I've been meaning to come here and report my findings in the hopes it will help others who struggle with acne, specifically cystic acne (though my findings may be helpful to everyone struggling with any kind of acne).

About 4 years ago I started getting acne on the back of my head, and on my temples and forehead (I'm a bald 34 yr. old male btw). It became apparent that I needed some dermatological help and of course headed to a Derm. who (and most of you can relate) tried a barrage of different antibiotics. It was the typical, "works while you're on them, flare up when off" scenario . . . Desperate I tried 2 different Derms and all they wanted to do was try other meds and of course Accutane. I was almost about to do the Accutane as the scarring on my temples was becoming extreme and dealing with massive welts on the back of my head was hugely embarrassing, and painful. . . but being so sensitive to meds of any kind (bactum made me so sick I thought I was going to die) I decided not to do it . . .

Fast forward a few months.

One day after reading an article on all the chemicals and stuff in these "low calorie" drinks I decided I didn't want to those thing in my body anymore. I wound't say I was a soda addict, but I was a big fan of sugary tasting diet drinks and used products like crystal light/Mio/Dr. Pepper 10, etc. So I stopped cold turkey and just went to plain old water and some natural lemonade.

What happened next was truly amazing . . . after one week my welts started to go down and started healing . . . 2 weeks out and my acne was almost completely gone . . . one month, I was/am 98% acne free! At first I was so pumped things were healing and going away I could barely contain myself, but then I got . . . angry! Yes, I was angry because I put my body through hell trying to cure this stuff when (at least for me) the obvious causes were these artificial colorings and/or sweeteners. 4 Years of battling, pills, co-pays, research, supplements, home remedies . . . and all this time it was something I was consuming everyday! Just to clarify, I had not changed anything else in my diet and my routine of Salicylic scrubs and cleansing was the same as it had been for months!

Needless to say I'm over the moon I found a cure for myself and I hope this info. helps someone else out there. If things come back I'll report it here, but I'm going on about 3.5 months clear now and hopeful it will continue. Also, for those of you who are curious about PH Level stuff, I was testing that before and after and my alkalinity did increase a tad, and by a tad I mean I'm still pretty acidic (meat lover here). I'm not sure if that was at play or not, all I know is by eliminating those drinks things have gone back to normal and I'm pumped and ready to get back to living normally!

Best of luck to everyone in finding what works for you, and I encourage people to give this a shot!