THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE CLEAN ONE

"My journey to healing my skin is the catalyst that birthed The Clean One Collective.".

The journey to healing my skin is the catalyst that birthed The Clean One Collective. 

Hi, I’m Ece (pronounced ehj-eh), and I am so happy you are here. I don't know how you got here, but I know you were led to read my story for a reason, so I hope you find what you’re meant to. ✨

Throughout my teenage years, I had the worst skin issues out of everyone I knew, and it followed me into adulthood. 

Having acne beyond your adolescent years is heartbreaking. I felt like my
hypersensitive skin defined me, directly affecting my self-worth, confidence, and day-to-day life. Every morning was a new day of feeling defeated by the one outfit I couldn’t take off, my skin. I was trapped. Anxious. Sad. Hopeless. For an entire decade.

I reacted poorly to almost every skincare product I put my hopes in and left countless dermatology appointments crying in despair of the lack of answers. I rarely wore makeup because I felt even more flaky and gross trying to cover it all up. In my view, I didn’t have skin worthy of make-up. It felt so unfair to see other girls around me wearing thick foundations and a full face of makeup every day yet still having clear skin whilst I was too afraid to wash my face with anything except water.

After several allergy and intolerance tests, I found out that I had a dairy intolerance. I took that diagnosis and ran with it. I convinced myself that dairy was the cause of my out-of-control skin, so I didn’t touch any trace of dairy for six years. I asked detailed questions about all foods that were put in front of me and read every ingredient list with a fine-tooth comb to make sure nothing I consumed contained even a trace of dairy. I continued to break out but hung onto that intolerance as though my life depended on it. This worsened my already unhealthy habit of nit-picking everything I ate. I was perennially dieting and obsessed with clearing my skin, but the harder I tried, the worse things got.

Then, out of the blue, the universe sent me a topical gift that my skin didn’t hate and react to. In fact, it started to heal. Around the same time, in phenomenally divine timing, the stars aligned to lead me to see that I needed to take my internal
health more seriously and forced me to rewire my thinking.

Being 'The Clean One' outside-in is the key to skin freedom. Learning this changed my life.

My belief system shifted from I am doomed to hide behind my sore skin to, I am in control of my body, and the breakouts are actually a message from the inside. This whole time, my skin was shouting out to me, letting me know that I needed to focus on treating myself outside-in and relax a little. So, I did precisely that, and things started to get better quickly. Within a few weeks, my skin was unrecognisable to me. I was healing slowly, rather than one breakout taking over from another. I still can’t believe it when I see how clear my skin has become. I still breakout, of course, but nowhere near what I used to. Now I’m so in tune with my body, so aware of its patterns, that I’m in complete control. I finally feel confident in my skin rather than trapped.

My husband, Oz, who was the only one who saw the reality of what I lived through, convinced me that I couldn’t be the only one who has suffered in silence, not knowing how to understand and learn to love the skin I wear. He helped me believe I could pave a path for other humans feeling trapped in their skin. Be for them what I wish I had for myself.

And thus, began the professional formulation of an original product, made first and foremost for my use and tested and loved by me before anyone else. But I couldn't stop there. I knew I wouldn't be helping anyone if I just sold them a product and didn't approach them authentically. Yes, the topical treatment was life-changing, but that was only for the outside of my human.

I also had to share the crucial healing I put myself through on the inside. So, my vision for a brand embodying the values I’d picked up along my journey was born. Being 'The Clean One' outside-in is the key to skin freedom.

After three years of building a brand along with myself from the ground up, my philosophy is to lead and liberate as many humans as possible from the debilitating grasp of being trapped in their angry skin. 

I embarked on a journey of falling in love with myself with the birth of The Clean One by nurturing my body and my mind to discover my self-worth and to appreciate and understand that I am more than the skin I wear. Today, I am driven by my desire to show up authentically and share knowledge that has helped me leave behind a decade of skin-related lows.

I am passionate about reducing the stigma and shame around acne by normalising the varying nature of real skin. My mission is to inspire absolute self-love by encouraging self-care outside-in, so we can all feel empowered to embrace and wear our natural skin with calm confidence and radiance from within.

No longer trapped and hopeless, I am the proud leader of THE CLEAN ONE COLLECTIVE, creating relatable skincare products, educating, and encouraging mindfulness collectively to achieve healthy and clearer skin and, ultimately, a healthier you for the long term.

So much love,

Ece 🤍

12/07/2019 - This is when we picked my first ever sample! I was so proud and excited! Although, at the time we had no idea how big things would get!