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Hi folks, I'm a 35 year old male who has been battling acne since i was a teen. Id classifiy my acne as mild to moderate, enough to annoy me but not devastate me. My acne actually went away in my early 20's and came roaring back in my late 20's. My dermatologist at that point told me the genetic alterations that cause acne and be deactivated and activated by the body at any point so no acne really can never be cured.
I tried all the prescription acne meds you can think of, even did 2 rds of accutane. With each medication id see results for a little while but then my acne would become tolerant to the mediciation and it wouldnt work anymore. 2 years ago I finally decided to stop the antibiotic and topical use (since they werent really working anyway) and look for a more natural way to treat my acne. Ifiugred my body was having issues with dealing with the daily toxic load it was exposed to (i.e. pollution/chemicals in food and cosmetic stuff) Heres what worked for me:
1) DIET
First thing I did diet-wise was switch to completely organic foods, and i mean not just fruits and veggies, but i know by my meats (im a big steak lover) from organic sources. Again its all about dimishing the toxic load on the body. I know people say its expensive but honestly, i made a few other budget cutbacks (like only eat out once a week) to make up from the difference.
I cut out all dairy for a few months which moderately helped with my acne. Best part of cutting out dairy is i lost about 15lbs. Now i only drink/eat dairy that is organic to avoid the hormone load found in milk. I do cheat sometimes (i.e. pizza/ice cream) but minimizing your dairy intake should help diminsh the exogenous hormonal load on your body.
Reducing sugar didnt really have that much effect on my acne reduction. I dont over do it, but i definitely watch my sugar intake.
Gluten is another story. I actually realized that drinking 3-4 beers (very high gluten content) at my weekly poker game would cause me to break out the very next day. I experimented by switching to gluten free beer (Omission tastes pretty good!!) that those post poker breakouts didnt occur anymore. So i watch my gluten intake as much as i can, but find it impossible to completely eliminate it from my diet.
Of course, i increased my fruit and green veggie uptake, but to be honest i was eating these anyway.
2) Supplementation
My research has shown that most acne is due to the body underperforming some of its eliminatory functions, which leads to acne. Whether its digestion, the metabolism of innate substances (i.e. hormones/inflammatory mediators) or exogeous substances (i.e. chemicals/pollution). I keep my regimen simple, some people can get really crazy with supplementation so heres what i do:
I realized that high vit b12 causes cystic acne, so i avoid all mutivitamins and b complex formulas (i havent found a product that doesnt have high b12 levels) and im sure not going to take the other b vitamins individually, that can get really expensive. I rely on my fruits and veggie intake for my b vitamins.
I dont want this post to seem like a marketing tool, so i will not mention any brands that I use. If anyone is interested, ask and ill be more than happy to let you know which brands i use.
a) Fish Oil- The DHA/EPA (esp EPA) content in fish oil is vital for thier anti-inflammtory, and slight anti-androgen effects (i tried
saw palmetto for its anti-androgen effects and i didnt like the side effects). I take 3 GRAMS (my brand is 15 soft
gels) per day, 5 with every meal. Some people get the fishy aftertaste with fish oils. Two easy solutions are dont
take the oil take capsules instead, and freeze the capsules.
Sorry my OP got posted before i was done.
b) Probiotics- I never dealt with digestive symptoms so i never thought i needed probiotics. Boy was i wrong!!! I take 20 billion dose as soon as i get up and another 20 billion dose before i go to bed. I went to a seminar that discussed candida in the gut and its effects on the body. Some acne may be caused by candida, probiotics will battle the candida. One thing you should do is start with a 5 billion does and increase it every week until you get to 20 billion. Some people like to use a higher dose, 40 billion/day works for me. Gotta have a healthy gut thats all im going to say. LOL
c) Fiber- Probably the most important supplement to add. I was regular before i started my fiber supplementation (avg 2 BM/day) so i never thought i need more fiber. Fiber helps push things along and actually helps absorbs the crap (no pun intended LOL) in the digestive tract. I take my fiber in capsule form because i never found a powder that i could tolerate. I take my fiber as soon as i get up with my probiotic and right before i go to bed again with my probiotic. The biggest change was for the frist 2 weeks i was having around 5-7 BM/day which indicated that the fiber was helping the digestive system rid the body of all the crap (again no pun intended LOL). The amount of fiber is different for everyone, you want enough to increase your BM/day but dont want diarrhea to occur.
d) Molybdenum- I tried more common liver detox supplements like dandelion root and milk thistlem but they made me feel sick and rundown. Molybdenum increase the activity of the livers detoxifyng enzyme systems. I take 250 mcg (thats micrograms) 2x per day usually with breakfast and dinner. Ive read that humans can safely take up to 2.5 mg per day but i never felt the need to go that high. If I know im goignt to be stressing my live (i.e. have a few drinks) ill take an extra 250 mcg capsule when i get home.
e) Vitamin D- Vitamin D helps the immune system work better. its fat soluble and needs to be taken with food. I take 5000 IU per day with lunch.
f) Magnesuim- I went to another seminar about systemic inflammation, where the speaker touted taking magensium. I take 800 mg (4 capsules) per day with
lunch.
g) Last i take digestive enzymes- To aid with the digestion of both the nutrients from food but also the pollutants and chemicals found in food. Theres big debate when take the enzymes. I take one capsule as soon as i start eating and one when im done. You want a comprehensive enzyme capsule thats contains metabolizers of fats, proteins, and crabohydrates.
3) Health/Beauty/Household Products
A) Beauty/Health Products
I suggest everyone use the EWG database to identify all the chemicals in the products used. The EWG database website rates all the chemicals found in products and then gives an overall rating grade to the product (I try to use products with less a 3 rating).
Again I dont want this to seem like im advertsing because that not the purpose of this post. if you want to know what i use just ask. I have switched all my soaps/shampoos, household cleaners, laundry detergents, dishwasher soap, hand soap, moisturizers etc to a more organic.natural substitute. Again the purpose is to diminsh the toxic over load our body is bombarded with on a daily basis.
For my face i make a DIY toner whose recipe i will share. It has 3 components, a thyme infused alcohol free witch hazel solution mixed with combination of chamomile, green and red roobois teas. The witch hazel and thyme are antibacterial component since thyme has been shown to battle the bacteria p.acnes better than BP (sorry dan LOL). You want to use an aclohol free witch hazel (yes they do exist) so that here is no drying effect. The green/roobois teas provide antioxidants, an anti-inflammtory effect and slight topical androgenic effects. The chamomile is an a great anti-inflammatory and helps deal with red spots.
Heres the recipe:
1) take 1 TBS of organic dry thyme and place it in a dark galss bottle. Add 1/4 cup witch hazel. Let it sit for a weekin the fridge to get a good infusion.
2) Steep 10 green tea bags, 4 red roobios and 4 chamomile bags in boilng water that you let sit for 5 mins.
3) Once the tea is cool (keep the bags in there until its cool) add the tea to the witch hazel.
4) i use a spray bottle and spray onto face then gently rub it in with a cotton round and then spray alittle more and let it dry.
5) Let the toner almost dry fully and use your moisturizer.
6) Store toner in refrigerator
This lasts for about a week. So when when i make the toner, ill start infusing another witch hazel/thyme solution so that ill be ready to use once the toner runs out.
I know theres a big debate on how long green tea toners retain there antioxidant properites. Some say a month some say a few days. 1 weeks seems to work for me and its not to annoying to make the toner once per week.
It took me a really long time to find a facial cleanser, shaving cream, sunscreen, mosturizer etc that didnt break me out. Please realize organic/natural products can cause breakouts also.
A big issue for me (and still is but def not as bad) is shaving. Dan is correct if you are going to shave shave every day, but what i found is shave your WHOLE face including your forehead. The whole more hair grows in its place wheny ou shave is nonsense. Shaving provides a great mild exfoliation so if skin turnover issues cause your acne (like mine does) this will help with that. Shave only against the grain and please dont use foamy crap shaving cream sold in a can. Also whats help with ingorown hair/acne in the beard is i use COLD water shave, acutally ice cubes.
Again my skin isnt perfect, and i dont think it will ever be, but by dimishing the toxic load on the body my acne is significantly less. I hope this helps folks.