Ini Dima-Okojie: How I battled skin issue

Ini Dima-Okojie has opened up about her battle with hormonal acne, a skin condition that causes breakouts in adulthood due to excess sebum in oil glands.

In a lengthy Instagram video, the Nollywood star revealed that she first noticed the acne in late 2023, but it worsened in early 2024, making her feel “downcast” and “guilty.”

She said despite her best efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including regular gym sessions and a balanced diet, the acne persisted.

Ini confessed that the condition affected her confidence, particularly since her career as an actress relies heavily on her physical appearance.

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.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ini Dima-Okojie (@inidimaokojie)

The actress said she visited several aestheticians, but their treatments failed to yield positive results.

Ini said her sister who had also struggled with acne recommended her aesthetician Irene. She said after three sessions with Irene, she saw a significant improvement in her skin.

She encouraged women who have experienced similar struggles with acne to share their stories, hoping to create a supportive community and raise awareness about the condition.

“Going out became a chore, I have to work and my work has to do with my face. I just got to a point where I was really downcast about it and then my sister who also has dealt with acne… And to be fair she has been telling me to come and see her aesthetician and at that point, I was just so tired of seeing aestheticians. I was just like I have been literally been going around Lagos and nothing is happening or working,” she said.

“Eventually I am like you know what? Okay fine, let us go. I go and see the aesthetician, her name is Irene. She starts analysing my face and she is like let us do about three sessions and if after the three sessions, you do not see a significant difference, then you can go wherever you want to go. I was like okay sure, let us give it a go. I think this was around May, I had my first session, and there was a significant difference.

“In fact, I think I may have filmed the second film I talked about in the first session if I am not mistaken. So it was still bad, but not as bad as the previous one if I am not mistaken. And then I did the second session and then it was even better. I did the third session and the difference was huge and here we are today, I rarely break out. It might be one or two, but I am back to like normal.

“Of course, she changed my skincare routine and I have been very consistent with it but it was tough for a bit. I just wanted to share and talk about it because it is something that a lot of us women go through. I just feel like fibrosis, PCOS, hormonal imbalance they are all just bunched, I just feel like they are all connected in some way. I do not know, maybe science will tell us one day. I think these conversations help, even if it is just to help someone else feel seen and that was my journey with hormonal acne.

“Sometimes I wake up and I still kind of fight the fear and I am really on it when it comes to skin care. And I really thank God that it worked. So I just wanted us to have a chat, so if there are women out there who have also had this experience, please share with me if you feel inclined. Let me know is it something you are still battling, if you are in a place where you have clear skin again, how has that journey been for you? How are you able to clear the scars? That is a whole other conversation.”