I've been lurking for quite a long-time, but I finally decided I should post. I have had such success with my lifestyle changes and my acne is no longer a debilitating, horrific, time-consuming struggle in my life. Six months ago I barely wanted to leave the house. Every inch of my face was red, inflamed, irritated, dry, flaking, and just a general disaster. Now I'm really only dealing with PIH marks and the occasional pimple (maybe one a week). I am so pleased with the regime I'm currently doing.

Anyway, I figured out that my skin cannot handle BP. No way, no sir. My skin reacted like it was on Accutane simply from the BP. No amount of moisturizer or jojoba oil would prevent my skin from cracking, peeling, and acting like the Sahara desert when I put BP on my skin. With that realization out of the way, I knew I had to approach things from a more natural perspective. Here are the changes I made:

Diet -

I started consuming green smoothies for breakfast and lunch on weekdays. I eat whatever I want for dinners and on weekends. I cut out dairy. I found dairy definitely makes me break out and it clogs my sinuses. I feel so much better being off dairy.

Vitamins -

I take a dairy-free Acidopholus (if you're off dairy, make sure your supplements are dairy-free), vitamin D3 (4,000 IU a day), and EPO.

Makeup -

I only use Faerie Organics now.

Cleansing -

I dilute Dr. Bronner's tea tree oil liquid soap with equal parts water in a foaming pump dispenser and use that to wash away my makeup every evening. Since soap is high in pH, after cleansing I use ACV on a cotton pad all over my still wet face. I use Filsingers ACV and find it's great at preventing acne, bringing pimples to a head much quicker, and fading PIH marks. Some other ACVs are far harsher and I would ensure that those are only used on a wet face or diluted.

Honey Masks -

I go to bed at night with a thin layer of Manuka honey all over my face. I try to get the highest UMF that I can afford. Right now I'm using Api Health UMF 20. I simply rinse the honey off in the morning with lukewarm water and follow up with a swipe of ACV on a cotton pad all over my damp face.

Moisturizer -

I don't use it! I don't have to. My skin's natural oil has regulated itself now and I just don't need moisturizer. My skin went from being severely dry and irritated to ideally self-moisturized. This has been the biggest and best surprise about my regime. I'm really so thrilled because I think even the best moisturizer was feeding my acne.

Miscellaneous -

I sleep only on my back now to prevent acne and wrinkles. I've switched to natural shampoo and toothpaste to prevent accidental irritation from these products. I love Dessert Essence. I use Dr. Bronner's soap for all over body cleansing in the shower.

Resources -

I used the following sources of information to help me with my natural approach to acne: The Love Vitamin (Tracy is great!), The Beauty Detox Solution, and Victoria Boutenko's information on greens and smoothies.

If you're using really harsh products like BP and you're only seeing irritation, redness, dryness, and continual acne, it might be time to consider more natural measures. I cannot believe how in only six months, my skin now looks like actual skin rather than a mound of beaten up raw meat.

Goodluck!