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Hi all,
This is my first time posting.I have been on here a lot within the past months, due to an obvious reason, acne. So here is a little history:
I am a 26 year old male. I have had acne since 14. They were big cyst at first but in my late teens, the acne tend to happen around my jawline. It was horrible. I lived in Asia until I was 20. When I came to America, I ate a lot of junk food and sweet food. Then I started developing chest and back acne. I never understood the reason as I was always convinced that diet was the root of acne.
I have always been an active user of BP. It kept my skin about 90% clear but I didn't like the dryness and the hassle. So I always wanted to find a substitute. So in January, I decided to try only AHA on my face. Big mistake, my face was smooth for 2 weeks but then it started breaking out. But I didn't want to go back to the BP lotion so I used a combo of Satylic Acid and Clean and Clear 10% BP face wash because I saw someone recommended it on the other forum. My face continued to break out. Then, I used tea tree oil as it helped a lot before but now it doesn't anymore 
I got so frustrated as it was the worst break out since I could remember. My jawline and cheeks were so terrible. So I decided that something must be wrong and I needed to heal this once and for all. So I came across some acne-diet blogs and this forum. I thought why not give it a try. I even bought the book "The Clear Skin Diet" and it gave me so much insight and I felt confident that changing my diet would work.
So I changed my diet totally. Before all this, I had a bad diet. Because I am thin and always want to gain weight I would eat fat oily stuff and tons of chocolate and I wouldn't gain much weight. I drank milk, ate fast greasy food, milk chocolate, cereal, you name it. But because I was using BP lotion my acne was under control.
Now I totally cut off milk, butter, peanuts, white rice, pasta, white bread, white potato and everything. I follow a strict diet.
And my diet consist of:
Making smoothie out of (combination of) green leaves, ginger, turmeric, beets, fruits etc.every morning
I eat only brown rice, wild rice or quinoa. I eat salmon and lean meat for protein.
I try to avoid anything gluten but occasionally i will still have it like wheat bread.
I take lots of flax seeds, hemp seeds, for Omega 3
Basically, I eat what is recommended on this forum and avoid what's not recommended. I even try to avoid soy but it didn't help.
I have been on this strict diet for 2 months now.
And I do not know why, my urges have really slowed down and so my masturbation has been really infrequent too
Given all that, my face is still breaking out crazily on my jawline and cheeks. And it also came on my neck which has not happened before. Oh my gosh, if anything I would expect improvement but it broke out so badly.
Oh yea, I also started taking evening primrose oil (does any male have bad experience with this?), zinc and omega 3 supplements in february. But my face broke out and I was not sure if these caused it so I stopped taking them all for now.
I have been depressed and have no idea how to face this. I have been avoiding people I used to talk to and stop going out. I know I shouldn't be like this but I just feel so sad. Just today my coworker asked me what happens to my face as it's so red. (I have been back to BP lotion this week because I think it has worked well in the past few years. I have to go back BP, otherwise it is like the end of the world.)
With all the strict diet and without masturbation (and less urges so I think less testosterone in my system) I still break out. And 2 weeks ago, I masturbated as I thought I still got acne without masturbation, whats the big deal. Big mistake, my acne got worse.
Is it too early to see improvement due to diet for 2 months? How long will it take? I am leaning towards the belief that diet wouldn't work for me. But I actually enjoy eating healthy now so I am going to continue to eat healthy no matter what. So I will see if my face will improve in the future. Now I also start taking Vitamin D and A supplements. (Back in December my family doctor told me my vitamin D was way low). I find it hard to believe Vitamin D is the cause though, since I had acne when I was living in Asia 5 years ago with tons of sun. But I am going to continue to take Vitamin D.
And I am really confused as to why my sex drive has been so low. This has never happened to me. And I would think the good side of that is less acne. But it is not the case...And my good diet is not helping either.
Needless to say, I am so frustrated. With good diet and low urges, my face is not different from having a bad diet and high urges. This just doesn't make sense. Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you see something that I don't.
Drake
hey that sounds rough it has probably not been enough time for your acne to improve, and since you are noticing other changes its likely your hormones are shifting. as a girl, it takes at least 2 or 3 months for hormone shifts to have an impact in the skin, from what I've experienced and seen other ppl experience as well. I have a fast metabolism and am healthy and my skin is still breaking out 2.5 months back on birth control (I never had acne on birth control, only when stopping). eating healthy is really great, but don't make yourself too crazy with it--that will just stress you out more and undermine your efforts. just eat a healthy balanced diet, try to get out and be active and in the mean time get to some doctors. if you have insurance that will help but have you gone back to a derm or possibly even better, an endo? an endocronologist can examine the root causes of your acne if it's hormonal which it sounds like yours is. if you go to a new derm also, voice your concerns about bp being the only thing to work hopefully they can help you out and give you a fresh perspective--it's never hopeless. I didn't start getting a handle on my issues until I aggressively pursued diff doctors-it really helps you take control of the situation and mentally come to peace with it as you learn more. I also believe acne is stress related so try to get to the root of your stress issues if you have them and figure out healthy ways to relax. You could also try using african black soap twice a day, it's a very effective cleanser and much less harsh long term than BP. I use it with salycilic acid and it has cleared a lot of my pores.
oh another thing, a lot of times, when you make changes, acne gets worse before it gets better really sucky but it could actually be a sign that your diet changes are helping despite the fact that your neck acne got worse. and keep taking vitamin d cuz even if its not the sole cause a lack thereof will only make acne worse. xxxx
I know how you must feel. Having tried, lifestyle changes and still not seeing results. That's tough!
I did the whole creams things, then the healthier lifestyle thing, cutting out the "acne causing" foods thing and still I brokeout. BP is the only thing that really controls my acne. And I know you don't like the dry effect, but I think given the rights steps and products to moisturize your face, it may be manageable if you give it a try.
I do still avoid some foods in my diet and try to get some exercise in, but at least with the BP working I don't feel like I am depriving myself too much. A little junk food can't be that bad right? haha.
So yeah, you probably just need the right products to manage the BP's dry side effects.
Not enough time for you diet to take change and seems like not strict enough. If you still eat occasional gluten, that might be it. Also check your meat and fish, do you know where they come from? What kind of meat do you eat? What kind of fish?
You need to identify whether it's your gut causing the problem or food causing the problems in your hormones. If both, first fix the gut problem, see how it goes.
To fix the gut problems, start taking coconut oil with your food, 3-4 table spoons a day depending on your weight (only organic virgin coconut oil). Might try other supplements such as barley grass, wheat grass, amla powder, but even just adding coconut oil makes a huge difference.
If it's food causing your hormones to shift, considering you have jawline break outs, definitely check you fish and meat. By checking I mean find out where they come from. Not enough details about your diet but to be honest it's a little different for everyone, you've cut out obvious things, but you may have left something important. If you stop eating meat, lentils, beans, sheep milk yogurt are good sources of protein.
Did your back and chest change? Oiliness? You didn't mention any veggies other than the smoothie. And what do you drink?
2 things. 1) flax seed isn't exactly recommended, especially for males. It's estrogenic effects make many people worse. 2) my jawline and neck acne was caused by a food intolerance to citrus, but it could be anything. Try methodically removing foods one by one or in groups of related foods.
Thanks for the replies and support everyone.
It is so hard to really identify what's causing the problem for me. I have had acne even before I was introduced to flax seeds this year. Gluten might be the problem but for days I did not have gluten I still break out.
I shop at Whole Food so the fishes I select are wild caught ones and the chicken and beef are cage free no anti biotic. At least I have found one positive thing about my break out:
1. It is a wake up call that I need to stop eating unhealthy food
2. I am going to appreciate the time if I ever will get clearer.
3. Love yourself more as you have to learn to accept yourself
4. Learn that everyone has flaws and this is mt flaw
The last time I masturbated was 20 days ago. And I still break out..
Could it be that I just have extremely androgen receptors in my sebascus gland. And it would produce more sebum no matter what.
I have a few new acne today...For the past 4 days, I have had:
Brown rice
stir fry beef with cajun sauce
2 glasses of beer on Saturday
quinoa
brown rice crackers
curry chicken
broccoli
buckwheat bread gluten free
wild broiled salmon
and vege and fruit smoothie every morning
freshly squeezed lemon juice every morning (citrus?)
Omega 3 eggs
(one question: if i were to identify what might cause acne, how long does it take for the wrong diet to show up on my face. So if i break out today, was it due to the food yesterday or the day before?)
So if any of this causes acne, it is not because of an unhealthy diet. It is more like an allergic effect.
Thanks for the replies and support everyone.
It is so hard to really identify what's causing the problem for me. I have had acne even before I was introduced to flax seeds this year. Gluten might be the problem but for days I did not have gluten I still break out.
I shop at Whole Food so the fishes I select are wild caught ones and the chicken and beef are cage free no anti biotic. At least I have found one positive thing about my break out:
1. It is a wake up call that I need to stop eating unhealthy food
2. I am going to appreciate the time if I ever will get clearer.
3. Love yourself more as you have to learn to accept yourself
4. Learn that everyone has flaws and this is mt flaw
The last time I masturbated was 20 days ago. And I still break out..
Could it be that I just have extremely androgen receptors in my sebascus gland. And it would produce more sebum no matter what.
I have a few new acne today...For the past 4 days, I have had:
Brown rice
stir fry beef with cajun sauce
2 glasses of beer on Saturday
quinoa
brown rice crackers
curry chicken
broccoli
buckwheat bread gluten free
wild broiled salmon
and vege and fruit smoothie every morning
freshly squeezed lemon juice every morning (citrus?)
Omega 3 eggs
(one question: if i were to identify what might cause acne, how long does it take for the wrong diet to show up on my face. So if i break out today, was it due to the food yesterday or the day before?)
So if any of this causes acne, it is not because of an unhealthy diet. It is more like an allergic effect.
Diet results only show in about week/2 weeks (for me), that is removing something from your diet.
From your list I could see beer as a major trigger. Alcohol, and weed are a big no if you are trying to keep your acne under control. At least that's what I know.
Also for me it was also the need to cut down sugar in my diet (I don't eat anything like cakes, sweets and eat less sweet foods overall). And a big thing for me were spices, as soon as I ate anything overly spicy - I broke out the next day (I hate when people offer me to try what they cooked and it comes out fucking spicy and I can't say no because it would be impolite).
Your sex drive is low? SO you have been having sex?Sounds a tad hormonal. YOur diet, limiting and seeming great, can be causing deficiencys in your body relating to hormonal inbalance. Hormones are created from things we eat.. and we have many many hormones...
Hygiene practices? Slapping bp isnt going to solve the problem unless you change to be come more hygientic i,e hand washing
Are you popping the acne? you could induce bacteria into your skin causing skin infections related to acne, and also spread an infection that is there.
Shaving?
The time table between what you eat and its affects in the skin is mixed. Some people its faster than i others. Could be a day coul be weeks it really depends
the testosterone levels in the body do not level out i believe until the 7-10 mark? again different in everyone.
I would continue to abstain from orgasms. (meaning both sex and masturbation if there was any confusion earlier)
You've noticed the connection already, so you'll never know how much it is affecting you unless you abstain for as long as possible.
You're already on day 20, so keeping it up a little while longer shouldn't be an issue, right?
