Help with Acne
This is my first post to a message board, so please bear with me as I
learn about the process and etiquette. I’m a 29-year old female who
suffered from minor cystic acne in high school…not a lot of lesions
just one or two major ones all the time. I took Accutane, which
cleared my skin up until about 2 years ago.
At 27, I noticed that my acne had changed and that it was coming back
in a more aggressive form. I now have myriad red papules most of the
time…3 or four medium ones and chronic clogged pores. It seems as
if my skin never sloughs off…like there’s always a shiny coating
over it. Plus, I always feels dry and flaky even with my acne.
About 5 months ago, my dermatologist prescribed minocycline, Azelex in
the morning and benzaclin at night. I had beautiful skin for my
wedding. However, now, I have a mess again. I did notice when I
started the minocycline that my skin responded to it within 48
hours…it was amazing. This fact leads me to believe that my acne is
an internal infection more than anything else.
Also, I was using Glyderm products along with Dermalogica products.
I guess I’m feeling very depressed and frustrated to be dealing with
very noticeable acne at the cusp of 30. I would appreciate any input,
help, guidance or comments. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Kristie
October 30th, 2003 at 9:49 am
This is my first post to a message board, so please bear with me as I
learn about the process and etiquette. I’m a 29-year old female who
suffered from minor cystic acne in high school…not a lot of lesions
just one or two major ones all the time. I took Accutane, which
cleared my skin up until about 2 years ago.
At 27, I noticed that my acne had changed and that it was coming back
in a more aggressive form. I now have myriad red papules most of the
time…3 or four medium ones and chronic clogged pores. It seems as
if my skin never sloughs off…like there’s always a shiny coating
over it. Plus, I always feels dry and flaky even with my acne.
About 5 months ago, my dermatologist prescribed minocycline, Azelex in
the morning and benzaclin at night. I had beautiful skin for my
wedding. However, now, I have a mess again. I did notice when I
started the minocycline that my skin responded to it within 48
hours…it was amazing. This fact leads me to believe that my acne is
an internal infection more than anything else.
Also, I was using Glyderm products along with Dermalogica products.
I guess I’m feeling very depressed and frustrated to be dealing with
very noticeable acne at the cusp of 30. I would appreciate any input,
help, guidance or comments. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Kristie
October 30th, 2003 at 4:21 pm
=====
Regards,
Dana Watson
www.acnemirastat.com
Phone 919-872-1486
Toll Free 866-333-STAT
Fax 919-790-1342
November 1st, 2003 at 8:49 am
Kristie, in addition to the below, if you are taking oral
contraceptives that alters your hormones and can cause acne, which is
why some come with acne medication. You could try not using that (at
least for a while).
ABSOLUTELY NO:
Dairy
Sugar in any form except that found naturally in whole foods (and it
has to be IN the whole food, not ANY KIND of extract)
Hydrogenated or Transfats
Soybean Oil
Basically any n6 oil
Wheat
Gluten containing grains including wheat, oats, barely, etc
Iodine, which means no iodized salt, sea weed, and many fish have too
much (I’m finding I can’t eat sardines anymore, although not sure of
this yet)
Fermented food including wine, beer, any other alcohol, soy sauce,
miso, vinegar
Too much salt is bad, how much is too much? A *few* shakes of sea
salt once a day is MAXIMUM, go for NO added salt while you’re trying
to get rid of the problem
Coffee
Tea
Caffeine
Preservatives
Food colors
Chocolate
Street Drugs
Peanuts (legume not a nut)
Cashews (legume not a nut)
Many nuts are bad, at least in my experience can aggravate problems
(almonds, pistachios, for instance) Some people might say this is
because you need to soak them…right…don’t eat them, you don’t
need them.
You SHOULD:
Take probiotics
Take Flaxseed oil, how much? 1-3T..Take it until you have no dry skin
anywhere (you shouldn’t ever need lip gloss/chapstick)
Take a good multivitamin
Eat one lemon a day
Get enough betacarotene, carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash are
good sources
Get some sunlight on your face and preferably as much skin as
possible at least once a day (walk outside)
Exercise until you’re sweating
Eliminate ALL soap/shampoo/conditioner/make up/lotion and replace
with castile soap (such as from Dr Bronner) with as few added
oils/essences of herbs as possible (to reduce amount of benzyne which
is used in extraction)
Don’t touch your face with your hands
Shower when you wake up AND before you go to sleep
Don’t avoid the fat in meat, or avoid meat, but opt for organic
grassfed meat when possible
Never done it and don’t know what my thoughts are on the subject yet,
although I’m considering it: Liver cleanse.
You should really do most of the above ANYWAY for optimal health, so
look at this as a chance to get in shape/healthier.
Best,
Michael
November 1st, 2003 at 2:26 pm
Wow! Thank you so much for all the information.
There were quite a few things that I was unaware of
that could be contributing to the problem. It’s funny
that you mentioned the liver cleanse because my
husband and I just started a cleanse for the liver.
We have only been doing this for a few days and my
skin looks the best it has in years. Again, thank you
for the time and the guidance. Good luck.
December 18th, 2003 at 6:42 pm
I’m in my early 20’s and still having problems with acne and have
tried a lot of things. Antibiotics clear my skin up very quickly but
my body can’t tolerate them, and after treatment it gets worse. So
I’ve been limiting myself to alternative treatments for several
years. Lately I’ve found two things that really help. A Chinese
doctor suggested that my acne is partially caused by chronic sinus
infections. So I started using a Neti pot to irrigate my sinuses
everyday. Since using this, no new patches of infection have
occurred. I think the infection from my sinuses was draining down my
face and accumulating at my chin. So that was an improvement, but
then there were all the old pimples and scars . . . Less than a week
ago I started using HerbaCort acne cream by HerbaLab. Amazingly, my
scars are drastically beginning to lighten, and even though it’s very
moisturizing, whiteheads and clogged pores are clearing up as well. I
don’t know if this cream is more or less effective than the acne
cream already recommended, but I do know that I can’t tolerate
benzoyl peroxide because my cheeks are sensitive and prone to
redness. This cream is actually soothing my cheeks while healing my
acne.