22 replies to this topic

[naturaldoctor]

Firstly I had roaccutane and it worked wonders temporarily. Still get spots if I don't stick to my method. I'm about 95% clear, mainly as im not being strict enough at the moment. This is what works for me and convinced it will work for others. Follow these steps and your skin should improve after a month. Can be hard work but worth it. Acne is a hormonal thing (even in adults) and the two things you can do to help balance your hormones. These are diet and stress. Also a good skin care routine is needed. You have some control here and you will see results.

Diet

Avoid refined carbohydrates (white bread, white pasta etc) and sugary foods and dairy. Cut down red meat to once a week if you can. Also cutting down on caffeine would help.
Good alternatives are:

Carbohydrates: rye bread, wholewheat pasta, wholemeal bread (2 slices a day), quinoa, granola bar, fruit, vegetables, sweet potatoes, brown rice, oats, oat cakes, good quality granola cereal or homemade, all-bran, new potatoes (occasionally), homemade popcorn (occasionally)

Sugar: honey (5ml a day max), mayple syrup, xylitol, fruit, dark chocolate, agave nectar

Dairy: almond milk, oat milk, rice milk, dairy free butter, dairy free ice cream now & then (made with coconut milk)

Caffeine: Green tea and dark chocolate (contain a lot less caffeine)

An easy way to do this is do go on a Low GL diet or Low Gi. But don't forget to remove dairy (if you must have dairy in your diet then a probiotic yogurt is best). You get plenty of calcium from broccoli and almonds and fortified dairy free milk.

Stress

This is a hard one as we all enjoy and get annoyed by different things. Try to de-stress daily.

You could search stress relief online. I like to exercise for this but you may be different.

Other idea are breathing exercise, meditation, relaxing music, writing down thoughts, yoga.

Skin care

Wash your hands first.

Wash (warm water as hot will aggravate your skin), I use this cleanser twice a day http://www.purelynat.../acne-cleanser/ . Moisturising once a day should be enough (with a non-condomogenic moisturiser, which means it will not clog your pores), I use "Avene Hydrance Optimale Light Hydrating Cream" unfortunately its not 100% natural but it works well and will not clog your pores. Can be found here http://www.boots.com...t-40ml_1110293/


I no longer need to moisturise , but if you do the one above is good for acne prone skin.

Deep cleanse once a week. Now changed to an acne mask http://www.purelynat...shop/acne-mask/

Secret weapon is wear make up (non-comedogenic). I do and nobody can notice (a male). Can give you more info on what to do and where to go if you like this option. It improves my skin in an instance about 50%. I use "Clarin Powder Compact", and spray distilled water over my skin after to set the make-up, which makes it less noticeable.

If you use any skin care products that you like and don't give you spots then stick with them.

Hope this helps and you haven't already tried some of the things.

Edited by naturaldoctor, 02 August 2012 - 06:34 AM.

[naturaldoctor]

Any body trying or had some success with this or similar?

[Peony7]

Hiya,

I am planning on following a similar diet. Not quite there yet as I am still eating foods I have in the house. I have reduced my sugar, dairy and caffeine. Soon I will be trialling no dairy. So far I have noticed a change in the oiliness of my skin and the acne isn't taking so long to heal.

[zazaszai]

Any body trying or had some success with this or similar?

Me! I changed my diet and lifestyle completely last year as my skin got worse by adult acne. I go for organic diet, drink a lot of plain water and exercise regularly. My skin heals after I change my diet and lifestyle. I do still have occasional zits coming out and red acne marks right now. I lose my weight too. Hehe! Sometime I did consume caffeine like black tea, soda and chocolate but, I will make sure I drink a lot of water after that to flush out the unwanted toxin.

Edited by zazaszai, 06 February 2012 - 09:56 PM.

[naturaldoctor]

Hiya,

I am planning on following a similar diet. Not quite there yet as I am still eating foods I have in the house. I have reduced my sugar, dairy and caffeine. Soon I will be trialling no dairy. So far I have noticed a change in the oiliness of my skin and the acne isn't taking so long to heal.

Nice one. Heard nothing but positive things from other people trying something similar.

What skin care products are you using as it is also important to get this right?

Would say treating is 50% diet/lifestyle and 50% skin care regime. Possibly leaning more towards diet and lifestyle.

Any body trying or had some success with this or similar?

Me! I changed my diet and lifestyle completely last year as my skin got worse by adult acne. I go for organic diet, drink a lot of plain water and exercise regularly. My skin heals after I change my diet and lifestyle. I do still have occasional zits coming out and red acne marks right now. I lose my weight too. Hehe! Sometime I did consume caffeine like black tea, soda and chocolate but, I will make sure I drink a lot of water after that to flush out the unwanted toxin.

Nice one. Yes I always get the odd spot to if I eat too much rubbish or stressed out a lot.

Just wondering do you have organic dairy products? Have heard before this may be okay but never tried myself. Was going to test myself but after re-testing this theory I felt like crap for a week as had the worst breakout in years.

[Peony7]

Nice one. Heard nothing but positive things from other people trying something similar.

What skin care products are you using as it is also important to get this right?

Would say treating is 50% diet/lifestyle and 50% skin care regime. Possibly leaning more towards diet and lifestyle.

I haven't got a specific skincare routine at the moment cos I have a lot of products I am trying to use up. I wash with plain warm water and a piece of muslin, sometimes I use Simple cleansing lotion with this, I am also using a Simple toner and a moisturiser from The Body Shop. I also use a scrub every now and then which helps. I probably won't stick with these, trying to find more natural substitutes.

[zazaszai]

Nice one. Yes I always get the odd spot to if I eat too much rubbish or stressed out a lot.

Just wondering do you have organic dairy products? Have heard before this may be okay but never tried myself. Was going to test myself but after re-testing this theory I felt like crap for a week as had the worst breakout in years.

I don't have organic dairy products at the moment. I barely consume dairy products too. Only low fat milk which I take it together with whole grain cereal and organic oatmeal. Organic milk quite costly at my place i'm living right now as it imported from my other hometown. Sometime I will buy it if budget permits. Hehe!

[aboutdamntime]

I also found that my diet has a huge impact on my skin. It seems that every time I drink ANY dairy, it is inevitable that the next day I develop those deep red cysts that don't come to the surface without a lot of work. However, lately I have aimed to completely cut out dairy and lowered my sugar intake and the results have been pretty good, but not perfect. I use a retin-a and bp combination and it seems to work really well, but even with the two, I still found that any small hiccups in my diet when I accidentally consumed dairy or too much sugar would result in bumps.

So, I decided to dig further, I believed that acne could be cured through internal methods and so I did some research and experimentation. I've tried pretty much every natural supplement you can imagine to see if they helped my acne - you name it: zinc, alpha lipoic acid, vitamin b5, fish oil, etc. None of them seemed to have any dramatic impact on my skin, except for the fish oil pills, which actually seemed to have a very negative effect on my skin - I would break out after every time I took them. So, when my friend mentioned that cod liver oil worked well for him I was a little bit skeptical, because it seemed from my experimenting that omega-3 oils seemed to cause break outs for me.

But, after working so hard to get near-perfect skin and then having it all blow up on me, literally, after one night of drinking and eating a very small amount of dairy, I decided to try it out of desperation. WOW! Right after taking it I didn't get any new bumps whatsoever and after 3-4 days I could feel/see an immediate difference in my skin. After a week, I had perfect skin, and I mean absolutely perfect. I couldn't believe how smooth and glowing my skin looked and felt. Now, I admit that the bp and retin-a has a huge impact on the speed at which my skin recovered from the small lesions, but nonetheless it was a dramatic improvement. Apparently, if you have bad skin it is very possible that you have a vitamin A and D deficiency and the most readily digestible form of these vitamins is contained in cod liver oil. Also, a deficiency of vitamin D leads to the retention of phosphorous in the kidneys and there is a relationship to proper kidney functioning and healthy skin.

I should also note that along with the cod liver oil, I started to take an apple cider vinegar supplement - in pill form. From what I've read about ACV it is also a very important factor in preventing acne from forming. If you read the acne.org reviews on ACV you can see that they are all mostly very positive. Now, I think a lot of people believe that it works topically, but I have not needed to try that method yet. I believe that the internal route works just as well as the topical version because the most important consideration to healthy skin is to maintain a low pH mantle on our skin. By ingesting the ACV it will give our blood this very important pH level which will in effect help to control the skin's pH levels as well. Without the proper acid mantle, the skin is open for all kinds of bacteria and infections - aka acne. If I do happen to ever break out again, I will without any hesitation consider using ACV as a topical in combination with my other products to ensure perfection.

So far, I've gone a very long time without any minor breakouts other than a few ingrown hairs from shaving and a blackhead or two. I am saving money on products because I now use less of the harsher topicals and overall my natural supplements are very inexpensive. You can purchase the ACV for very cheap - I think I spend $7 a month for 90 pills (3 a day). The cod liver oil is also relatively inexpensive ($20-30 bottle that lasts 3 months); however, it is very important to note that you can not skimp out on the quality of cod liver oil. If cod liver oil doesn't undertake the proper filtration processing you can have an impure product that is very high in mercury, which is toxic to the body. So, do some research and make sure you CLO is of the highest quality - I use Nordic Natural's CLO (orange flavored). Now I don't have to use as much BP or retin-A and my skin is starting to restore it's natural look and all the old red marks have completely disappeared.

I would have to say that if you have moderate acne that I would recommend getting on retin-A and using a very small amount. It really helps to restore your skins natural look, reduces fine-lines/wrinkles, and clears away red marks, but make sure that when summer comes you wear proper SPF. Hopefully, Dan will have released his SPF by then because I have never had a positive experience with any market SPF - but that's another story all together.

Seriously, if you're on Dan's regimen (or not) try out the CLO/ACV combination, it seems to be a godsend for me so far. Good Luck!



I have attached an interesting blog link about internal acne cures that I think sums up most of what I said. Although, not all of what is mentioned in the blog is completely necessary to healthy skin, I think I have nailed the key components.

http://www.angelfire...implescure.html

[naturaldoctor]

Sweet I take cod liiver oil to, used to take fish oil, didn't notice any difference between the two just cod liver oil was cheaper.

Could see how the vitamin A may help as accutane is a form of vitamin A.

Would still stick to a gentle skin care regime if you are treating acne from within. There is not point risking aggravation from harsh products like retina A and BP. They help for some people but tend to have lots of negative side effects.

[zazaszai]

I also found that my diet has a huge impact on my skin. It seems that every time I drink ANY dairy, it is inevitable that the next day I develop those deep red cysts that don't come to the surface without a lot of work. However, lately I have aimed to completely cut out dairy and lowered my sugar intake and the results have been pretty good, but not perfect. I use a retin-a and bp combination and it seems to work really well, but even with the two, I still found that any small hiccups in my diet when I accidentally consumed dairy or too much sugar would result in bumps.

So, I decided to dig further, I believed that acne could be cured through internal methods and so I did some research and experimentation. I've tried pretty much every natural supplement you can imagine to see if they helped my acne - you name it: zinc, alpha lipoic acid, vitamin b5, fish oil, etc. None of them seemed to have any dramatic impact on my skin, except for the fish oil pills, which actually seemed to have a very negative effect on my skin - I would break out after every time I took them. So, when my friend mentioned that cod liver oil worked well for him I was a little bit skeptical, because it seemed from my experimenting that omega-3 oils seemed to cause break outs for me.

But, after working so hard to get near-perfect skin and then having it all blow up on me, literally, after one night of drinking and eating a very small amount of dairy, I decided to try it out of desperation. WOW! Right after taking it I didn't get any new bumps whatsoever and after 3-4 days I could feel/see an immediate difference in my skin. After a week, I had perfect skin, and I mean absolutely perfect. I couldn't believe how smooth and glowing my skin looked and felt. Now, I admit that the bp and retin-a has a huge impact on the speed at which my skin recovered from the small lesions, but nonetheless it was a dramatic improvement. Apparently, if you have bad skin it is very possible that you have a vitamin A and D deficiency and the most readily digestible form of these vitamins is contained in cod liver oil. Also, a deficiency of vitamin D leads to the retention of phosphorous in the kidneys and there is a relationship to proper kidney functioning and healthy skin.

I should also note that along with the cod liver oil, I started to take an apple cider vinegar supplement - in pill form. From what I've read about ACV it is also a very important factor in preventing acne from forming. If you read the acne.org reviews on ACV you can see that they are all mostly very positive. Now, I think a lot of people believe that it works topically, but I have not needed to try that method yet. I believe that the internal route works just as well as the topical version because the most important consideration to healthy skin is to maintain a low pH mantle on our skin. By ingesting the ACV it will give our blood this very important pH level which will in effect help to control the skin's pH levels as well. Without the proper acid mantle, the skin is open for all kinds of bacteria and infections - aka acne. If I do happen to ever break out again, I will without any hesitation consider using ACV as a topical in combination with my other products to ensure perfection.

So far, I've gone a very long time without any minor breakouts other than a few ingrown hairs from shaving and a blackhead or two. I am saving money on products because I now use less of the harsher topicals and overall my natural supplements are very inexpensive. You can purchase the ACV for very cheap - I think I spend $7 a month for 90 pills (3 a day). The cod liver oil is also relatively inexpensive ($20-30 bottle that lasts 3 months); however, it is very important to note that you can not skimp out on the quality of cod liver oil. If cod liver oil doesn't undertake the proper filtration processing you can have an impure product that is very high in mercury, which is toxic to the body. So, do some research and make sure you CLO is of the highest quality - I use Nordic Natural's CLO (orange flavored). Now I don't have to use as much BP or retin-A and my skin is starting to restore it's natural look and all the old red marks have completely disappeared.

I would have to say that if you have moderate acne that I would recommend getting on retin-A and using a very small amount. It really helps to restore your skins natural look, reduces fine-lines/wrinkles, and clears away red marks, but make sure that when summer comes you wear proper SPF. Hopefully, Dan will have released his SPF by then because I have never had a positive experience with any market SPF - but that's another story all together.

Seriously, if you're on Dan's regimen (or not) try out the CLO/ACV combination, it seems to be a godsend for me so far. Good Luck!



I have attached an interesting blog link about internal acne cures that I think sums up most of what I said. Although, not all of what is mentioned in the blog is completely necessary to healthy skin, I think I have nailed the key components.

http://www.angelfire...implescure.html

there is ACV in pill form? i didn't know about that. I'm taking ACV orally and topically too. Every morning I drink diluted ACV and at night I use ACV diluted with Green Tea and 3 drops of tea tree oil as my toner. Hehe!

[buckeye8084]

ACV in pill form does not have the active nutrients that liquid does.

[naturaldoctor]

I haven't got a specific skincare routine at the moment cos I have a lot of products I am trying to use up. I wash with plain warm water and a piece of muslin, sometimes I use Simple cleansing lotion with this, I am also using a Simple toner and a moisturiser from The Body Shop. I also use a scrub every now and then which helps. I probably won't stick with these, trying to find more natural substitutes.

That moisturiser sounds like it could be blocking your pores. Hard to find something natural and non-comedogenic. Best ever used is Avene Hydrance Optimale Light Cream, which is non-comedogenic.

I am currently not moisturising and just using the cleanser http://www.purelynat.../acne-cleanser/
It is gentle and 100% natural, skin deffo likes it. Seems to reduce redness.

Edited by naturaldoctor, 15 May 2012 - 08:47 AM.

[AuguriesofInnocence]

I am trying to cut out almost all dairy sugar and gluten. I also am increasin my fiber and fruits and vegetables.
I have seen correspndences between sugar and diary, especially pizza.I avoid it like the plague lol. I try to eat cold water fish and organic meats/chicken when I eat them I rarely eat red meat. Id like to take the acv, how do you take it in water or plain? Ive been avoiding it as I hate the taste but if it helps acne Ill do it.

I am not doing perfect but getting there. I am also taking zinc, vitamin d, panthenol, l-cartenine and spirulina.
Any further advice? I use a gentle wasn and bp only at night I may ask my derm for Cleocin T though I hear it works well.

[sherrinblue]

Diet and lifestyle choices are a major contributor to acne. I'm glad you had found a way to beat acne

[wagmorebarkless]

I'm 32. Had acne since 15. Tried everything under the sun (Murad, Proactive, Neutrogena, tea tree oil, peels, electric scrubbers, yada, yada). I finally resigned myself to just dealing with it and figured it was a hormonal issue....and then I finally found something that worked (and shockingly it's cheap). It took about a month to stop all breakouts and another month to heal previous scars.

Most of these items can be found at the dollar store. Buy:

One pair of exfoliating gloves (the stretchy kind you use in the shower) - $1
One bottle of antibacterial hand soap - $1
One tube of salicylic acid acne treatment - $5
One tube of benzoil peroxide (2.5%) acne treatment - $3
One bottle of Biotin (1000 mg) tablets - $3

Twice a week: Exfoliate your face in the shower (really well) with the antibacterial soap. Scrub until your skin feels super smooth.
Morning and Night: Wash face with antibacterial soap, alternate between applications of the acne treatment creams
Daily: Take a Biotin tablet at bedtime (I also take a Melatonin so I sleep well - it helps!)

That's it. No kidding. No diet modifications. No expensive drugs. It also helped when I reduce hair products, bleach my sheets weekly, and got a little extra sun.
After my skin cleared up I was able to start using a daily moisturizer like (Oil of Olay). Ongoing prevention runs about $5 a month.

Hope it helps!!!

[naturaldoctor]

I am trying to cut out almost all dairy sugar and gluten. I also am increasin my fiber and fruits and vegetables.
I have seen correspndences between sugar and diary, especially pizza.I avoid it like the plague lol. I try to eat cold water fish and organic meats/chicken when I eat them I rarely eat red meat. Id like to take the acv, how do you take it in water or plain? Ive been avoiding it as I hate the taste but if it helps acne Ill do it.

I am not doing perfect but getting there. I am also taking zinc, vitamin d, panthenol, l-cartenine and spirulina.
Any further advice? I use a gentle wasn and bp only at night I may ask my derm for Cleocin T though I hear it works well.

Good to hear. Personally believe if you are treating from within like yourself you should avoid a lot of skin care products out there, as they can aggravate things and take away all the hardwork you put in. All I use is this cleanser once a day http://www.purelynat.../acne-cleanser/, I find I don't even need to moisturise.

This is ideal as moisturising is one product that can really cause problems for people with acne as it sits on your face all day and most will block your pores. Having a very simple skin care regime has really helped, it takes away a lot of the redness.

The great thing about treating from within is you will be a healthier person and generally feel better about yourself.

Godd luck.

[Tashanna]

I had cystic and nodular acne for 17 years. Very oily skin. Acne runs on both sides of the family. One day I went to the dermatologist. She prescribed me BenzaClin, it's benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin, a topical antibiotic. I just put a little on after I wash my face with Cetaphil, then follow up with moisturizer. I instantly stopped breaking out and now get a tiny one every month or so. I don't think my results are typical but seriously give it a try. I logged on today just to share this in the hopes that it might help someone else.

[sepsi]

Congratulations on getting clear! I beat my acne with similar things. Here's (more or less) what I do to remain clear:

- Moderately reduce carbohydrate intake. I aim for 50/30/20 (carbs/fat/protein) and focus on complex carbs. I do eat some sugar and sweets occasionally, but not too often
- Eat homemade yogurt daily
- Use Exposed Skincare, this is what finally finished the redmarks I couldn't get rid off with diet and lifestyle
- Low stress life, lol
- Try to sleep enough

I do agree that dairy should be eliminated, or cut to minimum. But I would make an exception to homemade yogurt or kefir. Simply because gut issues are linked to skin problems (source), and you need those probiotics to heal the skin. Yogurt also has a lot less IGF-1 than milk, as most of it is consumed during the fermentation process.

If you can't have even homemade yogurt, then you could try making yogurt out of soy milk. That should do the trick also.

Edit. Forgot to mention that sodium lauryl sulfate in shampoo was a major cause of my scalp acne. Switching to SLS-free shampoo reduced my scalp acne like 80%. SLS is also a known skin irritant.

Edited by sepsi, 05 June 2012 - 05:03 AM.

[ramblinrose]

very simple post to follow, naturaldoctor, thank u! i am working on developing a healthy diet, but i just dont know if i can give up all dairy, lol! i love kefir & greek yogurt and cheese. i can cut back on cheese, but refuse to give up the other probiotic sources! you have excited me about eating better, i firmly believe that is half the solution right there for me.

[naturaldoctor]

Congratulations on getting clear! I beat my acne with similar things. Here's (more or less) what I do to remain clear:

- Moderately reduce carbohydrate intake. I aim for 50/30/20 (carbs/fat/protein) and focus on complex carbs. I do eat some sugar and sweets occasionally, but not too often
- Eat homemade yogurt daily
- Use Exposed Skincare, this is what finally finished the redmarks I couldn't get rid off with diet and lifestyle
- Low stress life, lol
- Try to sleep enough

I do agree that dairy should be eliminated, or cut to minimum. But I would make an exception to homemade yogurt or kefir. Simply because gut issues are linked to skin problems (source), and you need those probiotics to heal the skin. Yogurt also has a lot less IGF-1 than milk, as most of it is consumed during the fermentation process.

If you can't have even homemade yogurt, then you could try making yogurt out of soy milk. That should do the trick also.

Edit. Forgot to mention that sodium lauryl sulfate in shampoo was a major cause of my scalp acne. Switching to SLS-free shampoo reduced my scalp acne like 80%. SLS is also a known skin irritant.

Agree with you 100%. I have experimented taking a pro biotice yogurt daily but it broke me out a little bit. Guess we are all different. But our general concepts are similar. Good to hear. It's hard work but well worth it. In the long run it gets easier.

very simple post to follow, naturaldoctor, thank u! i am working on developing a healthy diet, but i just dont know if i can give up all dairy, lol! i love kefir & greek yogurt and cheese. i can cut back on cheese, but refuse to give up the other probiotic sources! you have excited me about eating better, i firmly believe that is half the solution right there for me.

Nice one. Personally would say cut out all dairy initially for one month. It will be worth it honest. Then slowly try to introduce a bit of dairy back in to see how much you can tolerate. Sure you will see a lot of success if you have the will power.

Also be sure to have a simple gentle skin care regime as it can destroy your hard work. All I use now is the Acne Cleanser once a day http://www.purelynat.../acne-cleanser/ . No moisturiser. If you do moisturiser be careful as they often cause a lot of problems sitting on your face all day.