Acne.org Products
If you can pick up a used VitaMix on eBay (a newer model--not one of the really old, vintage ones), I'd go for that--I love mine. It blends without leaving chunks of greens, haha. I realize that might be hard to find though. This list of recommended blenders might help. 
http://www.goodhouse...lender-reviews/
I can testify that green smoothies really work at clearing skin! 
When I received a vitamix blender as a gift for my 30th birthday, I started making green smoothies every day. 6 weeks later, my skin was clear! I was getting compliments everywhere I went on how great my skin looked. Plus, I lost 10 lbs and reset my taste for fresh, healthy food. Here is my full story:
Two years ago, I had oil plugs all over my forehead and inflamed pimples that were concentrated on my lower cheeks, jawline and neck. I was about to get married and was miserable about my skin. The aestetician who did my pre-wedding facial advised me to stop using dove soap for sensitive skin on my face (too alkaline), and to start using something with salicylic acid. I ditched the dove and started using a drugstore 2% oil free salicylic acid lotion after cleansing with diluted Dr. Bronners soap. This helped clear the oil plugs on my forehead, but I couldn't get rid of the inflamed acne on the rest of my face. I decided to get off birth control pills, to see if this would make a difference. My skin got less oily over a few months, but I was still getting inflamed pimples.
The aestetician had also asked about my diet. Could that have been at the root of my problem? I used to follow a fairly strict, healthy diet with very little processed food or sugary junk. Since meeting my husband I had gone back to school, gained some weight and had gotten used to eating out a lot more and indulging in "treats" with him. He doesn't cook, so during my toughest semester at school, we were eating out almost daily. My husband is vegan, and even though I was usually eating vegan while out with him, restaurant food is never as healthy as home cooked food. I realized what I had been putting in my body when I ordered our usual vegetarian pad thai and asked for an extra side of sauce... the "sauce" they gave me was 3/4 vegetable oil. Yuck!
I realized that many foods that are "Vegan" are still not heath promoting.... (vegan fries anyone?)
So I renewed my commitment to cooking at home and eating nutrient dense foods. I have a feeling restaurant oils, too much salt and sugar and processed foods were causing inflammation in my body. I reduced my intake of bread. I also stopped drinking soy milk hazelnut lattes. I realized I had a soy milk intolerance that was giving me bad gas and could have been contributing to my acne.
I attribute getting clear to a combination of these changes, but I give the most credit to the AMAZING nutrition of green smoothies.
Every day, I make 64 oz of green smoothie that my husband and I split and take with us to work and school in 32 oz gatorade bottles.
This is my typical recipe, but it's infinitely variable to your preferences:
2 carrots
1 orange
1 banana
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 cup frozen mango chunks (or pineapple)
1 kiwi
1 full bunch dark leafy greens of your choice (kale, collards, swiss chard, romain lettuce, etc)
water for blending to desired consistency
(makes two 32 oz servings)
* I have noticed a major increase in cell turnover since I started drinking these 2 months ago. I love taking baths, and have noticed a lot more dead skin sloughing off into the water. Increased cellular turnover really helps speed up the fading of hyperpigmentation from past breakouts. Also, regular excercise seems to be really important for my skin-- I suspect its the increased blood flow, oxygenation of the tissues and detoxifying action of sweating.
I hope this helps someone else!
Juliapeach,
Wow!! What a great testimony!! Thank you so much for sharing it here. These types of stories are so encouraging for people to read, and it's really wonderful that you got yourself back on the track of nutrient-rich eating! I'm so glad the smoothies are having such a positive effect on you--and that you're husband is drinking them too!! What a wonderful thing!! 
Kateliz1,
That recipes sounds soooooo good!! Especially for this time of year!! Thank you for posting it!
I totally and completely recommend these things. I have noticed a huge improvement in my skin and when I stop using them I begin to breakout!
They are so easy to make. I found that a handful of berries is key and cinnamon makes the leafy greens taste delicious. Sometimes I add fiber cereal (Fiber One), Oatmeal and/or avocado to add calories.
I found that this works for soup, too. When you are done making your soup just add the spinach and blend it all up, heat and presto: a really delicious vegetable soup. I do this to avoid having too many fruit as it can be a lot of sugar (too much of a good thing can be bad).
Juliapeach,
Wow!! What a great testimony!! Thank you so much for sharing it here. These types of stories are so encouraging for people to read, and it's really wonderful that you got yourself back on the track of nutrient-rich eating! I'm so glad the smoothies are having such a positive effect on you--and that you're husband is drinking them too!! What a wonderful thing!!
Kateliz1,
That recipes sounds soooooo good!! Especially for this time of year!! Thank you for posting it!
*~ABG Fairy~*, I made my first smoothie with 3 carrots, 1 orange, 1 apple, 1 lemon, cinnamon, some ginger, and a little of spinach and broccoli, but it turned out to be too thick, i have to put more water.
also did smoothies cleared your skin? if so, how much time did it take
Hugoll12,
What great ingredients!! The carrots and broccoli might have made it a little too fibrous, so you might cut back on those slightly.
I was already eating a mostly vegan diet when I began the green smoothies, but I wasn't eating enough vegetables. Adding in the smoothies did the trick for me, and within about 6 weeks, I noticed that I wasn™t getting any new blemishes on a regular basis like I had been and that my skin had cleared.
I hope they work for you!!
What an awesome post. Thank you! I've gotten about 50% clear but I still always have three or four VERY red, inflamed, irritated pimples on my forehead for three weeks out of every month. They hurt and they're difficult to cover up. Big confidence downer. On a side note, I'm super lethargic and run down all of the time. I figure my diet may play a big role in that, so I've been wanting to take on eating way healthier foods. These green smoothies are a good idea. I was thinking of going Veg for a few weeks to see if I notice a difference in energy level and breakouts.( I think I eat too much red meat). I may still do that, in combination with the smoothies.
I LOVE taking natural approaches to every single problem in my life. The natural approaches have always worked better for me, as oppose to the more "mainstream" ways of dealing with internal or external issues. I will definitely try these smoothies out! I'm a big smoothie fan, anyway, so this will be easy. I've only had fruit smoothies , though. I've never added any greenery , hopefully the fruit overrides the veggie taste because the idea of a fruit and veggie mixed drink sounds strange. I like them separate, but I'm confident that it will taste good if I do it right. And the veggies will just make it that much more nutrient packed!
What an awesome post. Thank you! I've gotten about 50% clear but I still always have three or four VERY red, inflamed, irritated pimples on my forehead for three weeks out of every month. They hurt and they're difficult to cover up. Big confidence downer. On a side note, I'm super lethargic and run down all of the time. I figure my diet may play a big role in that, so I've been wanting to take on eating way healthier foods. These green smoothies are a good idea. I was thinking of going Veg for a few weeks to see if I notice a difference in energy level and breakouts.( I think I eat too much red meat). I may still do that, in combination with the smoothies.
I LOVE taking natural approaches to every single problem in my life. The natural approaches have always worked better for me, as oppose to the more "mainstream" ways of dealing with internal or external issues. I will definitely try these smoothies out! I'm a big smoothie fan, anyway, so this will be easy. I've only had fruit smoothies , though. I've never added any greenery , hopefully the fruit overrides the veggie taste because the idea of a fruit and veggie mixed drink sounds strange. I like them separate, but I'm confident that it will taste good if I do it right. And the veggies will just make it that much more nutrient packed!
That's exactly what mom says! She loves everything natural! It makes me feel like an outkast though. Everyone I know eats burgers and drinks soda their skin is flawless!My mom expects me to drink vegetable juice every morning. Sigh, life is so messed up...
I'm thinking of making some green smoothies soon. I had no idea that blending fruits and veggies can release 4x as much nutrition. Thank you so much for this post! My family has collard greens in our garden, we usually give it to our bearded dragon and for stews and such but now I want to try it in a green smoothie (alternate it with spinach and kale). Along with blueberries, mango, an apple or banana, cinnamon, a bit of almond milk and some type of seed.
Would some avocado work in place of nuts and seeds for the fat content?
Aw, I know exactly what you mean! All of my friends are like that, too. They eat 10X worse than I do, without a SINGLE pimple to show for it.
Life is unfair! Haha.
Yeah, it can seem like that, but it will most likely catch up to them in the future, unfortunately.
Rockie, Taluce and Oceanic,
Sorry for just now responding!! I'm so glad two of you have just discovered green smoothies, and you are very welcome for the post!! It was my hope in creating this post to spread the news, and I love that it continues to reach people!
For those people who eat whatever they want, it most likely means they are not genetically prone to having acne--nice, huh? They are probably prone to other things though, and as Oceanic said, it will probably catch up to them one day. 
I hope the smoothie making goes well!!! It can be a trial and error process at first, so hang in there, and do post if you run into problems!
Rockie,
Are the animal products you're eating organic? If they are not free of antibiotics and hormones, that could definitely take a toll on your health and skin. Butter should especially be organic if you're using it. I'm a big believer in a mostly plant-based diet. Low energy can have many causes, but for many, just making dietary changes can have a huge effect. The green smoothies are a great start, and there have been many reports here of energy increases from them. Also, it has been said that juicing is the number one thing you can do for your health, and fasting can be really helpful too (Dr. Joel Fuhrman has a book on how to do it safely, and there are also many who advocate juice fasting). Are you taking probiotics and getting enough Vitamin D?
If you do a lot of fruit smoothies, it's possible that you may be feeding a yeast called Candida, which can cause low energy. The greens will help to counteract this. You can also make soups with blended greens as a base--or, you can make all veggie smoothies as well with only a small amount of low-sugar fruits.
Taluce,
If your mom makes you fresh veggie juice every day, I'd say you lucked out in the mom department for sure!!! She sounds like a very wise lady. She's basically giving you a glass of liquid gold every day.
Oceanic,
The collards from your garden would be wonderful to use!! Home grown produce is ever better than store bought organic. Avocado would work fine. I've only used it in all veggie smoothies, but raw food people use avocado in a lot of dessert type recipes, so I would think you could definitely use it with a fruit-based green smoothie as well.
You are welcome Prettywords!! And you are so right--it's a great way to get in nutrient-rich foods! As for servings, I think it would depend upon what types and ratios of fruits and greens you're using. This link should help clear it up: http://nutrition.about.com/od/fruitsandvegetables/f/servingfruit.htm
Prettywords,
Great question! It's because the cell walls are so thoroughly broken down when blended (much more so than with chewing alone), and therefore, more nutrition is released. It's estimated at about 4 times as much nutrition. Yay!
Edit: Here is more info!!
Prettywords,
Great question! It's because the cell walls are so thoroughly broken down when blended (much more so than with chewing alone), and therefore, more nutrition is released. It's estimated at about 4 times as much nutrition. Yay!
Edit: Here is more info!!
Blended Salads or Green Smoothies
Eating raw greens and fruits blended together to make a smooth, creamy treat is quick and convenient. The greatest benefit of blending is the increased absorption of important nutrients. All plants cells are surrounded by a cell wall that must be broken open to release the nutrients inside. As a result, most of the valuable nutrients contained within these cells never enter our bloodstream. Blending raw, leafy greens guarantees a higher percentage of nutrients absorbed into your bloodstream. By just chewing your food you absorb about 15 - 25% of the nutrients, but blending makes your body able to absorb up to 95%!
To learn more about the amazing benefits of blending, read Dr. Fuhrman™s Healthy Times Newsletter Issue No. 8.
Source:
thanks!
I have been drinking green smoothies for about 4 months now with positive results. My acne hasnt completely cleared but it has been very minimal, usually i have one small breakout a day which is usually a whitehead which i can easily remove with a q-tip.
But since last week I have had a terrible breakout that is taking very long to go away. I am not sure if the green smoothies arent working anymore or if I am just going through a bad phase. I did try adding cilantro to my smoothies, thats the only new ingredient I tried. But i have stopped using it and the breakouts are still persisting. Any help would be greatly appreciated.