

Sophie's First Experience Of Pigmentation

Sophie recalls the first time she noticed the first signs of pigmentation herself. 'I was in Sri Lanka filming about 2 years ago. At first I thought it was dirt or makeup or some weird mole. Then it spread all over my nose like big freckles. At that point I didn’t mind too much, I thought it would go and wasn’t sure what it was.'

'It developed every time I went into the sun. Bigger shapes started to form and soon I had, and still have, a large area on my forehead that is fully pigmented. I felt really upset at first and worried because I was anxious that I had permanently ruined my skin by not being careful with suncream when I was younger.'

'It definitely knocked my confidence. My skin looked dirty when I put make-up on and I got anxious because I realised I could never tan my face again or get it in the sun without this pigmentation flaring up.'

The Buys And Bookings That Actually Help

'I was having DermaPen treatments (a skin-micro-needling treatment that involves minimum downtime) at Dr Esho's clinic with the lead therapist there, Annice Ling, which has really helped. But something that is super affordable and worked amazingly when it comes to pigmentation is Eucerin's Anti-Pigment line. The products aren't too harsh but they're effective.' Sophie is now an ambassador for Eucerin.

The Key To Changing Your Mindset

'I honestly think that when it comes to dealing with pigmentation, first and foremost you need to be kind to yourself. It happens to some people even when you do everything right. Pigmentation can be genetic, it can flare up because of heat, certain creams, the contraceptive pill, hormones, fake tan. There are so many things that can cause it so don't beat yourself up. Learn to love it and see it as something that makes you different. The more you let it upset you the more you focus on it.'

Watch: Sophie Habboo's Everyday Make-Up Tutorial

'I don't actually mind mine now, I realise it's there, yes I wear factor 50 sun protection every day to prevent it from getting worse but it is a very difficult thing to get rid of, and, like anything else, the more you focus on it in a negative way the more it becomes visible to you. It doesn’t define you - it is just something that makes you you and unique. I don't even really see mine now. It's still always there but I don't focus on it like I used to.'

'I don't overly conceal my pigmentation, it's part of me. You have to embrace it like anything else. Learn about your skin and look after it for the sake of your health and to prevent skin damage, but don't let pigmentation fool you into thinking that you've done something wrong. Learning that completely changed my view on it. Of course you can try and prevent it from getting worse, but don't over analyse it. Things like this, that make us unique, should be seen as positive, not negative.'

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