271 replies to this topic

[tim12]

There's been a definite reduction in my acne every day since using essential oils, this is pretty awesome! Of course, I need to address the clogged pores, and so I've been using the mychelle clear skin serum and fruit enzyme spray 2x a day. I'm going to use the 8% SA serum at night, and I'm considering trying it 4 days in a row, which would give me two days for my skin to recover before school. I'll be playing it by ear, depending on how my skin reacts.

Since this is the diet and holistic section, I'll be more informative about what I've been doing in that area. I started using romaine lettuce and broccoli in my green smoothies, I honestly like the taste. Organic blueberries were on sale by some miracle, so I've been using those and raspberries as well, though I still think strawberries are the way to go in terms of flavor and affordability. Still, it's nice to change things up though! No oatmeal either lately, I do miss the smoothies, so I'll probably look into whey protein.

Also, found some great local organic groceries, so I'll be picking up things like fresh peanut butter, beef, seafood, chicken, and good things that are on sale.

[wicky]

hey tim, had a couple of questions for you...I see you got the mychelles serum. When I was using it, I would put it on my chin area clogs but found it didnt help bring them out or prevent the pores that were already clear from filling up. Are you planning on putting it all over again? Also what fruit enzymes are you using? Are they from GOW?

[tim12]

I'm using the mychelle fruit enzyme mist, and I do plan on using the serum all over! It took some time, but looking at my pictures, it does look like this combo worked for me. At the time I was also taking evening primrose oil, so I'll start taking that again as well, how was your experience with it? The idea is trying to create thinner sebum, though I need to do more reading on this.

So I used the 8% SA serum/peel, there's a definite difference from the 15%, much less burning/tingling. I had my first blackhead that was expelled by itself today, possibly from the mychelle serum. I believe that things will be good by tuesday! Taking the curcumin at night seems to really help with the inflammation, I haven't gotten any new spots since taking it about 3 days ago, and the spots reduce quite a bit each day.

[wicky]

wow you actually had a blackhead expell itself, impressive. Ive never had this happen. I went for a dermasweep treatment last night and was not happy with the results. My skin was smoother but the 9 clogs that have been plaguing me for the last few weeks did not rise or come out at all. Ive tried the mandelic but they still wont budge and I seem to get more each day. I just dont know what to put on them...drying lotions like tto, tazorac, mandelic or moistuize them?

What do you think expelled that blackhead? I know I need more moisture and I have had issues with fish, flax and evening primerose oil giving me welt like bumps. I keep a journal so i log everything I ingest and I havent taken any other supplements besides my spironolactone in two weeks and no bumps..Just these dam clogs that never come out only multiply. I used to be able to extract them but now they dont come out. They only seem to retreat in.

I really think I might try the EPO because two yrs ago I was taking a combo supplement of EPO and Flax I think and I remember thinking how my pores were clear and moistuized...hmmm

[tim12]

Hey Wicky!

I think it's been a combination of the sea buckthorn oil+essential oils topically, and internally I've been taking evening primrose oil (barlean's is the brand that I use, they say it's organic, but there's no fda certification? Still, not sketchy ingredients), and also the mychelle serum. I've also been taking 3 tbsn of coconut oil daily for about a week, and that's supposed to help with sebum quality as well, making it less p-acne friendly. A lot of people feel that it moisturizes the skin from within, but I can't say that since I use topicals as well.

[tim12]

Kinda went nuts with my goat milk kefir today and chugged the whole thing. In my mind, I was like

LOL I AM DRINKING MILK FOR FIRST TIME IN MANY CENTURY

Anyhoot, my skin is still getting better despite me getting drunk with dairy. I was pretty much in heaven when I went to a food co-op store, it was actually cheaper to buy their organic food than it is at safeway, so I'll be going there often. Also, a lot of my blackheads were extractable yesterday, I'm a lot happier with my skin's texture. Hopefully I can add oatmeal back in one day, perhaps I could try fermented oatmeal with some fruits? Also going to start sprouting my chia seeds, we'll see how that goes!

[tim12]

So the small cluster of pimples on both of my cheeks are almost completely gone now, and I have some bigger healing spots on my forehead. The purge from the peel is starting to heal as well, thank you 8% SA! I really do want to work oatmeal back into my diet since it'd be a great source of energy for school, so I'll ferment some after I finish this post, I'll use the organic blueberry yogurt I bought from the health food store a couple days ago. I can't wait to go back to that place, it was like heaven

The combination of essential oils and tamanu/sea buckthorn oil seem to really benefit my skin, reducing actives, improving texture, moisturizing, treating PIH/PIE, and possibly helping with blackheads. I wonder if I'll be able to just use the 8% peels in the future instead of the mychelle serum, though that's about 2-3 months down the line when it'll run out. I'd like to cut the whole mychelle line out of my regimen since it's the most costly, and hopefully my raging teen hormones calm down by that time, as my diet will have had a more profound effect on my body by then.

Well, off to start my day! It's my first day as a sophomore tomorrow, I hope I get to see some of my friends from high school on campus!

[tim12]

Hey Log, tis been a while!

So it's been 2-3 weeks of using 8% SA, most of my superficial blackheads have gone, yay! I have some stubborn ones here and there, but I think they'll work out in time. Texture has improved immensely. I noticed that the small cluster of acne that I do have is on the left side of my face. I'm thinking this isn't coincidental with the fact that I sleep on my left side, and I've been working on sleeping on my back the past couple of days. This is definitely going to take some getting used too.

I've been supplementing with astaxanthin in the morning, as well as adding Hawaiian Spirulina powder to my green smoothies. The flavor is easily covered by bananas. I have a good amount of energy all day, and feel ready for bed at the end of the day, awesome! I'm looking more into the differences in Spirulina strains, I'm curious about the enzymes specifically. POSSIBLE TMI - I noticed my stools aren't as green anymore, even though I've been taking more chlorella, spirulina, and consuming more chlorophyll rich foods in general. Is my body digesting/metabolizing it better now?

Oh, and I tried to experiment with cow milk kefir at the store since it was cheaper, big mistake. Haven't had a cyst in a while, and I had a bunch of small under the surface feeling nodules, painful buggers. They should be on their way soon though. I'm going to submit a request for raw goat milk at my co op, perhaps attach some facts as to why it'd be a good item for customers. If they carry raw cow's milk, I would hope they'd be open to the idea. I want to slowly introduce raw goat milk kefir into my system, and if I can't, I suppose I'll go with coconut water kefir.

[dreamer7]

Tim12, I haven't read this whole topic, so I'm not sure if you have already or not, but have you considered seeing a naturopath? I started reading this topic and it seems like you're trying to treat every possible cause of acne, which is smart, but it would probably be pretty helpful to figure out which one for you, is actually relevant. I'm sort of in the same boat as you, gender/age/acne wise, and although I haven't seen a naturopath yet, I'm considering it, because they are able to find out what sort of problems are going on within your body, such as allergies, deficiencies, digestive problems etc. I'm supplementing my diet at the moment and I suppose those supplements are going to be of any help if I'm not actually in need/deficient of those.

Is there anything you feel has helped you the most, ever? It would just be interesting to know, as I haven't yet come across something that has helped for me. Seeing as we're in similar situations, your advice might help. Thanks man

[tim12]

Wowzer, neglected this log for a while.

Hey Dreamer, I have considered it, except for the price If I can find a well reviewed one around here that isn't too expensive, I'd consider it! I'm getting different blood tests done at the docs place since it's covered by insurance, going to check for systemic inflammation and stuff. You're right though, it would be nice to get some definite answers, I'm just wondering if the naturopath can really provide them, ya know?

The thing that's helped me the most in terms of skin care was probably acnescript. Since I've stopped using it, my clogged pores kind of came back with a vengeance, but so long as I eat right and stuff, I just deal with mostly clogged pores and a few pimples. If I stray off my diet, then those clogged pores become inflamed.

So, I need to fix up my log. My skin isn't horrible, but since cutting out the majority of my skin specific supplements (acnescript mainly), there are things I'd like to improve. I've recently discovered that strawberries and possibly other foods seem to give me temple pimples/cysts, those are never fun. I've also been using a juicer, and that's been helping a ton. After doing more research, I've decided to add in a hyaluronic acid supplement along with a glucosamine chondratoin supplement. I've also been using the raw egg yolk as a sort of dressing for scrambled eggs, so I'm getting a bunch of lecithin in my diet too. I reskimmed Dr.Murad's The Water Secret, and it rekindled my passion (lol) for cellular health. I've stopped seeing a chiropractor, since it seemed to only make things worse, but those combination of things have helped tremendously with my back pain.

Also, I'm going to focus on eliminating cultural stress, or at least minimizing it! This was another pillar of health that Murad talks about that I've somewhat neglected since reading that book a year and some ago, I can't believe it's been that long since I started this journey to better health! I'm not really stressed by any means, but there are times where I have my walls built up, and I feel kind of isolated. So I'll be going out more, and pursuing happiness.

I'll see you later log!

[dreamer7]

tim12, on 08 November 2011 - 08:36 AM, said:

Wowzer, neglected this log for a while.

Hey Dreamer, I have considered it, except for the price If I can find a well reviewed one around here that isn't too expensive, I'd consider it! I'm getting different blood tests done at the docs place since it's covered by insurance, going to check for systemic inflammation and stuff. You're right though, it would be nice to get some definite answers, I'm just wondering if the naturopath can really provide them, ya know?

The thing that's helped me the most in terms of skin care was probably acnescript. Since I've stopped using it, my clogged pores kind of came back with a vengeance, but so long as I eat right and stuff, I just deal with mostly clogged pores and a few pimples. If I stray off my diet, then those clogged pores become inflamed.

So, I need to fix up my log. My skin isn't horrible, but since cutting out the majority of my skin specific supplements (acnescript mainly), there are things I'd like to improve. I've recently discovered that strawberries and possibly other foods seem to give me temple pimples/cysts, those are never fun. I've also been using a juicer, and that's been helping a ton. After doing more research, I've decided to add in a hyaluronic acid supplement along with a glucosamine chondratoin supplement. I've also been using the raw egg yolk as a sort of dressing for scrambled eggs, so I'm getting a bunch of lecithin in my diet too. I reskimmed Dr.Murad's The Water Secret, and it rekindled my passion (lol) for cellular health. I've stopped seeing a chiropractor, since it seemed to only make things worse, but those combination of things have helped tremendously with my back pain.

Also, I'm going to focus on eliminating cultural stress, or at least minimizing it! This was another pillar of health that Murad talks about that I've somewhat neglected since reading that book a year and some ago, I can't believe it's been that long since I started this journey to better health! I'm not really stressed by any means, but there are times where I have my walls built up, and I feel kind of isolated. So I'll be going out more, and pursuing happiness.

I'll see you later log!

Thanks for replying. I've noticed the tiniest difference from changing my diet, which is still better than everything else I've tried. I've never heard of acnescript before, so I just looked it up and it looks interesting. I have a naturopath appointment in a week, so I'll let you know how I find it. I'm not sure how helpful the answers would be either, but it will interesting to see. If nothing comes from it, I wouldn't mind trying acnescript. If acne script was working for you, why did you stop? Cost?

It seems like things are on the up for you, keep going

[Hopeful*]

How do you afford it all =/ I think I have like 3 supplements and they're like $36-$50 for one. How do you buy so many? I wish I could. lol.

tim12, on 19 August 2011 - 06:54 PM, said:

Hey Wicky!

I think it's been a combination of the sea buckthorn oil+essential oils topically, and internally I've been taking evening primrose oil (barlean's is the brand that I use, they say it's organic, but there's no fda certification? Still, not sketchy ingredients), and also the mychelle serum. I've also been taking 3 tbsn of coconut oil daily for about a week, and that's supposed to help with sebum quality as well, making it less p-acne friendly. A lot of people feel that it moisturizes the skin from within, but I can't say that since I use topicals as well.

What brand of Sea buckthorn oil are you using and how much does it cost? I have been wondering if I should try it on my skin.

Oh. And I just read through some of the beginning of your log. You mentioned Manuka honey.. Does that work well because I was also wondering about using that?