56 replies to this topic

[pif1c]

I definitely believe it's genetic. I've been on very strict vegetable and fruit based diets before during really bad periods of breakouts and nothing happened, sometimes I got even worse. Meanwhile at good periods I've eaten the worst crap you can ever imagine, and nothing happened, my skin glowed. Boy I miss those times. People actually complimented me, (ME! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? ME??? MISS CYSTIC ACNE ALL OVER) on how great and flawless my skin was.

For me I think it's a combination of hormones and genetics. My mother had horrible facial acne in her 20's - 30's and my dad had horrible facial acne all throughout his teens and horrible body acne even now in his 40's. My mom still breaks out sometimes in her 40's too. Both also have larger pores.

As for me? Horrible facial and body acne since I was 10, brief intermission from 17-19 and now it's back again, though arguably not as bad as it used to be. Genetically, I'm just prone to acne. Hormonally, it sure as hell isn't helping.

Is it bad to slightly resent your parents for knowing that they KNEW they had such awful skin and STILL reproducing, thereby giving their offspring (aka you) bad, painful skin as well?

[EnlightenMe]

Nobody in my family history had a problem with acne, not my mom, not my dad or brother. They don't recall any of their parents having acne either. What the hell?

[minocyqueen]

I'm convinced that my acne is genetic.

Both parents had facial acne. My mother still had it when she was my age, 36, and in a similar pattern: mostly clear but with occasional, angry cysts. I am female, btw.

My father had pretty bad bacne. I'm still battling my bacne. It is highly resistant to treatment.

I eat a strict vegan diet, exercise, drink plenty of water, and rarely drink alcohol, so it cannot be attributed to something I'm doing to my body. I think that for me it's genetic destiny, and the best I can do it try to control it with meds until my body finally decides that it's time to stop breaking out. What is that magic age for me, I wonder? I'd like to enjoy a few years of clear-skinned adulthood before the wrinkles set in (already got some grey hairs, ugh).

[splifffs]

i dont know if it is genetics but back in my country, thailand, acne was non-existence, neither my father nor mother ever had acne, but as we moved to america my sister and i developed acne in our teens? what the hell is going on? is it the food? or the harsh chemicals we are putting on our face?

[waitinontheworldtochange]

my older sister has severe acne that she has had since she was 11 and now she is 21 i, however, only get a few pimples here and there. i feel so bad that she constantly has to compare herself to me. Its something neither of us can control, i just somehow got lucky and i think she resents me for that. My parents both had very mild acne, so im not sure where hers came from, its possible that my parents both had recessive genes for severe acne which is why she got it and i didnt...not sure though

[joris]

I think acne is 99% genetic , the other 1% is bad scin care. I dont know if its a dominant gene or not. And why some parents dont have acne, you can have half of the gene so can your soulmate. When they get a child there is a chance 25% that he will get it...

Btw i dont beleave theres a gene that gives you acne. I beleave that theres a gene (a lot of them) that gives you a more sensitve gut and more sensitiveness to candida overgrowth. A bad diet stress and hormones can support this. And cause you to have candida overgrowth and leaky gut. This causes acne. (i have no prove this are my assumptions.)

Hormones and stress arent enough in most cases. Its the western diet. Thats also why so many are getting adult acne nowadays. The diet worsenet. Maybe not in all aspects. But in the most inportant one it did. Sugar=Candida overgrowth=acne

I mean dont you notice an increase in acne after cristmas? 1day after eating a lot of sugar (loods of icecream, chocolat bars etc...) i notice a lot of small pimples showing up. Then 2days later the bigger zits/cysts show up. Then 2days later the huge cysts/weird spot acne shows up. (with me then...)

The increase in acne also could be that it might be dominent genes, hope not...

Edited by joris, 01 January 2010 - 05:19 PM.

[tv_viewer]

My dad had VERY severe acne that was cured by Accutane. Luckily, my acne is not as bad as his. Some of my male cousins have pretty bad acne but I'm the only girl with atleast moderate acne in both sides of my family. My mum has had near perfect skin all her life.

[petral]

My mum had acne until her thirties while my dad didn't have any problems with acne. My older brother took after my dad (in both the looks and skin department) and didn't have any acne problems while my younger brother and I inherited my mum's acne-prone skin (and looks).

I think that genetics plays a part and may make you more likely to get acne but it does not mean that you are guaranteed to get acne. If you have "acne genes" but live healthily, you can have good skin. However, if you don't have "acne genes" but eat badly, then you can end up with skin problems.

The reason I say this is because my older brother and I grew up in the same environment and ate the same foods yet I got acne and he didn't. So genetics played a part there in that my threshold for getting acne was lower than my older brother's. (In particular, I probably inherited my mum's weak liver.)

However, when I changed to a healthier lifestyle and healthier eating habits around 25 years old, my acne started clearing up. My younger brother, on the other hand, didn't change his habits and he still has acne even though he is now in his late twenties.

So I suppose what I am saying is "you may have your dad's genes but you don't necessarily have to follow your dad's pattern if you look after yourself well and adopt healthy habits".

[Vicious Lyss]

My uncle had severe acne and he has scars now. He's in his fourties now I think. Both my dad and mom had nice face skin, but my dad had/has bacne so I guess that's where it comes from.

[Kenny89]

Nobody in my family history had a problem with acne, not my mom, not my dad or brother. They don't recall any of their parents having acne either. What the hell?

Same ere mate, it can be genetic for some people, not for all.

[Vampireninja09]

^ Yeah I agree with the last two comments above. My mom didn't/doesn't have acne, neither did my dad. My sister doesn't have it, and my brother doesn't either. So right now....it's just me.

[41inchvert]

both my parents said theyve had less than 10 pimples in there life! WTF

[Mr President]

both my parents said theyve had less than 10 pimples in there life! WTF

my mum had acne and my dad has sensitive skin. i think the combination of both has made me suseptable to both acne and scarring

[Q_P]

My dad had severe acne and has some fairly deep pock marks left over 25 years later to prove it, though I never noticed them until I started scarring. My brother has typical teenage mild/moderate acne that is fairly under control with OTC topicals. I have had acne for 12 years, with it turning moderate and starting to scar in the past 2. Every pimple on my face leaves a mild or moderate scar now despite topical treatments and a very healthy diet and supplements. I'm hoping that I'll grow out of it since I'm only 22 and my dad didn't grow out of his until he was 25, but there's the gender difference to take into account.

[Chocobot]

No one in my family has had acne. I'm the only one.

[crashoran]

I don't believe genetics is the main cause of acne for most people, because if you look at groups of people who eat a healthy non-Western diet that is made up of unhealthy fast foods, milk products, sodas, etc. acne is almost non-existent.

For example...

From the Archives of Dermatology, December 2002 (Volume 138, Number 12) researchers found that:

"Acne vulgaris is virtually nonexistent in 2 nonwesternized populations: the Kitavan Islanders of Papua New Guinea and the Ache hunter-gatherers of Paraguay. Of 1200 Kitavan subjects (including 300 aged 15-25 years) and 115 Ache subjects (including 15 aged 15-25 years), no active cases of acne were observed over an 843-day period. Both Kitavans and Ache hunter-gatherers have in common a relative lack of Western influence, subsisting on low-fat and low-glycemic-load diets (eg, fruit, vegetables, fish, wild game)."

You see in this group of people, even these young teenagers from age 15 didn't have a single case of acne. Now isn't this the time period where most people in the Western world are supposed to get acne?

Okay this describes how their diet is healthy, but it doesn't explain genetic's influence on acne.
So let's observe other ethnicities from around the world who incorporated Western foods into their diet.

Here's a comment from the same study:

"Inuit Eskimo population was devoid of acne when following traditional living and eating habits, but developed acne prevalence comparable to Western societies when adapting to a Western lifestyle. Others have observed a similar transition in nonwesternized societies such as the Peruvian Indians and Bantu of South Africa."

You see, we could've explained that the Inuit Eskimos did not have acne because of their "clear skin genetics" and they were completely devoid of acne at one point in time. But after incorporating Western foods, acne appeared. Same goes for the Peruvian Indians, Bantu of South Africa, and even the Japanese (not included in this particular study)

That's why I think genetics and acne is way over-rated and greatly exaggerated. My dad has serious acne when he was a teenager and even sprouts a few pimples no and then in his late 50's. I had moderate acne also...but when I kept a strict diet, following supplementation my acne almost completely disappeared.

I don't even use any more of those useless benzoyl peroxide/salicylic acid washes anymore and never take antibiotics or drugs because acne always reappears no matter what when I use these treatments. BUT now that I eat a low GI, healthy diet along with supplementation, I almost always have clear skin.

Oh and if you want to look at that study, here's the link (you gotta sign up though):

The study in detail...

 

I tried the diet thing and it made zero difference. Take a look at the fatty eating 3 big macs next time you walk by a McDonalds, and look at his crystal clear skin.