Hi,

I have read so many posts on acne.org over the years and want to share what I think has worked for me....it may not help everyone but if I can help a few people that would be great.

I'm 35 years old, a female and have had acne since I was 14. I have loads of blackheads, congested skin. I'm half Chinese so I get lots of hyperpigmentation of acne scars. The only times it has been clear was when I was on Yasmin birth control (clear skin but hellish side effects) and when I was pregnant and breastfeeding. Definitely pointed to hormones...

I've tried most treatments, pill, acupuncture, chinese herbs, naturopathy, most things except the prescriptions. Some improvement using apple cider vinegar toner to reduce congestion of pores but this didn't stop the cystic acne.

To cut a long story short I get cystic acne along my jawline and chin. I was having it every day of the month and even though it all looked hormonal (being on chin and not being there when on pill/ pregnant) it wasn't cyclical. I cut out dairy and 70% improvement. No milk/ yoghurt, but I can cope with a little cheese now and then and a little butter, but gone are the days of milk on my cereal, etc.

I then cut out citrus and saw more improvement. Bananas...didn't see that as a culprit but that and mango had to go. I also don't drink coffee or black tea (stresses the adrenals which can further affect hormones).

So after I cut out these foods I was clear 75% of the month except for the week before I ovulated when I could see my skin becoming inflamed, congested, oilier and eventually about 2 big cystic spots would sprout. This confused naturopaths in particular, why isn't it pms acne? All the vitex in the world wasn't going to help me....

I figured it was from a testosterone increase and the associated androgens causing this, my crap skin coincided with my libido feeling like that of a teenage boy (that's saying something for a 35 year of mum of 2 married for 10 years). So thanks to acne.org I found a thread for using spearmint tea to reduce free testosterone in the body. One month in and touch wood, no cystic acne before ovulation, if it was going to happen it would have, and it didn't.... My skin is 99% clear with no cystic acne, just 2 whiteheads.

My advice with the tea is take it easy, I bought organic spearmint tea bags and cut the teabag and used a 3rd of the tea in a mug and drank the tea when the leaves settled. I did this once a day for a week, then up to twice a day in the week before ovulation. In desperation some may think the stronger and more tea consumed the better, but I think its best not to shock your body because it could backfire, tea is potent stuff so you don't need to over do it.

I read up about spearmint in Traditional chinese medicine, it helps with QI stagnation which is the cause of acne, and cleans the blood. In western thought it is an anti-androgen. Whatever it is, it is gold, and it tastes great.

It might help you if you think your acne is testosterone/androgen hormone related, I say it could be useful for those with PCOS.

Cheers