Hey all,
I'll keep this short and sweet, for lack of a better term. I started getting the occasional zit when I was around 15, I'm 19 now, and in-between the two ages I've struggled constantly with varying degrees of acne on my face. It seems to have been clearing up a little lately, but I still get some pretty bad break-outs.
Like this one.
I don't care how mild it is, this is literally the bane of my life. People don't understand unless they've been through it themselves and had to deal with it everyday of their lives. I'm guessing here I'm surrounded by people who know exactly how I feel, so this is nothing new to them. When I get it like this, I'm almost housebound...I avoid going out whenever possible, in fact I've taken the last two days off work due to a 'sickness bug' - just so I don't have to be seen. I'd give anything for clear skin, anything.
My main treatment that I've been using is Sudocrem, which is meant to be amazing for acne. It has actually worked quite well, but obviously it's not a miracle fix. I'm cautious about trying any new products because it turns out I have incredibly sensitive skin, I had to stop using a Clearasil gentle face wash recently because I realized it was causing me to break out.
I'll get to the point anyway, can anyone advise me on how best to get rid of the acne you see in the photo? I'm drinking as much water as I can during the way, constantly refilling my bottle from when I wake up to when I sleep. At the minute I'm also rubbing in a fair amount of Sudocrem, then after an hour or so, wiping it off and putting on a fresh layer. I don't know if this is the most effective technique, so any advice there would be greatly appreciated as well.
Please, anyone who knows how much this can suck, please help.
Oh god...this post. "I'll keep this short and sweet" - Goes on to write auto-biography.
Cut off grains from your diet: Bread, Rice, Pasta, etc... Cut off sugar, dairy, and any other foods you can't tolerate. If you get gas, bloating, burping, etc, 2-4 hours after eating something, that means you can't tolerate whatever you ate. Start eating whole foods: veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, etc...
Also I recommend supplements. Vitamin A and Zinc in particular are extra important for acne sufferers: 20,000 IU of Vitamin A and 50 MG of Zinc picolinate.
Make sure to get plenty of sun too - At least 15 minutes daily.
That's just a few tips, I have a bunch more in a post I made.
Good luck. 
Cut off grains from your diet: Bread, Rice, Pasta, etc... Cut off sugar, dairy, and any other foods you can't tolerate. If you get gas, bloating, burping, etc, 2-4 hours after eating something, that means you can't tolerate whatever you ate. Start eating whole foods: veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, etc...
Also I recommend supplements. Vitamin A and Zinc in particular are extra important for acne sufferers: 20,000 IU of Vitamin A and 50 MG of Zinc picolinate.
Make sure to get plenty of sun too - At least 15 minutes daily.
That's just a few tips, I have a bunch more in a post I made.
Good luck.
Thanks for taking the time to offer some advice I'm slightly confused about the bread thing though, I eat a lot of wholegrain bread, as it's a reasonably healthy lunch. I wasn't aware it could make my acne worse, as I replaced eating greasy food with eating the bread instead.
Cut off grains from your diet: Bread, Rice, Pasta, etc... Cut off sugar, dairy, and any other foods you can't tolerate. If you get gas, bloating, burping, etc, 2-4 hours after eating something, that means you can't tolerate whatever you ate. Start eating whole foods: veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, etc...
Also I recommend supplements. Vitamin A and Zinc in particular are extra important for acne sufferers: 20,000 IU of Vitamin A and 50 MG of Zinc picolinate.
Make sure to get plenty of sun too - At least 15 minutes daily.
That's just a few tips, I have a bunch more in a post I made.
Good luck.
Thanks for taking the time to offer some advice
I'm slightly confused about the bread thing though, I eat a lot of wholegrain bread, as it's a reasonably healthy lunch. I wasn't aware it could make my acne worse, as I replaced eating greasy food with eating the bread instead.
Grains are very tough on the digestive system. Grains were never meant to be consumed. It took thousands of years of agriculture to turn a grain edible (they were bitter hard non-edible seeds). They don't have much to offer in terms of nutrition, and in fact contain many anti nutrients. It's almost like sand paper to your inner gut lining.
I would replace grains with vegetables and protein. Get yourself some Whey protein powder and make sure you're getting .5 - 1 gram of protein per/lb of body weight. (Whey protein has a full amino acid profile which can help repair the gut and boost the immune system and will also take away any cravings for grains/sugar)
A lot of people on this board have attained not only clear skin (that's just a plus) but great overall health by going the Paleo diet - I recommend you give that a try with supplementing vitamins, EFA's, and probiotics.
Cut off grains from your diet: Bread, Rice, Pasta, etc... Cut off sugar, dairy, and any other foods you can't tolerate. If you get gas, bloating, burping, etc, 2-4 hours after eating something, that means you can't tolerate whatever you ate. Start eating whole foods: veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, etc...
Also I recommend supplements. Vitamin A and Zinc in particular are extra important for acne sufferers: 20,000 IU of Vitamin A and 50 MG of Zinc picolinate.
Make sure to get plenty of sun too - At least 15 minutes daily.
That's just a few tips, I have a bunch more in a post I made.
Good luck.
Thanks for taking the time to offer some advice
Grains are very tough on the digestive system. Grains were never meant to be consumed. It took thousands of years of agriculture to turn a grain edible (they were bitter hard non-edible seeds). They don't have much to offer in terms of nutrition, and in fact contain many anti nutrients. It's almost like sand paper to your inner gut lining.
I would replace grains with vegetables and protein. Get yourself some Whey protein powder and make sure you're getting .5 - 1 gram of protein per/lb of body weight. (Whey protein has a full amino acid profile which can help repair the gut and boost the immune system and will also take away any cravings for grains/sugar)
A lot of people on this board have attained not only clear skin (that's just a plus) but great overall health by going the Paleo diet - I recommend you give that a try with supplementing vitamins, EFA's, and probiotics.
You're contradicting yourself by saying cut out dairy, but add in whey protein. Whey is milk based. Gotta be careful with that. OP: cut out ALL dairy first and foremost. And I would stop applying your cream so much. You should cleanse in the am, apply it and leave it alone all day. Wash your face again at night and apply your cream. Check the ingredients on your face wash and make sure it's not loaded with chemicals as that can be an irritant and making your skin worse. And if you have been on that sudocream for 8 weeks and you haven't seen much change, you may wanna visit your derm for other options.
You're contradicting yourself by saying cut out dairy, but add in whey protein. Whey is milk based. Gotta be careful with that. OP: cut out ALL dairy first and foremost. And I would stop applying your cream so much. You should cleanse in the am, apply it and leave it alone all day. Wash your face again at night and apply your cream. Check the ingredients on your face wash and make sure it's not loaded with chemicals as that can be an irritant and making your skin worse. And if you have been on that sudocream for 8 weeks and you haven't seen much change, you may wanna visit your derm for other options.
How so? Whey Protein is derived from dairy, but contains a miniscule amount of lactose which generally isnt enough to trigger the side effects commonly associated with dairy intolerance.
Whey Protein is amazing in its beneficial health attributes, namely because it contains glutamine.
Yup careful with the whey.. lot of people report that it breaks them out.
Yes, some people can be intolerant of Whey. However, most people are safe to use Whey. There are other alternatives (not as good as Whey) such as Egg, Pea, Hemp, etc...
Thanks for the words of warning guys. One last question, I heard a theory that the location of the acne on your face indicates it's cause, for example acne on the forehead is usually to do with digestion, acne on the cheeks is due to stress, and acne below the mouth is due to hormones - is there any credence to this? I get the majority of acne on my cheeks, which suggests I need to try and lower my stress levels.