Diet/Holistic Health Gallery

The major differences I see are less redness and dryness and fewer active spots.

I have a couple swollen lumps on my upper left cheek (the annnoying, sometimes long-lasting ones) and some scattered whiteheads (these usually go away quickly).

A couple observations about what changed in my routine these past couple days:
-drank a lot of caffeine from argentine mate
-didn't have a regular bowel movement yesterday
-i didnt apply my jojoba/tto moisturizer after my mask last night

I'm paranoid, I know, but I'd love to see if I can see a pattern in when I break out.

I'm going away this weekend and will try my VERY BEST to follow my routine and continue my progress

~besos de la argentina~

Wish me luck on my vacation!

I just got back from a weeklong trip and successfully had NO WHEAT  and VERY LITTLE DAIRY the whole time.  I am so happy    My one pitfall, a learning experience, was that I had two yogurts on the trip and broke out badly on my left side (you can see the pus-filled spots in the picture   )  Either way, I'm back and excited to keep going with my regimen.  And I'm starting a liver cleanse on Friday and am VERY excited.

when i took these pictures i realized that you can´t really see that much improvement, but i can definitely feel the difference.  the red marks are still huge, but my skin is a lot smoother with VERY FEW new spots.  

ps.  i have no idea why the above picture says Day 1618.  no, i haven't been on my regimen for 4 years   i think it should be day 17, so i was REALLY screwed up there, haha

well, i had another weekend away and did really good with eating.  the only "rule" i broke was i had some fish... but it was sooo worth it   oh, and i think i broke out from eating a bunch of dried fruit, a lot of sugar.

i have a few pimples now, but they seem like they're either on their way out, or are little ones that go away quickly.  overall i'm feeling very confident and happy!

this week i'm going to start back with my lemon water.  i was sick for about a week, so now it's time to get back in the saddle...

GREAT DAY!

I have very little active acne, mostly spots that are on their way out.  My diet and lifestyle choices are extreme, but at this point the question is: "What would I NOT do to get rid of my acne?"  The answer? Pretty much nothing.  The confidence and freedom I feel when my acne improves is absolutely priceless.

My family was here visiting me here in Argentina, which was awesome, but it was 8 days out of my routine.  I actually did REALLY well considering how hectic and chaotic our schedule was.  I had 2 really gross pimples, one on either side of my nose about an inch below my eye.  I think they were worse because when they were really swollen with pus I put on a clay mask and when it came off, they opened up and got reinfected badly.  They're mostly gone now except for red marks and some scabbing.  I'd say I'm back to where I was before my family came: tiny pus-filled pimples (those hardly bother me) and no new pimples for a couple days.

Had a great week!  I broke out on Thursday, about 3 days ago, with about 6 small pus pimples that are all going down now.  I've started keeping track of what I eat each day and how my habits change so I can try to identify what might prompt breakouts.  The way I see it, even if I break out every now and then, they're much less severe and infrequent, so my skin is healing overall slowly but surely.  Also, I had a wonderful thought this week: my improved skin condition is a result of my body's overall better wellbeing!!! I'm doing something right to make my body happier   I'm loving the PB shakes... I had a bad day of diarrhea a few days ago, but am not sure that it was related.  Either way, since I started taking the shake right before bed, I wake up and the first thing I do is have a full, easy bm- and I'm feeling great.  If you can't tell, I'm feeling really really happy and optimistic right now!!!  

Like I mentioned in my last picture post I had a bad pimple on either side of my nose last week.  The one on the right is healing well, but developed a small pus head a few days ago that's now almost gone- seems like it got re-infected somehow.  And the one on the left is a lot more of a scab that reopens every couple days!  I certainly don't pick on it and don't put the clay mask over it, but sometimes it starts bleeding after I was my face, even though I'm gentle.  The good news (I guess) is that it just seems to be bleeding, that it's not a reopened pus head of a pimple that would get reinfected.

just keep plodding along... nothing new, really!  

I'm still doing pretty well, pretty much the same, even though I've had a crazy week.  I was traveling, ate some trigger foods (ice cream, crepes, wine), didn't sleep a lot, and my boyfriend broke up with me.  Awesome.  Still goin strong, though.

So I havent posted updates in a while.  I had a really bad past 2 weeks.  Here's the rundown:
1) working on getting over my ex-bf
2) ate some breakout foods
3) PMSing
4) finals
5) getting ready to go home after 5 months in Argentina
The moral of the story is that I broke out badly and was too discouraged to put up pictures, I had to wait until I felt and looked better.

Anyway, I am GOOD TO GO from now on!  I have a daily chart where I keep track of what I eat, how much I sleep and exercise, my topical treatments, my mood, etc.  It also keeps track of my menstrual cycle, so I can *hopefully* identify how diet, lifestyle, and hormonal factors influence my acne.  I'm feeling really hopeful.

Usually I don't breakout in my cheeks but recently its BAD. I do everything to try and be healthy and do lots of research on acne and why I may still be getting it. I'm vegan right now but I avoid just about all grains(refined/whole except psyllium husk fiber),Nuts, Fats(occasional avocado slices/flaxseed powder),Most soy products, and anything too sugary. So all I try to basically eat is low sugar fruits and salads(vegetable juices/smoothies homemade) with occasional vegan protein powder(rice based lately). On top of that I exercise plenty several times a day and sweat alot, oh and avoid sunlight always(covering up my face with parasol/face visor). But yet lately around the time that I might get my period I always get some acne.

Its really nasty looking even make up cant hide it well and its not going away, I had this for maybe 4 weeks now. Whats worse is I already had really bad break outs on my cheeks back in 2008 when I got my period back after a year of not having a period, and since that time I just had scars to worry about on my cheeks until now! I think its PMS acne but I don't want to take birth control since most of them cause weight gain and I already feel fat always which is why I exercise all the time and try to avoid most food to not overeat since I also have a problem with binge eating at times. Also struggling with anorexia/slight bulimia for about 4-5 years.

Usually my break out aren't as bad on my right side it seems. But I noticed is that the pimples have grown symmetrical ish on both side when I look at it from the front. The camera doesn't show my old scars too much but they are still there . I usually had problems breaking out around my chin area/mouth before my period. Usually my periods are late or skip and when I do have one its really light most days.

The camera made it look less bad than it is, but my skin is BAD and I don't think it should be since i'm taking many precautions. If anyone can please help me find out what I might be doing wrong or any suggestions to fix my skin ASAP possibly WITHOUT birth control pills(unless theres a no weight gain type but I tried spironolactone before with out much help it just made me fat ish),accutane(seems pricey and might not work except damage my organs and cause acne to return), anything expensive(I tried some laser treatment at a dermatologist but it was a waste of money for the most part). Thx

This is me, in daylight, without ANY makeup, a few days after drinking a cup of sage tea daily. Sage is used to treat candidiasis sufferers like me, but also some people use it for ordinary acne.

Again, here I am without ANY makeup. I wear makeup almost every day to hide the redness & acne.

Here I am with makeup.

With makeup.

after eliminating gluten and dairy from my diet my skin slowly improved and right now, a mist a lot of scarring, i can say that I dont have 1 active pimple on my face.  It has been many years since that has happened!