Why all this acne?!

[amber913]

I know i'm posting here all the time--i'm really struggling with my suddenly-horrible skin! Thanks to all the suggestions to use aloe as a moisturizer, i no longer have the flakiness, but my acne is still really bad. It hasn't been this bad since i was a teenager (i'm 32), and even then, only now and then was it this bad.

I'm wondering if it has to do with something internally. My diet is pretty good--i'm vegetarian and plan on converting to raw. I drink mostly water, and a lot of it. No fried foods...not much chocolate. Could i be detoxing? I've stopped using toxic stuff on my body and in my home... Hmmm... I also don't suffer from a lot of stress, and am happier than i've been in the past. I've also wondered if it's the no-pooing; perhaps the oil (it's hardly ever really oily) in my hair is getting on my skin.

I know some of you had different kinds of cleansings and, as a result, your skin cleared up. I'm wondering if i need that. Any suggestions would be helpful--i'm starting to feel like a monster!!!

[maggiemae]

I am in the same boat here. I am 35 and still breaking out. I broke down this weekend and bought a Clarisonic brush for my face. My friend swears by it and her skin has never looked better since she started using it. I'll post back after I get it!

[mmhinton]

I'm in pretty much the exact same boat! I am in the process of de - toxing all our home and body products. Right now, I am using honey for a face wash, an herbal toner, and oil for moisturizer (jojoba, rose, etc). BUT, I think I'm gonna try the OCM I've read about on here as I am willing to try just about anything (natural) at this point. Right now, my skin is SO much softer than it used to be, but still oily with lots of breakouts (especially related to hormones!

If you find stuff that works, I'd love to hear about it!!

[maggiemae]

Originally Posted by mmhinton

I'm in pretty much the exact same boat! I am in the process of de - toxing all our home and body products. Right now, I am using honey for a face wash, an herbal toner, and oil for moisturizer (jojoba, rose, etc). BUT, I think I'm gonna try the OCM I've read about on here as I am willing to try just about anything (natural) at this point. Right now, my skin is SO much softer than it used to be, but still oily with lots of breakouts (especially related to hormones!

If you find stuff that works, I'd love to hear about it!!

Great minds think alike. We seem to hang out on the same threads. I am also de-toxing our home, using OCM and oil for moisturizer! I just ordered shampoo bars from Chagrin Valley (for the dog too). How is your handsoap working for you?

Anyway- my face is not horrible, but I am so tired of having any acne at my age! I keep thinking that maybe my skin is detoxing and it will get better soon.

[amber913]

It's nice seeing i'm not the only one--it feels that way sometimes!

I tried OCM and it made my acne worse, it seemed, even though my skin felt really healthy otherwise. Honey doesn't get enough oil off my face.

I wash with diluted (VERY diluted in a foaming pump) Dr. Bronner's, use the aloe as moisturizer and witch hazel in between as a toner if i was wearing make-up. I really can't think of any other way to do it. I think it's best to keep it simple and natural, but it's also a matter of finding a balance between cleansing your skin sufficiently and not over-cleaning or scrubbing too much. Ah, isn't sensitive skin fun? Grr.

Good luck, Mamas! Thanks for sharing! Let everyone know what's working/what's worked for you.

[marimara]

I never had acne as a teen except the occasional zit and then suddenly when I neared 30 my skin went haywire. My hormones were off balance. Now, I balance my hormones with herbs (I think I may have wrote this before on another thread of yours, forgive me if so). Black cohosh, dong quai, etc. Here is an article similar to what I am talking about .
Are you talking about cystic acne? If so, it is most likely hormonal.

If you are talking about blackheads, oily skin, and surface acne, then you might want to look at your body and hand lotions. I make sure to never use any lotion at all that contains mineral oil (petrolatum). It can clog your pores.

[loon13]

Originally Posted by amber913

I wash with diluted (VERY diluted in a foaming pump) Dr. Bronner's, use the aloe as moisturizer and witch hazel in between as a toner if i was wearing make-up.

It's possible that the Dr. Bronner's (even diluted) is too drying. I've heard of that being the case for some. Anything too drying on the face would cause your skin to overproduce oil. I use the diluted Dr. Bronner's in a foaming pump only on my hands.

Some gentler soaps, IMO, are the Kiss My Face soaps.
A very simple soap is Kiss My Face Olive Oil Soap. I use that on face and body and love it. There is also Olive and Aloe, Olive and Camomile, or Olive and Honey Soap. (You do want to keep the soap open and dry between uses. It gets very mushy if it stays wet in a traditional soap dish.)

Or it might take some time for your skin to adjust. How long have you been doing this new routine? I'd give a new routine at least 2 weeks to see how it goes.

I posted in another thread that I used AHAs at one point in my 20's and that helped clear up quite a bit of acne. The acne did get worse at first but then got much better.

I wish you luck! Please report back how you're doing.

[MyLilPwny]

I had severe acne and very oily skin for over 10 years, but I cured the acne and oily skin 100% a few years ago by doing colon and parasite cleansing and then a series of 10 liver/gallbladder flushes using Dr. Hulda Clark's recipe.

[maggiemae]

So this morning I was making pumpkin muffins (homemade exept canned pumpkin) and I thought about how much vit A is in pumpkin and I decided to save some and slather on my face while the muffins were baking. I swear it seemed to heal a few pimple marks where I had picked. I have it on again and will report back in the morning

[amber913]

Originally Posted by marimara

I never had acne as a teen except the occasional zit and then suddenly when I neared 30 my skin went haywire. My hormones were off balance. Now, I balance my hormones with herbs (I think I may have wrote this before on another thread of yours, forgive me if so). Black cohosh, dong quai, etc. Here is an article similar to what I am talking about .
Are you talking about cystic acne? If so, it is most likely hormonal.

If you are talking about blackheads, oily skin, and surface acne, then you might want to look at your body and hand lotions. I make sure to never use any lotion at all that contains mineral oil (petrolatum). It can clog your pores.

Thank you! I believe that's what i was getting at--possibly a hormonal cause. And it is cystic acne, if that's the kind that starts way down deep, hurts like heck and sticks around for several weeks. i'm researching and ordering herbs...or something. Is there a tea or a specific capsule anyone can recommend? I saw an herbal capsule at the health food store the other day that was for skin care....

Regarding Kiss My Face, they score incredibly high (hazardous) on cosmeticsdatabase.com, believe it or not. I just wanted to pass that along. I'm quite addicted to my Dr. Bronner's--organic, free-trade, all-natural--they've thought of everything. This stuff is perfect. It's the only hand soap that doesn't dry my hands (and i wash them a LOT).

Thank you all for your comments!

[amber913]

Sorry, just saw that the Kiss My Face bars aren't that high, it's the facial cleansers.

[loon13]

Originally Posted by amber913

Sorry, just saw that the Kiss My Face bars aren't that high, it's the facial cleansers.

The plain Olive Oil Soap is actually a 0, but the other Olive + other ingredients are higher (3 and 4). But yeah the facial cleansers are horribly rated. I've realized with the database that you do have to check each product; you can't assume the whole line is good. But also it's best to check what in the product is causing the high score. Sometimes it's based on fragrance alone.

Sorry...went off on a tangent.

If what you've got is cystic acne, then I would guess hormonal too. I have no info on that. I hope others will chime in with what can help.

[loon13]

I found this website http://www.cysticacne.net/

I didn't extensively go through the whole site. But it does mention "peeling" and steaming as ways of opening the pores. The "peeling" idea sound similar to what I did with the AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids): a mild form of a chemical peel.

But it does also talk about natural ways to treat as well as chemical. Maybe this might be a helpful site to someone?

[~Leonor~]

Acne isn't caused by bad hygiene or a bad diet as is often assumed. It's a hormonal problem. You could try hormonal birth control or accutane if it's very bad. Topical treatments only treat the symptom, not the cause.

You should try avoiding skin irritation, so don't use very harsh treatments incl scrubs. Baking soda is a very good exfoliater and also increases blood flow which is helpful for those "underground" pimples to form a head and die off. Disinfect single pimples with alcohol ( too drying for the whole face). You can also invest money in a good retinol A cream.

[mmmomx2]

Dairy can contribute to acne problems - yes, diet can definitely affect your skin. I was having terrible acne problems in my late thirties (face, chest and back!), even did two rounds of antibiotics, I was so desperate. You know what cleared it? I found out I had Celiac disease. Two weeks into a gluten free diet, my skin totally cleared up. The Clear Skin Diet is a great book, co-written by a dermo, that does connect diet with acne. Not the whole chocolate thing, but how specific foods can contribute to acne.

[amber913]

Originally Posted by mmmomx2

Dairy can contribute to acne problems - yes, diet can definitely affect your skin. I was having terrible acne problems in my late thirties (face, chest and back!), even did two rounds of antibiotics, I was so desperate. You know what cleared it? I found out I had Celiac disease. Two weeks into a gluten free diet, my skin totally cleared up. The Clear Skin Diet is a great book, co-written by a dermo, that does connect diet with acne. Not the whole chocolate thing, but how specific foods can contribute to acne.

I agree about what you eat contributing. I'm researching and slowly converting to a vegan raw foods diet, and every author mentions bad skin clearing up. That's my motivation! I won't go on any medication for it, so my diet has to be my medication, as well as being gentle with my skin. I'll check out that book--literally, i'll get it from the library! Thanks!!!