Once my acne was gone, I returned to eating what I wanted and have had no problems. I can eat the worst junk food and I don't seem to break out anymore. Mind you when I was suffering from the cystic acne I thought I was getting the breakouts from every sugary thing I ate but now that I have clear skin I'm not noticing a connection anymore.

 

I can somehow relate to this, all the things that were prohibited because of some certain condition, once the problem is gone, I would probably eat them but not to the extent of abusing it, I am afraid that it would cause again another problem.

As what I experience, hydration really helps me in fighting acne and also with the help of some cream and the food I eat. Haven't tried yet the vegetable juice, but I will definetely consider it.

I agree this is a possibility but seems a bit too much of a coincidence to me. MPB doesn't run in my family and I've never given hairloss a second thought since now.

 

Right now my hair is much dryer than usual and not even necessary to wash it as often as its not getting greasy. It might just be the cold UK winter starting though?

 

I guess my main questions are:

 

1) is it possible that the B5 'boosters' we are using like L Carnitie and NAC enhance the good bits of B5 but also the bad side effects?

 

2) once ceasing these vitamins will the body naturally rebalance with a good varied diet or will I have to take a B complex / multivitamin to replenish the vitamins that have been crowded out?

 

Thanks for your help

 

I agree this is a possibility but seems a bit too much of a coincidence to me. MPB doesn't run in my family and I've never given hairloss a second thought since now.

 

Right now my hair is much dryer than usual and not even necessary to wash it as often as its not getting greasy. It might just be the cold UK winter starting though?

 

I guess my main questions are:

 

1) is it possible that the B5 'boosters' we are using like L Carnitie and NAC enhance the good bits of B5 but also the bad side effects?

 

2) once ceasing these vitamins will the body naturally rebalance with a good varied diet or will I have to take a B complex / multivitamin to replenish the vitamins that have been crowded out?

 

Thanks for your help

 

I wish it was possible to give everyone cast iron guarantees about side effects, but the fact is that it isn't.

In many cases, you guys know just as much about it as me! I'm not a doctor or a research scientist. But I can say that taking 500mg of B5 has not been associated with hair loss in literature I could find. But that's not the same as saying that it can't be.

On a common sense level though, I would say this. There is no point substituting the prison of acne with the prison of worrying about losing your hair. If you consider it to be an issue, then it is an issue, and it's up to you to decide whether that's an element of the treatment you want to consider removing.

If you want to rebalance the B vitamins in your body, you can easily do this through food. Powdered wheat germ is a very good way.

Does anyone have problems with undigested supplements?

 

I don't have any problem like this. Have you encountered a situation like this? Maybe you should try another supplement, better yet consult a doctor, maybe there is something wrong with your digestive system.

I started this program last tuesday (election day), and I'm very excited about it. I've already been juicing daily for a month or two and came across this thread using a juicing and acne search. I decided to give this a go due to winged's articulate, considerate, generous post. Can we believe this guy comes back after four year's of clearing his acne? Unbelievable, Wingedserpant, thank you for your generosity and kindness! I am quite concerned however about one poster's experience with hair loss. I'm doing a lot of research on B-5 and hair loss, and in the meantime considering just juicing and sugar abstaining for 3 months to see if I can forgo supplementation. But having bought the supplements, and followed it for nearly a week, it's tempting to just continue with all four parts of the regime. I'll let others know what I find and or decide. Good luck to all!

I've been on the program nearly two weeks and see clearer and smoother skin and a more balanced skin tone. My skin feels very dry as do my lips though. I added a B-vitamin complex as well as biotin to the mix. I also use alkaline water as my drinking water.

rs.

Can anyone tell me the names of the cleanser/hydrating gel the OP uses? I remember seeing them in one of the posts, but after scrolling through twice I have been unable to find them!

Thanks!

This is good info! I totally hear ya about dermatologists being clueless. And I also found that carnitine cured my acne. However I would like to add that I found a different form worked even better. Acetyl-L-carnitine (acetylcarnitine/acylcarnitine/ALCAR) is a more bioavailable form of carnitine. It's more than 10-20x as effective for me as (unacetylated) carnitine. So I only take 5-25 mg instead of 250-500 mg of L-car. (Side note about acetylation: acetyl groups are the difference between heroin and morphine that makes heroin [diacetylmorphine] so much more potent and faster acting!)

 

ALCAR lets me eat whatever I want without getting cystic acne all over my whole body that plagued me for a decade before I found it. Nothing else has ever worked anywhere near so well for me. I've tried antibiotics, many topical treatments, and a lot of other supplements. ALCAR is a miracle cure! Though it can take up to a week or two for my acne to clear if its already well established, but in that time ALCAR prevents any new pimples from forming, and eventually clear skin prevails.

 

Acetyl-/Carnitine makes the body metabolize fat much, much more quickly and efficiently. That must be how it works to stop acne. I don't know for sure why it works. I would absolutely love if there were any medical research into this! But I have yet to have seen any. (Probably because it's not patentable.)

 

The only (minor) bad thing about ALCAR is that taking it for a long time (months) seems to make me magnesium deficient. (B and D vitamins do the same thing to me, I've found.) Mg deficiency makes me twitchy, anxious and depressed. So I started taking magnesium malate to overcome that, and now I absolutely love Mg. It's so relaxing and mood elevating! I think everyone is probably at least somewhat magnesium deficient. Mg makes me so much more patient. (Do note: most other forms of Mg are osmotic laxatives because they are so poorly absorbed. Malate is one of the best forms.)

 

I bought some Acetyl-L-carnitine (hydrochloride) today, just took my first pill. Unfortunately, I could only find 500 mg capsules, which is already more than the 250 mg recommend with regular L-carnitine. I hope it's not too much. Does anyone know?

I bought some Acetyl-L-carnitine (hydrochloride) today, just took my first pill. Unfortunately, I could only find 500 mg capsules, which is already more than the 250 mg recommend with regular L-carnitine. I hope it's not too much. Does anyone know?

 

500 mg of ALCAR is so much it might easily cause nutritional imbalance IMO. I feel like it's really easy to get stuck doing questionable things to correct imbalances that could have been prevented in the first place with more prudence.

Most pharmacies sell pill cutters and crushers for a few dollars. I think I would get a crusher. You could also just smash the tablets with a big spoon or something. ALCAR tastes sour by itself but it doesn't have any flavor in liquids, so you can just add a tiny bit of powder (1/10th or 1/20th of the whole tablet) from the crushed pill to a drink and it's not bad tasting like most supplements & drugs.

I would be careful to only take the smallest amount necessary because more might do weird things. I've actually found that magnesium has a number of lame things (encourages weight gain, weakens immune system), so it's much better to avoid Mg deficiency in the first place, by not overdoing it with ALCAR (or maybe L-car too).

I actually don't need to take ALCAR anymore, because the other thing that cured my acne was quitting eating chocolate (especially milk chocolate), peanut butter/peanuts, most nuts, and some seeds. I found that my acne can last for as long as weeks after being triggered by an acnegenic food (eaten once!), so it took quite a bit of time and effort to figure out exactly what foods were acnegenic for me.

Thanks to the OP for this thread, I can attest to the effectiveness of this type of regimen. I've been following a similiar program for several years and although it hasn't completely cleared up my (adult) acne, it has diminished it somewhat and made me feel a whole lot more comfortable.

Just checking in!

So far, the juicing has worked for me CONSIDERABLY. But I also changed my diet to an extreme level.

I ran out of the vitamins a few weeks ago and can't afford anymore. I'm hoping i'll be ok without them since my diet is better. Only time will tell o_0...

Best of luck everyone else!!

@TreatAcne - awesome! Glad to hear it is working for you.

I also want to give an update. I have been juicing since August 17th of last year (almost 5 months now). I have only missed about 6 days or so since I started it. I tried doing to the supplements of B5 and L-Carnitine but my body did not agree with them, so I stopped taking those.

I'm not sure how effective the juicing regimen has been on the actual acne itself. My skin definitely felt better at first and became a little less oily (but not much) with not much change in the acne on my neck - my biggest problem area. Also, in the early days of juicing, I felt a significant energy boost after I would juice. However, this has subsided over time and I don't really get that energy rush anymore. Acne was getting better but my neck still wasn't clearing up too well after about 2.5months.

The biggest change I noticed was when I stopped using Dan Kern's "Gentle" Cleanser and washing my face only with water (when I started the regimen I was doing the Acne.org Cleanser/BP/Moisturizer thing 1x a day). I'm convinced the cleanser was in fact the root cause of the acne on my neck since stopping it caused such a marked improvement. My skin almost immediately was much less oily and I no longer have to dab my face mid-day with a paper towel. My neck is now almost 100% clear - no cysts only the occasional whitehead or two. The red marks are still there but fading with time. My forehead is also much clearer and I feel far fewer bumps under the skin. I do get a few cysts here and there on my face but mostly they don't last as long unless I pick at them. I have also reduced the number of times I apply BP/Moisturizer to face to 1x per day, 3x per week. I am going to 2x a week this week.

If anything, I think this juicing regimen has given me the confidence to take the "get off the BP regimen" plunge FINALLY and I am grateful for that. I plan to be off BP in no more than 2 months from now. I plan to keep juicing indefinitely. Thanks wingedserpent!

@TreatAcne - awesome! Glad to hear it is working for you.

 

I also want to give an update. I have been juicing since August 17th of last year (almost 5 months now). I have only missed about 6 days or so since I started it. I tried doing to the supplements of B5 and L-Carnitine but my body did not agree with them, so I stopped taking those.

 

I'm not sure how effective the juicing regimen has been on the actual acne itself. My skin definitely felt better at first and became a little less oily (but not much) with not much change in the acne on my neck - my biggest problem area. Also, in the early days of juicing, I felt a significant energy boost after I would juice. However, this has subsided over time and I don't really get that energy rush anymore. Acne was getting better but my neck still wasn't clearing up too well after about 2.5months.

 

The biggest change I noticed was when I stopped using Dan Kern's "Gentle" Cleanser and washing my face only with water (when I started the regimen I was doing the Acne.org Cleanser/BP/Moisturizer thing 1x a day). I'm convinced the cleanser was in fact the root cause of the acne on my neck since stopping it caused such a marked improvement. My skin almost immediately was much less oily and I no longer have to dab my face mid-day with a paper towel. My neck is now almost 100% clear - no cysts only the occasional whitehead or two. The red marks are still there but fading with time. My forehead is also much clearer and I feel far fewer bumps under the skin. I do get a few cysts here and there on my face but mostly they don't last as long unless I pick at them. I have also reduced the number of times I apply BP/Moisturizer to face to 1x per day, 3x per week. I am going to 2x a week this week.

 

If anything, I think this juicing regimen has given me the confidence to take the "get off the BP regimen" plunge FINALLY and I am grateful for that. I plan to be off BP in no more than 2 months from now. I plan to keep juicing indefinitely. Thanks wingedserpent!

 

Hi darkdivine,

Please keep me posted on how it goes for you when you try to be off BP. I have used BP once a day for years now and just yesterday I decided to start apply it only every other night..

So happy this helped you. I am in the process of changing my diet, hoping for the same results. I will be 25 next week and I am ready for this to be over. In high school, i would get a couple of pimples here and there, nothing terrible though. Then I started college and my face went nuts. I went to a dermatologist and was able to get it under control (not perfect though). SO then I maintained that for a while... it was on and off through college. I got on birth control and it helped for a while. Then I started working after college and it got worse again. Went back to derm, and was able to get it more manageable. Maintained that for maybe a year or so... and it was off and on again. Now, it is probably at it's worse. I consider myself to have moderate acne with a lot of redness, which makes it look worse. I have tried everything (except accutane and i really don't want to). I have started to get deeper acne in spots that I never broke out in before. When one spot clears, another pops up right next to it. Of course I am left with a dark spot also I do everything right when it comes to cleansing my face and treating my acne. So it has to be on the inside for me. I have always eaten whatever I wanted, until recently in the past year or so, I have become more health conscious. So I have done some research about things I should cut out of my diet in order to improve my face and most are things I need to cut out anyways! I eat a lot of carbs, although I try to stick with whole wheat, but I know I need to cut those out all together. Also, sugar and processed foods are hard for me. My skin went crazy again over the holidays, and I am sure it was from my bad eating habits. So what I have noticed is that everything I have tried worked for a little while, but it always came back. So I am making the effort to get my nutrition in order and make notes of the changes in my skin. I really hope it helps.

On 1/8/2013 at 1:43 PM, youknow1 said:

Hi darkdivine,

Please keep me posted on how it goes for you when you try to be off BP. I have used BP once a day for years now and just yesterday I decided to start apply it only every other night..

Sorry to take your question away, but are you eventually going to quit BP? If so, you may need to prepare yourself for your skin to get worse... at least for a while. I stopped too, and my face exploded with acne far worse than it had ever been, you can see my gallery pictures. I have no idea (if this were to happen to you) how to stop it. Ever other night may or may not work, and in fact almost sounds like quitting the full effects of properly using BP. In what way are you applying BP? Is it Dan's BP? Is it a cream with a different percentage? Is it a wash? Are you doing anything else?

On 1/11/2013 at 4:05 AM, lurveskin said:

So happy this helped you. I am in the process of changing my diet, hoping for the same results. I will be 25 next week and I am ready for this to be over. In high school, i would get a couple of pimples here and there, nothing terrible though. Then I started college and my face went nuts. I went to a dermatologist and was able to get it under control (not perfect though). SO then I maintained that for a while... it was on and off through college. I got on birth control and it helped for a while. Then I started working after college and it got worse again. Went back to derm, and was able to get it more manageable. Maintained that for maybe a year or so... and it was off and on again. Now, it is probably at it's worse. I consider myself to have moderate acne with a lot of redness, which makes it look worse. I have tried everything (except accutane and i really don't want to). I have started to get deeper acne in spots that I never broke out in before. When one spot clears, another pops up right next to it. Of course I am left with a dark spot also I do everything right when it comes to cleansing my face and treating my acne. So it has to be on the inside for me. I have always eaten whatever I wanted, until recently in the past year or so, I have become more health conscious. So I have done some research about things I should cut out of my diet in order to improve my face and most are things I need to cut out anyways! I eat a lot of carbs, although I try to stick with whole wheat, but I know I need to cut those out all together. Also, sugar and processed foods are hard for me. My skin went crazy again over the holidays, and I am sure it was from my bad eating habits. So what I have noticed is that everything I have tried worked for a little while, but it always came back. So I am making the effort to get my nutrition in order and make notes of the changes in my skin. I really hope it helps.

I'm turning 25 too, this february [Edited image out].

GREAT JOB taking notes! I can not express enough how happy I am to hear that! You wont regret recording what you do... people often over exaggerate with themselves and trust to just remember things right off the spot. I use to be that way until I started writing things down every day and noticed that my though process was way off course from my actual lifestyle, at least when it came to my acne.

Changing your diet is a good thing, trust me. I am sorry to hear you are still suffering though. I've been going on this juicing regime for 6 months and still had a few spots come up, but my oil has disappeared and my skin everywhere else has cleared tremendously. If you "facial redness" is what i thinkit is, then it's just inflamation from what you're eating. Do you have an allergy you are not aware of? I began quitting other things like gluten, sugar, and dairy, and my redness, although slightly still prominent, has been going away fast. My acne has shrunk and lessoned, and now my skin is as soft as when I was a child. The only bumps and red spots are my scars. Do you think you have too many toxins in your body? Have you tried any famous diets before? (Mediterranean, Paleolithic, etc...?). perhaps you may be interested in the books I have in my gallery.

I am not sure if I have an allergy or not. I definitely could, but I have never looked into it. I've never really tried a famous diet before. I could definitely have toxins built up in my body, and i have thought about trying a cleanse. Any you can recommend?

Is taurine comparable to L-Carnitine? I'm currently taking taurine and I was wondering if that might work as well instead of carnitine?

I am not sure if I have an allergy or not. I definitely could, but I have never looked into it. I've never really tried a famous diet before. I could definitely have toxins built up in my body, and i have thought about trying a cleanse. Any you can recommend?

 

I would probably consider the paleolithic since it gives you a tremendous amount of omega 3-s from fish and vitamins and minerals from raw vegetables, but the choice is entirely yours. Going extreme would probably be the best way. I'm talking NO gluten, NO dairy, and NO sugar (excluding fruits). It will be difficult, bland, and unappealing at first, but you may end up seeing great results are only a few months.

Try reading all of alternativista's posts starting with the first one here: http://www.acne.org/...t-lead-to-acne/ . She's practically on every day and has many wonderful studies and links. There are foods she DOES recommend and foods she DOES NOT. Starting from scratch isn't easy but may be the only way. She has a lot of data, so be prepared to do a lot of reading for a month or so.

 

Hi darkdivine,

 

Please keep me posted on how it goes for you when you try to be off BP. I have used BP once a day for years now and just yesterday I decided to start apply it only every other night..

 

 

Sorry to take your question away, but are you eventually going to quit BP? If so, you may need to prepare yourself for your skin to get worse... at least for a while. I stopped too, and my face exploded with acne far worse than it had ever been, you can see my gallery pictures. I have no idea (if this were to happen to you) how to stop it. Ever other night may or may not work, and in fact almost sounds like quitting the full effects of properly using BP. In what way are you applying BP? Is it Dan's BP? Is it a cream with a different percentage? Is it a wash? Are you doing anything else?

 

I'm using Dan's BP and I take 1g of time released B5 and 500mg L-Carnitine every morning. I'm hoping to go off BP or at least try what is the minimum dosage to keep me clear.. I have been taking B5 and carnitine for almost a year now but it hasn't worked for my oily skin..

 

 

Hi darkdivine,

 

Please keep me posted on how it goes for you when you try to be off BP. I have used BP once a day for years now and just yesterday I decided to start apply it only every other night..

 

 

Sorry to take your question away, but are you eventually going to quit BP? If so, you may need to prepare yourself for your skin to get worse... at least for a while. I stopped too, and my face exploded with acne far worse than it had ever been, you can see my gallery pictures. I have no idea (if this were to happen to you) how to stop it. Ever other night may or may not work, and in fact almost sounds like quitting the full effects of properly using BP. In what way are you applying BP? Is it Dan's BP? Is it a cream with a different percentage? Is it a wash? Are you doing anything else?

 

 

I'm using Dan's BP and I take 1g of time released B5 and 500mg L-Carnitine every morning. I'm hoping to go off BP or at least try what is the minimum dosage to keep me clear.. I have been taking B5 and carnitine for almost a year now but it hasn't worked for my oily skin..

 

If you got the vitamin combination from the regime here, please note that it only helps and works against acne with a healthy immune system, thus the vitamin juice. I have not heard once that the two vitamin combination alone helped 100 percent. And although there is that particular pill he mentioned on his first post that "also combines these two supplements", there is a great deal more ingredients in there was well as 4 times the amount of L-Car. and B5 (such as 2000mg). My oiliness disappeared with the vegetable juice. I stopped the supplements earlier and my skin still remains less oily. You may need to consider the veggie juice to be your "supplementation" and quit the 2.5 BP overall because once every other day simply will not work and may actually result in worse acne.

Just wanted to give my update on reducing BP usage. I have been applying BP every other night now two weeks and my skin awesome, no acne and better colour. Next month will try BP three times a week only. [Edited image out]

I'm nearing my 3 month anniversary since beginning the regimen and wanted to check in. However, I missed about 3 weeks of juicing due to traveling in rural India. I have, nevertheless, continued religiously popping B5 and L-Carnitine and--even in India--chugging water. I have a couple of small and large pimples right now as well as red marks. I intend to continue the regimen an additional 3 months regardless of my results.

I have seen no valid studies regarding hair loss and B-5, which was my main concern starting this program. The low amount of B-5 surely was not going to cause hairloss by itself, but my fear was that the l-carnitine would possible transform 500mg of B5 into a relative amount much larger than that, and since the horror stories on the web of B5 claim that the hair loss was irreversible, you can understand my anxiety. I will continue to keep people updated if I find anything new with my situation or with the B5 literature. Good luck to all! By the way, I'm a 37 year old male who's suffered since age 14 and has done accutane and everything else.

Sorry, I'm a bit confused, should we be supplementing with N Acetyl L Cysteine or L Carnitine?

Thanks for any re's!

Great post op. Lots of coverage over important points nobody touches on!

Sorry, I'm a bit confused, should we be supplementing with N Acetyl L Cysteine or L Carnitine?

Thanks for any re's!

The OP had success using L Carnitine, however one could presumably use acetyl with the same effects but the dosage is unclear. My philosophy was why mess with a good thing? I went the L Carnitine route. It will be 3 months for me next week and I've had moderate results. Mind you I took a 3 week hiatus from juicing.