Hi everybody!
Ive been dealing with a large amount of cheek acne for a little over a year and I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions in getting rid of it. I'm 23 and just started getting acne about a year ago. As a teenager I really only had a zit every once in a while. It's quite upsetting because it really makes me feel self conscious and insecure and I'm afraid that it will scar. It came out of no where so I don't really know the exact cause.
In looking at face mapping and talking with my estethecian it seems like my area is gut related. I try to eat paleo-ish but I'm not extremely consistent. I was convinced it was diet but I feel like even when I am consistent it doesn't help that much. I don't eliminate everyday so I figured that could be apart of it, too. The reason I have my doubts about diet is because up until about 1.5 years ago I was eating the SAD and that's how I grew up. I really didn't think much about health and figured people only ate healthy if they wanted to lose weight. I met my husband and he grew up completely different. He was raised eating extremely clean and his family was very into natural things. He enjoys living and eating that way and needs to because of having bad asthma as a child. I started transitioning into that kind of lifestyle and followed a lot of his habits. I wasn't always totally consistent but i was eating a significant amount less of gluten and dairy. About 6 months after we were married i started noticing the acne. It's confusing to me because I eat much more clean now than I had my entire life but it's only now that I'm experiencing this horrible acne. Am I detoxing??
I do feel like I need to clean myself from the inside out but nothing seems to work. Topically I was using honey and different oils which I liked but then I went to something stronger and it didn't make a difference. Anyone have any ideas of what it could be or suggestions?? I've tried probiotics, cod liver oil, I drink kombucha tea and lemon water every morning. Is there another cause for this acne besides diet?? My next step I think is doing a detox like the master cleanse or a juice cleanse. Any help would be very very much appreciated!! Here are some pictures of my acne over the past year.
Thanks!!
I'd really prefer not to take medicine @Chloe123
If you are correct that your acne is diet related, then you need to test all the foods you eat. I had to test my diet as nothing else was effective. http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/353197-food-that-causes-acne/
These are the foods to which I am sensitive. You may not be sensitive to any of them.
Suggest you do what competent Doctors and Dermatologists have recommended for decades. (I am an old guy).
Pick a food you want to test.
Do not eat that food for two or three weeks.
Then eat a lot of the food you are testing each day for four days.
You will know if that food causes acne.
This is a slow test, as you can only test one food item at a time.
You need to do the same test for any food you suspect as causing you acne: dairy, nightshade plants, citrus, soy etc.
Do you have any respiratory problems ? I have asthma and had a bad bout of cheek breakouts when I worked in a smokey bar. I gargle with apple cider vinegar and drink turmeric and honey tea which I think helps reduce inflammation. If your problem is not respiratory derived , have you investigated Demodex mites? I found a great website from a Eastern European guy who did his trial and error research to get rid of his Demodex caused acne. I think I might have Demodex overgrowth (everybody has them in moderation but compromised immune systems have overgrowth) so I am doing his masks with aspirin, msm, acv, Epsom salt, borax.,, I add a spray or two of eucalyptus oil (which really helps in my case) and turmeric and sometimes raw honey . It is pleasant and exfoliates when you wash off; and helps reduce dark spots. Lmk if you want the link to his site!