42 replies to this topic

[Orgasmic Organic]

Alright, first some background on my acne and I:

Age: 19
Sex: Male
Location: Orange County, California

I have been battling acne since puberty.
Methods I have tried:

-Benzyl Peroxide (BP)
-Salicylic Acid (SA)
-Washing
-Not touching
-Lasers*
- Hormone Balancing
-AHA/BHA complex with CoQ-10

��‚�� Attempted Smoothbeam (tested), rejected the full treatment because of too much negative feedback on these forums.

My skin:

Oily and Dry, olive tone, smooth skin, I get both red and brown spots.
Oily- Forehead and nose
Dry- Around the mouth
Smooth- I do not get atrophic scarring.

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My approach (morning):
(revised as of May 20th, 2007)
Take Supplements: -Probiotics

L-acidophilus 1.150 Billion
L. rhamnosus 1.150 Billion
L. rhamnosus (Type B. Bifidus) 775 Million
S. lactis 275 Million
S. thermophilus 150 Million
Bifidobacterium longum 275 Million
B. bifidum 275 Million

-MACA (root extract)
-Saw Palmetto 320mg

Clean my face with Clarisonic using Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser (non hypoallergenic, no perfumes, no SLS)


Night:
Clean my face with Clarisonic using Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser (non hypoallergenic, no perfumes, no SLS)

Use the Beautyskin Lamp for 15 minutes.

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I exercise 5-6 times a week (body building). I eat lots of calories/protein to help me gain weight (I am underweight). However, the foods I eat for weight gain are organic. I only shop at Trader Joes or Mothers Market. I stay away from Albertsons and Fast Foods.

Please visit my Flickr:
www.flickr.com/photos/kiwicameron/

Also, if you spot a flaw in my methods or with my writing, please correct me.

Attached Files

•  me0001.JPG   211.94K   77 downloads

[Orgasmic Organic]

*My dermatologist adventure:
This is a follow up on my smoothbeam dilemma.

I was interested in light therapy since I have tried many approaches to curing my acne. Mind you, my acne is primarily cystic.

1st Dermatologist: Located in Irvine, www.totalderm.com. I went in to get my consultation and I perceived the place to be very nice, it looked new. This amateur girl walks me into the room and says the doctor will be right in. A few minutes passed and this scary looking guy comes in, sits down, and says “You have really bad acne”. I thought, “Gee thanks” in my head. He wanted me to do Photodynamic Therapy at 400 per session. I thought it was reasonable and walked out.

2nd Dermy: I wanted a second opinion just in case. The next place was more run down, and smelled funny. The place wasn’t very clean. I get seated in a room and the dermy walks in with a suit on saying he has allergies and to not touch him. He said, “You shoud never do photodynamic therapy, it will ruin your skin since it is olive”. I had two contradicting dermatologists in the same day. He recommended I do 10 sessions of a blue light therapy for 8000 dollars. Have a nice day sir!

3rd Dermy: More reputable, www.skin1.com The staff was very knowledgeable, and nice. Went in for a consultation and she said “You shouldn’t do PDT, you should do smoothbeam”. That was three dermatologists, all of which said something different. She quoted me 300 per session and laughed when I told her that the dermatologist before her wanted 8000 dollars. She did test spots on my skin to see if I were to get effected by hyper pigmentation.

3 Dermatologists, who do I believe?
Went on acne.org and there were too many cases of smoothbeam not working. The 3rd dermy told me that 98% of her patients will see improvement. Acne.org and her speech contradicted. Many users on these forums stated that it never worked even when their dermy said the same as mine did, yet another contradiction.

What a waste, eh? But I learned that the only person you can count on is yourself.

Watched, “The Secret” DVD, and it helped me break through the idea of dependence on another person in a white coat.

[cjb]

- I love sugar (cane or crystallized only, NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CRAP).

Hate to break it to you, but if you really want to treat acne "holistically," the sugar must go.

The "organic" topicals will probably be pretty ineffective. Their main advantage is that they might not irritate the skin as much as chemicals. But to truly treat acne holistically, you really have to take a look at your diet and try to determine the things that might contribute to your acne. This takes some work, but the NUMBER 1 thing to cut out is sugar. There's not a single person I've read of on these boards - and in my own experience as well - who successfully gets rid of acne using dietary/natural methods without eliminating sugar. If you must continue to eat sugar, you might as well not try natural methods, because it's going to be like trying to skateboard uphill.

[Orgasmic Organic]

I thought sugar was natural in the body? Eating some sugar in moderation is okay.

I have a big sweet tooth however, typically with ca cao.

I have an extremely fast metabolic rate, thus, sugar will not effect me as much as others.

I'll take what you said though, and try to minimize the sugar intake. I just got done eating like 4 ginger cookies, after reading your post I was slightly shocked. This is a slap on the wrist for me, I appreciate the advice.

[Orgasmic Organic]

Update: 4/5/2007

Skin is doing okay, minor peeling between my eyes.
Organic topicals applied.
What I ate today:

Promax Chocolate mint bar *protein based
Organic Zbar

Organic potatoes (multi)
Natural chicken, nonhormonal, cooked with Teriyaki sauce (natural, no biproducts)
- The teriyaki had soy! ....grrrr

Bon bons.... bad me!
Heavy Weight Gainer shake
Organic Multivitamin liquid drink, contains everything the body needs

[cjb]

I thought sugar was natural in the body? Eating some sugar in moderation is okay.

I have a big sweet tooth however, typically with ca cao.

I have an extremely fast metabolic rate, thus, sugar will not effect me as much as others.

I'll take what you said though, and try to minimize the sugar intake. I just got done eating like 4 ginger cookies, after reading your post I was slightly shocked. This is a slap on the wrist for me, I appreciate the advice.

Refined sugar is NOT natural in the body. It really is best to totally abstain from it for all kinds of health reasons. You're right that it might be okay in moderation (moderation doesn't mean DAILY intake!) for SOME people; provided they have strong digestion and are very active. Still, for people with acne trying to get rid of it using dietary methods, it's best avoided for at least a period of time. If you find that your acne isn't getting better, you might want to try cutting it completely.

Believe me, I used to have a sugar addiction. I believe it's what caused me many problems (acne and otherwise) in the first place. Strong cravings for sugar can signal an imbalance in the gi tract. When sugar-feeding bacteria get out of balance due to being "fed" too much sugar and an absence of good bacteria to keep them in check, it can definitely result in acne. I suggest reading up on candida.

[ayla]

I would like to direct you here.

Your diet and regimen sound pretty darn decent to me, in the link I posted you may wish to consult with bber and autonomousone1980. bber is a body builder as well. Many of us are having great success with this addition to our diet

[Orgasmic Organic]

Hmm, interesting.

Has anyone seen a double blinded study for fish oils to see if it does work on acne?
I usually will not 'trust' something until it has been tested.


I am stopping the sugar today....!

[Orgasmic Organic]

Skin: Doing exceptional. Brown spots are fading with the cream I got, no new acne as of late. Although my forehead is still has red bumps.

what I ate:
Organic Z bar with Tejava Tea

2 small natural pizzas, italian

Farm raised Norwegian Alaskan Salmon (for my omegas)

2 more organic Z bars

2 Organic wheat breads (like french bread) - nonbleached, nothing added

More Tejava tea (sugarless, microbrewed)

Weight Gainer shake -Added magnesium and calcium liquid, and Flax seed oils (omega 3, 6, 9)

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Organic topicals applied (See above)

[h20]

honestly alot of stuff that is organic isnt necissarily good, i mean you could go out and buy a bowl of organic sugar, but the fact would remain that it is sugar, same goes with milk, chocolate etc.. perhaps instead of going organic try to cut out dairy, refined carbs and foods high in saturated and omega 6 fats..

[Orgasmic Organic]

I'm working on it

Most of the organic things I eat are on the healthy side.
I do not want to eat like a bird.

[ayla]

OOrganic - there are numerous studies posted in the thread. What most of us did was check our Omega 6 and Omega 3 intake at http://nutritiondata.com Ideally, the human diet has a balance of 1:1. Unfortunately, most modern societies fall far below this ideal. My personal ratio was 7:1 - Omega6:Omega3. An imbalanced ration of O6 causes inflammation contributing to arthritis, colitis, acne, etc. All of this iformation you will find find on the NutritionData website, which is gov't funded BTW.

I researched different brands of fish oil, found one I liked (carlson) and corrected the balance to 1:1. The 1:1 balance is what nutritionists recommend, and what the human body requires for optimum function. I would say 90% of us are seeing positive correlation with acne reduction and fish oil. What it may help to know is that the amount of fish oil ingested is no more than you would get having a few meals of salmon per day.

I really encourage you to read the studies posted in the thread, do some of your own research and give it a go

[Orgasmic Organic]

Thanks for the advice Ayla!

I started taking liquid flax seed oil yesterday, I'll post the ingredients on here later for you to inspect.

For today:
Stress! Girlfriend and I got into a small frustration, she started crying etc. (wasn't crying because of me though). I was trying to cheer her up most of the day. She ended up staying with me at my apartment. Unfortunately, my face got smothered with kisses and her soft hands kept squeezing my cheeks... as a result my skin took a good beating today. (Although, I shouldn't say unfortunately, I love my girlfriend and her kisses ).

Right has she left I treated my skin, hopefully I saved it.

No new acne, just red bumps on my forehead.

What I ate:
2 Z bars in the morning with organic carrots

Rice and lettuce for lunch

another organic zbar

3 Eggs

900 Calorie shake, with omega 3,6,9 complex, magnesium-calcium (for my heart).

[Orgasmic Organic]

Update:
Replacing my Fruit peels with AHA/BHA 10%

Skin:
Doing better, couple of small whiteheads no big deal, curious as to what the AHA will do.
Picture update coming soon

What I ate:
4 Eggs
Organic Apple Juice
Organic wheat bread

1 Zbar

Natural Steak
Cream Soda (diet, no sugar, etc.)

Zbar

10 Organic Strawberries
Imitation sushi

900 Calorie Shake, magnesium calcium, omega 3,6,9 complex, flax seed oils

Enzymes

[Orgasmic Organic]

New update:
Skin: Doing well, big cyst above my right eye. Also got one inbetween my eyes. They have been there awhile...

Looking into the Clarisonic brush... will purchase over the week

What I ate:
4 eggs
Tejava tea
2 organic wheat breads

10 strawberries
cream soda
ginger cookies

another cream soda =P

organic wheat bread /w organic tomatoes

pb and J sandwiches, organic peanut butter (no trans fats), organic strawberry jam

[Orgasmic Organic]

Skin update:
Doing well, My Dad says I am improving
Got a cyst on my back, hurts really bad

What I ate:

2 organic Z bars
4 Eggs

Tejava tea
5 Ginger cookies

2 Organic PB n J sandwiches
3 organic wheat breads /w organic tomato sauce

900 Calorie shake, same stuff put in

[Vic77]

Hi there,

Good luck - sounds like you've got the willpower to make it work.

I wouldn't recommend the Clarisonic though - I bought one a couple of months ago. I don't think it irritates my skin at all, it's just that it doesn't do anything to make up for it's cost. I used to use a manual (soft) face brush from the Body Shop or muslin cloths (changed daily) and they exfoliated as well and cost far less....

If you're exfoliating at all, and using peels then I don't think it will help any....

Vic

[Orgasmic Organic]

Well, I don't exfoliate. So I got the clarisonic to help clean up my skin.
I bought it off ebay for about 100 so I didn't pay full retail.

I was using peels, but I have to wait until my acne dies down before I can do more.

Thanks for the advice though.

[Orgasmic Organic]

Update:

skin is doing so-so....

Cyst between my eye is bigger cause I played with it.

Big red bump on my left cheek

new red bump on my neck

Forehead is being nice to me! Woot woot

What I ate:

Typical organic stuff. No sugars, except for organic cocoa and Zbars
Plenty of eggs
Heavy weight gainer shake

[Orgasmic Organic]

Update:
Keeping up with dieting/weight gaining.

Skin:
Actually doing fairly well, I do see improvement. I got a real nasty red bump on my jaw line, this thing was massive and it made me sad =( I was working so hard in that area and it still came up!

I am trying to make it so that once the red bump dies down I'll prevent any new pimples from forming, that way my face can heal the rest of the scars.