6 replies to this topic

[Meb]

Okay, so I basically finally started this log as a way to force myself to stick to something. (There's much more shame if you have to write about it later!) I haven't been a huge poster on this board, but I've been around this boards for years now reading everything I can.

Quick background: 24 year old female, have had acne since about 13 or so. Had the typical teenage acne, went to derms and tried everything, moderate success but never clear skin. Have been on and off pro-activ again with moderate success. Was on pro-activ for the last few years again and thought I had finally beat the acne problem. Skin was not super clear but it was manageable and much better. Enter 6 months ago and pro-activ completely stopped working and I started developing cysts along my jawline (I had never had cysts before). I freaked out and once again tried everything under the sun including a completely organic line that gave minimal success. I have since stopped using any form of BP and have been using Paula's Choice products. Skin has improved and the cysts aren't as numerous or as large as before, but I still get them and now I have tons of healing red marks that are going to take forever to go away even though the bump is long gone.

Whew, that wasn't so quick. Anyway, obviously since I just recently developed this cystic acne and it's only on my jawline (my cheeks and forehead are relatively clear with occasional small bumps) I am convinced this is all hormone related. So I started researching into more diet and holistic line of things. I have tried to cut out a lot of "trigger" foods but I haven't been overly strict with it, hence the beginning of the log. (Plus I want to lose some weight too so this should be a win win situation.)

Enemies (aka: things that need to be cut out immediately)
Dairy - hard cause I love ice cream and yogurt
Lattes - I switched to soy a long time ago to avoid dairy, but I have a feeling all the extra caffeine does not help
Alcohol - last time I drank a lot I woke up the next morning with 3 new pimples, coincidence, I think not

The above three tend to be my biggest vices and are essentially consumed on a daily basis, so it will be interesting to see what happens when they're gone. I cut out fast food and soda a while ago, except for the occasional lapse, so I'm going to up the ante and try to avoid fried foods entirely. Other goals I want to achieve: avoid processed food and consume much more veggies/fruits. No oranges though. Never been a big eater of oranges but have since discovered through this board that oranges tend to trigger cystic acne.

Wow, this post is long, eh? Kudos if anyone is still reading this. I'll wrap it up. Oh, I'll also note that I started BC 3 months ago in an effort to help balance out the hormones. It may be helping but I can't conclusively say at this point. I also take a multi-vitamin, flax seed oil, and psyllium fiber everyday. I try to drink mostly water but of course can always increase the water intake.

And finally, my current topical skin regimen for the past month or so is:

AM
Paula's Choice skin balancing cleanser
Paula's Choice skin balancing toner
Paula's Choice BHA 2% in liquid form
Clean and Clear moisturizer with salicylic acid in it

PM
Same except I normally don't use the moisturizer
Use Queen Helene's mint julep mask 2-3x/week

Make-up
L'oreal mineral foundation
Neutrogena green concealer with salicylic acid (don't use all the time)
Nars blush
NYC loose powder

Current skin condition: left side of face is clear with about 4 healing red marks, right side of face has one active cyst and multiple healing red marks (right side is always worse than left for some reason), one healing cyst on top of forehead that's going down (this one was odd as I normally don't get anything on my forehead and it was very painful). Skin also tends to get very oily throughout the day while maintaining dry patches around mouth and chin. Yay.

Goals: no more cysts and red marks fade into nothingness! This may take a while as I'm very pale so everything shows up so clear on me.

Wow, long initial post. Sorry guys.

[Meb]

Alright, so today's food, I think I did pretty good today.

Breakfast:
supplements
water
banana

Snack:
iced green tea
slice of zucchini loaf

Lunch:
progresso weight watcher's vegetable soup
apple
honey and oats granola bar
water

Snack:
raw trail mix (consists of sunflower seeds, raisins, almonds, dark chocolate, and some other nuts too I think, all unsalted)

Dinner:
white rice (will switch to brown next time I buy)
chicken breast
sauteed onions (will buy zucchini to add in)
pickle (I was still hungry and had pickles available, not sure how bad they are in relation to skin)
water

Skin status: nothing new today, thank goodness. The cyst on the right side of my cheek is still there and hasn't gone down yet (it's only about 3 days old) and the cyst on my forehead is slowly flattening out. Red marks are still abundant.

[natural_path]

Hey Meb! Good for you for starting a diet log!

Just a word from personal experience and research--try cutting out grains and nuts from your diet too! These are common allergens that many people on this website say triggers cysts. Also, iodized salt (table salt) is a , according to most people on this site.
I apologize if this is stuff that you already know and I'm being redundant. To each their own path..

Looking forward to reading about your journey. Please include pics if you can for us readers in internet land.

Alright, so today's food, I think I did pretty good today.

Breakfast:
supplements
water
banana

Snack:
iced green tea
slice of zucchini loaf

Lunch:
progresso weight watcher's vegetable soup
apple
honey and oats granola bar
water

Snack:
raw trail mix (consists of sunflower seeds, raisins, almonds, dark chocolate, and some other nuts too I think, all unsalted)

Dinner:
white rice (will switch to brown next time I buy)
chicken breast
sauteed onions (will buy zucchini to add in)
pickle (I was still hungry and had pickles available, not sure how bad they are in relation to skin)
water

Skin status: nothing new today, thank goodness. The cyst on the right side of my cheek is still there and hasn't gone down yet (it's only about 3 days old) and the cyst on my forehead is slowly flattening out. Red marks are still abundant.

[Meb]

Hey Meb! Good for you for starting a diet log!

Just a word from personal experience and research--try cutting out grains and nuts from your diet too! These are common allergens that many people on this website say triggers cysts. Also, iodized salt (table salt) is a , according to most people on this site.
I apologize if this is stuff that you already know and I'm being redundant. To each their own path..

Looking forward to reading about your journey. Please include pics if you can for us readers in internet land.

Thanks for the encouragement! I don't really eat too much nuts and grains, nuts are in the raw trail mix I have but that's about it. I'll definitely keep that in mind though if there doesn't seem to be any improvement. Thanks for the salt tip, I forgot about that. I know a lot of people use sea salt. I'm planning on going to a Trader Joe's tomorrow for groceries so I'll grab some.

Onto today's food:

Breakfast:
banana
supplements
water

Snack:
iced green tea
slice of banana loaf (starbucks, probably not that healthy)

Another snack (I had a late lunch)
fat free mini pretzels (I read the ingredients and doesn't seem to be anything too bad in them)
apple

Lunch:
caved and had Chipotle, researched ahead of time though. I had a chicken burrito bowl with rice, black beans, chicken, tomatoe, and lettuce only

Dinner:
chicken breast
white rice
sauteed onion
prepared everything in EVOO and a little bit of soy sauce for flavor

I went to the gym after work today. It actually helps relieve my stress after work so I'll be curious to see if this has an effect as well. I wiped off my makeup before working out of course, don't want to risk sweating and making a huge mess on my face so I carry makeup wipes in my gym bag. The gym is the ONLY public place I will be seen without makeup!

I have one new spot today It's near the cyst on the rt side of my face, however it's pretty small and does not look like it will become a cyst. The one on my forehead is almost completely gone, not sure if it'll leave a mark or not. Speaking of marks, I HATE all my red marks! If it wasn't for them, even with the blemishes I do get, my skin would look clear. But no, it looks like a mess instead.

A friend of mine is an esthetician (sp?) and she gave me a sample of a product she's been using that she says cleared up the acne on her chest amazingly, so maybe it will help my face. It's Ole Henriksen's Invigorating Night Gel. I looked up the ingredients and it's basically AHA, which I thought was good because that's supposed to fade red marks. I applied some tonight after my cleanser and toner, so here's to crossing fingers for a miracle product. I just hope I don't break out worse!

[cookie_mistress]

Just thought I'd say hi and wish you luck, since we're both on the same journey.

I think we're the same, always craving that mid-morning sugar hit! My friends are always telling me off for eating my muesli or sesame bars (or cookies...I am the cookie mistress!). I'm on a kick to reduce my intake of processed foods in general, because after reading a few scary books I'm now more aware of eating ethically and thinking about what's in my food (was very disturbed to discover how much soy is in everything. I'm shocked at British food but it's way worse in the US! Plus you guys have high fructose corn syrup in most of your manufactured foods. Trust me, real sugar tastes waaaay better!).

I think if you ate a more substantial breakfast you wouldn't need the sugar mid-morning. Some cereal with your banana would be a good start. Experiment with non-dairy milk alternatives to accompany this. I don't like to have too much soy so I rotate between fortified soy, rice and oat milk. The rice milk is gorgeous but it's quite sweet, so I think oat is probably the healthiest. You will get used to the taste.

For your dinner, please, please add some colour to your plate! I'm not sure what's seasonal where you live, but how about stir-frying some broccoli or cauliflower, spinach, peppers (capsicum) and/or mushrooms with a little garlic and ginger? If you want some meal tips feel free to ask - I love to cook!

[chultzy]

I have an almost identical situation as you. I am a 23 yr old female with the same exact acne patterts. I am sure it is hormonal. I just wanted to let you know that I cut out milk in my diet and my skin has been 100% clear since I stopped drinking milk. I am not saying it will work for you, but it might be worth a try. I drink soy milk now and I have never been happier with my skin! No more red scars or cysts! How has your new diet been working? I wish you luck!

[manhands]

so I've been using Ole Henriksen's Night Invigorating Gel. Ole suffered with cystic acne and this is one of his products that he recommends. I have some cysts and this has either made it better or has had no effect sometimes. It will not make your skin worse, I recommend this product but I suggest not using every single night and using some bp in its place on occasions.