Hi, skincareaddiction! Long time lurker, first time poster.

I’ll start this off by saying that I’m 18, a female, and just graduated from high school (US). I live alone with my mom, and for the most part, we’re close and we have a great relationship. However, the way that she acts about my skin is driving a wedge between us.

I have mild-moderate acne, probably caused by the fact that I’m a teenager. It used to be a lot worse, but after discovering this sub, I created a pretty basic skincare routine for myself (cleanser, spf, acne product, moisturizer), and my skin drastically improved. It’s nowhere near perfect, but I’m very happy with my progress, and even more proud of the fact that I’m really comfortable with my skin now. Even if it’s not perfect and I have breakouts occasionally, what’s important for me is that I’m confident and feel good, which I do. And it’s not like I’m not taking care of myself – I wash my face daily, my skin feels healthy except for the acne, and I use sunscreen religiously. I’m perfectly content just waiting for the acne to go away, which it has to do at some point, right?

My mom seems to feel a little differently. She has scheduled dermatologist appointments for me several times now without asking me if I wanted to go, and once she tried to pull me out of school on a day that I couldn’t miss. Each time I’ve told her that I don’t really want to go to a dermatologist and spend her money on the appointment / expensive medicine, that I don’t feel like I need it, and that I have more important things to do with my time; she responds by saying that she’s only trying to take care of me and that it hurts her feelings when I refuse her help, that I’m going to end up with scars when I’m older, and that many people would be grateful to have access to a dermatologist. I obviously feel guilty about this, but I’m sticking to my position. Each time she’s done this, I’ve explained why I don’t want to go as calmly as I can, and she’s gotten angry at me each time, but ultimately cancelled the appointment. I have asked her to stop making the appointments, and said that if I ever do want to go to a dermatologist I’ll tell her, and she agreed but continued making them.

She has also bought me multiple anti-acne products that I haven’t asked for and end up not using because a) I research them and find that for most people they do more harm than good or b) I simply don’t need them, since I’m happy with what I have now. She’s kind of obsessive about her own skin - super into anti-aging, facials, etc. – and I think that could have something to do with this. (She's also done various other things, including talking to her friends and our family about my "problem skin" and coming back with at-home remedies along the lines of toothpaste/lemon juice/baking soda. Obviously I have tried none of these, but it's embarrassing that my skin is apparently a topic of conversation.)

Additionally, it feels pretty shitty that my own mother thinks that I have bad skin. I know a lot of you have dealt with the whole unsolicited-advice-about-your-skin thing, and it can really hurt self-confidence.

So I guess my question is – have any of you dealt with a situation similar to this, and do you have any advice on how to deal with it? I’m moving out for college in a few months and I’d really like to end this fight on a good note, since like I mentioned we’re really close and this seems to be driving us apart. I love my mom and just don't want to argue with her about this any more.

TL;DR: I’m happy with my skin, but my mom is dead-set on improving it. What do I do?