Assistance would be much appreciated fellow acne sufferers

It looks like a mix of hyperpigmentation (like rosacea) and acne scarring. I had a similar section on my right cheek a few years ago after a few bouts of pretty severe acne. I've tried a myriad of products - some antibiotics were helpful but in the end I've been doing:

-Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash (very basic cleanser) in the AM/PM

-10% Benzoyl peroxide on any spots that are still problematic in the AM/PM

-Moisturizer in the AM after letting the BP sit for a few minutes

-Drinking a ton of water (>80 oz a day)

-Cut out most take out and restaurant food

This has improved everything greatly - the spots fade in time. In my case I think a lot of it was hormonal, and I bloomed later than most. I just turned 24 and I still get some here and there - but nothing compared to when I was 19-20.

People need to wake up and understand that dermatologists often DON'T know what they're talking about. The last time I went to one he said "diet has nothing to do with acne". Yeah...and that statement makes perfect sense in light of the last 2 decades of acne research, buddy.

The truth is, sure, they've studied the "textbooks" - outdated that is. BUT THEY DON'T LIVE WITH IT. Therefore, they often don't observe acne's real triggers. They just see the end result. At the end of the day, acne is an INDUSTRY. And INDUSTRIES SELL PRODUCTS TO MAKE MONEY. There are populations in the world that don't have acne at all. Why is it that "we" need all these creams, gels, antibiotics, and cleansers just to keep acne at bay at best, when other societies don't? If there is a disease in a specific geographic area that tends to run rampant, then it logically follows that there are conditions in that area that make people predisposed to the condition.

Acne is entirely preventable. Do this: list every food you eat, and in what portion. List all the ingredients. By the way, cut out that chocolate muffin.

Sorry no can do with the chocolate muffin. Its the one time a week I get to enjoy something I eat

As for the Holistic approach to Acne: yeah, yeah, we have all heard a million times changing your diet will help internally heal your acne. Might be true for some but it hasn't at all for me.

I've been Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Veggie Non Free since June of 2014, so on my 5th month and have seen no change in my acne whatsoever.

The only thing that has made a real difference in my acne was an Oral Antibiotic and Topical Antibiotic (which has given me a 40% reduction in acne redness in 1.5 months). I do believe my diet is helping (to a degree, more with my internal health than external) but there is a good combo between modern medicine and holistic approach.

I do believe diet has some to do with Acne, but I have officially bought in to dermatologists who tell me that it is bad genetics. My friends eat like SHIT everyday (Candy, chips, GLUTEN, DAIRY, SUGAR) *GASP* and are fucking living the high life with great skin, while you got little old veggie eater over here having the worst breakout of his life.

didnt read all responses but finacea is STRING stuff

please be careful and use no more than a pea over your entire face

Ive burned my face a few time using too much

sorry feel better

kim

Try applying manuka honey, it helps with any types of infection specially acne. Studies have found that manuka honey contains highest levels of antibacterial properties that works with infections associated with acne vulgaris.

ALoe Vera gel cleared up my redness! I was amazed! Give that a go after your shower at night

Well, it's your choice to eat those muffins and do what you want, and frankly, it's your acne as well. Don't mean to sound like a dick, but here is an undeniable fact: the closer that societies adhere to a hunter-gatherer type diet the less and less they suffer from acne. Many of them wouldn't even know what acne is. It doesn't exist in those places. No argument will change that fact.

You can't tell me that acne rates as high as 80-90% among teens and adults in the U.S. is the sole result of genetics. Acne is only one of the diseases among many here in the west including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. These are not just prevalent, THEY ARE AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH.

Other societies that don't suffer from acne also rarely suffer from any of those other diseases either. That in no way is a coincidence. Especially in light of the fact that sugar is often a trigger for acne. Guess what? Diabetes is also a result of high sugar intake and lack of nutrients, which ends up leading to insulin resistance. Do genetics play a role at all? Of course, but not anywhere near as much as people tend to think.

As for people who eat badly and have clear skin, I wrote about that in another post. It's most likely because they have a different skin type that is not oily, therefore they are not predisposed to have acne by eating unhealthy foods. That doesn't mean that they aren't affected by the toxic foods in the western world. The effects simply manifest themselves in another way.

I asked you to list all foods you eat. You just said you're gluten free, etc, etc. That doesn't help at all. Let's try this again: LIST EVERY FOOD YOU EAT. EVERY SINGLE ONE. AND LIST ALL INGREDIENTS. ALSO INCLUDE ANY AND ALL SUPPLEMENTS. YOU MUST DO THIS IF I AM TO HELP YOU. OTHERWISE I WILL NOT WASTE MY TIME.

Look, I'm only trying to help you. Trust me. I have been where you are now. I HAVE BEEN THERE. For over 10 years I was in your position and having acne. And now I have my acne completely under control, and with virtually no prescription drugs. I studied acne and it's relationship to other factors relentlessly in those 10 years. I have learned A LOT.

Whether you want clear skin is up to you, and whether you are willing to do what it takes is also up to you. Don't make the mistake of letting pride stand in your way.

Breakfast: Gluten Free, Sugar reduced Oatmeal with Blueberries

Lunch: 1 Turkey Sandwhich, 1 Chicken Sandwhich (gluten free), Fruit Salad, Vegtable Salad (no dressing)

Dinner: Chicken and Veggies

Snacks: Gluten Free granola bars, Peanut Butter (organic) and Jelly Sandwichs, gluten free, dairy free bean burritos.

I eat a lot, I workout a lot.

I routinely eat the same kind of foods (listed above).

I eat a LOT

didnt read all responses but finacea is STRING stuff

please be careful and use no more than a pea over your entire face

Ive burned my face a few time using too much

sorry feel better

kim

Its pretty great on my sensitive skin! Great morning cream, softens my skin and reduces *some* redness.

Sorry to hear about your poor experience with Finacea, its too early for me to tell if it is making a difference.

ALoe Vera gel cleared up my redness! I was amazed! Give that a go after your shower at night

How quickly until you saw results with Aloe Vera?

Try applying manuka honey, it helps with any types of infection specially acne. Studies have found that manuka honey contains highest levels of antibacterial properties that works with infections associated with acne vulgaris.

Will keep in mind, thanks for the tip. Will definitely try if I don't see results from my current regime in the next month or two.

Probably a week? I was using just the bottled aloe after sun gel, did some research and found the aloe plant is heaps more potent. I had one at home so started picking that off and using it. I swear by it. Still use it now

Breakfast: Gluten Free, Sugar reduced Oatmeal with Blueberries

Lunch: 1 Turkey Sandwhich, 1 Chicken Sandwhich (gluten free), Fruit Salad, Vegtable Salad (no dressing)

Dinner: Chicken and Veggies

Snacks: Gluten Free granola bars, Peanut Butter (organic) and Jelly Sandwichs, gluten free, dairy free bean burritos.

I eat a lot, I workout a lot.

I routinely eat the same kind of foods (listed above).

I eat a LOT

--------------------------------------

Ah, well atleast it seems like your on the right track. That's somewhat similar to what my diet looked like before I cleared up real good.

First of all, I know you have to eat more meals because of working out, but you must cut back on how much you are eating, especially carb-wise. Reason: lots of carbs spike insulin, just like sugar does. Do this instead: When you do eat carbs or sugar that could possibly spike insulin, make sure you get them from sources high in fiber, like fruit. That will slow down digestion and will lessen any insulin spikes. That's one of the reasons that stuff like corn (I recommend avoiding all processed foods - they have heaps of corn products and syrups - and are high-density carbohydrates) and white potatoes (french fries, etc) and breads lead to acne for many people - they are high-density carbs, with little nutritional value.

Secondly, cut out all traces of breads, and oats. No oatmeal. If you absolutely must (I love oatmeal to death, too), only eat one bowl a day and measure it out to precisely 1/4 cup. When using pure 1-minute-cook oats, this will usually work out to about 27g carbohydrate/4g fiber. Use almond milk (high in antioxidant vitamin E). This way you will avoid dairy. Get plain almond milk, rather than a flavor like vanilla (less sugar this way). As for the blueberries, that's up for debate. I did seem to notice that blueberries for some reason did appear break me out somewhat. As of yet I haven't looked into it deeply enough, but just keep this in mind for the time being.

Do something else instead of sandwiches..make like a taco-bowl type dish instead - with chicken or something. Again, no bread. This is key.

No granola bars, because they are processed foods. They probably have shit like soybean oil in them and they are a form of grain. No peanut butter, or bean burritos either. Tortillas are a problem. More on this later.

Let me just clear up any possible confusion about why I say no granols bars, peanut butter, etc. I know you said they were organic and gluten free and what not but this goes along with what I'm just about to say on polyunsaturated fatty acids. Even if there are minimal ingredients on your foods, nuts and seeds store these types of fats, and actually are a fairly good source of them. They are stored in seeds and nuts to prevent animals from digesting them - they block animal digestive enzymes - as a form of protection. Grains on the other hand contain phytic acid and other things that interfere with the absorption of minerals like calcium, magnesium and zinc. Keep this bit in mind.

High intensity workouts lead to a natural increase in testosterone. Testosterone causes skin cells to multiply and your way more susceptible to acne. Even worse, Arachidonic Acid (a derivative of PUFA fats) is released from body cells during stress, whether acute or chronic (as in exercise). AA is EXTREMELY inflammatory - in fact, it's been called the "mother of inflammation". Supplementing GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) may help, because it prevents production of inflammatory leukotrienes from AA and by its action on the 5-lipoxygenase enzyme. I saw fairly decent results when I used to use it, and studies have shown a 40-50% reduction in acne with it. It's found in borage oil. I think they used 400mg. I only used about 170mg. But there's some doubts I have about PUFAs, and i'll touch on that eventually.

gamma-linolenic acid is derived from linoleic acid in the body by the delta-6 desaturase enzyme. This enzyme requires adequate zinc, vitamin C, magnesium, and selenium (I believe, just offhand from memory, if not, look it up) to function correctly. Don't take this to mean I think you should take PUFAs though. Just a high-level perspective here of derivation and mechanism of action.

Here's where my doubts about PUFA fats come in (found in peanut butter, and breads!):

PUFA stands for polyunsaturated fatty acids. As it turns out, these fats and oils (such as found in vegetable oils - corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, even nuts and seeds) are HIGHLY prone to oxidative damage. Conveniently enough, oxidative stress has been identified as a key factor in the pathogenesis of acne. Topicals not working? That's because you're not addressing the underlying issue, and millions of people never do - they just go on thinking it will never end. And until you do address the issue, acne will ALWAYS come back. This is why antioxidants get so much attention in relation to acne - not because the medical community suspects PUFAs in particular, but rather oxidative stress - but if you lack them, you cannot prevent free radical damage - it's thought that this oxidative/free radical damage is what is responsible for altering the sebum composition of acne patients. The oxidative stress that patients are under destroys the sebum and allows P. acnes bacteria to colonize the pores by reducing the pore oxygen content. The bacteria is anaerobic, meaning it thrives in low oxygen environments. If it weren't for this oxidative damage to sebum, the bacteria may never go into the pores in the first place to cause acne.

The research acknowledges that acne sufferers are under oxidative stress. But there is never any mention of these oils and fats (which of course, are WIDELY abundant in the american diet). I seem to be the only one that draws that connection. It goes like this: Eat PUFAS -> PUFAs oxidize -> oxidative stress -> lipid peroxidation i.e. sebum destruction -> lower pore oxygen content -> P. acnes colonizes pores -> acne.

Antioxidants in the diet halt the entire process - they prevent oxidation. People with acne have "lower" levels of antioxidants, because they are being used up more quickly by these oxidative processes. Those with oily skin naturally require more antioxidants in order to prevent the destruction of their excess amounts of oil. Makes perfect sense.

People report breaking out from fast foods. Why? Well: fast foods have high density carbs like potatoes and bread, and they are cooked in PUFA oils. A recipe not for a mouth-watering dish, but acne rather.

Zinc helps acne. Why? IT SUPPORTS ANTIOXIDANT PATHWAYS IN THE BODY.

NOTE: vitamin E somewhat prevents these oils and fats from oxidizing, hence why I say use almond milk - it's high in antioxidant vit. E.

These fats are unstable at the molecular level because they lack hydrogen atoms in their structure. This is why they are called UNsaturated. They oxidize more rapidly, and destructively because of this. Look at the back of a crisco vegetable oil next time your at the store. It contains a whopping 8 GRAMS of this type of fat in one tablespoon. These oils are almost impossible to avoid in the american diet - they are in EVERYTHING. Contrast the vegetable oils in processed foods with virgin coconut oil. Coconut oil is a _saturated_ oil. Saturated oils like coconut oil are more stable because they have more hydrogen atoms and therefore do not oxidize in the way that PUFAs do. This is also why you can cook with coconut oil at high temperatures.

I, just like you and many others always thought I was doing the "right" things - eating healthy foods, or atleast, as I understood them to be at the time when I suffered from acne relentlessly. After all, the FDA and everyone seems to tell us that "grains" and "nuts and seeds" are healthy for us, and they should be a staple of our diets. When in reality, I later learned that these types of foods are setting us all up for bad health by eating them excessively. It's true that nuts and seeds and the like do contain some vitamins and minerals, but that doesn't mean that we benefit from them if there are other things in them that negate the absorption and utilization of those nutrients.

...It probably sounds like I've just smoked about 10 pounds of some "good shit"...but follow me here.

I know this probably has the potential to turn your world perspective upside down like it did mine, but,

Is it not interesting that societies without acne and many other chronic diseases do not comsume them? Or in very small amounts. Hunter-gatherer societies don't "hunt" breads and grains. They are a product of industrialized societies - the very same ones where we have disease.

The truth is that these fats are impossible to avoid completely. They are found in small amounts in food naturally, and such is the nature of life. But we should aim to minimize intake.

I don't want to scramble your brain too much, but do this, really: go to google, and search for the FDA food pyramind. Find an image. Notice how the largest servings involve grains, breads, pastas, and cereals. These foods permeate the gut and contain gluten as well as contain hard-to-digest proteins. These foods spike insulin. Finally, diseases like diabetes and acne are very problematic in the U.S.

This is the complete opposite of disease-free cultures. They eat MORE vegetables, and no grains or nuts.

When I discovered that, it just hit me like a ton of bricks at the time. That was just fucking enlightening.

Moreoever, why do squirrels and rodents collect nuts for hibernation? They seem to favor walnuts. This shit is nuts, literally...check it out: walnuts are very rich in PUFAs (38g per 1 cup). Those guys strip trees bare - serving sizes don't apply. These fats are anti-thyroid and slow metabolism. The rodents collect them to slow their own metabolism during the winter, when food supply is low, so they can survive. They have a suppressive effect on the body's normal functioning.

Anti-thyroid? Levothyroxine the most prescribed drug in america? No wonder people are obese and overweight....they're metabolism is being messed with.

This sounds pretty dark and fucked up, but consider this: The american population is being treated like livestock by the FDA and industry. Like pigs. polyunsaturated fats were fed to livestock - from corn and soybean - by farmers because they suppress thyroid like I said above. When they suppressed the thyroid in these animals, their metabolism would slow down, and so they could fatten them up quicker, and more cheaply.

THESE FATS ARE ALSO FOUND IN FISH OILS

Ever hear of someone breaking out with cysts from fish oil? I have, and did myself. At this point i'll direct you to another post I wrote about this topic since I don't feel like typing it all out.

What's more is that all vegetables are not the same. Try to avoid onions, and garlic. Basically any alium vegetables - they contain iodine, like milk does - but without the hormones. Instead, opt for stuff like red/green pepper, cucumber, avocado, mango, bananas, apples, pineapple, sweet potatoes (not the same as white potato - sweet potatoes are high in vitamins A & C and have a lower glycemic index rating). Be warned though that _how_ you cook sweet potatoes and for how long can alter their glycemic index. You can include broccoli, but cruciferous vegetables contain goitrogens - substances that affect thyroid function and therefore metabolism (thyroid controls metabolism). Opt for limited amounts.

Do consume the above fruits but don't overindulge in them.

Also, consider eating eggs. They contain zinc and retinoic acid (readily available vitamin A). Eat the yolks. I personally like scrambled eggs, maybe with some basil or parsley on them and red/green pepper thrown in. You can have some breakfast sausage, but make sure they list less than 2% corn syrup on the ingredients. Ideally, leave these out though if you don't know what to look for on the ingredients. High sodium foods deplete potassium in the body. Get more potassium to offset that balance typical of the western diet. Bananas are a good source. I do not eat more than 3 a day though, spread throughout.

Cook with coconut oil. Do not use vegetable oils of any sort, or consume them.

We are leaving out any and all breads and oats, even rice whether white or brown, and rye, etc because they contain gluten (even dietary supplements have gluten or cornstarch) or otherwise indigestible proteins that permeate your gut and allow undigested food to enter the bloodstream, invoking the immune response and more inflammation.

Try this stuff for a few weeks. Do not deviate at all. Follow it to the T. Observe your acne, and oiliness frequently. Personally, I have no issues with discipline and can cut out anything at the drop of a hat. If you're not like that, then do the absolute best you can and learn to discipline yourself.

Lastly for the moment I want to say that even on this, exercise may still pose somewhat of a problem - see the AA and testosterone stuff above - so maybe you want to reduce it to see what happens, atleast for a short while.

This might be hard to do if you're not used to it. It will probably seem like you can't eat ANYTHING at the store. And that's precisely the point. Go straight for the fresh produce section. The truth is, 90% of the foods in the supermarket might look to be different, but in reality those products are really only derived from a handful of crops: corn and soybean. This observation takes on far more significance when you consider that these are the same crops that are being genetically modified. The idea is to slowly wane yourself off of the american diet. You should be eating fresh fruit, meaning you buy it, and cut it to eat it - not packaged "dried fruit". Fruit, vegetables, and lean protein should become your entire diet basically.

That's all I feel like writing right now.

Regards,

Ok so I'm gonna take your advice to heart. I've tried this diet for 6 months and have seen minimal results. IF you don't mind could you post a variety of breakfasts, lunchs, and dinners that I can try out (snacks included)

So far today I had

Breakfast: 2 Scrambled Eggs

Lunch: Salad with Chicken Strips, Blueberries/strawberries/raspberry bowl

Dinner: Stir Fry (Broccoli, Carrots, Green/Red peppers, and Squash) and one pork chop.

Snacks: Salad, Fruits (Blueberries and 1 Apple)

No Oatmeal!! It was hard but I'll push through.