Spotlight on Morgane — "Inner well-being that reflects on the outside!"

Today, we are highlighting a journey that has particularly touched us. This is Morgane's story. Affected early on by uncomfortable acne, and quickly directed toward medicinal and industrial products, Morgane long believed she would never be able to make peace with her skin. This encounter reveals how important it is to listen to oneself. A perpetual quest to better understand oneself and finally be in harmony with one's body. We hope this article will lead you on the path to inner and outer well-being !

Could you introduce yourself?

My name is Morgane, I am 26, and I live in Tours with my partner. I am a production assistant for an improv theater company. Well, it's a bit complicated right now, given the context...

Aside from that, I have been teaching theater to children for an association since 2013. My passion in life is theater! I didn't want to be an actress myself, but I love working with them. Cultural mediation: it was a revelation!

I also participate in the organization of a music festival. It was supposed to be a winter festival in November, to offer something that wasn't in the summer. We wanted to take advantage of our venue, but it's even worse now... Because it's difficult to organize a festival in an enclosed space due to health restrictions.

What is your relationship with cosmetics?

I have had a somewhat intense history with cosmetics since adolescence. I started having acne in middle school. But it was very intense, all at once...

Generally speaking, my mom wears very little makeup and uses very few products: she has skin that thrives. I never really had a routine or any understanding of cosmetics before having these famous acne problems.

From the moment my acne started to be physically painful and became uncomfortable, I had to find a solution... I wasn't particularly attracted to the products we saw in ads, etc.

However, my general practitioner advised me to start a routine with these types of industrial products, so that's what I started to do.

It was quite radical and quite awful... I would have preferred him to advise me to go to a specialist. But that didn't happen...

What did your doctor recommend at the time?

He directed me to the cosmetics aisle of department stores and super-fatty soap bars that dried out my skin. At the same time, he prescribed doxycycline (an antibacterial antibiotic, editor's note).

That's when I started to have a terrible photosensitivity problem with that medication. I was also using creams based on benzoyl peroxide, by prescription. He prescribed these creams, but without explaining exactly how to use them.

As a result, I ended up covering my entire face with them when they should have been used very locally, directly on the blemishes. This whole combo was quite explosive: my skin was burning; it wasn't the right approach from the start...

Then you tell yourself "it will pass," you never really look into the causes of this acne, especially when you are young. I clung to so many false hopes... Today, those aisles in supermarkets disgust me a little.

I finally went to see a dermatologist in 2016. I think I waited far too long. But maybe not, because in the end, she prescribed me more medications and skin products...

And then she almost reached the point of wondering if I shouldn't go through a Roaccutane treatment! My mother had already refused, because she felt there were other things to find before coming to that...

That's when it scared me a bit. I was 22 and still hadn't found a solution.

Looking back, where do you think your acne problems came from?

Looking back, I think it really came from the hormonal imbalances due to puberty, initially... But then, the hormonal system, nobody talked to me about it; it’s the same: I couldn't understand.

Why did I have acne in certain places? It was years later, with personal research, that I was able to understand. All by myself! Trying to find sources of information!

But I am sure all those treatments only made the situation worse. Among other things, regarding the scars I still carry today, which date back to that time... I always felt very alone in this fight. It took me a long time to come to the conclusion that it was all that which was hurting me.

At the same time, I started wearing makeup. Makeup was a bit of a savior at that moment! And in the end, it only made things worse... I hurt myself even more, because I still couldn't look the truth in the face. I felt like I couldn't do any better than that; I had to hide!

But it was like a very negative mask, which meant I didn't accept myself with my natural skin. It was just putting off the problem in the end.

And it hurt, believe it or not. Even just the stress at noon in the bathroom, noticing that my skin was shiny, because the sebum was coming out even more because of the foundation. And let's not even talk about the budget! I should calculate it one day. All my first paychecks as a theater teacher went into that!

Fortunately, I see it with the teens today at the theater: they wear eye makeup, but they don't hide their acne. They own it; it makes me feel good to see that mindsets are changing!

How did you change your perspective on cosmetics?

In 2017, I got my first job. That's when I told myself that I had to manage my own image. I had real issues with my self-esteem... I had a theater student at that time who was seeing a hypnotherapist and spoke very highly of him.

Willing to try anything, I booked a consultation. I was surprised by how the session went. We dug into some personal topics, but not too deeply. Then he told me there was no need to see each other right away...

It took me a while to understand what he might have done or said during that session that really had an impact on the vision I had of myself. But after four months, I felt that a knot had been undone...

It allowed me at that moment to reduce my makeup little by little, to change the type of foundation, etc. I felt better in my head; I became less attached to the potential reaction of others. It took me a long time to completely stop powder foundation, but I succeeded last year.

I quit a job that I was no longer in tune with. I only wore makeup from time to time when I had classes. And since then, I have a really hard time wearing makeup!

Today, my skin can't handle it at all: it reacts with big cysts, very painful acne. It no longer fits into how it functions, and it links me too much to a painful period of my life.

Of course, it's not just makeup; at the same time, I have been in therapy since October 2019 to deal with issues from my childhood. The further it progresses, the more I realize that it has an impact on my skin. It's a question of inner well-being reflecting on the outside!

How did you hear about La Canopée? Since when have you been interested in natural cosmetics?

I discovered La Canopée thanks to Marion Séclin's stories on Instagram. She had made short reports on her skincare routines and highlighted La Canopée's products. I didn't know many natural alternatives in terms of skincare at that time.

At the same time, I moved in with my partner. I wanted to simultaneously change the way I eat to move towards more natural things. So for me, it was natural to also change my cosmetic routine; it tied in with my whole approach. I must say that I also have an example with my grandparents, who eat organic and are in great shape at 91!

I placed my first order and I saw results very, very quickly! I admit that the other arguments convinced me immediately: 100% natural, vegan, produced in France... It's super important to me. Add to that the fact that the founders, Cécile and Juliette, show themselves and are very transparent. I admire their journey, the story of the brand, the thought behind it...

How did you change your skincare products? What is your flagship La Canopée product? Why?

I did the skin diagnostic by email, which gave me a good foundation to choose my first products. I had already placed an order with the perfect skin ritual set before that.

As time went on, my skin changed, and I also instinctively knew what my skin needed. So I ended up choosing, after several trials on other products. Now, I am able to say by feel what suits me best.

The one I could no longer live without is the plumping concentrated cream. It has become my absolute daily essential. For example, on vacation without it, I despair! I haven't found any equivalent to date.

Any final words?

For me, it has always been difficult to find a path that resembles mine. I always told myself that if I had a way to transmit this kind of information, this kind of journey, I would do it. I know what it's like, having been on the search for testimonials myself to try to find solutions. It was difficult before.

I have the impression that we are getting out of it a bit. But we lived through a period where, when we had a problem, even outside of skin problems for example, we immediately looked for a solution without knowing the cause.

Today we have the means to find and use keys to understanding! With transparent brands that provide resources to understand. And in the same way that when you consult someone and follow therapy, you obtain these famous keys to understanding. And there is no harm in that; on the contrary! It feels incredibly good; it is very liberating.

Do you also want to share your experience with natural beauty?

Contact us at partenariat@la-canopee.com