Skin problems, especially acne tend to be a sign that somethings wrong in your body. Diet and exercise make a huge difference for a lot of people so I'd say that comes into play. Things such as sugar and large amounts of salt, which people didn't used to ingest in large amounts. I'd also personally like to assume our environment comes into play. Many more pollutants and chemicals nowadays. But who knows!

Loads of things. Mainly hormones idsay and how our bodies hormones react to things like diet,stress inflammation etc.Similarly I believe external factors such as dirt, pollution, bacteria etc also play a role.

Every one's body and skin is different. I do find interesting that if one has acne to some degree then their siblings tend to also have some sort of acne too, so perhaps there is genetic factorwhich playsa role aswell putting one at a higher risk of developing it.

23 hours ago, RacingheartZ said:

Hi Everyone,

Since many of us have had acne for years and different things have worked for different people, I'm wondering what you think the true cause was/is of your acne? What are your wildest theories or observations? We know enough that acne is a complex mix of changes to the sebaceous glands, excess colonization with certain types of P. Acnes, excess turnover of the skin cells causing debris, and inflammation (good illustration here). It has also been linked to hormone alterations, changes in the gut and epidermal microbiome, changes in the composition of the sebum, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, dietary patterns and more.

Why do you think YOU personally have acne? Personally I have had undiagnosed Lyme disease and co-infections for years and I also have gut dysbiosis and have a sneaking suspicion that when I address those issues I will see more permanent resolution of my acne (time will tell). But over the years, I did notice that changing my diet and lifestyle helped, birth control helped (suggesting a hormonal component for me, but again are the hormones imbalanced due to infection or gut dysbiosis) but I couldn't stay on it for other reasons, certain supplements (like glutathione and Liposomal Vitamin C ...suggesting helping with oxidative stress), and sometimes topical solutions help like benzoyl peroxide and facials. I have a thought sometimes that my body's tolerance for toxins and inflammation has been compromised due to the infections and little things that healthy people can tolerate, will result in a breakout for me. I also have a growing thought about problems with lipid metabolism in the body, but it's just a thought that I haven't explored yet. One doctor that I work with said that she almost always sees a very specific set of parasites showing up on tests of her patients with acne -- another interesting avenue. Some people on here post about the role of chemicals in their acne.

What are your observations in yourself and what are your favorite resources? What do you think is the final step that will cure your acne as opposed to just superficially treat it? I would like to really start examining this issue from a systemic perspective and think about all potential causes and how they may (or may not) relate to one another.

Thanks!

-Erin

I would definitely agree that there is some genetic factor that makes some people more susceptible to skin issues. The same way some people are more prone to gaining weight if their diet and lifestyle are not ideal. I can eat heaps and still be thin but instead the food will effect my skin.

I dont think "unbalanced" hormones are necessarily a factor for everyone, again its more that some people are just extra senstive to hormone changes. This could be because our gut microbes are not in balance and this leads to our other organs and systems eg liver becoming overburdoned which then results in the hormone problems.

I believe the answer to clearing acne lies in the digestive system. It could be that antibiotics or toxins from the environment or foods we eat have compromised our gut bacteria. Bad bacteria then flourish putting strain on our body, particularly the liver which can then have trouble handling the excess hormones it would normally deal with in a healthy person. I think the hormone imbalances in most casesare a secondary issue, except maybe in a a medical condition like pcos.

I have notuced that over the years as my skin has worsened so have digestive issues like bloating, stomach aches and food sensitivities. At the moment i'm trying ways to kill off some "bad" bacteria with oregano oil and diet - hope it helps.

I agree with everyone that it's a multi-factorial problem. I too have often thought that the ROOT of *a large majority* of persistent acne lies in the gut (I like a lot of the Gut-Brain-Skin Axis Research) and I wonder sometimes if we treat acne topically only, are we silencing the body's proverbial "red flag" that is trying to tell us to look inwards. Even in cases where the acne is secondary to a hormonal medical condition like PCOS or hypothyroidism or an adrenal growth, it's still a reason to look inwards even if the gut isn't involved. I imagine there are a handful of cases that truly are a response to some kind of topical insult to the skin (pore clogging product, etc.). Also, everything is so fantastically interconnected as you all mention (i.e. the ability to process and breakdown hormones relies on the balance of other body systems) that it becomes hard to tease it all apart .... which is why I would love to create a systemic model.

I noticed recently that I'm starting to have reactions to high histamine containing foods (I think related to gut imbalances ... some bacteria produce their own histamine and our bodies produce it as well. If the bacteria are producing too much you can start having reactions to histamine containing foods). Things that reduce histamine like quercetin and Vitamin C are helping with my acne ... but again, I think they're just superficially treating it and that the real help will happen when I balance my gut bacteria. So as you point out, sometimes the increase in food sensitivities and digestive issues correlate with the rise in acne.

This was an interesting read the other day about acne and histamine ... still relates to gut though in the end:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/311737-could-histamine-intolerance-make-acne-worse/

22 hours ago, Clayman9 said:

Skin problems, especially acne tend to be a sign that somethings wrong in your body. Diet and exercise make a huge difference for a lot of people so I'd say that comes into play. Things such as sugar and large amounts of salt, which people didn't used to ingest in large amounts. I'd also personally like to assume our environment comes into play. Many more pollutants and chemicals nowadays. But who knows!

Darn U pretty much covered everything. Each of this was a cause to my permanent low self esteem caused by acne scars...

I would also add that, bad diet and worst exercise lead to filthy thought process atleast in my case and at last culminate in hormonal imbalance and then acne and scars..

If possible please go through this thread

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/355452-i-am-desperate/

Personally I think my acne is caused by a gene passed by my grandmother where her skin has trouble shedding.

I have dry skin, not oily and get these keratin plugs in my lesions, inflammatory or not.

Birth control specifically for acne made no difference and neither did bacterial treatments like bp.

I'm currently trying differin to combat this hyperkeratinization I suspect being the root of my issue.

Thanks Lucas and AppleySauce!! I think it's a great point about genetics and some of the genes involved in skin cell turnover. My family has a lot of Psoriasis and I also have Keratosis Pilaris both of which involve issues with skin cell turnover or extra skin cells building up. I wonder how many of us also have psoriasis and KP in our families.

As Lucas points out, sometimes the diet/lifestyle fixes do absolutely nothing for some people. I wonder if it has to do with how many copies of a gene you might have ... For example, there's a lot of talk about methylation defects and MTHFR mutations. Supposedly, if someone only has one copy of the gene, their body is generally able to compensate for the one mutation (unless environmental stressors and infections come into play) ... but if a person has two copies of the mutation then it is more problematic. Perhaps some of us have mutations in cell turnover and if we only have one, our bodies might be able to compensate under the right conditions (diet/lifestyle, etc.) but then if you have two copies the dietary and lifestyle changes won't help as much as treatments.

I'm totally just using this space to speculate and imagine different possibilities! Just trying to gather ideas of research that I should look into so thank you for all of your input so far!!

@AppleySauce do you know which gene in particular that you inherited?

@RacingheartZI really enjoy reading your feedback on this forum, especially about the genetic component of acne, which I'm really interested in learning more about.

It's easy to get overwhelmed with what specifically causes acne in someone because there seem to beso many separate factors involved. From what I've learned in my 'unofficial'research, getting acne is very consistently tied to your genes. Genes and their expressions are primarily what effect your skin's sensitivity to androgens and the likelihood of hyperkeratosis and sebum excretion, without which acne wouldn't be an issue. (article here)

In a UK study at Leeds, it was found that acne was four times more common in first degree relatives of 204 acne cases than first degree relatives of 144 control cases. (article) A study from the Journal of Investigative Dermatology of acne in adult female twins determined that 81% of the variance in acne was attributable to additive genetic effects, and the remaining 19% was attributed to unique (i.e., unshared) environmental factors. (article)

The other side to acne seems to be lifestyle factors, generally falling under hormones and inflammation. Under those two it seems like the variations can be quite complicated for different individuals.

I'm glad you determined that Lyme disease was an issue. From what I've read it can be quite debilitating. I haven't read much into the co-morbidity of Lyme with things like acne, but that's really interesting to me.

Definitely agree that the gut microbiome is a huge player in this game too.

1 hour ago, Luna878 said:

@RacingheartZI really enjoy reading your feedback on this forum, especially about the genetic component of acne, which I'm really interested in learning more about.

It's easy to get overwhelmed with what specifically causes acne in someone because there seem to beso many separate factors involved. From what I've learned in my 'unofficial'research, getting acne is very consistently tied to your genes. Genes and their expressions are primarily what effect your skin's sensitivity to androgens and the likelihood of hyperkeratosis and sebum excretion, without which acne wouldn't be an issue. (article here)

In a UK study at Leeds, it was found that acne was four times more common in first degree relatives of 204 acne cases than first degree relatives of 144 control cases. (article) A study from the Journal of Investigative Dermatology of acne in adult female twins determined that 81% of the variance in acne was attributable to additive genetic effects, and the remaining 19% was attributed to unique (i.e., unshared) environmental factors. (article)

The other side to acne seems to be lifestyle factors, generally falling under hormones and inflammation. Under those two it seems like the variations can be quite complicated for different individuals.

I'm glad you determined that Lyme disease was an issue. From what I've read it can be quite debilitating. I haven't read much into the co-morbidity of Lyme with things like acne, but that's really interesting to me.

Definitely agree that the gut microbiome is a huge player in this game too.

Thanks so much for those articles Luna878! I will check them out. It makes me think again about this concept of having the genetic component which the body may or may not be able to compensate for in some way. But then other assaults (the unique environmental factors or gut microbiome imbalances) start to amplify the underlying genetic predisposition. Again, this is just me speculating -- I haven't read your articles yet but will take a look at them in the next few days. I keep thinking about the MTHFR mutation which might not be such a big deal if someone is eating healthy and doesn't have any infections, but if a person doesn't get methylation factors through diet and/or they are compromised by some kind of major infection (like lyme) the MTHFR mutation becomes more of a concern. It always seems in my own experience of acne that there is some kind of load/tolerance threshold .... my body can keep my skin under control in certain conditions but if I deviate too far from those conditions (mess with my hormones, eat too much dairy, eat too much sugar, eat too much histamine, use too many clogging products) acne results.

I often wonder too about the definition of a true cure (I'ved learned that isotetrinoin is considered a cure since it cures 90% of patients *if prescribed and used correctly* which isn't always the case). If acne truly has such a huge genetic component, then would people prone to acne have to constantly take something (or put something on our skin) to compensate for genetics and what would the side effects be? Or can we fine tune something like isotetrinoin (this is being studied currently) or laser/light therapies (also being studied)? Or would "fixing" the microbiome take care of everything (also being studied)? There's soo much wonderful stuff being studied at the moment, it's actually amazing. I feel like in the next decade or two, we'll see a lot of improvement in acne treatment. I just keep wondering how it all fits together and where the proverbial match is that lights the acne cascade ... but it just seems to be different in everyone. I've got a lot of reading cut out for myself hehe!

I agree to an extent with what has been posted. I have never heard of anyone being cured through excercise though. If anything excercise probably makes acne worse due to sweat, friction of clothes and raised testosterone.

I personally think as well that food is a placebo (unless you have a severe allergy). People say that they ate chocolate or something and had a spot appear two hours later - bullcrudder. Your body would not be able to digest the food and somehow inhibit the production of oil/bacteria within such a short time frame.

ultimately, I think it is hormones and genetics. Some people naturally will have more p.bacteria, some people naturally will have more oil production, some people naturally will have more open pores, etc.

acne is caused by blocked pores, oil buildup, and bacterial infections

3 hours ago, RacingheartZ said:

@AppleySauce do you know which gene in particular that you inherited?

Yes it is the 157thallele combination on the 16th chromosome... Just kidding I have no clue whatsoever :')

All I know is that my grandmother has this sort of issue herself, (and I also have kp on my arms and seb derm on my scalp!), so if this sort of problem is genetic then i'm guessing it was from her. 🙂

1 minute ago, AppleySauce said:

Yes it is the 157thallele combination on the 16th chromosome... Just kidding I have no clue whatsoever :')

All I know is that my grandmother has this sort of issue herself, (and I also have kp on my arms and seb derm on my scalp!), so if this sort of problem is genetic then i'm guessing it was from her. 🙂

Hahahahahaha that made me laugh out loud. Thanks for the input!! It will be interesting to look up some studies on all of the comorbid conditions that people often have with acne (like KP and seb derm as you mentioned).

40 minutes ago, Lore91 said:

I agree to an extent with what has been posted. I have never heard of anyone being cured through excercise though. If anything excercise probably makes acne worse due to sweat, friction of clothes and raised testosterone.

 

I personally think as well that food is a placebo (unless you have a severe allergy). People say that they ate chocolate or something and had a spot appear two hours later - bullcrudder. Your body would not be able to digest the food and somehow inhibit the production of oil/bacteria within such a short time frame.

 

ultimately, I think it is hormones and genetics. Some people naturally will have more p.bacteria, some people naturally will have more oil production, some people naturally will have more open pores, etc.

 

acne is caused by blocked pores, oil buildup, and bacterial infections

Thanks so much Lore91 and lol @ bullcrudder (good word)! If the acne appears quickly after eating, I'd be more likely to think it's some kind of allergic reaction as you said. Recently I found that histamine foods do make me break out relatively quickly (within days though, not hours) and that things that reduce histamine, help bring my skin back down quickly (again within days). I did read a lot about the impact of food on hormone levels so I do think that food could exacerbate acne through the hormonal route, or through the gut dysbiosis root (or if you're eating a really nutrient poor diet and lacking things that help with skin turn over or oxidative stress) ... but again those things would take longer than a few hours to show up and to disappear.

On 12/18/2015, 348, RacingheartZ said:

I agree with everyone that it's a multi-factorial problem. I too have often thought that the ROOT of *a large majority* of persistent acne lies in the gut (I like a lot of the Gut-Brain-Skin Axis Research) and I wonder sometimes if we treat acne topically only, are we silencing the body's proverbial "red flag" that is trying to tell us to look inwards. Even in cases where the acne is secondary to a hormonal medical condition like PCOS or hypothyroidism or an adrenal growth, it's still a reason to look inwards even if the gut isn't involved. I imagine there are a handful of cases that truly are a response to some kind of topical insult to the skin (pore clogging product, etc.). Also, everything is so fantastically interconnected as you all mention (i.e. the ability to process and breakdown hormones relies on the balance of other body systems) that it becomes hard to tease it all apart .... which is why I would love to create a systemic model.

I noticed recently that I'm starting to have reactions to high histamine containing foods (I think related to gut imbalances ... some bacteria produce their own histamine and our bodies produce it as well. If the bacteria are producing too much you can start having reactions to histamine containing foods). Things that reduce histamine like quercetin and Vitamin C are helping with my acne ... but again, I think they're just superficially treating it and that the real help will happen when I balance my gut bacteria. So as you point out, sometimes the increase in food sensitivities and digestive issues correlate with the rise in acne.

This was an interesting read the other day about acne and histamine ... still relates to gut though in the end:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/311737-could-histamine-intolerance-make-acne-worse/

Acne can be an auto-immune response, and lyme disease has symptoms of auto-immune disorders. Histamine reactions tend to happen more often when the immune system and/or gut is compromised, so it makes sense that you are becoming sensitive to high histamine foods. Have you read any of my histamine posts (e.g. in my signature)? Histamines were a big part of the puzzle for me, and actually more recently I scored high on gluten sensitivity --which was something my earlier allergy tests did not show -- and I get flare ups when I'm under a lot of stress. SOD enzymes helped me more than vitamin C (guercetin did not do anything for me, but then again I only took it for a week or so), and so did digestive enzymes. I've also tried garlic pills with success, which leads me to believe I also had a bacterial infection/ overgrowth. Oh, and did I mention I had PCOS? Apparently, though, my latest ultrasound revealed that the number of cysts on my ovaries has reduced and no longer qualify as polycystic...the doctor was speechless because he had never seen a case where the cysts gradually reduced without hormonal medication. I was very proud of myself for it, and hopefully other women can see that medication is not the only option.

I look forward to hearing more about the lyme disease-acne connection btw...it really sucks that you have to deal with it. At least the plan B disaster helped you examine your body internally and figure out other issues that needed to be addressed. You probably read this thread & others about lyme &acne/food sensitivities: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/220715-lyme-disease-food-intolerances-and-acne/

The exact cause of acne is not totally known, but the most common acne in teenagers and young adults is acne vulgaris probably caused by too small of pore and an increase in sebum production.

It's complicated, but I've come across some real good data over the past several years. Basically, it points to the immune system. There are some very interesting aspects of this, and it's tied in with a bunch of other things. But...

I think the role that diet plays is that it influences immunity, and therefore acne so it's an indirect relationship. But part of this is why GMOs are so dangerous: they are unpredictable for the immune system. Never in our history has the human body or our microbiome ever been exposed to food that has been altered genetically. And the effects of that are anyone's guess. This is concerning... because it remains true that we don't fully understand how the microbiome works. There is more that we don't know than that we do. And playing around with something like that is just not a good idea.

I don't think GM is solely responsible for acne, because acne was around before their time in the 1930's and so on around the time doctors first began experimenting with probiotics, etc. But I do think they are a big contributor to the immune system issues we see today.

I've considered authoring some kind of book on the things I've picked up over the years, but there's so much information that I don't know how I'd ever organize it all in a way that's coherent and in plain english. Besides, I couldn't prove anything either way... it'd just be a collection of things to consider and some of my experiences and observations, some of which I have to admit come out of left field. Some of them seem totally unrelated, but actually make sense when they're placed in the right context. Not exactly some wild "theory" but more of looking at different areas of physiology to see how they might become a problem and asking questions associated with them. I've found that things we generally don't think much about actually have the potential to influence aspects that may predispose to factors that aggravate acne. Too much to cover in a blog post though.

The body's all interconnected and rarely can you just look at isolated things and say things like "it's leaky gut", "it's histamine", etc. There are innumerable other things that then give rise to other issues, sometimes creating a sort of vicious cycle that's hard to break once it sets itself in motion. That said, I don't think there is an inifinite number of things that cause acne. There's a pattern to the process i.e. low antioxidant, etc.

On 12/20/2015, 1249, WishClean said:

 

Acne can be an auto-immune response, and lyme disease has symptoms of auto-immune disorders. Histamine reactions tend to happen more often when the immune system and/or gut is compromised, so it makes sense that you are becoming sensitive to high histamine foods. Have you read any of my histamine posts (e.g. in my signature)? Histamines were a big part of the puzzle for me, and actually more recently I scored high on gluten sensitivity --which was something my earlier allergy tests did not show -- and I get flare ups when I'm under a lot of stress. SOD enzymes helped me more than vitamin C (guercetin did not do anything for me, but then again I only took it for a week or so), and so did digestive enzymes. I've also tried garlic pills with success, which leads me to believe I also had a bacterial infection/ overgrowth. Oh, and did I mention I had PCOS? Apparently, though, my latest ultrasound revealed that the number of cysts on my ovaries has reduced and no longer qualify as polycystic...the doctor was speechless because he had never seen a case where the cysts gradually reduced without hormonal medication. I was very proud of myself for it, and hopefully other women can see that medication is not the only option.

 

I look forward to hearing more about the lyme disease-acne connection btw...it really sucks that you have to deal with it. At least the plan B disaster helped you examine your body internally and figure out other issues that needed to be addressed. You probably read this thread & others about lyme &acne/food sensitivities: http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/220715-lyme-disease-food-intolerances-and-acne/

@WishClean this is so helpful thank you so much! I will look into the SOD enzymes, although Vit C does seem to really help me. Congrats on clearing your PCOS!!!! That's amazing. I feel like you and I need to meet sometime when you are in NYC (we could meet in a cute town called Morristown where I spend a lot of time for Lyme treatment ... right outside of NYC). We'd have a lot to talk about re: health & acne.

1 hour ago, FvckAcne said:

It's complicated, but I've come across some real good data over the past several years. Basically, it points to the immune system. There are some very interesting aspects of this, and it's tied in with a bunch of other things. But...

 

I think the role that diet plays is that it influences immunity, and therefore acne so it's an indirect relationship. But part of this is why GMOs are so dangerous: they are unpredictable for the immune system. Never in our history has the human body or our microbiome ever been exposed to food that has been altered genetically. And the effects of that are anyone's guess. This is concerning... because it remains true that we don't fully understand how the microbiome works. There is more that we don't know than that we do. And playing around with something like that is just not a good idea.

 

I don't think GM is solely responsible for acne, because acne was around before their time in the 1930's and so on around the time doctors first began experimenting with probiotics, etc. But I do think they are a big contributor to the immune system issues we see today.

 

I've considered authoring some kind of book on the things I've picked up over the years, but there's so much information that I don't know how I'd ever organize it all in a way that's coherent and in plain english. Besides, I couldn't prove anything either way... it'd just be a collection of things to consider and some of my experiences and observations, some of which I have to admit come out of left field. Some of them seem totally unrelated, but actually make sense when they're placed in the right context. Not exactly some wild "theory" but more of looking at different areas of physiology to see how they might become a problem and asking questions associated with them. I've found that things we generally don't think much about actually have the potential to influence aspects that may predispose to factors that aggravate acne. Too much to cover in a blog post though.

 

The body's all interconnected and rarely can you just look at isolated things and say things like "it's leaky gut", "it's histamine", etc. There are innumerable other things that then give rise to other issues, sometimes creating a sort of vicious cycle that's hard to break once it sets itself in motion. That said, I don't think there is an inifinite number of things that cause acne. There's a pattern to the process i.e. low antioxidant, etc.

Thanks so much @FvckAcne! I agree that it's so interconnected that you can rarely isolate the variables and i feel like I am the same way pulling things out of left field sometimes and trying to weave some interconnecting story. I want to go back to school for my PhD and I've been going back and forth between Microbiology and Immunology, or even better, maybe some kind of overlap between the two. Even in my case, I think lyme disease has messed with my immune system which is currently causing or related to the histamine intolerance which is causing or related to the acne. I guess the "pattern" is what I'm most curious in uncovering -- if you write your book, I would certainly purchase it!!!

My thoughts are that acne is hormonal and genetic related but it is aggravated by bad diet, lifestyle, and/or the wrong topical products. When i didn't have acne i would eat like a king every day: fast food, ice cream, loads of pasta and snacks, spicy foods (I MISS EVERYTHING BUFFALO CHICKEN) lots of cheese, etc. My skin was perfect aside from acne marks left behind from puberty break outs ( which i didn't mind and were fading nicely with scarzoneA) Everything went downhill last April when at first my forehead broke out in tiny pimples. if only i knew everything i know now about acne.. i probably would have saved myself from the months and months afterwards of failing miserably at trying to clear a minor breakout and making everything 100% worse, along with my self esteem. I now realize that i broke out with minor acne due to my bad diet and lifestyle. My boyfriend had gotten an overnight job and i would frequently go hangout with him and eat loads of junk food on his lunch break with him (keep in mind this was in the middle of the night and i still had to go to university in the morning) I would also smoke occasionally and come home late at night and feast away my munchies right before falling asleep. BAD BAD BAD... i should've just cleaned up my diet, got more sleep, and continued with my skincare products that kept my skin clear for years( double cleansing: aveeno moisturizing bar then neutrogena deep clean gentle scrub) exercising and drinking lots of water (which i have always done... which i think has kept my metabolism fast, i've always been a small person despite my love of delicious foods lol ) INSTEAD... i continued my eating habits and attributed the break out to the products i was using and thinking that they stopped working or something... i went CRAZY with products both natural and over the counter. (to just give you some insight: coconut oil, witch hazel, raw honey, lavender oil, oat flour, clay masks, ACV, BP, brown sugar, cetaphil, biore, goat milk soap, and thats all i can think of) I pretty much jacked up my skin my own self and had a really depressing summer. Moral of the story: get to the underlying cause and do NOT put so much shit on your skin.

I've always put my acne down to genetics. I've just been unfortunate in the acne gene lottery.

I have oily skin, so that's a good indicator of why I'm prone to acne. Obviously, some people with oily skin don't suffer with acne, so I can't pin it simply on the sebum. That's why abnormal keritinisation of the skin must also play a role - the blockage this causes in my sebaceous glands then makes the perfect environment for acne bacteria to feast on my plentiful sebum.

The ideal treatment for me, therefore, would be something normalises the keratinisation of my skin and reduces sebum. So, yeah, it's isotretinoin! But, ideally, I'd like something with less side effects!

I know there are a couple of studies at the minute looking at anti-sebum medicines e.g. SB204 http://www.novantherapeutics.com/investors-media/press-releases/novans-sb204-could-be-first-topical-sebum-inhibitor/ but these are several years away unfortunately.

10 hours ago, RacingheartZ said:

@WishClean this is so helpful thank you so much! I will look into the SOD enzymes, although Vit C does seem to really help me. Congrats on clearing your PCOS!!!! That's amazing. I feel like you and I need to meet sometime when you are in NYC (we could meet in a cute town called Morristown where I spend a lot of time for Lyme treatment ... right outside of NYC). We'd have a lot to talk about re: health & acne.

 

@RacingheartZ I don't think PCOS ever fully goes away, but I'm doing everything I can to keep symptoms at bay. Sure, PM me when you are in town, I recently moved to NYC Didn't know you were that close!

My acne practically vanished a few weeks after graduation, which caught me off guard because there was no change in my routine. This brings me to one of the reasons of why I think I had acne - School. I did not take well to waking up at 6am, struggling through a full day of classes inside a building with hundreds of other kids, coming home and working/napping, which then ultimately lead to staying up late and repeating the process. This could also fall into a lifestyle category, but I had no choice but to go to school. I am a vegetarian, so my diet consists of many fruits, vegetables, and soy proteins, so I strongly believe that was not a factor for me. For 6 months now, I haven't had any bad pimples, just a few small ones, and I do think that is because I was able to choose my college schedule and I am not confined to one building for 8 hours straight - A lot less stress in that category. So, that is my silly theory, which could be (and probably is) totally wrong.

Secondly, I also do believe that in my familyacne takes its course and then goes away. I do believe that at this point, my acne is beginning to go away, and by that I mean less and less pimples are forming on my face regardless of the regime I am doing. My neighbor, who is in her early twenties, also expressed this theory to me. For her, the acne just gradually started to fade away, similarly to what is happening to me now.

I don't know if this has been mentioned. I believe some of us, our acne derives from Malasseza which is a fungus that feeds on the oils our hair follicles secrete. I believe this caused I tested this on myself, by using pyrithione zincwhich is found in some anti-dandruff shampoos and grandpa pine tar soap. I only use the pyrithione zinc shampoo to wash my face twice. Morning and when I shower . Pine tar soap for the rest of my body. I had acne on my back upper chest and shoulders. The same fungus that is thought to cause dandruff is what I think causes acne on the hair follicles on our faces and body.I'm not saying we all have same issues. I believe some of us may have this problem and have been treating our acne all wrong. The same day I started using this, I quit using any of the traditional methods that we have all used. I'd like to say I'm almost six weeks into this theory and I'm acne free. I had cystic acne as well as your typical acne. My face still has some brown marks and mild red marks as well but they have mostly healed . It took almost three weeks for the acne to clear but I began to see a difference in the first week. I can't believe it but it's true. I ran across this just as I was getting ready to make a an appointment to try accutane. I was not expecting the results I'm seeing. I'm not saying this will help everyone. It helped me. I just wanted to tell my story.

I didn't think of this theory on my own by any means. It was something I read about, something I have never heard of before and I have been dealing with acne for almost 15 years. I have tried the typical antibiotics the gels and countless other prescription meds. I've tried all the over the counter meds. Nothing worked. Some how this is still working for me.

I just wanted to point out that for me. I always have had and continue to have oily skin. Though after I began using the pyrithione zinc shampoo and pine tar soap it has been lot more manageable. I never changed my Diet for the better. In fact I have gained 20 lbs since August and it has by no means been by eating healthy. I was 150 lbs now I'm 172 lbs. No lifestyle changes. Nothing drastic to where I can possibly say that it contributed to my clearing up except the strict regimen of the two products I have been using for the past 6 weeks. Hereditary was something I have always believed was my cause as well. Also I thought bacteria was my problem but my hygiene as well as taking antibiotics was better than most. Yet I always had acne. That's when I started digging deeper into other possible reasons why I had acne. I really had to dig deep for this possible theory. Fungal problem for the only reason to have acne is not a common answer. I had to try this, I tried everything else with no relief from anything else I've tried. It works for me. I'm not saying this will help you, but maybe it will help someone else. Then this was worth me sharing my story. There is hope for us all. Good luck to you all.

On 12/21/2015, 1244, Mrl27 said:

My thoughts are that acne is hormonal and genetic related but it is aggravated by bad diet, lifestyle, and/or the wrong topical products. When i didn't have acne i would eat like a king every day: fast food, ice cream, loads of pasta and snacks, spicy foods (I MISS EVERYTHING BUFFALO CHICKEN) lots of cheese, etc. My skin was perfect aside from acne marks left behind from puberty break outs ( which i didn't mind and were fading nicely with scarzoneA) Everything went downhill last April when at first my forehead broke out in tiny pimples. if only i knew everything i know now about acne.. i probably would have saved myself from the months and months afterwards of failing miserably at trying to clear a minor breakout and making everything 100% worse, along with my self esteem. I now realize that i broke out with minor acne due to my bad diet and lifestyle. My boyfriend had gotten an overnight job and i would frequently go hangout with him and eat loads of junk food on his lunch break with him (keep in mind this was in the middle of the night and i still had to go to university in the morning) I would also smoke occasionally and come home late at night and feast away my munchies right before falling asleep. BAD BAD BAD... i should've just cleaned up my diet, got more sleep, and continued with my skincare products that kept my skin clear for years( double cleansing: aveeno moisturizing bar then neutrogena deep clean gentle scrub) exercising and drinking lots of water (which i have always done... which i think has kept my metabolism fast, i've always been a small person despite my love of delicious foods lol ) INSTEAD... i continued my eating habits and attributed the break out to the products i was using and thinking that they stopped working or something... i went CRAZY with products both natural and over the counter. (to just give you some insight: coconut oil, witch hazel, raw honey, lavender oil, oat flour, clay masks, ACV, BP, brown sugar, cetaphil, biore, goat milk soap, and thats all i can think of) I pretty much jacked up my skin my own self and had a really depressing summer. Moral of the story: get to the underlying cause and do NOT put so much shit on your skin.

hahahahahaha eat like a king! Thanks for sharing your story! It can be challenging juggling all of the factors that can affect one's skin (sleep, skin care routine, eating healthy, trying to find the right products, etc). Sorry to hear you had a depressing summer!! It sounds like you learned a lot about yourself and what your skin needs. Hope you are still enjoying delicious foods that help you!

On 12/21/2015, 340, ben100604 said:

I've always put my acne down to genetics. I've just been unfortunate in the acne gene lottery.

I have oily skin, so that's a good indicator of why I'm prone to acne. Obviously, some people with oily skin don't suffer with acne, so I can't pin it simply on the sebum. That's why abnormal keritinisation of the skin must also play a role - the blockage this causes in my sebaceous glands then makes the perfect environment for acne bacteria to feast on my plentiful sebum.

The ideal treatment for me, therefore, would be something normalises the keratinisation of my skin and reduces sebum. So, yeah, it's isotretinoin! But, ideally, I'd like something with less side effects!

I know there are a couple of studies at the minute looking at anti-sebum medicines e.g. SB204 http://www.novantherapeutics.com/investors-media/press-releases/novans-sb204-could-be-first-topical-sebum-inhibitor/ but these are several years away unfortunately.

You're right Ben there are a lot of studies coming down the pipeline looking at sebum and as you point out ... they are years away from approval :-\

On 12/23/2015, 1146, jesstwy said:

My acne practically vanished a few weeks after graduation, which caught me off guard because there was no change in my routine. This brings me to one of the reasons of why I think I had acne - School. I did not take well to waking up at 6am, struggling through a full day of classes inside a building with hundreds of other kids, coming home and working/napping, which then ultimately lead to staying up late and repeating the process. This could also fall into a lifestyle category, but I had no choice but to go to school. I am a vegetarian, so my diet consists of many fruits, vegetables, and soy proteins, so I strongly believe that was not a factor for me. For 6 months now, I haven't had any bad pimples, just a few small ones, and I do think that is because I was able to choose my college schedule and I am not confined to one building for 8 hours straight - A lot less stress in that category. So, that is my silly theory, which could be (and probably is) totally wrong.

 

Secondly, I also do believe that in my familyacne takes its course and then goes away. I do believe that at this point, my acne is beginning to go away, and by that I mean less and less pimples are forming on my face regardless of the regime I am doing. My neighbor, who is in her early twenties, also expressed this theory to me. For her, the acne just gradually started to fade away, similarly to what is happening to me now.

Hi jesstwy, thank you for sharing your experience! I agree that sometimes time itself is enough to make acne go away for some people!

On 12/24/2015, 313, Jaypeezy said:

I just wanted to point out that for me. I always have had and continue to have oily skin. Though after I began using the pyrithione zinc shampoo and pine tar soap it has been lot more manageable. I never changed my Diet for the better. In fact I have gained 20 lbs since August and it has by no means been by eating healthy. I was 150 lbs now I'm 172 lbs. No lifestyle changes. Nothing drastic to where I can possibly say that it contributed to my clearing up except the strict regimen of the two products I have been using for the past 6 weeks. Hereditary was something I have always believed was my cause as well. Also I thought bacteria was my problem but my hygiene as well as taking antibiotics was better than most. Yet I always had acne. That's when I started digging deeper into other possible reasons why I had acne. I really had to dig deep for this possible theory. Fungal problem for the only reason to have acne is not a common answer. I had to try this, I tried everything else with no relief from anything else I've tried. It works for me. I'm not saying this will help you, but maybe it will help someone else. Then this was worth me sharing my story. There is hope for us all. Good luck to you all.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience Jaypeezy! I will look into that fungus connection you mentioned.

Vh

On 24/12/2015, 1845, Jaypeezy said:

I don't know if this has been mentioned. I believe some of us, our acne derives from Malasseza which is a fungus that feeds on the oils our hair follicles secrete. I believe this caused I tested this on myself, by using pyrithione zincwhich is found in some anti-dandruff shampoos and grandpa pine tar soap. I only use the pyrithione zinc shampoo to wash my face twice. Morning and when I shower . Pine tar soap for the rest of my body. I had acne on my back upper chest and shoulders. The same fungus that is thought to cause dandruff is what I think causes acne on the hair follicles on our faces and body.I'm not saying we all have same issues. I believe some of us may have this problem and have been treating our acne all wrong. The same day I started using this, I quit using any of the traditional methods that we have all used. I'd like to say I'm almost six weeks into this theory and I'm acne free. I had cystic acne as well as your typical acne. My face still has some brown marks and mild red marks as well but they have mostly healed . It took almost three weeks for the acne to clear but I began to see a difference in the first week. I can't believe it but it's true. I ran across this just as I was getting ready to make a an appointment to try accutane. I was not expecting the results I'm seeing. I'm not saying this will help everyone. It helped me. I just wanted to tell my story.

I didn't think of this theory on my own by any means. It was something I read about, something I have never heard of before and I have been dealing with acne for almost 15 years. I have tried the typical antibiotics the gels and countless other prescription meds. I've tried all the over the counter meds. Nothing worked. Some how this is still working for me.

So you put the shampoo on your face ??? What brand is the shampoo that has this pyrithione zinc - i've never heard of it but i will try anything! I had a look at the grandpa soap website. I couldnt see pyrithione zinc listed as an ingredient in their pine tar soap - or is it called something else??They also seem to have an acne soap - is that the one you use?Sulpher seems to be the main active ingredient in that one. Maybe i'll just order bothto try they seem pretty cheap.You are very lucky to have found something so simple that clears your acne. Thanks for sharing.