Flaxseed Oil

it's been more than ayear that I have been having acne. my skin was fairly clear since until I became pregnant with my second child with indigestion, a friend of mine recommended I use flax seed/oil to help improve my metabolism. I researched on it as they said flax may not be good for pregnant women ( though I found out it was fine, in fact I gave birth to a super healthy boy). Anyway, I started getting some acne on my Left lower cheek... and to the right... I placed some topical cream hoping it would help which it did temporarily. now, more than a year has passed, and I still have acne that seems to get worse... I'm trying to remember what I did different why I started to have acne?! all I did was add flax seed to my diet... I guess I won't be taking any more flax starting today.

I took a chance on this as I didn't want to go on any crazy overdose of other vitamins/minerals and was looking for something simple and cheap. The RDA for the (Holland & Barrett UK) cold pressed raw oil I had was 5ml twice daily. Advantages of taking the raw oil form is you can control how much you take. I estimated 10ml seemed a little too much for me (I'm only 5 foot 1 female) and from a little googling the level of phytoestrogen is the highest available in any foods (the second was tofu/soya bean). I took a small tea-spoon (not table-spoon), after dinner each night. The first 2 days my skin seemed more moisturised and my pores seemed to become smaller. After that it started to make my mild eczema worst (under my lips and chin, nose). I took this for a month and had to stop. My acne seemed to get just a little worst, but I was expecting this. So, I thought that was that, doesn't work for me and left it... Four months later after stopping, I have noticed after each monthly menstral cycle, my skin gets less and less acne, my pores have become more smaller, and overall my skin is alot better. The acne also takes less time to heal. Regimen: 1)Exfoliate with my old towel (its 6 years old & balanced to my skin and isn't hard or too rough), hot water, gently wipe dead skin, old blemishes. 2)Johnson & Johnson Gently Daily Scrub - wash off 3) Quinoderm Anti-Bacterial Facewash - only use a small penny size amount - this is great stuff and has reduced the severity of my acne too. Do Not Wash off Quinoderm - leave on 4)Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2 in 1 Wash/Mask - only on nose and cheeks - leave on. Do not use on eczema patches, will make it worst. Morning - brush teeth then wash off Night - have shower then wash off 5)BodyShop Aloe Vera Toner & Vitamin E Spray on cotton pad around face 6)BodyShop Vitamin E Moisturiser - only a little 7)Salcura Intensive Eczema Spray on eczema 8

I'm not sure why, but this broke me out horribly. I am a male and I'm guessing that it is the phytoestrogens. I have noticed that this tends to help girls more than guys. Estrogen dominance may be a cause of acne for some people, so please be weary of this. Flax is also very high in omega 6's which is not so good and the conversion rate of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) to DHA and EPA can be very low in most people. I think I saw a study showing it to range from .4% to 16%.

This stuff is evil if you have hormonal acne. The torture will continue for ages even after you stop. I'm 35 and havent had acne in years, but it's come back with a vengeance as soon as I took flaxseed oil, and it hasn't budged yet. I hate my naturopath!

Flax oil components must be assimilated by the body into Omegas which means the actual amount you receive is much lower than say, fish oil. This really isn't a problem unless you have a faulty converter system for some reason. If you want to bypass the conversion, use fish oil which is already in the form the body uses and needs no conversion. However, be aware that not using the enzymes that convert these components will end up making them slack, so I would suggest switching it up every now and then between fish oil and flax oil. For those having acne erupt from this you may be allergic or you may be using flax with lignans. If you are using the seeds, you can try an oil without the lignans included. Some oils have them included, so watch the labels. Lignans give flax oil the phytoestrogenic properties. So, if you do not want to add estrogen effects, simply choose an oil without lignans (walmart sells them without lignans). :)

I only just decided to start taking flax seed again to see if it improves my light to moderate acne break outs and improve my skin and hair like it had previously done, although I am a little hesitant because I have read reviews of those that have taken it and made there acne worse, but i'll give it go. I have used Roaccatane medication for the treatment of acne that I had a few years ago and while i was being medicated i was taking 2 capsules of flax seed oil a day and it improved my skin texture and made my hair soft and shiny, i would like to say to anyone using this kind of acne medication to try flax seed oil suppliments because as you may know the medication can be very drying to your skin and cause it to be very sensitive and prone to redness.

I have been taking this on and off for about a year but in the last 6 weeks or so I have made the decision to take this properly as directed everyday and see what happens. I have light-moderate acne at any time so at my worst I have about 10-15 pustules and very inflamed but on a regular day I have about 3-5. This has kept me around the 3-5 pustule range in about the last 2 weeks so I'd say it took about 3/4 weeks for me to notice any decent effects. Before I never took this supplement for this long so I didn't get to see this. There is no indication that my skin is going to massively break out any time soon either it seems pretty controlled so it's looking good for this. I also think that my skin is just better in general too and that it's not as dry. I have combination skin so I can get dry irritated patches and this has helped. I think it also helps the red marks left by acne to fade away faster too. Bottom line: try it! I'm surprised by the changes in my skin after 6 weeks and I'm definitely going to continue to take this :)

did absolutely nothing for my skin. still broke out.

I have tried this product for four weeks. The first week I did half a tablespoon, and I noticed my skin looked somewhat the same. I increased the dosage to 1 full tablespoon, and I got severe cystic acne. I stuck with this for four weeks thinking it may be a purging of some kind, but I have now decided to get off of it. The problem is probably with the omega 3 which comes in linolenic acid instead of EPA and DHA. Try this with caution.

it works for me. i had been taking two tablespoons of ground flaxseed daily from july 2010 until about a month ago (beginning march 2011). while i was taking the ground flaxseed, my skin was clear, i didnt get clogged skin and rarely got cysts either. (i also take msm, cod liver oil and probiotic supplements too and these also play a big part in keeping my skin nice) then i got lazy and stopped taking the flaxseed and my skin got dull and clogged. my acne didnt return, but my skin wasnt at its best. i have since started taking two 1000mg flaxseed oil capsules daily and my skin has improved (its less hassle to take the capsules than the ground flaxseed for me). my face looks brighter, its "glowing" and my dehydration lines have gone too. i cant say enough good things about flaxseed, and this is from someone who has been taking it consistently for 8 months. i understand that it doesnt work for everyone though, some people swear by biotin but ive used that on two separate occasions and it gave me so many cysts, it was horrible. i think if you go into it knowing you might purge at the start (i got cysts on my chin and inflamed pimples on my cheeks but i stuck to it and they healed up nicely) then you might give flaxseed more of a chance instead of panicking because its bringing spots to the surface when you first start taking it. i am putting that my acne severity is very light, i dont actually have any active acne anymore, just scars that i am getting rid of with retin-a, use of sunscreen and gentle exfoliation, however, prior to taking any supplements, my acne was moderately severe.