No milk/No Dairy : Dairy Free Diet

I always had clear skin until I hit my late 20s a few years ago. For the past three years or so I suffered from moderate acne. People around me said it's not that bad but when you hardly had any problem with skin your whole life having 3 to 4 cystic acne plus PIH from previous ones on your face at all times is a major concern. I tried everything - all kinds of skincare products, different makeup, antibiotics, extraction at dermatologists' office, etc. Nothing was permanent and some made it worse. Two weeks ago I went dairy-free thinking there's nothing to lose! I can't say my skin cleared up right away because I tried new moisturizer during the first week, which was disastrous. It took about a week for that disaster to fade away. However, I am very happy to say that I have no active acne since then! I still have PIH that is quite noticeable but I am sure it will go away in a few weeks of time. My skin is the best that it has been in three years. I intend to maintain dairy-free diet for a few more months and start experimenting with small amount of dairy products here and there to see how my skin reacts. I understand there is no guarantee that this will work for everybody but it is surely worth trying.

I realized about 2 1/2 years ago that dairy was the culprit of my skin problems. Before I realized this and before I stopped dairy, I had an array of acne on my face, along my jaw line and neck. This was the worse of all kinds of acne, it was the huge, boil like, cyst like acne. I tried everything under the sun. I used prescription grade creams and antibiotics, nothing worked. To make a long story shorter, when I realized it was acne, I got clear, healthy looking skin. It's one of the hardest things i've had to do in my entire life, including give child birth 2ce with no drugs. I do cheat once in a while, and trust me, i notice and so does my fiance. Literally in a matter of hours, and for the next 3 days, my skin becomes inflamed, and i get a few cyct like pimples. They are not the gynormous size that i used to get when i regularly consumed dairy, but still, they are enough to know that I can not eat dairy, not a little, not a smidge, unless i'm ready to battle some acne for the next 2 weeks to a month. Because once my acne flares up, it takes that long to go away. Now i have tried to eat almond milk, in place of cows milk, but nothing is the same, i'm not going to lie to you. you'll never find cheese that will replace real cow's milk cheese. It's so cruel that i can't have cheese. No pizza, no parmasian cheese on my pasta, no chicken broccolli alfredo, no home made mac and cheese, not even kraft boxed mac and cheese, no cream in my coffee. Trust me its awful, and I wouldn't wish this on anyone, Ice cream, my favorite all time food, is banned. It's the worst, but you know what, at least my skin is clear, and I have the choice to eat dairy if i'm ready to be in pain for a while. If you want clear skin, and you've tried everything under the sun and nothing has worked, then try going dairy free, yes it's going to be horrible, but it will be worth it, and even after 2 1/2 years of cutting it out of my life, it is still missed each and every day of my life, so be prepared, it will never go away. Sorry. lol, don't mean to get you're hopes down, i'm just preparing you for what is for real. Good luck you guys.

This is the best thing I have ever done for my skin and body. I embarked on this a few times, each time my skin cleared up significantly, but then I would be coaxed into drinking a latte or eating mac'n cheese or cheesecake and my face would break out within 3 days all around my chin and lips, then it would start crawling up my cheeks.. ugh... it was terrible. Because I would have these new breakouts and then all the healing ones from the month before clustered around in a gigantic red mess on my face. I've been having the acne that never totally clears so I concluded that this must be a dietary issue. I was right. If you have chronic cysts and acne breakouts everywhere, particularly on your chin, try dairy free. *make sure if you are changing your diet like this, that you replace it with something so you don't feel deprived, you're getting nutrition, and you don't wind up with something similar to an eating disorder. If you are a vegetarian embarking on this, try eating more legumes for your source of protein, or quinoa. The biggest hurdle will be sharing your dietary change with family and friends. I was a vegetarian for around 6 years and was given much criticism. So, I expected the same with this, but thankfully, it has not been too bad... but people keep bringing up dairy to me (Oh, do you need milk? Let me give you this poutine covered in cheese..etc.). It seems like cow's dairy is so engraved in our culture here in the western world that many cannot imagine a world without it. Well, let me tell you, that not partaking is definitely possible, and you might just feel and look better because of it.

Eliminating dairy completely from my diet has cleared my acne 95%. For a while I had eliminated all dairy except butter, which I liked to cook with. However, I found that even butter was behind my severe back acne. In my view, the key is to make sure that everything that you are ingesting is free of dairy and milk products. When I go out to eat, I make sure that the dishes that I order do not have dairy, or I go to a vegan restaurant to be 100% sure. I've had moderate to severe acne since my teenage years (I'm now 28), so such an unpleasant dietary change I am willing to do for clear skin.

I have suffered from awful cystic normal acne across my chin, jaw and neck for a couple of years; and I have tried everything. My next step was the dreaded accutane. I saw a few articles about how people had saw miraculous results from cutting out dairy in their diet; no milk, no cheese no sour cream :( I tried this as I had run out of options, and cut out everything with dairy in it. Within two days my skin was clear; and is still clear a week later, which for me, is a miracle as I am so used to waking up with new cysts. If you suffer from hormonal acne, give this a go.

I discovered the link between dairy and my long-running acne (I've had it since I was 12-13 and I'm now 32) by chance when I had horrendous acne while pregnant. I thought it would go away once I'd given birth but it still persisted. My daughter was breastfeeding and was getting significant eczema and I read that she may be reacting to the dairy in my diet going through to her milk. So I stopped dairy for a couple of months and had the best skin of my life. And I've been through Roaccutane, the Pill, numerous antibiotic pills, Vitamin A creams, Benzoyl Peroxide, facials, peels, you name it. It doesn't eliminate the acne completely but reduces it significantly. I still have a more than average oily T zone, which has always been a problem, but definitely less acne. I've found butter is ok but cream and milk are the big no-nos. Considering I love both of those things, and I used to be a massive milk drinker, it does make it very hard to adjust my diet. Every now and then I will cave again (although I've gotten used to drinking soy hot chocolates) and pay the price the next week, which proves to me time and time again that sadly, dairy is just not meant to be for me.

I've been completely off dairy for about 3 weeks now, and WOW!! When my monthly break-out attack came around, I had like maybe 2 small pimples as opposed to attack of the jawline and temples/forehead. In the 30 years of my life (15 of which I've battled the hormonal breakout attack), I was blown away. Do I need to add that I've tried it all, OC and prescription meds/masks and saw very little effect? I'm never going back to nasty cow milk, yogurt, and cheese. Plenty of vegan and plant-based substitutions out there! My face and my health are far more valuable to me.

I struggled with acne for a really long time. Just as I hit puberty I went from having a few spots that just got worse. It was to the point where strangers would offer suggestions and point it out without my asking for their input. Just like the many others on this site, my confidence was shot. I learned not to look at myself in the mirror (glance at eyes only or hair basically), which I realized recently I still do! (Scars) Dermatologists loaded me with creams and antibiotics, which looking back I realized how F*cked up it was to be on antibiotics for as long as I was. it wasn't curing anything it was masking whatever it was that was causing the inflammation. The more I started reading up on health and wellness the more I started getting into holistics and nutrition. I used to AlWAYS refer to this website. I love that its still around because it was so helpful to read on a community dealing with the same shizznitt I was. ANYWHO... Whenever I did a cleanse my friends and I would notice how clear my face would get... (Hormone check ups always came back normal.. it had to be food related) I simplified my diet.... did another fast/ cleanse... and tried a few foods... MY goodness, as soon as my inside was "cleaned up" it was so much easier to see what triggered my acne. I found out I have an intolerance toward: DAIRY, SOY, GLUTEN I would break out and feel crummy so fast! Now at 27 I have a very simple diet: primarily gluten free vegan/ no soy and my acne has not been an issue since having figure out what diet worked best for me. People ask me if Im miserable and feel like Im missing out, I feel great and to be frank having a "cheat" with a trigger-food just isn't pleasant for me. Not only do I get nauseous but having do deal with a breakout for 2 weeks is even worse. SO I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. i love the foods I can eat and feel great! Even if I have a flare up(soy oil , for example, can be pretty sneaky when it comes to restaurant ingredients). ,But I'll take GAIA liver health caps (basically anti-inflammatory herbs, with multiple benefits) and it helps things calm down quickly. My dad made fun of me wondering how a child of his could be so sensitive to food. but later we found out that the GI problems he was having was a similar intolerance's. I got him back saying I got it from HIM! So yes I recommend cutting out dairy! Looking into dietary changes takes time, but its worth it!

I'm 16 years old and have suffered from acne for about 3 years. Everyday I would have a new cystic pimple, maybe even two a day. My acne was so inflamed and sore and I just put it down to hormones and being a teen. I went on the mini and the full pill, both with no effect on my skin whatsoever. I then saw a Chinese face mapping chart. I discovered that the regions where I was constantly getting acne linked to intestines and food allergies. So I googled this- dairy and gluten seemingly the main culprits. I then avoided milk, drinking almond milk instead. This alone led to a huge improvement after a few weeks. I noticed I wasn't waking up with painful acne everyday, only getting them occasionally. I then cut down on other types of dairy- yoghurt, choc, cheese(which is hard to avoid!). The reason so many people get acne from dairy is because if you are lactose intolerant, your body can't process it. This leads to a toxin build up from your intestines, showing as acne (and other symptoms such as gassiness, sore stomach etc.) I would say definitely try to cut out certain food groups, a food diary is helpful for this. After a few months of no dairy, have dairy again and see if you get a pimple. That was my way I seeing that it was really dairy after all. Although it sucks because I love dairy so much, less pain and insecurity everyday is worth it! :)

Wanted to share my story here about the dairy-acne connection. I tried everything for my acne. Retin-A, antibiotics, birth control, and even Accutane. Most worked for a while and Accutane kept me mostly clear for 9 years but my acne started coming back slowly. The last few weeks, I was getting new breakouts everyday and starting to feel the skin stress of the pre-Accutane days. I was mostly getting acne around my mouth and chin. I decided last week to cut out all dairy from my diet. Since that day, I have not gotten one single new pimple and my skin is less oily as well. It is only after Accutane that I became interested in natural remedies and I've been doing a lot research over the years. I really believe that acne is an internal problem. Often caused by diet and stress. I wish I had known this 10 years ago prior to going on Accutane. It's sad that something as simple as diet change could be saving people from years of insecurity with regards to their skin and a lot of money. To anyone who suffers from stress, anxiety or depression when it comes to their skin (like I did), I would highly recommend eliminating dairy from your diet to determine if this may be the culprit for you. I would also consider testing for other food intolerances that could be affecting your skin (gluten, nuts, etc).