I've never posted on here before (but I stalk a lot of the threads!) and I finally thought I would, since my skin is currently the best it's been since I was 11/12 years old!
The three dietary changes that I've made recently for my skin and overall health have been:
-cutting out/reducing dairy
-reducing coffee
-ADDING spearmint tea
I'm sure I don't have to say much about dairy, as many acne sufferers warn against ingesting much of it for various reasons. I recently realized I was becoming lactose intolerant, so it made sense for me to cut it out or greatly reduce my intake anyway. I also was becoming less tolerant when it came to caffeine, so I switched to decaf, then greatly reduced my coffee intake altogether, since it's supposed to be bad for inflammation and hormonal stress (hello acne!).
The biggest difference I noticed so far though was what happened once I started regularly drinking spearmint tea. Not only was this upping my fluid/water intake (always a good thing) but studies have shown that spearmint tea can help regulate hormones (specifically free testosterone in the body) and reduce oily skin! These things are obviously linked to acne, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I drink 2-3 strongly brewed cups per day, and while I haven't noticed a huge difference in oilyness (it's only been 3 weeks) I have practically NO breakouts on my face right now! Just old scars healing, and even the tiny little clogged pores that I get all over (that never get inflamed but never go away) are FINALLY going away!
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About my acne/history:
I'm a 20 year old female who has suffered from acne since I was 11/12 years old (thanks, puberty). Acne also runs in the family for females on my mom's side of the family (thanks, genetics). My "typical acne" on my face looks like this: A lot of large, inflamed whiteheads all over the face, particularly bad on the cheeks. Also little clogged pores that aren't inflamed but make my skin texture gross all over the face. And typically a couple of deep, painful cystic bumps at a time, usually in the cheeks or earlobes. Yes, in my earlobes. I don't even wear earrings. So weird and annoying.
I've been using tretinoin .04% for about two years now from my dermatologist. I did notice some improvement after a few months using it, but the improvement came to a plateau and then never got any better. Also it doesn't dry out or irritate my skin too much (oily skin life) but it will peel like crazy if I use it more than every other day. Not a pretty sight.
Hey cool...those are the exact 3 things I'm doing. I find if I only have 1 coffee a day and no dairy I'm a lot better. I have a hard time making myself drink tea so I take 2 spearmint capsules. Glad it's working for you!
12 hours ago, holdingontohope said:The tiny clogged pores that never go away...is that like a blackhead that isn't black?
I've tried finding spearmint tea but could only find mint. Are these teabags? How do you make strong tea? Sorry, not a tea drinker.
Do you have any pics?
hey you can use spearmint capsules instead, Swanson brand sells them online they're super cheap. Peppermint tea isn't the same as spearmint. A combination of the 2 is OK. I'd let the tea bags in for about 5 minutes, I per cup.
On May 26, 2016 at 1:34 PM, Lynn142 said:I've never posted on here before (but I stalk a lot of the threads!) and I finally thought I would, since my skin is currently the best it's been since I was 11/12 years old!
The three dietary changes that I've made recently for my skin and overall health have been:
-cutting out/reducing dairy
-reducing coffee
-ADDING spearmint teaI'm sure I don't have to say much about dairy, as many acne sufferers warn against ingesting much of it for various reasons. I recently realized I was becoming lactose intolerant, so it made sense for me to cut it out or greatly reduce my intake anyway. I also was becoming less tolerant when it came to caffeine, so I switched to decaf, then greatly reduced my coffee intake altogether, since it's supposed to be bad for inflammation and hormonal stress (hello acne!).
The biggest difference I noticed so far though was what happened once I started regularly drinking spearmint tea. Not only was this upping my fluid/water intake (always a good thing) but studies have shown that spearmint tea can help regulate hormones (specifically free testosterone in the body) and reduce oily skin! These things are obviously linked to acne, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I drink 2-3 strongly brewed cups per day, and while I haven't noticed a huge difference in oilyness (it's only been 3 weeks) I have practically NO breakouts on my face right now! Just old scars healing, and even the tiny little clogged pores that I get all over (that never get inflamed but never go away) are FINALLY going away!
--------------
About my acne/history:
I'm a 20 year old female who has suffered from acne since I was 11/12 years old (thanks, puberty). Acne also runs in the family for females on my mom's side of the family (thanks, genetics). My "typical acne" on my face looks like this: A lot of large, inflamed whiteheads all over the face, particularly bad on the cheeks. Also little clogged pores that aren't inflamed but make my skin texture gross all over the face. And typically a couple of deep, painful cystic bumps at a time, usually in the cheeks or earlobes. Yes, in my earlobes. I don't even wear earrings. So weird and annoying.
I've been using tretinoin .04% for about two years now from my dermatologist. I did notice some improvement after a few months using it, but the improvement came to a plateau and then never got any better. Also it doesn't dry out or irritate my skin too much (oily skin life) but it will peel like crazy if I use it more than every other day. Not a pretty sight.
have you tried otc retinoids? They are not as harsh