No milk/No Dairy : Dairy Free Diet

So i'm 22, not the type to write reviews but I said to myself, if i ever find something that works for my acne then im going to write about it because i know how sh*tty acne makes you feel and so if i can help even a single person then thats good! So i have been using acne.org for just under a year to try to get rid of my acne! I used to get big sore spots on my chin and cheeks and some little ones all over my forehead. I have really tried everything - lymecycline for 8 months - worked really well i had clear skin but then went off it and straight away my skin was worse than before and also reading all the bad things about antibiotics online how they affect your gut etc I didn't want to be on them anymore. I tried being on the pill (dianette) and again my skin was perfect but it was making me have mood swings often where i'd just feel sad and I thought that it wasn't worth it! I also tried benzoyl peroxide for a bit and although it did work a bit (it got rid of bumps on my forehead but didnt do much to chin spots) - it made my skin so dry and horrible that it actually almost looked worse - it made my makeup sit horribly on my face and i felt like it made me face look wrinkly! not good! So I started thinking I wanted to take a more natural approach to my acne. Firstly I gave up dairy (still have the odd bit now and then - cant completely give up chocolate haha!) but dramatically cut down. Next I went on acne.org in the natural/holistic section to see what was recommended. I wanted to go in this section because although some other treatments may work, i started not trusting any of the reviews because I started thinking that a lot of them sounded fake as though maybe the company had written them - i figured that in the natural section who would write a fake review? So anyway, i started with ACV - i think this worked quite well, at least for my chin and cheek spots (this is where i used to get a lot of big sore ones), however i started getting loooads of bumps all over my nose and forehead and so had to stop that. Next i tried potato - i think this worked quite well for acne scars but because it was so messy i stopped doing that so much in the end and now will only do it every now and then when i feel like it haha Next i tried epsom salt - i put it in a bath every night and also used the salt to wash my face along with a face wash - i really do think this worked for the big spots but it irritated my skin unfortunately and i got little bumps on my arms and forehead so gave it up! Next i tried green tea and rooibos tea (redbush) - amazing! So i now drink about 4-5 cups of green tea or red bush tea a day, and also wipe the tea bag on my face if i am not wearing makeup when i drink the tea (usually morning and night). I have a chemistry background and have read a lot of scientific papers about green tea and acne and have found that there is a lot of science behind why it works - basically the antioxidant reduces the inflammation and therefore because green tea and red bush tea have such high antioxidants, this means that your acne becomes less inflamed! Also there have been studies that prove that green tea makes your skin less oily - definitely a plus! I also bought an antioxidant face moisturiser, i just typed antioxidant cream into amazon and looked at the first one that came up and it looked good so i got it and it really is good! my face is always hydrated and lovely! so nice to finally not have dry or oily skin! its kinda expensive the one i got but im sure there are others that would work just as well that are cheaper! So yeah thats all i do now - gave up dairy and drink a lotttt of tea! My skin is not flawless i still have some acne scars and i get little spots every now and then but i have not got a big spot in like 3 months so it is definitely working and i'd recommend anyone to try it! Oh and by the way i wash my face with Dr. Bronners tea tree soap stuff - i dont really know if this is any good but it hasn't seemed to make my skin worse, takes makeup off well and makes me feel clean afterwards haha Another thing i'll say is that I don't really know which helped my skin more: no dairy or green/red bush tea - but my skin is so much clearer and i don't want to give either up and get bad skin again haha. Ask me any questions you have and i'll try to help! As i said before I know how horrible having bad skin is, it used to make me feel so sh*tty when i woke up in the morning, but honestly i think little changes make a big difference!

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! :)

So my acne started becoming a 'critical situation' about 5 months ago. I always had a love hate relationship with dairy and always felt it aggravated my eczema but never did anything about it, So funnily enough, eczema is GONE, and acne is here in full force. I got an allergy test that said i am sensitive to lactose so i cut it all out and i feel better for it. Im did soya for a while which i'm no longer keen on so its almond milk all the way... bottom line is give it a try,

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).

I'm a 20yr old female and I have moderate but constant acne for 10yrs on my cheeks and jawline. Even on birth control and androgen blockers I still had a zit or two. Until I cut dairy completely from my diet 5 months ago and replaced it with soy did I have perfect skin with no break outs. I chose soy milk as a replacement because it's high in estrogen but have not tried other types of milk. I'm positive it's the dairy to because I'm writing this review with three inflamed pimples after drinking rum cream the other night for the first time in months. Cutting diary completely can be hard. You must keep in mind what the ingredients of everything is you eat and how it is prepared. It took several mistakes like biscuits, mashed potatoes, anything with butter, and soup bases before I learned ingredients of what I was eating. If you have hormonal acne please cut dairy from your diet.

I had moderate acne for the past year. Was put on Differin about 9 months ago and used/continue to use it every night as directed. While it helped clear up the bigger, deeper pimples, I was still breaking out with small whiteheads and small pimples all over. I heard that cutting out dairy helped some people, so I decided to just try going completely vegan. It's been almost 2 months now and my skin is nearly perfect, with only 2 healing spots leftover from old pimples. I noticed results within 2 weeks of cutting out dairy and meat. I can't guarantee that this is what helped me and not the Differin, so I do continue to use that as well and keep up with my face routine as normal. I definitely recommend giving up dairy for 2 months just to see if it would work for you. It was so worth it to me.

For 8 years I suffered from acne during the time that I was pregnant and breastfeeding, so my acne could not be treated with medicines. I tried everything that I could until I finally gave up 100% of dairy products, and anything made or cooked with dairy and within a couple of weeks the cysts on my face flatted and the acne went away. I was acne-free for about two years. I recently went on and off the BC pill (due to excessive hair loss) and have suffered another bout with severe acne. I think that becoming vegan would help my skin even more, but on the dairy-free diet, I've become so thin (I'm over 5'5" and 100 pounds), that I think that I might wither away on the vegan diet.

I strongly believe that acne is correlated with dairy consumption and hormonal acne in particular. I have PCOS so my acne is completely hormonal related. I've read that the hormones in dairy increase your testosterone production, which in turn increases your sebum production (oil production) and clogs your pores. Anyway, I went on birth control and it did nothing for my acne. I became a vegan four months ago and my acne got a lot better. I thought it was just because I was eating healthy. But, I soon realized that after EVERY time that I "cheated" and ate dairy, I would have a huge break out within 24 hours. Then I would continue my dairy-free diet and my skin would clear up. I really didn't believe it since this seemed absurd that eating dairy one time would cause me to break out. However, after this happening 5 times now, I KNOW that it is the dairy. One time I ate pizza and woke up with 8 new pimples!!! Honestly, I really miss dairy but it definitely isn't worth the embarrassment of a giant break out to the point where I hide in my apartment for 4 days until it gets better. Since my hormones are still a little out of whack, I still almost always have a couple pimples even when I don't eat dairy. But I can deal with that. I will definitely continue to avoid dairy.

Ok , removed all dairy for about two months, results were a m a z i n g , not ONE new inflamed pimple after 2 months , I am beyond happy. Yes this was my answer and cure but your acne could be caused by something different , but it does not hurt to try it and hope for the best. I am currently clear and have been since dairy removal. I had at the time mainly chin and jawline acne about 3-5 large red pimples at a time....but no more:)

As strongly as all doctors disagree with me, I lived with acne all my life and know for a fact that I always breakout whenever I have dairy products. I'm also lactose-intolerant. Never fails. Everytime I stay away from dairy food, my face clears up. When I have a glass of milk, a huge tub of yogurt, caesar salad dressing instead of italian/french and even cheese, zits will appear, out of nowhere, for no good reasons. This happens ALL the time. I leave at least 2-3 months in between trials and nothing else explains it. Plus I become more flatulent and sometimes, have a slight indigestion. I don't really care what dermatologists or doctors say when I tell them I can't have milk because of acne, I know it doesn't work for me. I don't completely stay away but I take it real easy on it. Now, dairy products, I'm going at one serving per fortnight, very little. Note: I'm acne-free now. I have the occasional zit every 3 weeks or so from stress or lack of sleep (and dairy food) but I had very severe acne a year ago. My face cleared up and staying away from dairy product helps.