No, I am not fantasizing. Nor am I being overly dramatic. This is something that really happened to me. My life as I knew it changed overnight. And I became a social pariah! This is the story of how a simple face wash revolutionized my life.

The Unicorns had been part of my life for as far back as I remember. We struck a friendship in kindergarten, when all you wanted in a friend was someone who would play with you and hang out with you. We struggled through high school, and somehow managed to sail through to the same junior college.

We had shared good times and bad, and we had each others’ back. That, I felt, was the most important thing with the Unicorns. Boy or girl, we stood for each other through thick and thin. So I was devastated when this trust was shattered. The teen years brought their usual problems. But our bonds were strong. We discussed the birds and the bees, teased each other about crushes, and provided a shoulder to cry on when someone got dumped.

Being at an age when hormones ran rampant, we all had some skin problem or the other. Oily skin, pimples and acne was the most common issue we shared. Our college once arranged a lecture where a dermatologist talked about skin problems faced by youngsters.

Dr. Mitra was a noted figure in the industry. She said pimples were caused by excess oil getting trapped in the pores of the skin. Blackheads or whiteheads were also a form of pimples. Sebum clogging the pores can create painful conditions. Pimples can be just a cosmetic issue for someone, and they can really hurt and leave nasty scars for some people. Genetics played a part in whether you got a pimple or not.

At a certain age, like the one we were at, the body produced excess androgens, a kind of hormone. These caused the oil glands to become larger secreting more sebum. Pimples could also be caused by simple actions like friction caused by helmets, or pricking or harsh scrubbing. Dirt and pollution made things worse. A healthy diet would help, and also a gentle wash that cleaned the pores.

We came out of the lecture, lost in deep thought. I had seen old photos of my parents, and the pimples had stood out even in the black and white photos. I am doomed, I thought! I live in a highly polluted city with high humidity, so no doubt I was destined to have these cruel things popping up on my face.

There was one thing the Unicorns agreed on, as we sipped cold coffee in the college canteen. We were doomed! A large zit on RK’s nose, scars on Julie’s face, and some mark or the other on everyone’s neck, chin etc. spoke for themselves. Sometimes, kids in college laughed at us. We didn’t get the dates we wanted to. The pimples popped up at the worst times, like while going to a party, and caused embarrassment. Many times, we had stayed at home just to avoid being ridiculed. We made a resolve. As usual, we would stick together and support each other. And we would fight anyone who dared to make us feel like we weren’t good enough.

Gloomily, I trudged home, and not even the aroma of hot homemade samosas could lift my spirits. ‘I shouldn’t eat this’, I said. ‘Haven’t you seen my pimples? Oil is supposed to make them worse’. ‘Don’t worry, I made these in an air fryer’, said my mom. ‘Eat up; I have a surprise for you’!

I gobbled the samosas, no one made them like my mom, and looked at her in anticipation. My mom presented me with a tube of Garnier Pure Active Neem Face Wash. ‘This is supposed to be good for germs and pollution. It has the natural goodness of Neem and Tea Tree Oil extracts. It will deeply cleanse your pores, remove all the oil and germs, and it can lighten your scars. No harm in using it.’ ‘Why not try before you make that face?’ she scolded. ‘It’s the semester end anyway.’

So I did and I started seeing results. My pimples and marks gradually disappeared, my skin cleared up and I actually started looking at myself in the mirror. Gone were the days when I would dread counting yet another zit or pimple on my face.

The first day of winter term dawned and I almost skipped and hopped to college. Everyone had been busy in the holidays, and the Unicorns hadn’t met in a while. I wanted to show off my new face. The moment I reached to high five RK and ask him if I didn’t look awesome, the group dispersed and everyone went their own way. No one would make eye contact with me. What’s bitten them, I wondered!

As I was trying not to nod off in the chemistry lecture (too heavy for the first day back), a small wad of paper hit me. ‘Pssst. Pssst’, I heard. ‘Wanna get some coffee?’, said the hottest guy in class. ‘Party at my place tonight’, said Mira. What are the Tomcats doing talking to me, I wondered.

Everyone knew the Tomcats were hopelessly superficial, bullies who made fun of others. But everyone wanted to hang with them. And so it went on. The Unicorns snubbed me and stopped talking to me. And I gradually started hanging out with the Tomcats. But I was hurting inside.

My childhood friends meant more to me than some popularity contest.

Reluctantly, I went to my very own Yoda. Who else but my mother? I laid it all out, and expected her to work miracles. ‘You teenagers! You are so insecure. You look so different without the pimples. Pretty and posh – looks like your friends cannot relate to you anymore. My dear, you are blacklisted from the Unicorns!’, said Mom. ‘But I am the same person inside’, I said. ‘I miss my friends, and I feel so hurt. Who cares about fancy parties when I can’t share it all with my friends?’, I moaned.

‘Let’s have a party here. they won’t refuse when I invite them’, said Mom. Luckily, my friends turned up for tea the next day. After everyone settled down with cake and sandwiches, Mom nudged me forward. ‘Guys, I wanted to share something’, I said. I handed over the tube of the Garnier Neem Face Wash and told them about it, how it was soap free, and enriched with neem which had anti bacterial and antifungal qualities. Using this face wash a couple of times had helped me control my pimples and acne.

One by one, the Unicorns passed around the face wash, and then finally broke down. ‘We are sorry, but we thought you wouldn’t like us anymore. So we stopped talking to you’, said Julie. ‘Are you mad, guys? Aren’t we friends for life?’, I said, as I teared up. ‘And you know, all this skin business, it is so superficial’. ‘ It is what’s inside that counts. We are going to grow old together, remember?’, I said.

Well, you can guess what happened after that. There were high fives and group hugs, and everyone demolished the food before heading off to the latest movie.

And the Unicorns had a great time at the annual college social, sporting clearer skins, but above all, confidence!

And that, dear readers, is the story of how a face wash got me blacklisted. And also got me closer to my friends than ever before!

This is my entry for the Garnier Pure Active Neem campaign in association with Indiblogger. Check out how Garnier Pure Active Neem Face Wash can help you get rid of pimples and scars. Image Courtesy – freedigitalphotos.net/Stuart Miles