How can diet affect acne breakouts? I avoid fatty food, I eat fresh vegetables and still get the acne. Let me also mention that other than my diet, I also keep my face clean. What else do you think can help me with my acne problem?

Written on: 06/30/2009 (06:11pm)

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Great job! Make sure you also get enough sleep and drink a lot of water. In addition to that, avoid these:

Stress
Too much coffee
Smoking
Nuts
Too much sun exposure

Also, if you’re interested with non-natural ways of treating the acne, ask a derm about facial wash and acne gels like cleocin-t. Worked for me and very much available on any pharmacy out there. Hope this helps!

Written on: 06/30/2009 (07:04pm)

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I recently saw an AMAZING dermatologist who treated my acne within one month! Dr. Bobby Buka in NYC did wonders with my complexion. He told me that acne is caused by a number of factors, most importantly, hormonal balance, bacteria, and exfoliation. WHen I asked about diet, he described some new evidence behind high carbohydrate diets (interesting!), but downplayed the usual french fry/chocolate story. Stress can make things worse, he added, but UV rays (sun) can actually make acne better temporarily! Just when I was about to put on my bikini for the weekend, he added that it ain't worth the skin cancer risk that goes with it. Ah well - hope that helps!

Written on: 07/04/2009 (04:36pm)

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You seem to be doing a great job in keeping your diet! If you still suffer from acne, try getting some exercise every day to enhance blood circulation. Perspiration can also help to detoxify the skin. Include green leafy vegetables in your diet as they also help in detoxification. A little sun acts as a good disinfectant, but too much sun can burn the skin which can make acne worse. If you have to be out in the sun, use a good sun screen to protect your skin from the UVA and UVB rays of the sun, like DaySkin.

Written on: 07/21/2009 (04:29am)

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I drink tons of water before I work out and when I sweat it detoxifys my skin,
also, eating alot of blueberries helps. I drink this tea called "Get Gorgeous" by Be Well Red Teas. It's loaded with antioxidents. It doesn't have much of a taste but it's worth it as long as you dont mix any sugar with it.

and if that doesn't help, go to your dermatologist and ask about Benza Clin, that stuff is incredible.

Written on: 08/19/2009 (11:38am)

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Acne is an inflammatory condition of the hair follicle and is commonly associated with hormones, some medications and may run in families. Research has shown that it is not related to diet or hygiene. Acne develops when the skin's natural balance of oil production and the sloughing of dead skin cells are not maintained. When this happens, dead sticky skin cells clog the pores where oil is then trapped, bacteria begins to grow causing inflammation (the pimple).

When treating Acne it is very important to address all 4 of these factors. Although there is no cure for acne there certainly are things we can do to control it. I recommend using an acne skin care line that will exfoliate, decrease the spread of bacteria, control oil production and decrease inflammation. I work in a skin care clinic and have successfully treated many patients with mild to severe acne. If you would like more information feel free to email me at kelly.stauss@lexli.com.

Kelly Stauss, RN
Brand Ambassador, Lexli
http://www.lexli.com

Written on: 08/27/2009 (12:12pm)

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I know that studies are different from when I was a teenager but I followed my Dermatologist's instructions to the letter and her advice worked great for me. I know some people are going to say that new studies prove this and that don't really work, so all I can do is share with you the advice that my Dermatologist gave me, which helped me out a whole lot.

I took an oral antibiotic called Minocycline and used only hypoallergenic skin care products and hypoallergenic makeup until I was about 20 years old. My Dermatologist told me to use Cetaphil Cleanser on my face twice daily (or more if I didn't have to re-apply makeup). I also had a prescription topical antibiotic lotion called Cleocin that I applied twice daily to my face. I was very active as a teen and I perspired a lot, so I was always using oil blotting sheets on my face. I also used only Almay makeup (which is hypoallergenic) and oil-free hypoallergenic skin care products. Some of today's popular hypoallergenic skin brands now include Almay, Neutrogena and Physician's Formula.

As for diet, my Dermatologist told me to stay away from cheese, chocolate, cola drinks (Sprite, decaffeinated tea and coffee were fine), not to consume too much Vitamin C (i.e. orange juice because it also broke me out terribly whenever I consumed large amounts of it), I didn't have bangs (because of potential oil transmission), and did not touch my face with my fingers unless I had just washed them thoroughly (another form of transmission of oil) and left all fried foods out of my diet. I got in the habit of eating lots of protein, just about all fruits and all vegetables, a balanced amount of carbohydrates, drank lots of water, ate junk food in very moderate amounts, and when I was going to be exposed to a moderate amount of sun, I wore a 30 SPF sunscreen religiously. I remember following these instructions as closely as possible and visiting my Dermatologist once a month, and by that, it minimized my acne breakouts tremendously (which would have been horrible if I had tried to figure out what to do all on my own). I also used Witch Hazel as an astrigent, a mild facial scrub such as Freeman Apricot Scrub once weekly, Almay Oil-Free Moisturizer, tinted Clearasil and Almay cover up when I had an acne flare-up... and those flare-ups healed within a couple of days. Once in a while, my Dermatologist also did light treatments on me to help accelerate the peeling (or exfoliation) process of my skin.

If I had not seen a Dermatologist for my skin care problems, I would likely have had Cystic Acne which can scar the face, especially if you are bad about picking at acne. Picking at your facial imperfections is a big "no-no." Fortunately, I had minimal amounts of acne breakouts and I contribute my success to following what my Dermatologist advised me to do. I understand that today, many Estheticians and Dermatologists do not believe that acne is caused by the things we drink and eat. But acne problems ran in my family genetically and I had to go overboard compared to other kids my age who were also fighting acne problems. My Dermatologist told me that a little bit of sunlight (about ten minutes twice weekly) would help dry up my acne. And I've always used sun block to protect my skin from burning UVA and UVB rays that can cause many fair-skinned people to develop Melanoma (skin cancer) and by limiting my skin to minimal exposure of the sun's burning rays also keeps my skin from becoming leathery-feeling and old-looking.

I am now 50 years old and I still use some Neutrogena and Almay products because they are hypoallergenic because my skin has always been sensitive. However, my skin is now dry (my age I presume), so I'm using different kinds of products. Now I use skin-sloughing products once-a-week from the Dead Sea as the Dead Sea Salt minerals do wonderful things for my skin. Plus I slather on hypoallergenic face and anti-oxident creams instead of using oil-free products. I still use SPF sunscreen (but now I use 70 SPF) and hypoallergenic make-up (I just don't wear makeup every day like I did back in my teenage years) and it has definitely been worth the effort. Stress reducers also important to work into your routine because stress can also cause skin to break-out.

I hope that some of the things I've mentioned will be helpful to you. Best of luck to you! :)

Written on: 09/01/2009 (03:04pm)

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Keep up the good work gardeniagirl :) That's awesome.

I must mention wonders of cucumbers here as well.

According to health911 website, it says to liquefy a peeled cucumber in a blender and apply the juice to the acne. Another variation of this remedy is to drink four or five cups of cucumber juice daily for a week. This is said to purify the blood and lymphatic system, resulting in a clearer skin.

Testimony of cucumber --> My best friend suffered from acne covered all over her face. Since she started to eat a cucumber each day, she's never had a clearer skin than now. It took about a month to recover. I was curious what cucumbers did to acne and am still researching on it. But as you read above, purified blood and lymphatic system results in a acne-free clearer skin.

VANYA
http://www.thevaya.com/blog

Written on: 09/07/2009 (06:11pm)

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I am a very healthy 30 year old vegan and the picture of good health. I also get terrible acne so I am convinced that diet plays little to no role in acne. I used some samples that my dermatologist gave me along with some oral antibiotics and all that did is give me a really nasty infection, peeling dry skin, and a red face. My MIL was an Avon rep, but for years I thought that Avon was cheap. I finally broke down and tried the Avon Clearskin Professional line and I really love it! It's a 3 step system with a cleansing scrub, toner pads, and correcting lotion. I used it twice a day at first, and now I only use it at night. It really helped my skin clear up. I still get a pimple here and there before my period starts, but it is NOTHING like it was before.

Written on: 09/22/2009 (05:57pm)

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Since I have that in-between skin (still have breakouts but am trying to fight off signs of aging) finding the right products is a struggle for me. Products that help acne dry out my face but certain anti-aging products aggravate acne. Right now I'm fighting a bad breakout. I have no clue what triggered it. I'm almost 31 and right now my face looks like it did in junior high.

Written on: 09/27/2009 (09:29pm)

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