It isn't anything to do with sugar, soy naturally has phytoestrogens in it. It can aggravate acne in some people (myself included if I eat a lot of tofu or drink too much soymilk) because it can mess with your hormone levels. However, it has also been cited to help acne for some as well, it really depends on what type of acne you have and if hormones play a role it in or not. Birth control that was supposed to help acne never worked for me, everyone is different. The benefits of soy are really exaggerated though, and there have been potential dangers with consuming too much as well, like breast cancer.

This is actually the same reason that dairy products can wreck havoc on certain people's skin, but due to a different hormone. Milk has androgen hormones in it, which has a definite link to acne. While soy will have mixed results in how it effects your skin, I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who needed more testosterone for their acne. (Testosterone is an androgen hormone, and why steroid users get bad skin).

Cutting out dairy cleared up my face 90%+ I used to consume quite a lot of it, I cut it out before making other dietary changes so I am certain it was the dairy. Dr. Bronner's soap instead of the usual chemical crap also helped. I cleared up in about 2 weeks or so. Right now I have 1 new zit on my jawline but thats pretty spectacular for me. I am now also meat free, and refined, processed food free, so no wheat or sugar. It basically translates to a vegan diet, with limited soy. (I made these changes specifically to clear up my skin). It is not too difficult for me because I was strict vegetarian before and love to cook. I use hemp milk, I like the taste and it's better for you. While my face is great now, my bacne is still being stubborn. I'm not even sure if its bacne anymore, but there has been slight improvements.

For reference my acne was mild on my face but moderate/very painful on my jawline. My bacne is still moderate but lately has been a bit less painful and scarring, but I don't want to jinx myself!

I take vitamins when I can remember, mostly zinc and b vitamins, probiotics too. I think I will try to take them regularly and add some vitamin c and selenium. I'll be sure to update with any improvements. It's nice to see more people making the link to possibly dietary causes and trying a natural approach. Not that I care if you take accutane or something, it's just encouraging seeing I'm not alone in my hippie endeavors!

Good luck everyone!

-Jo

I'm confused about the cleanser/soap part. I always understood the difference between cleansers and soaps to be that soap is saponified fat (usually that means an oil mixed with lye), and a cleanser is anything else (like sodium loreth/lorel sulfate, and some similar chemicals used in shampoos that advertise themselves as having no sodium sulfates). Cleansers can have any weird chemical ever in them; pure castile soap (that is, saponified olive oil and as little else as possible) is, to the best of my knowledge, the gentlest cleaning agent known to man.

The first post says that we should avoid soaps because they can irritate skin, and to use cleansers instead. Then, and this is where I got really confused, it also suggested as a cleanser...a castile bar. "Castile" means pure olive oil soap.

So one of us has the soap/cleanser thing backwards.

My guesses as to why soap would irritate someone's skin: it's made of an oil they're allergic to, it has added fragrances they're allergic to, it's a commercial soap that's had the glycerin taken out (that would make it a lot more drying and less moisturizing, in the same way as acne soaps seem to be in my limited experience), or while it's labeled as "soap" it's still mostly cleansers.


This is mostly based on time I've spent reading soapmaking and diy skincare sites, not on a chemistry background or anything, so I'm asking as much to fill gaps in my knowledge as because the first post doesn't match what I know.

Hey all.
I also a victim of acne, and I've tried so many things! I can't use BP or Salycilic acid because it aggrivates my skin and makes it peel horribly!
I'm too scared to use Accutane because of the side effects. and so I truned to a more natural remedy. I bought Acnepril.
I'm halfway through my first Acnepril bottle, and I think my skin's improvement is the result of using Acnepril. The thing is, my acne was getting so severe that I was desperate for any advice. After reading up online on what's best, I bought Acnepril and I read that dairy, bread products, and sugar worsen skin.
So, starting the very day I read that, I also changed my diet. About a week later, the bottle of Acnepril arrived, and I began using it right away, starting with 2 and gradually going up to 4 daily. So I've been like this for about a month now, and my skin is getting better. I just don't know what to thank for it now- my diet or Acnepril.
I haven't been fully consistent with the diet though (it's so hard!) and I noticed that my first few weeks, I had better result than I do now. I was strict on myself at first, drinking fruit smoothies instead of eating sweets like candy, and replacing regular milk with soy. Now, I tend to allow myself an occasional sandwhich, cereal, or donut. Therefore, my skin is not as great as it looked the first two weeks of using Acnepril & dieting. Oops.
Well, whichever it is, I'm still glad that my skin is not the same as it was when I first began.

I would have to agree that dietary modification does help with acne treatment.

I had always been a heavy milk drinker (5-6 cups a day) until 12th grade, when my acne started to worsen, so I stopped drinking milk and it generally helped my acne decrease. Over the next year, my acne waxed and waned periodically, however, never really that severely. About a year and a half ago, I had minor acne. I had a pretty active sex life, and I wasn't concerned about hormones being a major cause of acne (in fact, my acne seemed to be receding to nothing at this point in time, much to my surprise). Then, I started working at Starbucks during first fall semester of Uni...and caffeine and milk entered my life once again... 10 months of hell for my skin (I didn't think that this could be related to coffee, but next to alcohol, this was the only major addition to my diet). My back had several cysts at a time, my neck was covered with fields of blackheads and nodules. My face, neck and back now have several ice pick scars and alot of basin scars. This was the worst time I had ever had with acne in my life.

4 months ago, I cut out milk again and changed my diet, cutting out coffee (the capuccinno machine broke) and reducing meat. A good idea. Acne started receding again, much to my surprise, to the point where my skin was very clear and I was going to get some scar treatment done, until I abandoned this diet a month ago (I had thought it would continue receding, despite dietary change). Then bam. What a stupid idea. My face, arms and neck are now swarming with nodules and cysts. I'm considering taking accutane now, my acne is that severe, and I'm so sick of it. I don't want another 10 months of hell due to my diet. However Alberta healthcare is absolutely ridiculous and an appointment for an accutane prescription is anywhere between 6 - 8 months away. I'm already getting scarring everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

So I'm going back on this diet. Cutting out milk and meat is a difficult choice for me actually, but since it may help prevent my acne, so be it. I'm also considering completely cutting out alcohol, as that seems to exacerbate it quite a bit (those 10 months were also filled with alot of drinking, a factor which may be related). I might go as far to say that alcohol is generally mixed with alot of sugar, and itself leads to high blood sugar levels. It seems then that I'll be a health nut, while I wait for this appointment.

This post has been edited by Kalvyn: Nov 14 2009, 01:26 AM