Hello. I have decided to post a picture of my condition, as hard as this is for me to post this. I am desperate and at the breaking point. I need advice so badly. I have suffered with acne since I was 12 and I am now 21. I am in tears right now because I was trying to clear up in time for college, and now I only have 2 weeks left until the semester starts. I have been eating very healthy for years, and a few months ago I completely cut out gluten, sugar, dairy, and all processed foods. Basically I am following the holistic diet similar to the Tracy at the Love Vitamin. About 2 weeks ago all my pimples had cleared and I was so excited. I did still have my chronic blackhead issue and my red marks/hyperpigmentation, but it was a step in the right direction. A few days ago, I broke out again on my forehead. The picture you see below was taken just a few minutes ago. I thought I was making progress, but now I'm starting to lose hope. *cries* And yes, I've tried all the antibiotics, topicals, etc as well.
As you can see, my big problems are active pimples, chronic blackheads, red marks, and inflammation. I'm an absolute mess. The weird thing though is that I only get this extreme inflammation on my forehead. I do get acne on the rest of my face, but it's not as bad as on my forehead. For some reason, the region between my eyebrows is extremely sensitive and easily prone to inflammation. I have idea what to do with it anymore.Currently I am on Spironolactone (been on for about a month), as the derm thinks my acne may be hormonal-related. Time will tell if it gets rid of the pimples. However she said that that it will NOT get rid of the blackheads, inflammation, or PIH.
I suspect that if I could get rid of the blackheads up there, then it would definitely help with the amount of pimples up there. I do think a lot of these pimples I get used to be blackheads. The problem is that I am at a loss at how to get rid of the blackheads. I cannot try and extract the blackheads out myself because my skin is very easily prone to damage. I did recently purchase a lactic acid peel and a salicylic acid peel to try and get the blackheads out, however my skin is so sensitive I am worried about making the inflammation worse. And then we have the red marks/blotchy skin which is an issue to tackle... I am just so overwhelmed. If you guys had my skin, where would you start? I am trying to remain positive, but after almost 10 years of this I am starting to lose hope. Please help.
Good for you with the healthy eating! Really keep it up!
Ok.. Now for my prognosis and prescription!
You noted that you have tried all antibiotics. Eek!
You also noted you are eating very healthily.
You then noted you cut out dairy.
Antibiotics have KILLED off your good bacteria, and the balance of bad and good bacteria in your gut and subsequently on your skin has been destroyed.
Eating healthily to me, shows me that your diet is alkaline based and you are eating low amounts of inflammatory food (no refined or processed foods) and so your body is reasonably clean from toxins and mess, so it can't be that your body is flushing toxins through your skin but that your skin is crawling with bad bacteria and infecting your pours.
The fact you are not eating dairy means there is no replenishment of good bacteria found in things like milk and yoghurt to balance this bad bacteria.
You my friend have killed off all your probiotics and are not replacing them!
You will need to buy a probiotic (preferably 'inner health plus') that is dairy free or lactose and gluten free immediately if you want to see results by the start of college. If you are already taking them, up your dosage because your spironolactone may also be killing them.
I am a chemist and this is what I would prescribe anyone who came into my store with that story and that forehead so trust me!
Once you have taken your first pill of probiotics, you NEED to apply aloevera to your head as a topical treatment. Nothing else. Wash your face at night, then apply Aloe Vera immediately to the open pores from the warm or hot water. This will provide the perfect environment for healthy skin growth and healing and will oxidise your skin (kill bad bacteria). It also moisturises the skin and promotes quick shedding for dead or broken skin so that you can get rid of that mess n your forehead.
It's budding, so make quick movements to avoid a breakout! That hasn't broken out yet.
Good for you with the healthy eating! Really keep it up!
Ok.. Now for my prognosis and prescription!
You noted that you have tried all antibiotics. Eek!
You also noted you are eating very healthily.
You then noted you cut out dairy.
Antibiotics have KILLED off your good bacteria, and the balance of bad and good bacteria in your gut and subsequently on your skin has been destroyed.
Eating healthily to me, shows me that your diet is alkaline based and you are eating low amounts of inflammatory food (no refined or processed foods) and so your body is reasonably clean from toxins and mess, so it can't be that your body is flushing toxins through your skin but that your skin is crawling with bad bacteria and infecting your pours.
The fact you are not eating dairy means there is no replenishment of good bacteria found in things like milk and yoghurt to balance this bad bacteria.
You my friend have killed off all your probiotics and are not replacing them!
You will need to buy a probiotic (preferably 'inner health plus') that is dairy free or lactose and gluten free immediately if you want to see results by the start of college. If you are already taking them, up your dosage because your spironolactone may also be killing them.
I am a chemist and this is what I would prescribe anyone who came into my store with that story and that forehead so trust me!
Once you have taken your first pill of probiotics, you NEED to apply aloevera to your head as a topical treatment. Nothing else. Wash your face at night, then apply Aloe Vera immediately to the open pores from the warm or hot water. This will provide the perfect environment for healthy skin growth and healing and will oxidise your skin (kill bad bacteria). It also moisturises the skin and promotes quick shedding for dead or broken skin so that you can get rid of that mess n your forehead.
It's budding, so make quick movements to avoid a breakout! That hasn't broken out yet.
Thank you so much for your response! I actually do take a probiotic but it's definitely not nearly as strong as the Inner Health Plus brand you recommended (which I googled). Also I will try the aloe vera. I am wondering... Where should I purchase that probiotic brand from? You can't order it directly from the company. I have heard it really matters where you buy probiotics as some stores ship out their products in a way that kills a lot of the live good bacteria. Thanks again for your advice! This was immensely helpful.
You will need to go to a chemist, pharmacy or drugstore and if you can't find that specific brand, look for one with at least 15 billion probiotics per capsule.
I wouldn't buy online because you are right that the pills would be worthless by the time they reach you and I mean whether or not the brand is the best or worst!
Probiotics must be kept refrigerated between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius and delivery simply can't achieve this environment.
Ill second what the previous posted said. "EEK" with the antibiotics. No one (that im aware of) has ever been CURED of acne from them (for some they work while they are on it, and thats it) for many, it makes it worse in the end (this i HAVE seen, MANY times, myself included...) Wash once a day an hour before bed like previous poster stated. do NOT use any scrubs of ANY kind. Get some UNprotected sun, you dont have any other problems than acne so 10 minutes at a time SHOULD be ok. 2-3 hours out of sun, another 5-10 mins IN the sun. Were are Designed toi require sunlight, you NEED it to be healthy, just dont get burned.
IMO, I would avoid the probiotics also, not much research has been done in this area, and i feel messing with your gut ecology in anyway is detrimental.
If changing your diet helpped with the acne, it is a digestive issue. This could be from poor gut bacteria, either inherited or self induced (antibiotics). Takes years to resolve, but good chance that it will. Eat very small amounts of the foods that you think give you acne if you plan to ever eat them again (if not you can cut them out forever) but if you eat just a SMALL amount, your digestion will have to adapt to digest it, if possible. Surging horomones have to be filtered through the liver, which will hinder on digestion also, this will resolve in time should it be the case.
NO LASERS NO PEELS NO HARSH SCRUBS OF ANY KIND
and id LOVE to say NO ANTIBIOTICS, but im not a doctor and many will argue that with me, so thats upto you, but id strongly advise against them. Your body is NOT in balance, and antibiotics will not help that, in fact, will make it worse.
Just be gentle with it, dont overwash, use a gentle cleanser, drink lots of clean water (multi stages filtration / UV light) avoid foods that are KNOWN bad for digestion (GMO's work by exploding the intestines of insects .. scary, avoid. Caffine causes gut inflammation as does refinded flour and gluten. these can be cut out. eat small amounts of dairy if possible, dairy has health benefits and if you can digest them thats good, but in small amounts) No heavy raw vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower, lightly steam these, makes it easier to digest.
so just do easy on your digestion / skin.
I have a hunch your acne would be less if you havent tried so many things to get rid of it. dont freak out if you get a breakout, your body is TRYING to balance itself, help it along by just trying to be healthy and gentle (skin is NOT self destructive, but the stuff we put ON our skin is, keep that in mind.
Again, not to counter the advise of the previous posters, as they have some good points, Id strongly advise your stop probiotics as well. They dont actually colonize in your gut, and may help while they are there, but once you stop taking them you lose the benefits. Better to let your system work it out by itself. and yes, this takes a LONG time (your body doesnt like rapid change, will do so gradually) which is why you shouldnt eliminate any foods (except caffine / refined sugar) cold turkey, and just work your way down to smaller and smaller amounts of the foods you think you react to. then stay at that minmal level untill acne seems to clear up (months / years who knows) then slowly start increasing them up again, if you do so choose. should be fine at this point.
If you find you cannot tolerate a certain food AT ALL, then eliminate it, but i think a restrictive diet is unhealthy.
fruits/vegies/meat/fish/whole grain (amarath, quinoa, millet) and long grain brown rice, we are MEANT to eat. Eggs/dairy/sugar/most bread(refined white/brown/whole wheat) we have adapted to eat, may cause problems in some.
Caffine/junk/processed we are NOT meant to eat and havent really adapted to eating and wont, as they offer little nutrition. Once in awhile is perfectly ok, just dont count it as FOOD or DRINK. its a treat.
lighly cooked vegetables are easier to digest, and you may absorb more nutrients from them. cook till slightly soft, steamed if possible, microwave kills less nutrients than boiling. DO NOT OVER COOK lol, or they are useless almost.
Dont mess with your gut, treat it well.
Dont drink much water 30-45 minutes after eating, this will lower stomach acid, hinder digestion and also your stomach lets water pass through almost immediatly, if there is food in there, some food will get thru with the water and wont be digested as well. If you need to drink after eating just a small amount of water, to rinse mouth or help reduce thrist (if you are VERY thirsty after eating drink a glass of water, listen to your body) but generally, if your not that thirsty, its better not to drink alot of water immediately after eating. the best choice would be have a peppermint tea ready to sip on after meals. Peppermint aids in proper digestion/assimilation of nutrients. Sip on water through the rest of the day.
Get a small, easy digested snack an hour before bed (can of tuna, couple piece of toast for example) and than a full glass of water right before bed.
the food will help you get a better sleep, and the water will help clean you out while you sleep.
GET LOTS OF SLEEP!!
Ill second what the previous posted said. "EEK" with the antibiotics. No one (that im aware of) has ever been CURED of acne from them (for some they work while they are on it, and thats it) for many, it makes it worse in the end (this i HAVE seen, MANY times, myself included...) Wash once a day an hour before bed like previous poster stated. do NOT use any scrubs of ANY kind. Get some UNprotected sun, you dont have any other problems than acne so 10 minutes at a time SHOULD be ok. 2-3 hours out of sun, another 5-10 mins IN the sun. Were are Designed toi require sunlight, you NEED it to be healthy, just dont get burned.
IMO, I would avoid the probiotics also, not much research has been done in this area, and i feel messing with your gut ecology in anyway is detrimental.
If changing your diet helpped with the acne, it is a digestive issue. This could be from poor gut bacteria, either inherited or self induced (antibiotics). Takes years to resolve, but good chance that it will. Eat very small amounts of the foods that you think give you acne if you plan to ever eat them again (if not you can cut them out forever) but if you eat just a SMALL amount, your digestion will have to adapt to digest it, if possible. Surging horomones have to be filtered through the liver, which will hinder on digestion also, this will resolve in time should it be the case.
NO LASERS NO PEELS NO HARSH SCRUBS OF ANY KIND
and id LOVE to say NO ANTIBIOTICS, but im not a doctor and many will argue that with me, so thats upto you, but id strongly advise against them. Your body is NOT in balance, and antibiotics will not help that, in fact, will make it worse.
Just be gentle with it, dont overwash, use a gentle cleanser, drink lots of clean water (multi stages filtration / UV light) avoid foods that are KNOWN bad for digestion (GMO's work by exploding the intestines of insects .. scary, avoid. Caffine causes gut inflammation as does refinded flour and gluten. these can be cut out. eat small amounts of dairy if possible, dairy has health benefits and if you can digest them thats good, but in small amounts) No heavy raw vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower, lightly steam these, makes it easier to digest.
so just do easy on your digestion / skin.
I have a hunch your acne would be less if you havent tried so many things to get rid of it. dont freak out if you get a breakout, your body is TRYING to balance itself, help it along by just trying to be healthy and gentle (skin is NOT self destructive, but the stuff we put ON our skin is, keep that in mind.
Again, not to counter the advise of the previous posters, as they have some good points, Id strongly advise your stop probiotics as well. They dont actually colonize in your gut, and may help while they are there, but once you stop taking them you lose the benefits. Better to let your system work it out by itself. and yes, this takes a LONG time (your body doesnt like rapid change, will do so gradually) which is why you shouldnt eliminate any foods (except caffine / refined sugar) cold turkey, and just work your way down to smaller and smaller amounts of the foods you think you react to. then stay at that minmal level untill acne seems to clear up (months / years who knows) then slowly start increasing them up again, if you do so choose. should be fine at this point.
If you find you cannot tolerate a certain food AT ALL, then eliminate it, but i think a restrictive diet is unhealthy.
fruits/vegies/meat/fish/whole grain (amarath, quinoa, millet) and long grain brown rice, we are MEANT to eat. Eggs/dairy/sugar/most bread(refined white/brown/whole wheat) we have adapted to eat, may cause problems in some.
Caffine/junk/processed we are NOT meant to eat and havent really adapted to eating and wont, as they offer little nutrition. Once in awhile is perfectly ok, just dont count it as FOOD or DRINK. its a treat.
lighly cooked vegetables are easier to digest, and you may absorb more nutrients from them. cook till slightly soft, steamed if possible, microwave kills less nutrients than boiling. DO NOT OVER COOK lol, or they are useless almost.
Dont mess with your gut, treat it well.
Dont drink much water 30-45 minutes after eating, this will lower stomach acid, hinder digestion and also your stomach lets water pass through almost immediatly, if there is food in there, some food will get thru with the water and wont be digested as well. If you need to drink after eating just a small amount of water, to rinse mouth or help reduce thrist (if you are VERY thirsty after eating drink a glass of water, listen to your body) but generally, if your not that thirsty, its better not to drink alot of water immediately after eating. the best choice would be have a peppermint tea ready to sip on after meals. Peppermint aids in proper digestion/assimilation of nutrients. Sip on water through the rest of the day.
Get a small, easy digested snack an hour before bed (can of tuna, couple piece of toast for example) and than a full glass of water right before bed.
the food will help you get a better sleep, and the water will help clean you out while you sleep.
GET LOTS OF SLEEP!!
But would probiotics do any harm? I'm confused if i should take it or not now after hearing most people say they can only be beneficial.
You will need to go to a chemist, pharmacy or drugstore and if you can't find that specific brand, look for one with at least 15 billion probiotics per capsule.
I wouldn't buy online because you are right that the pills would be worthless by the time they reach you and I mean whether or not the brand is the best or worst!
Probiotics must be kept refrigerated between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius and delivery simply can't achieve this environment.
Thank you! In regard to the aloe vera, does this brand look good to you? Claims to be 100% pure aloe with out any chemicals or additives.
"Probiotics are friendly bacteria that help your body to thrive on multiple levels. In Greek, the term means for life, and the myriad of research surrounding these healthful microorganisms suggests that they are, in fact, an integral part of your well-being.
Far from simply helping your body to better digest and assimilate your food (which they do very well), probiotics influence the activity of hundreds of your genes, helping them to express in a positive, disease-fighting manner.
Among the many probiotic effects uncovered by this latest study were changes that positively influence your immune system and help lower blood pressure. In fact, the researchers noted that probiotics lead to changes similar to those sought after by the pharmaceutical industry, yet with probiotics there are no negative side effects whatsoever."
This is but the first thing in google.
There has been research and if you've messed with your gut with the antibiotics you sure as anything need to fix it up because you are damaging your body when it simply can't digest foods. Spironolactone is also currently affecting your gut and immune system as a whole and so it is imperative to start a high course of probiotics to fix the issue.
Doddy has some great tips for keeping your diet alkaline styled for easier digestion but you must take probiotics. It would be different if you hadn't had antibiotics or weren't taking spironolactone while getting what you needed from dairy.
100% pure aloe Vera? You got it!
(Be careful with the sun! It's great for killing bacteria but the moment you get slightly burnt, it will have adverse effects on your skin!)
You can use probiotics to help aid digestion, or possibly, maybe, help your native microbiome a chance to properly flourish (I have my own opinion on that) so they do have a good chance of helping. But they in no way can ever replace or fix dysbiosis. That's upto your diet and appendix. The only probiotics that could help are HMF brand, as these are the only human strain probiotics (that I'm aware of). The others are either soil based or dairy based and not human kinds. The soil ones IMO are better than dairy. "prescipt assist" is a powerful soil based probiotic, but you might need a health care practitioner to order them for you.
I think it's better to use money buying food, but if you have the extra cash, odds are it helps " symptometically (if that's a word) I'm just not 100% positive theres no chance they somehow alter your native bacterial growth \ homeostasis in the long run for the worse somehow.
Anyway, they'll never colonize so they cannot rebuild your good bacteria in that manner. The only way to do that is an FMT, and I dont think thus is what you need, lol.
So look at probiotics as a digestive aid, and really nothing much more.
Have you tried nizoral on it by any chance?