**UPDATE**

So I was too lazy to go out last night and get that kefir before the market closed. Instead, I just mixed up a 90 billion culture probiotic capsule with a tablespoon of fresh aloe vera and made a paste out of it. It smelled very cheesy and I had a hard time with the odor at first. Before putting it on my face, I washed with sulfur soap and then spread some Monistat (yes, Monistat!) cream that I found in my bathroom all over my face and neck to kill any yeast that might have been present. Then I spread the probiotic goop everywhere. At first there was a stinging sensation that quickly changed to a sort of cooling, tingling. When it dried, it felt like wheat paste on my face and felt sometimes cooling and sometimes warming. The point is it always FELT like it was doing something.

I was kind of lazy about my regimen in the last few days and while my skin wasn't broken out, it wasn't awesome. I did have a blackhead on my cheek that I managed to turn into a crater with the help of a magnifying mirror that afternoon. And my face was dull and uneven in tone on top of the scars already there from my cystic days. I kept a mirror nearby to obsessively check my face for progress as I let the mask do its work and was blown away every time I did. Every time I checked, something else had improved. My pores were tighter than I'd ever seen them. The picked blackhead wound was first closing, then healing, and then fading. Hyper-pigmentation was lightening dramatically. The one baby-cyst that's been percolating for the last month next to my left ear has since disappeared COMPLETELY. My forehead lines are smoothed. Overall skin tone is even enough that I can actually see my freckles against my skin. There's no oil on my face at ALL, but it isn't remotely dry. Rolling scars on my cheek don't fold into wrinkles like they used to when I smile. My skin is the most normalized it's looked in my entire post-pubescent life.

I left the probiotics on my face all night basically. Every couple of hours I'd lightly spritz my face with water and rub them into the skin again. I never washed it off and my face doesn't feel like it needs a washing at all now. I might just water-rinse. I'm going to go to whole foods and pick up some refrigerated liquid probiotics and kefir and do this again tonight. I'm extremely excited. I feel like this may have been just what I needed to get me out of my progress-plateau.

It's actually yogurt that contains the probiotic strains that increase ceramide production. I apply yogurt once in a while. Especially try to do it in winter when ceramide production slows for some reason.

It's actually yogurt that contains the probiotic strains that increase ceramide production. I apply yogurt once in a while. Especially try to do it in winter when ceramide production slows for some reason.

Thank you for the tip. I picked up some Fage greek yogurt on the way home from work today. I'm glad to hear this, because even though I've been seeing awesome results, it WAS getting a little pricey doubling my daily dose of probiotics.

Do you ever leave the yogurt on your body (like, in thin layers), or do you always wash it off? I've been trying to keep the probiotics on my face for as many days in a row as I can (only washing with water), to let them marathon breed.

 

It's actually yogurt that contains the probiotic strains that increase ceramide production. I apply yogurt once in a while. Especially try to do it in winter when ceramide production slows for some reason.

Thank you for the tip. I picked up some Fage greek yogurt on the way home from work today. I'm glad to hear this, because even though I've been seeing awesome results, it WAS getting a little pricey doubling my daily dose of probiotics.

Do you ever leave the yogurt on your body (like, in thin layers), or do you always wash it off? I've been trying to keep the probiotics on my face for as many days in a row as I can (only washing with water), to let them marathon breed.

I use yogurt mixed with ground up oats and manuka honey to make a face mask. I find it very soothing on my skin. I only leave it on half an hour though, never thought about leaving it on all night. Might give it a try though since that reaearch you posted sounds interesting - i'll leave out the oats though cos they sort of dry the paste out. Wouldnt it be nice if scientists could find a way to take some of the 'good' bacteria from healthy clear skinned people and transplant it onto our skin

I wonder the effectiveness if topical probiotics are used in conjunction with probiotics consumed via oral administration. Obviously having a positive ratio for good/bad bacteria on the skin is helpful, but the majority of our immune system and its subsequent inflammatory responses stem from the appropriate flourishment of our digestive flora?

I would think poor bacteria population on the skin would be a downstream reaction potentiated from disruption in the G.I tract. Anyone heard of SIBO correlating to inflammatory acne formation?

 

It's actually yogurt that contains the probiotic strains that increase ceramide production. I apply yogurt once in a while. Especially try to do it in winter when ceramide production slows for some reason.

Thank you for the tip. I picked up some Fage greek yogurt on the way home from work today. I'm glad to hear this, because even though I've been seeing awesome results, it WAS getting a little pricey doubling my daily dose of probiotics.

Do you ever leave the yogurt on your body (like, in thin layers), or do you always wash it off? I've been trying to keep the probiotics on my face for as many days in a row as I can (only washing with water), to let them marathon breed.

I use yogurt mixed with ground up oats and manuka honey to make a face mask. I find it very soothing on my skin. I only leave it on half an hour though, never thought about leaving it on all night. Might give it a try though since that reaearch you posted sounds interesting - i'll leave out the oats though cos they sort of dry the paste out. Wouldnt it be nice if scientists could find a way to take some of the 'good' bacteria from healthy clear skinned people and transplant it onto our skin

it feels dry and stiff after it dries. I just wipe with a damp cloth which is how I clean my skin anyway unless I have makeup to remove in which case I oil cleanse. I don't use soap.

I have been using yogurt & honey masks for years. Much cheaper and effective than super expensive stuff that doesn't work most of the time.

It's actually yogurt that contains the probiotic strains that increase ceramide production. I apply yogurt once in a while. Especially try to do it in winter when ceramide production slows for some reason.

Tonight was my second night using the Greek yogurt instead of the probiotic capsule and I'm a little concerned about the results.

I washed my face with only water before applying, and let it dry for 10-15 minutes (when it felt super stiff) before washing it off with very cool water. It felt like my pores were a bit congested while I was rinsing, so I did rub vigorously with the water to make sure I got everything off. Almost immediately after, my face was bright pink. I wasn't too concerned because that's not always a bad sign right after a facial. But my skin kept getting redder and blotchier as time went on. There was a very clear line between the places I applied the yogurt and didn't apply it. And it was looking very rash-like. Within an hour, bumps started popping up on my previously 100% clear face and neck, and scars became super hyper-pigmented.

I haven't (knowingly or willingly) consumed A1 dairy for about five years now. It was the first food allergy I discovered and the one that has the most devesating effects on my acne. However, I didn't think that food allergies like milk could also apply to topical applications. Do you think I might be as intolerant of A1 dairy externally as I am internally?

Another possibility for the reaction could be the lactic acid and its AHA effect? I don't use any acids on my face at all, so maybe my skin is just very sensitive to it.

Basically, I feel like my skin reacted to the yogurt mask the exact opposite way it did to the probiotic capsule mask.

Is this is a normal reaction, or should I switch back to the regular probiotic mask?

 

It's actually yogurt that contains the probiotic strains that increase ceramide production. I apply yogurt once in a while. Especially try to do it in winter when ceramide production slows for some reason.

Tonight was my second night using the Greek yogurt instead of the probiotic capsule and I'm a little concerned about the results.

 

I washed my face with only water before applying, and let it dry for 10-15 minutes (when it felt super stiff) before washing it off with very cool water. It felt like my pores were a bit congested while I was rinsing, so I did rub vigorously with the water to make sure I got everything off. Almost immediately after, my face was bright pink. I wasn't too concerned because that's not always a bad sign right after a facial. But my skin kept getting redder and blotchier as time went on. There was a very clear line between the places I applied the yogurt and didn't apply it. And it was looking very rash-like. Within an hour, bumps started popping up on my previously 100% clear face and neck, and scars became super hyper-pigmented.

 

I haven't (knowingly or willingly) consumed A1 dairy for about five years now. It was the first food allergy I discovered and the one that has the most devesating effects on my acne. However, I didn't think that food allergies like milk could also apply to topical applications. Do you think I might be as intolerant of A1 dairy externally as I am internally?

 

Another possibility for the reaction could be the lactic acid and its AHA effect? I don't use any acids on my face at all, so maybe my skin is just very sensitive to it.

 

Basically, I feel like my skin reacted to the yogurt mask the exact opposite way it did to the probiotic capsule mask.

 

Is this is a normal reaction, or should I switch back to the regular probiotic mask?

No that isn't normal. It sounds like you are allergic. Maybe check out coconut or other alternative to dairy yogurt & see if they have the strains mentioned above.

Yes. It definitely seems it was an allergic reaction. I took a huge dose of magnesium last night and packed soaked basil leaves on my face and neck for an hour before going to sleep and it calmed it down a lot by morning. Skin looks just about back to normal again.

That's a pity--I did some research and so many people raved about it. Plus those liquid probiotic are super expensive. Wondering if I can maybe use sauerkraut. Definitely wouldn't be my sexiest moment. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

@alternativista: You mention this probiotic capsule mask, and I went through your topics, but couldn't find it. Mind sharing the link to your post about that? Thanks!

And btw I realized that there's a whole array of topical probiotic skincare products (sprays, creams, etc). Has anyone had any luck with those? (I found Mother Dirt/AO+ Mist first, but there's also Probiotic Action, Tula, etc. I wanna pick one and try it but I'm hesitant because it seems to make some people's acne worse.

(I've had cystic chin acne since 19 and I'm now 35. 90% better after a diet change in accordance to Traditional Chinese Medicine, and taking Chinese Medicine. But I still consistently break out at least once a week...)