Hi! 

I've had acne since the age of 11/12 spots started at age 9, I'm now 32 (female) and I have finally got to the point where I can say my acne is completely under control without any pills, contraceptives, or prescription treatments, so I thought I'd share how I did it in case it can help anyone

Brief history;

My acne has always been over my face, neck, back, chest, and at its worst, also over my upper arms and bum. I have not listed the topical treatments I have used in the past because there are so many, basically I've tried it all, over the counter, prescription & derm-prescribed. None did anything except aggravate my skin.

Age 9 - mild acne started
Age 13 - moderate acne - tried all prescription treatments, OTC treatments, nothing worked
Age 16 - moderate / severe acne - held at bay by dianette, but this would cause me all sorts of side effects and the acne always returned angrier than ever when I tried to come of it. Antibiotics didnt agree with me.
Age 22/23 - severe acne hit - at this point it was debilitating, I wouldn't leave the house and developed an anxiety disorder. Treated with 6 months roaccutane - acne temporarily cured, anxiety gone.
Age 26 - pregnancy - moderate acne returned
Age 27 - post childbirth / breastfeeding - acne returned after breastfeeding,   held at bay by Yasmin
Age 28 - 31 - I spent these 3 years trying to come off Yasmin because it absolutely destroyed my sex drive and stopped my lady parts even working. But I was only able to be off it for about 3 months before the acne returned. The longest I managed was 8 months, but I couldn't handle living with the acne and went back on Yasmin. Tried antibiotics again, made me poorly.
Age 32 - I decided I needed to make some serious changes and quit all forms of hormonal acne treatments for good. I was also suffering from severe IBS & was generally run down and poorly, which had been going on a few years.

The day I quit the pills I also quit dairy and gluten, and cut down on sugar. A few days in I had a spell of withdrawal where I felt flu-y, shakey, had headaches and felt pretty rough. This passed after a week or so, then I just got on with life & waited to see what would happen.

Month 1 - severe IBS, which used to leave me crippled on the loo crying in pain for hours at a time, completely disappears.

Month 3 - Acne begins to return, but it is mild and limited mostly to jawline area & neck, a bit on my back. At the time I thought, great, here we go. But to my surprise, it stayed mild.

Months 4/5 - Acne still mind. Sex drive returns, hurray! Through experimenting I found that a small amount of gluten in my diet was ok, but dairy seemed to cause a flare up, cheese in particular. My general health issues of fatigue and general un-wellness have by this point improved greatly. 

Months 6/7 - Acne still mild and seemed to be improving. I was having really bad PMT in the two weeks between ovulation and my period, so I started taking starflower oil daily 1500mg + B6 for hormone regulation and to reduce inflammation in my body. This stuff is SO effective, I have not had any PMT symptoms aside from swollen boobs since I started taking it. I don't get emotional or low, I don't feel sluggish or achy, cramps have gone. I also started using a standard ibuprofen gel on my remaining acne areas at night to reduce the acne inflammation. I use an amount the size of a pea around jawline and neck, and the same for my back. The reduction of inflammation from using this was noticeable within hours, and it has never irritated my skin at all. Any acne that I had was drying up and disappearing within days instead of weeks. I started using only pure aloe gel and coconut oil as moisturisers, and I don't put any other lotions or potions on my skin at all.

Months 8-10 - this is the longest I had ever manage to stay off the pills. Instead, mild acne continues to improve, pretty much clear skin, except for light breakouts before and during period, or if I indulge in dairy and bad stuffs for a few days in a row. I feel really, really well and full of life.

Month 11 / present - feel wonderful. Also stopped masturbating. I won't go into details because it's not relevant but basically I'm doing nofap with my other half. An unexpected side effect - my skin has become completely clear, and stayed clear, even before and during my period. 

So what I've learnt over the last 11 months;

Dairy plays a big role in my acne. At this point in time, I can have a one-off dairy treat, and be ok. I usually save these for dinners at other peoples houses, so that I can just eat what I'm given. But if I have a few days in a row of eating dairy, the acne starts to come back. I think  that gluten does also affect my skin, but not to the extent that dairy does. 

Balancing my hormones with starflower oil & b6 has done wonders for my cycle, my feeling of wellbeing and my general health. My skin looks glowy and healthy since I started taking it.

Ibuprofen gel takes care of any flare-ups in a more effective way than any topical acne treatment I have ever used.

I don't need anything other than aloe and coconut oil to moisturise my skin.

Masturbation appears to affect my hormones and contribute to flare-ups. I feel closer to my other half since quitting , and I hope to stay away from this now.

I feel well, really well, and healthy from the inside out, for the first I time since I can even remember. This time a year ago I didn't believe this was possible. I have spent 22 years sacrificing my health for clear skin, and that battle is finally over  

I don't know if any of this helps anyone, but on the of chance that it might, I thought it was worth posting. Take care all x