Blog › Forums › Diseases and Conditions › Acne
- This topic has 30 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 3 months ago by
positively.
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AuthorPosts
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July 11, 2013 at 12:12 pm #8370
positively
ParticipantHi,
Is someone here you have or had problem with acne?
What did you help or what not?Thanks,
July 11, 2013 at 1:39 pm #8378The Real Amy
ModeratorYes, I’ve had acne, especially after going off the pill. It got bad for awhile. I still deal with it. The thing with acne is it is expressing imbalances going on in your body. It’s actually a healthy way for your body to get them out, so you don’t want to suppress that process, but rather fix the inner imbalances, while at the same time helping your skin get the toxins out so that it doesn’t need to form pimples to do so.
Here is what I have found to be the most helpful:
-Try to determine if you have any “trigger” foods. This is hard to do sometimes, but I discovered chocolate is a huge one for me. I know people claim it doesn’t cause acne, but for me it does and makes the biggest difference of anything. I can get away with very small amounts on isolated days, but if I do more than that, I will get these horrible pimples. If I don’t eat chocolate, I don’t get them. I’ve heard some people have the same thing happen with nuts, and I’m sure there are other foods out there, too.
-Stress-reduction and sleep – pretty obvious here, but I think, after avoiding trigger foods, is the #2 thing for making a difference.
-As un-processed a diet as possible. The less crap I eat, the better my skin looks. Definitely true for any junk food, but even somewhat for white flour. I love pasta and white bread, but I have to say that when I keep those to a minimum and have more whole grains, my skin looks better (note, I do not give them up, but might keep it to once a day or every other day on the white flour). This might be hard to do if you are earlier in your metabolic healing, and I don’t think it’s that big a deal from the acne standpoint, at least for me, so I wouldn’t stress it. Eating fruits and veggies is great for my skin, too.
-Note that your ideal diet might be different. It’s all personal experimentation.
-Cod liver oil – not everyone does well on it, but my skin looks better when I take a small amount. Some people also swear by b-vitamins, but I never noticed a difference on them. Probably worth a try, though.
-Paying attention to lymph drainage – google facial massage techniques for this. It gets the toxins moving out in the lymph so they don’t have to come out via pimples.
-The right skincare. You want something that will clear out your pores and allow your skin to expel toxins easily. I am using Evan Healy products right now, which I love, but different things work for different people. It’s worth experimenting a bit. Like, using oil on your skin can make a serious positive difference. You wouldn’t think it would be good, but it is. However, which oils work is all personal. Some people have amazing results using coconut oil, and for other people it causes acne. I am afraid to even try coconut oil on my face for fear that I *might* have a bad break-out, but I use sunflower and rosehip oil and those work well. In general, though, using natural, gentle stuff and avoiding anything soap-like makes a big difference (soap messes up the PH of the skin). Try to avoid putting acids (like glycolic acid or fruit enzymes) on the skin. They help short-term but just screw up the integrity of the skin and make things worse longterm). The best routine is a gentle cleanse (like removing make-up with oil, followed by a cream cleanser), then alcohol-free toner, then gentle serum or oil. (note when starting this, you do go through a break-out period while your skin adjusts and purges)
-Clay masks – they will make you break out initially but they are un-matched for clearing out the pores. I can HIGHLY recommend Evan Healy’s green tea clay mask. It’s not cheap, but it is amazing. Mountain Rose herbs has cheaper clay for masks, if it’s too much, but Evan’s is the best.
-Sweating and exercise – again, these can make it worse at first, but regularly sweating it out is great for the skin.
-Really watch what goes on your skin. I can’t tell if you are male or female from your name, but if you wear make-up, you may want to be careful of silicones, and mineral make-up can be really pore-clogging. Sunscreens make me break out big-time. Zinc oxide is ok for me, but not the chemical stuff.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by
The Real Amy.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by
The Real Amy.
July 11, 2013 at 6:00 pm #8427Caz
Participanthello magnesium supplementation is clearing up mine
July 12, 2013 at 7:44 am #8507VizzyC
ParticipantLong time sufferer from acne as well. It’s actually why I’m even here. I started a Paleo diet over 6 years ago to try and clear up my skin. It worked but my health suffered in the long run. The biggest thing I learned about acne is that for a lot of people, and definitely myself is that it’s an inflammatory skin disease usually most related to your insulin levels. Basically living almost as a diabetic. I remember one time on an acne forum one time I read someone’s recommendation for acne was to “Eat, breath, and live like a diabetic”. The biggest thing that affects your blood sugars are: Stress, sleep, food, exercise.
July 12, 2013 at 1:41 pm #8576ThomasSeay
Moderator@VizzyC, judging from your photo, I would have never guessed you had an acne problem.
Anyway, hope people keep posting their experiences, thoughts and suggestions on this one. I had acne as a teenager and one of my daughters is 11, and I want to make sure to minimize it in her case. So I am following this thread with great interest.
July 12, 2013 at 4:30 pm #8610positively
ParticipantThanks for the answers.
Thomas so your acne is gone?:)
I am very interested about this subject and experience as I suffer from acne long time and also developed another problem with skin Ketarosis Pilaris.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by
positively.
July 12, 2013 at 5:06 pm #8626ThomasSeay
Moderator@positively. Yes, it went away as I got into my twenties.
July 14, 2013 at 9:17 am #8874positively
ParticipantI think that too much sugar is not helpful,even too much fruits.
Thomas did you experience with R.Peat, how did you feel on high sugar diet?July 14, 2013 at 11:32 am #8899Matt Stone
KeymasterFruit and sugars can definitely worsen acne in the short-term, but I wouldn’t give up on sugar too easily just because it’s aggravating some acne if you notice it improving other metabolic markers like temp, pulse, bowel moisture, skin, nails, hair, libido, etc.
July 14, 2013 at 12:59 pm #8913ThomasSeay
Moderator@positively. I felt fine on a relatively high sugar diet. I don’t really get acne anymore, except I might get a little if I eat really oily food, especially nuts.
July 14, 2013 at 1:50 pm #8922VizzyC
ParticipantUhhh… I’m not sure. Head on over to the acne.org forum. That’s where I started. Talk to the folks who’ve had acne for 25+ years. These are some really smart people that can school some folks on nutrition and health protocol. Their is a healthy alternative section on the board. I too was one of the people that have been permanently scarred by my acne, and psoriasis. It started when I was 11 years old. I’m now 29. I manipulated my diet and lifestyle for 15 years before I found answers. I can tell you more than you want to know about skin. I researched it the way some people research health in general here. Their is no mistaking what causes my acne, and most of the other people on the board as well. It’s a horrible disease that can have leave emotional traumatic scars as well as physical.
July 14, 2013 at 2:31 pm #8927positively
ParticipantI suffer from acne not short time too.But I know that we are different, so for some people sugar will not cause problem with skin, for another yes.
VizzyC so you found your own a way?Answer?
July 14, 2013 at 2:33 pm #8928VizzyC
ParticipantI’m not sure if this is a question.
July 14, 2013 at 2:37 pm #8929The Real Amy
ModeratorI think it’s so individual for people. I don’t think sugar issues have any effect on my acne. At the height of my ED, my skin looked pretty good, and in recovery. Hormones are much more of a factor, which I learned big time when I took myself off the pill. I’m sure for some people the insulin/sugar thing is more of a factor. Inflammation is a factor, though, for sure.
One thing I forgot to mention above is, eating homemade yogurt is amazing for acne (just plain, fresh yogurt), so somehow probiotics must help. Apparently, within the first week of making yogurt the bacteria is more active so store-bought is not the same. I have found this to be true.
July 14, 2013 at 2:48 pm #8931ThomasSeay
ModeratorThe Real Amy, how about Rejuvelac? That should be the same as Yoghurt, and I, personally, would find that easier to make.
@VizzyC, so I gather that your advice is to “live like a diabetic” to control acne. Since I don’t know exactly what that entails, could you give some details of what you do to control acne? -
This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by
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