15 replies to this topic

[remyhelps123]

Hello everybody. This is my first post here, because I felt that I should finally share a regimen that has been working very well for me. It's a combination of different strategies, not just a "wear a zip-loc baggy while sleeping and acne is cured" sort of thing.

I started getting acne at age 15. I'm 21 now and only within these past few months have I found my own true defensive way of keeping it at bay, since it's not really "curable" and only "treatable" after all. The acne at age 15 was slight, but it got cystic around age 18 thanks to overloading on soy and whey protein in the midst of my "muscle-gain-extravaganza" (I'm a guy by the way). While I was trying to get "buff" I also managed to get the worst acne I'd ever had, so I took accutane for a few months (not the full course) but ended up stopping it prematurely because of all the side effects (bones feeling weak, hairloss, chapped lips, nosebleeds constantly, etc..). Since then I still have had acne, just not cystic any longer, mainly an amount ranging from slight to moderate in severity.. I tried everything after accutane in the hopes I could find a new miracle cure that WASN'T a chemotherapy drug. And some people say "oh I've tried everything" but I really did try everything. Stopping sugar intake, going vegan for months, cutting out meat, acupuncture, putting urine on my face.. the list goes on and on..

In 2011 I realized that my diet DID impact my face. Now that might not be the case for everyone, but I tested it with certain foods (as well as the vegan lifestyle) and found many interesting reactions after several different attempts (to make sure it truly was the foods and wasn't just my acne flaring up for other reasons). Alocholic beverages, milk products, anything with soy, sugary processed junk.. So many things that I liked that were definitely making my acne stick around..

So I devised a plan that combined everything I'd learned (the hard way) into one fool-proof lifestyle... Here is my regimen, and call it crazy if you'd like, but it has cleared me up in a RADICAL way that I never thought possible:

Morning: Wash face with water and salycic acid, then apply oil-free moisturizer.
Night: Wash face with water and apply benzoyl peroxide 5%, then apply oil-free moisturizer.

Diet: Cup of carrots x2 daily, salmon/fish for lunch, raisins, rice (even rice krispies works), as much water as possible, chili with tortilla corn chips. This is what I eat every day.

Pills: Vitamin D3. Zinc.

Hormonal Strategy: I used to partake in sexual activities in one way or another every day, now I just limit that to twice a week.

Why I believe my strategy works: The diet is a little strange, but it works nicely. The carrots are HUGELY effective because they contain natural (and high) amounts of vitamin A. The salmon contains Omega-3 and Vitamin D. The raisins (though often high in sugar) are very nutritious and there are several posts on acne.org that discuss how helpful they can be against acne. Rice (via steamed rice or rice krispies) is something light in sugar and also free of wheat substances, which have been shown to cause breakouts because of the gluten content. Water (no pop or alcohol) is a given, and is great at flushing out the toxins within the body. Chili with tortilla chips is probably the unhealthy part of my day, but I'm a guy and I don't want to be a stick, plus the fact that I always use tortilla chips made with corn and not with any added flavoring probably helps a little as well. The hormonal strategy is usually what is the most difficult, but often the most important. I've done tests to see if sexual activities increased acne and sure enough, it did for me in major ways. Limiting it to only a few times a week is difficult, but has done wonders for keeping my face clear.. Basically because sexual interactions get the hormones out of control, which results in your face showcasing some nice pimples as a result. Not just sexual interactions with other people either, I'm talking about self-oriented interaction as well for those of you guys wondering.

This may sound ridiculous and stupid, but I've seen crazy results. You don't have to try this step-by-step if you don't want to, but I really think that just trying one aspect of it may help you. Adding Zinc to your regimen. Cutting out dairy products. Eating carrots twice a day. Just hoping that people will take away something from this that could prove to be helpful for them, because I know that this way of life has helped keep my acne away.

[str4ngebunnies]

Awe I can't even have a cup of wine? haha
In what form do you take the Vitamin D3/Zinc? I take Vitamin E i guess its helped me, its made my body skin and hair silkier but my face still has scarring and what not ugh

[remyhelps123]

You don't have to follow everything to a "T" if you don't want to.. but I know for a fact that alcohol is a huge trigger for me. One night of drinking and I'll have problems on my face by the time I wake up the next morning. Although I've never been big on wine, which might be alright in small amounts.. Red wine especially..

I take vitamin D3 in 5,000 IU capsules and Zinc in 50mg pills. The D3 seems like a lot to take but apparently it's nearly impossible to get side effects from taking too much of it.

And for scarring you may want to try dermarolling.. I've been using one for a few months now and although the progress is slow at first, it eventually does an amazing job making skin look great again. I know it works because when I took the leap and dermarolled two different times on some scars in early 2011.. by the end of 2011 the scars were virtually gone. It can take months to show results but it definitely works, the only real "challenge" with it is making sure it's very clean before every use.. and I suppose accepting the fact that you're shoving hundreds of needles into your face on purpose might be too weird for some people ha.

[Bzie]

Hey thanks for the post!
Ive been reading about foods alot too... I have eliminated most of the 'trigger foods' with occasional coffee and cheese during the week. The acne is still there maybe a little less severe. Bought some Zinc today. Hoping it helps. Will get some vitamin D3!. Did not know about the carrots. I just ditched the veggie diet and decided to do more of a Paleo diet. Hoping all this detoxing gives some relief! Always thought sexual activity helps clear face?. But I will try cutting back on that as well. Thx!

[remyhelps123]

Hey you're welcome! The biggest things that have helped overall in my opinion are the carrots. Plus as an added bonus, the beta carotene in the carrots helps prevent burns if you want to get some sun. It's like internal sun tan lotion, as well as a major acne-fighter.

[Bzie]

Cool!! Eating carrots like its my job. lol

[arqa22]

another proof that acne is diet related.

good post.

[clambak3]

You don't have to follow everything to a "T" if you don't want to.. but I know for a fact that alcohol is a huge trigger for me. One night of drinking and I'll have problems on my face by the time I wake up the next morning. Although I've never been big on wine, which might be alright in small amounts.. Red wine especially..

I take vitamin D3 in 5,000 IU capsules and Zinc in 50mg pills. The D3 seems like a lot to take but apparently it's nearly impossible to get side effects from taking too much of it.

And for scarring you may want to try dermarolling.. I've been using one for a few months now and although the progress is slow at first, it eventually does an amazing job making skin look great again. I know it works because when I took the leap and dermarolled two different times on some scars in early 2011.. by the end of 2011 the scars were virtually gone. It can take months to show results but it definitely works, the only real "challenge" with it is making sure it's very clean before every use.. and I suppose accepting the fact that you're shoving hundreds of needles into your face on purpose might be too weird for some people ha.

Hey I just got a dermaroller for stretch marks, it's a 1.5mm, do you think I can use it on my face even though on the box it says only up to 1.0mm for the face? I haven't used it yet, it sort of scares me. But I don't think I can even use it for my face because it says don't use it on active acne.

[remyhelps123]

YES you can totally use the 1.5 on your face! That's honestly the size of my dermaroller.. and I've only ever used it on my face. I would be careful about using on stretch marks and then face though (or vice versa). You might want to purchase a dermaroller for each individual area you're treating. One for face, one for stretch marks, etc..

And YES it is not good to roll over existing acne or acne marks that just began trying to heal. I've done this a few months back and it seemed to make the collagen confused and made a slight scar when I went over an area that just recently had a little bit of acne..

But I must admit that the dermaroller seems to help speed up the healing of red marks as well. So try and maybe give the spots time to heal a bit, so that the skin is back to a reasonably flat and healthy surface.. if there are red marks left over thenn dermarolling can truly help speed the healing of these marks up.

Here are my PROS & CONS of dermarolling:

CONS:
- May scar you if you go over active marks
- Need to clean the device carefully before each use to avoid infections
- There should be a waiting period in-between each use, which differs depending on the size of the roller. (.5 rollers can be used several times a week, 1.0 rollers can be used once ever 1-2 weeks, and 1.5 rollers can only be used once every 3-5 weeks...)

PROS:
- Speeds up the process of diminishing red marks
- Does a good job of making sun spots decrease and disappear
- Truly provides GREAT results for acne scars (deeper scars might not benefit completely, but many scars -especially- rolling scars will improve incredibly)

The key thing about dermarolling is that if it's done on the face, you really should try and take long breaks between each dermarolling session, as it takes months for new collagen to show. I've heard of people who dermaroll their faces like crazy for 10 minutes, then they wait 6 whole months to make sure all the collagen has formed before rolling again, which is smart but requires a lot of patience.. If you were doing stretch marks (which my girlfriend has used her dermaroller for with good results) then you might not have to worry about taking such long breaks between rollings.. Dermarolling results are quite permanent and long-lasting, but they often require a lot of patience to achieve.. They say that "beauty is pain" and dermarolling is exactly that.. A little pain for some beautiful results. )

[clambak3]

YES you can totally use the 1.5 on your face! That's honestly the size of my dermaroller.. and I've only ever used it on my face. I would be careful about using on stretch marks and then face though (or vice versa). You might want to purchase a dermaroller for each individual area you're treating. One for face, one for stretch marks, etc..

And YES it is not good to roll over existing acne or acne marks that just began trying to heal. I've done this a few months back and it seemed to make the collagen confused and made a slight scar when I went over an area that just recently had a little bit of acne..

But I must admit that the dermaroller seems to help speed up the healing of red marks as well. So try and maybe give the spots time to heal a bit, so that the skin is back to a reasonably flat and healthy surface.. if there are red marks left over thenn dermarolling can truly help speed the healing of these marks up.

Here are my PROS & CONS of dermarolling:

CONS:
- May scar you if you go over active marks
- Need to clean the device carefully before each use to avoid infections
- There should be a waiting period in-between each use, which differs depending on the size of the roller. (.5 rollers can be used several times a week, 1.0 rollers can be used once ever 1-2 weeks, and 1.5 rollers can only be used once every 3-5 weeks...)

PROS:
- Speeds up the process of diminishing red marks
- Does a good job of making sun spots decrease and disappear
- Truly provides GREAT results for acne scars (deeper scars might not benefit completely, but many scars -especially- rolling scars will improve incredibly)

The key thing about dermarolling is that if it's done on the face, you really should try and take long breaks between each dermarolling session, as it takes months for new collagen to show. I've heard of people who dermaroll their faces like crazy for 10 minutes, then they wait 6 whole months to make sure all the collagen has formed before rolling again, which is smart but requires a lot of patience.. If you were doing stretch marks (which my girlfriend has used her dermaroller for with good results) then you might not have to worry about taking such long breaks between rollings.. Dermarolling results are quite permanent and long-lasting, but they often require a lot of patience to achieve.. They say that "beauty is pain" and dermarolling is exactly that.. A little pain for some beautiful results. )

Wow you are seriously soooo helpful thank you thank you thank you!

One last question, what kind of stuff do you apply to the skin after using the dermaroller? I was going to buy this good stuff online but I thought maybe I could just use regular lotion on my stretch marks.. what do you think?

[remyhelps123]

Well whatever you put on afterwards is truly going to be absorbed a lot more than usual since there's literally some tiny holes in your skin that will get the product quite a bit deeper into the spots that have been dermarolled.. I personally use a vitamin C serum that is meant to boost collagen, as well as be an antioxidant. I'm not sure what products out there are "no-no's" as I've only ever used the vitamin C after reading a lot of posts about how healthy it is to use after rolling.

[Oner]

how long did it take for you to see results?

[jeannesmith471]

Whoa, carrots. I guess I have to get used to it cause it's good for the eyes too, Thank you so much for your post. I wish some of the products you mentioned are available in my country too.

[violakritter]

The best part of your share was the carrots. Good thing I'm an avid carrot eater! lol

[clambak3]

What do you use after and before dermarolling? I still have no idea and haven't used mine.

Edited by clambak3, 25 August 2012 - 09:14 PM.

[remyhelps123]

Before dermarolling I just wash my face with water and dry it off.

Then I roll harshly (bleed almost every time) because I like to roll every so often and with force rather than rolling more frequently and doing it lightly.
The way I see it more damage equals more reconstruction in the weeks and months that follow.

After dermarolling I apply a cheap Vitamin C Serum constantly in the following days and weeks after the rolling. Vitamin C applied topically is good for collagen and the intake of carrots is an easy way to get Vitamin A which also helps collagen and speeds up the process of healing wounds.