My PhotoShop Addiction

I have long accepted the fact that unlike the rest of the world, I do not have the best skin. While others get by using Dove and water, I have to do a little extra just to maintain a decently acne-free grill. It does not help that my philosophy is that of "pick and pop" as opposed to "dry and treat." (I have been working on this and I think I have finally made some progress.) It does not help either that though I am Latino, I am "black enough" to have to deal with skin issues faced by those with more direct African descent; hyperpigmentation and ingrown hairs for example. This makes taking pictures all the more traumatic for me, especially when I am not having such a good skin day.

But then the good folks at Adobe created Photoshop. Now every time I take pictures I have the confidence knowing that any of natures little tantrums on my face can easily be corrected with software. It was a little tricky at first but the more pictures I edited the better I became. In about 15 minutes I would have a picture that was blemish-free and ready to be made into prints.

Then came the addiction. What started out as rubbing out pimples and marks eventually degenerated into the digital equivalent of beating my face only instead I was using pixels instead of Mac. Its not like I did it all the time and I could stop when I wanted to right? I finally hit rock bottom after this picture and decided that I needed help.






I had simply wanted to go over some blemishes but I could not stop! I kept changing, editing, paint brushing, blurring until I ended up looking like J. Lo in that advertisement for Glow.


I started attending PA meetings (Photoshopaholics Anonymous) and learned that I was not the only one. There were folks that ended up looking like aliens from having photoshopped their faces so much. Then there were those that did things like changed their eye and hair color. It was a mess!

I am glad to say that I am now better. I have bought stock in Mac and now everytime I take a picture I make sure to cake my face with foundation.