Hi everyone,

I used to visit this site all the time and am truly grateful for all the advice and tips I've discovered and tried over the years. I'd like to give back if I can, now that I'm free from the debilitating mental stresses of acne.

Like most people, I've tried many, many, MANY different cures and again, like most, a lot of them were fairly pointless. So I'd like to share a few of the things that worked for me.

First off, the thing I consider to be the most important aspect, and yet the most difficult part of the healing process, is the psychological effect acne has on the person afflicted. It is a sort of paradoxical circle that feeds of itself. What I mean by that is; First, the acne shows up, and then the person feels self conscious about it and starts to worry about his/her appearance more and more and starts to feed a lot of mental energy towards the acne and it's presence. I feel strongly that the worry/anxiety/negativity that we project onto acne is what helps it multiply and even worsen. It's definitely not an easy thing to stand by and just allow acne to exist without feeding it with our worry and self-consciousness, and yet, it is THE THING. In my experience, nothing clears your face up like BELIEVING, and I mean truly KNOWING that your face/back is already clear, radiant and beautiful. Not allowing yourself to fall into worry is a crucial aspect in my book.

That being said, there are a few more "down to earth" and palpable products/items that I've found help a great deal in the healing process. Obviously, I think having a more healthy approach to the way we treat our bodies is extremely beneficial; like exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet full of fruits and mostly vegetables, avoiding bad foods like milk and soy (In my experience) and getting a lot of regenerative sleep. But there are things out there that work topically as well:

- Black Tea

- Pure edible Aloe Vera

In my experience, applying Black Tea all over the affected areas and allowing it to dry over night helps dry out DRAMATICALLY the affected areas. It also leave the skin with a nicer glow.

The Aloe vera, in it's digestible format and 99.9 to 100% pure, is the KING of topicals. I decided one day to buy it as a moisturizer because I figured, after a trip to my local health food store, that for 8$ and a whopping 1 litre bottle, it was well worth a try. The next day after using it, I found my skin looked much clearer, and after 3 days, my skin looked the healthiest and clearest I had ever seen it.

A few tips about things I've noticed after exercising; When I first started going to the gym, I would shower Immediately after a workout and try to shower after any activity that made me sweat for fear that if I let the sweat dry on my face it would clog my pores. It took me a while to realize that this was making my acne MUCH worse. I believe now that it was irritating my skin very much, drying it out more and promoting the spread of acne. Now, I've found that if I just towel of sweat and allow my skin to breathe for some time before attacking it with harsh chemicals, it clears me up quite effectively. Basically, I never shower immediately after any intense sweating, I just dry myself with a towel and shower later on in the day... This has made a big difference.

2 more things that have improved my health, happiness and skin, are CHAGA and Chamomile.

Chaga is a pretty unknown mushroom that lives on birch trees in northern climates. This is the single greatest find I've made that has improved all aspects of my life. It is known as the King of mushrooms for it's beneficial and healing properties. Some say it is powerful enough to heal cancer. Personally, I've found it gives me a tremendous amount of energy and makes me feel more positive and joyous. I would recommend that everyone give it a try. It is very inexpensive. 10$ for 100g chunks that will yield 30 or more teas.

As for chamomile, it helps calm me down, as the name implies, and helps me take on a more relaxed and easy going perspective of everything.

I hope these things help. I know everybody's journey is there own, and not all the same things work for everybody; which is why this site is so phenomenal. I just hoped I could reach someone out there, who like me, has struggled to find something that works, and maybe give them a trick or 2 that will heal them for good.

Peace, love and Happiness to All of you!