12 replies to this topic

[ashley76]

I have had acne since 11. I am 32. I run a business, am a mother and a wife and STILL feel stuck in the same old world of acne. I am SO sick of it. I try for months, sometimes years not to let it get me down but it always catches up to me. I have been convincing and hoping for over 15 years now that I would grow out of it. I am going to important work meetings and worried about which way I will sit because of whatever new bump is on my face. I won't go to a birthday party with my son tomorrow because I just can't take being out with all of our friends right now and meeting new people and what not. I don't usually avoid things because of my acne but I'm just really extra sick of it right now.

So, things I have tried... it's been so long i hardly remember all of them and am sure i am forgetting but I have tried:

-accutane, differen gel, benzomycin, birth control pills etc.. etc.. some worked, none worked well, all had other side effects that i eventually couldn't take.

-dan's regimen (BP did weird things overtime to my skin and left me with wrinkles which are now almost gone)

-glocilic cleanser followed by tea tree oil and witch hazel, aveno mosterizer. this was most recent, last 6 months...and coupled with my period and 2 12-hour flights with my toddler has left me looking horrible.

-so, so, so many more dead ends that i can't remember.. it has been over 20 years!

So, I am starting a new holistic regimen. Said I will give it a month but I am a little confused about a few things.

I got fish oil vitamins and vitamin e. I understand I should also buy vitamin c, a, zinc, and b complex. Can I get one vitamin for all of this or do i need to take ALL of these?

I already ate fairly healthy but plenty of dairy. I almost don't know how to eat without dairy products. Love them. BUT I'm trying to just gradually start cutting them out. I stopped my morning coffee that always has milk or cream and switched to green tea. I will try to cut down on yogurt, butter, and cheese. But I'm going to have to eat cheese once in a while as a treat. is that ok? I mean I looove cheese more than anything.

Is honey any better than sugar? Or just as bad?

This is what i'm going to try:

Morning
Wash with water only
apply bare minnerals skin-rever upper
bare minerals make-up, very light

night
wash with cytaphil (original formula) (NEED BETTER SUGGESTION_something EXTREMELY GENTLE but that still cleans)
tone with dr. hauschka clarifying toner
apply burt's bees tea tree oil blemish stick to any big spots

everyday
vitamin e
fish oil capsules
lots of water
3 cups of green tea
limit dairy and meats (still have some)
WHAT ELSE?

SO all you natural success stories.... what do you think?
I will try to get courage to post pictures soon.

[Yankulov]

Limit sugar and grains too. You need a lot vitamins: A, B, C, D. Take them from vegetables.. and why limiting the best food in the world..meat?

[ashley76]

Limit sugar and grains too. You need a lot vitamins: A, B, C, D. Take them from vegetables.. and why limiting the best food in the world..meat?

I always try to limit meat. I'm more of a veggie eater but I do eat meat and fish. Just seems like the smart thing to do I guess.

[ashley76]

I got all my vitamins. This is what i'm taking

fish oil morning and night
Bcomplex
C
E
Zinc

More pills than I've ever taken in my life.

So far my skin is doing nothing but healing. I do have a number of tiny bumps on my forehead. From sweat I think. It's been so so hot. But so far all the big stuff is just melting away. Healing quickly. Nice.

I haven't cut out dairy but I've definitely dramatically decreased it. Also have successfully stopped the coffee with milk and sugar every morning. Think I am fine with the green tea... although I do use honey. Don't know if this is just as bad.

I am washing with cytaphil which seems to be working alright. I can't decide if my morning wash should be water only.

I exfoliated with sensitive skin apricot scrub today. I coudln't take all the gunk building up on my skin. It's really hot so it's easy to feel sticky quickly. I felt so much better after I did that. I think I will incorporate that into my routine. Drank lots of water and lots of green tea but also had half a beer... it's playoffs for the celtics so had to do it.

[ashley76]

Ok. So the vitamins aren't working right. I took my vitamins this morning. Took zinc, fish oil, B-complex and E. Puked on my way to drop my son at daycare. Anybody know if I'm not taking these the right way? Wrong order? Too many at once?

[yoshistr]

Hello ashley,
My experience with fish oil is that if you take the pills in the morning you have to have a strong stomach because usually you follow it with a warm or hot tea which causes the pills to melt in your stomach as the gases build up it will make you want to vomit. Avoid anything hot for a few hours after taking any soft gel pills this will help with absorption as well. Cod Liver Oil maybe a better alternative to fish oil.
I also would recommend Iron, this is great for women who are menstruating and are losing iron from their system, so take iron supplements with cod liver oil as these two will work together for better absorption, or you could eat fish which has iron, magnesium, and vit A & E.
With iron you should expect results quickly, you can tell if your iron level is low if you feel low in energy, have bad circulation (cold feet or hands), or have it checked when you get a blood workup.
Try to also avoid using shampoo or conditioner everyday and use it every other day or stop all together.
Hopefully this resolves your issues, best of luck.

[ashley76]

Try to also avoid using shampoo or conditioner everyday and use it every other day or stop all together.
Hopefully this resolves your issues, best of luck.

It's funny but that was going to be my entry for today. What hair products should I use? I need to wash my hair but I definitely feel that my hair could be causing some of my worst breakouts. I wonder if there are products that are better than others. I'll have to do some research or maybe I'll get lucky and someone will post here.

I've cut down to just taking fish oil, vitamin e, and zinc. I'll see how that works with my stomach and maybe take them a few hours after my morning tea as suggested.

I have a small breakout. It's not horrible but it's a let down for sure. I thought I was doing pretty well for a few days. I've been working a lot at trying to control my stress level no matter how busy I get. Which can be hard with a business of my own and a toddler. I took a picture. It really sucks for me to look at since I've partially been in denial and trying to ignore my condition for so many years. BUT I think by posting it I can start coming to terms, stick with my regimen and hopefully see improvement! So... pictures coming soon... I think.

[Packerfan785]

Try to also avoid using shampoo or conditioner everyday and use it every other day or stop all together.

Shampoo and conditioner can cause acne?!?!?!?!?

[ashley76]

Try to also avoid using shampoo or conditioner everyday and use it every other day or stop all together.

Shampoo and conditioner can cause acne?!?!?!?!?

I think it might depend on your hair type and what products you use. I notice if I use gels or hair products like that that I break out. So I think there is something there. BUT I'm feel pretty sure that when my hair is nice and clean with just shampoo and conditioner it doesn't make me break out. If I didn't wash my hair and just let it get stringy and greasy I'm almost positive it would cause a breakout so not willing to try that just yet.

So today my skin is looking really nice. I have one papules (i think they are called) and a few healing ones and everything else is looking pretty good.

My regimen this week that I am trying to stick with has been:

AM
wash with cytaphil
tone with dr. hauschka's clarifying toner
apply bare minerals skin revver-upper

PM
wash with cytaphil
tone with dr. hauschka's clarifying toner
apply burt's bees tea tree blemish stick to any spots

vitamins: zinc, vitamin e, and fish oil
diet: eliminated milk; eliminated coffee, cut down on meats, white breads, sugar, cheese and butter; lots of fish and vegetables; only drinking water and tea.

I decided I'm still going to eat grains but will try to keep them whole grains, I feel weird when I don't eat carbs. Think I need them.

So, it's going well. My skin definitely feels healthier and seems to be clearing up. There is one side that is much much nicer than the other. And the side that is nice is looking really nice. I stand in front of the fridge a lot thinking "what the hell can I eat" but I'm getting a little better. I like salads and vegetables but need more recipes that don't include cheese. I did sprinkle parmesan on my cauliflower because i love it like that. but hey... gotta live a little right?

[ashley76]

So it was a bad weekend. Or a good weekend. Depending if you are thinking about me or my skin. I had a great time but it involved bacon, a cheeseburger and other things of that nature. I even got so busy back at work today that I forgot to take vitamins all day. I think my skin is taking it's toll already. So I'm starting, just starting, to be convinced of the whole holistic thing. I'm going to try to get right back on the wagon tomorrow. Veggies, meats and whole grains. Cut down on cheese! Cheese is hard. I love it.

[acnejean]

are you still doing this?

[alternativista]

Well, I know you asked a month ago, but yes, you can get a b-complex with C and zinc in one pill. It's usually called something like a stress formula. Nature Made has one. That's what I was taking when my skin became a lot less oily and I rarely had any inflamed acne on my face. However, you need C throughout the day. Not just once a day.

And it's probably the zinc making you nauseous. Take with food.

Good luck. It worked for me. See my sig and/or log.

[~jinny~]

ashley76,

If you are still looking for a gentle cleanser, I would like to recommend Auromere's Sandal-Turmeric Soap (http://www.iherb.com...78-gm/6339?at=0). It's an ayurvedic soap containing, among other blemish-healing ingredients, the following: coconut oil, turmeric, sandalwood, and neem (all of which are great for healing blemishes). My skin is extremely sensitive and I often have adverse reactions to many facial soaps. Still, while I'm not sure as to the harshness of Cetaphil, the Auromere soap has treated my skin well, with hardly any drying of the skin or acne flare-ups.

I use the soap only once at night. The first week, my skin looked and felt great--much of the redness from pimple marks had diminished and few pimples formed afterward. I've only recently started breaking out, though I attribute this to poor dieting (I splurged on natural peanut butter...uuggghhh). I do feel that this soap would be a safe bet if you're looking for something natural (absolutely no chemicals or harsh additives) and gentle.

If you are interested, I highly recommend ordering from the website I've provided; not only is the soap cheap, but the service is great shipping is incredibly fast. Plus, the site is great if you are looking for inexpensive vitamins, supplements, treatments, etc.

Good luck and hope this helps!