Hello Brianne,
It's very nice of you to start a thread like this to help people. Thank you for helping us, helping the community.
I've had acne since a teenager, but, it's usually on again, off again kind. Few months back, I was diagnosed with PCOS and, recently, I've started having cystic acne. Well they were still okay, because, I would have either one or two of them, until recently few weeks back, I had one big cystic acne which hurt, wouldn't pop and was big. To make it pop I did some facial steaming at home , and got about 4 new little ones beneath it after two days. I steamed them again and they popped leaving nasty scar.
Then on my other cheek I got two more cystic acne next to each other on a spot where I had acne earlier as well, they too popped but, they just don't stop coming. I steam them not more than 10 mins. and not daily, only because they were painful so they can get a head.
The current situation is one of my cheek is full of acne scar, and still has little acne which've head but, I'm resisting to pop and other cheek's getting acne again on same spot.
I don't know what to do, they maybe hormonal but, my doctor won't prescribe accutane. I'm 28 female and they say it's not safe, neither they're prescribing Spiro, due to its harmful side effects. Currently I'm on doxy and using nadibact cream along with mulit vitamins and zinc vitamin.
I've cut down on dairy, eat only home cooked food, not eating any chicken(chicken being only non veg dish I eat) , no chocolate (which I crave for a lot) and have only black coffee with one teaspoon sugar, no milk.
I don't know what else should I do. I do sleep on time, get about 7-8 hours or rest. But, yes I do have acne stress and little of general stress due to job. Still, if there's something you can advise, it would be nice.
Thanks in advance. 
wtf is digestive stress?n y cant increased cell growth just go to the places where scars r then...n what do u recomend internally? if diets fine already
What I mean by digestive stress is when any part of your digestive system is not functioning optimally. If you are sensitive or allergic to any foods, for example it can put stress on your digestive system.
Scars are fibrous tissues resulting from the way excess collagen forms when it is sent to repair the wound. Skin cell growth has nothing to do with scars.
As for recommendations. I'd first ask what your definition of "fine" is when it comes to your diet. That means different things to different people. What is your current diet like? What do you eat in an average day?
Hi there. New member here.
I've suffered from acne for years now, I'm 21. I started rather late but it definitely seems to be getting worse. I'll be the first to admit that it isn't the worst acne in the world. Definitely not severe, but the breakouts really bring me down as they infest my chin/around the mouth area quite badly.
I've tried most cleansers and moisturizers. I've received antibiotics from the GP and some gel to lather up on my face. Nothing seems to work.
If I put a cleanser on in the shower, or a moisturizer if my skin becomes dry - I wake up the next morning with a whole lot of whiteheads dotted around my face. It's horrible. It seems as if it just makes everything more inflamed and worse.
Any ideas guys?
Hi DimiDimi,
Welcome.
Did you read under the "Edit" section of my original post? Is there any area of your general health that could use improvement? Always start there.
As for topical - it sounds like you may be sensitive to one or more ingredients in typical products. Often emulsifiers (the ingredient that binds water and oil together to make a product into a lotion) will trigger acne. I'd suggest trying jojoba oil as a moisturizer. 4 - 5 drops while skin is still slightly damp.
Hello Brianne,
It's very nice of you to start a thread like this to help people. Thank you for helping us, helping the community.
I've had acne since a teenager, but, it's usually on again, off again kind. Few months back, I was diagnosed with PCOS and, recently, I've started having cystic acne. Well they were still okay, because, I would have either one or two of them, until recently few weeks back, I had one big cystic acne which hurt, wouldn't pop and was big. To make it pop I did some facial steaming at home , and got about 4 new little ones beneath it after two days. I steamed them again and they popped leaving nasty scar.
Then on my other cheek I got two more cystic acne next to each other on a spot where I had acne earlier as well, they too popped but, they just don't stop coming. I steam them not more than 10 mins. and not daily, only because they were painful so they can get a head.
The current situation is one of my cheek is full of acne scar, and still has little acne which've head but, I'm resisting to pop and other cheek's getting acne again on same spot.
I don't know what to do, they maybe hormonal but, my doctor won't prescribe accutane. I'm 28 female and they say it's not safe, neither they're prescribing Spiro, due to its harmful side effects. Currently I'm on doxy and using nadibact cream along with mulit vitamins and zinc vitamin.
I've cut down on dairy, eat only home cooked food, not eating any chicken(chicken being only non veg dish I eat) , no chocolate (which I crave for a lot) and have only black coffee with one teaspoon sugar, no milk.
I don't know what else should I do. I do sleep on time, get about 7-8 hours or rest. But, yes I do have acne stress and little of general stress due to job. Still, if there's something you can advise, it would be nice.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Nikki,
First, never try to pop cystic acne. This acne goes down into your skin, rather than coming up. Attempts at popping it will only cause further problems, and as you've seen, increases the chances of scarring. Do not steam cystic acne. The steam won't be able to help, and will cause more inflammation in the area.
Your problem is tricky due to the PCOS. Cystic acne is common with this, because of it's affects on hormone levels. I would suggest finding someone who specializes in hormone balancing - as that will help a lot with the cystic acne.
As for your diet, if you're not eating meat, make sure you're getting plenty of good, healthy proteins and fats. Reduce grains and grain products. If you crave chocolate, go for a few pieces of dark chocolate. It's low in sugar, and high in antioxidants. Also consider switching out your coffee with green tea - which is also high in skin loving antioxidants.
how i eat atm:home made food: steamed or stewed veggies,greens sometimes (p rarely lately)fresh veggies (tomato, cucumber)fruits sometimes,sometimes egg,butter, evoo,humoss (beans, oil, spices)100% oringe juice or carrot juice (no sugar added)chicken, canned fish sometimes (i hv omega 3 pills)soup (chicken broth, veggies)drink green tea, hibiskus tea now, water (no sugar added)sometimes rye bread + pigs lard (ew lol bt saturated fats n whatnot)from time to time somekinda treat/snack (yes)practically no grains and no dairy (cept rye bread or if im out in town im gona get wrap n theres lavash of wheat a bit) nd cept if mom makes salad with sour cream (rarely) bt other than tht no milk or else(im like 80-90% free of them n they dnt affect me)this is hella healthy imo n i dnt wanna eat like somekinda diabetic pensioneer whos lungs r falling out. im still young n i wanna hv fun too!!
It seems you're good on fruits and veggies, but it'd help to have more proteins and fats in there. Aim to have protein and fat in each meal.
How is your digestive health? You don't have to go into detail - but if you have any troubles with things like IBS, constipation, stomach aches, etc - I say focus on healing those issues (not with meds though).
Also, if you have a lot of stress in your life - that can cause a lot of problems with your whole body, including your skin. I'd look into stress relieving techniques like breathing exercise and/or meditation.
Let me know if either of those are not problems and I'll ask more questions to get a sense of what's going on for you.
It seems you're good on fruits and veggies, but it'd help to have more proteins and fats in there. Aim to have protein and fat in each meal.
How is your digestive health? You don't have to go into detail - but if you have any troubles with things like IBS, constipation, stomach aches, etc - I say focus on healing those issues (not with meds though).
Also, if you have a lot of stress in your life - that can cause a lot of problems with your whole body, including your skin. I'd look into stress relieving techniques like breathing exercise and/or meditation.
Let me know if either of those are not problems and I'll ask more questions to get a sense of what's going on for you.
It seems you're good on fruits and veggies, but it'd help to have more proteins and fats in there. Aim to have protein and fat in each meal.
How is your digestive health? You don't have to go into detail - but if you have any troubles with things like IBS, constipation, stomach aches, etc - I say focus on healing those issues (not with meds though).
Also, if you have a lot of stress in your life - that can cause a lot of problems with your whole body, including your skin. I'd look into stress relieving techniques like breathing exercise and/or meditation.
Let me know if either of those are not problems and I'll ask more questions to get a sense of what's going on for you.
wht do u mean more proteins n fats? what food exactly would tht be?isnt hving humoss, chicken at times enough?i also dnt wanna get fat n tbh trying to loose some of it tooidk its nt bad i think bt i wish it was better n fasterwell idk how am i supposed to nt hv stress with this face, stress will stop when face will stop being shittyn i dnt rly believe in whole stress thing tbh, we r meant to stress n deal with it bcs stress is everywhere in nature, its just like how it is, we shouldnt b hving pimples bcs of stress tht just doesnt make sense to me, idkalso i rly dnt wanna do no breathing tehniques or meditation, i hv no time for such n ive been doing some breathing tehniques back in past, i dnt remember them doing anything much at all tbh nd deff useless for acne
Protein and fat will not make you fat. As long as your portion sizes aren't giant, and the sources of your food are good quality and not processed you'll be fine. But you should definitely try to have them at each meal.
Sources of protein are the eggs and chicken your are already eating. There is some in hummus, though not a lot. It's best to have variety, so you should fine other sources as well. Things like beans and rice, though you shouldn't eat a lot of those, but some is ok. Also other meats, tofu and tempeh (not fake meats), nuts, fish, cheese and yogurt (if your skin isn't affected by dairy).
Fat sources can also come from meats, fish and eggs, but also butter, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, avocado.
Again, these are healthy foods and will not make you fat as long as you do not eat large portions.
And stress in "nature" is entirely different. The hormone changes that occur in nature are in direct relation to immediate threats. For example if a deer is chased by a wolf, the deer's system becomes very stressed and hormones are released to prepare for the fight or flight reaction. Those chemicals are burned and used up during the chase, and once the threat is gone, the deer soon goes back to calmly eating some grass. It's system, along with hormone levels, go back to homeostasis, which means balance.
In our modern society we are bombarded by constant low grade stress which does not generally happen in the rest of nature. Our systems are not allowed to return to balance. Our brains do not realize that we aren't getting chased by an animal, but it feels constantly threatened none the less, so it constantly releases stress hormones.
This causes increased cortisol levels outside the normal range, on a constant basis. One of cortisol's functions is to release sugar into the blood stream (for quick energy to be used in fighting or running), but because that sugar isn't being used up, insulin levels rise to take the sugar out of the blood stream. Increased insulin levels lead to higher levels of free androgens in the system. Androgens stimulate skin cell growth and oil production and are the main contributor to acne. Stress can also cause hormone receptors in skin to become more sensitive to androgens, thus triggering more acne.
Once you understand how the body works as a whole, it's easy to see how stress, diet and general physical health can be related to acne breakouts. It does not seem that you are interested in taking the holistic approach seriously at this point in time though, which is fine. I hope you find something that works for you that fits with your life.
All the best.