Diet, exercise and acne!

saxmaniac

Thank you to the posters who suggested spirolactone, i will ask my doc about it. Mine are mostly on my jaw line, and like one other poster said, i am also getting more on my upper back now I am 32!

I hope it works for you. It was like night and day for my wife.

Also, I had acne into my early 20's. One day, a general practitioner (not dermatologist) asked me a few question, and said that it probably was due to the hair spray/gel I used. (Yeah, long story. Ages ago I used to use hairspray. I know.) He said cover my face and shoulders when spraying, and brush it all out before going to sleep, if not wash it out. That solved it in a few months, and I haven't had it since.

chinalouyuen

I never suffered with acne as a teen and have always had pretty good skin but I have noticed since I have changed my diet and been exercising more I have been having pretty bad break outs, mainly around my chin and forehead! As this hasnt really been a problem for me before, usually only get a few spots around the time of my period, I do think it must have something to do with the diet and exercise. I dont know whether its the sweating or what but its getting me on a bit of a downer and I have only just started and dont want anything to start putting me off my goal!

gamehen2

I have rosacea (at 38,ugh) and while chocolate and PMS seem to make it worse, clean diet doesn't seem to help; neither has birth control. I saw a dermatologist who prescribed both an oral and topical antibiotic which really seemed to do the trick.

BUT... For best results I had to take it 2 times a day 12 hours apart and couldn't eat two hours before and one hour after. Since I'm trying to lose weight and need to eat at regular intervals, there was no time that I could fit this in unless I woke up in the middle of night to take it (no way!). I figure I'll just address the issue when I've reached my goal weight.

Bailey543

I've had acne since I was in the 5th grade! I have tried about everything out there. The past few months I have not eaten carbs and my face is perfectly clear! Cannot believe it! I use cetaphil face wash and use moisturizer too. Moisturizer used to make my face go nuts!

Eleisabelle

Wheat gluten and casein (the protein in dairy) are difficult for humans to digest properly and can cause systemic problems of many kinds, including increasing problems with acne. I'm sure it also doesn't help that much dairy has hormones in it.

Sweating from exercise can be a double edged sword--it can help clear toxins from your system, but it can also leave them sitting on your skin if you don't wash your face (and body) after you work out. And sweating into makeup isn't a great idea, either.

I've begun cleansing my face with honey and avoiding all moisturizers and other topical skin products, other than a mineral makeup that has no nanoparticles (I'm an actress, so need to be able to wear makeup). Raw, unfiltered honey with some jojoba oil in it makes my skin very soft and seems to be calming the redness and irritation. I've read that manuka honey is even more helpful. The reason for this is that honey is naturally antibacterial.

I've only just started, so we'll see what happens, but so far it's pretty nice.

rahrahrita

I'm 18 and I've had moderate/occasional cystic acne my whole pre-teen/teenage life up until early March. I've always taken really good care of my skin and I've tried every topical cream/face wash/lotion out there, prescription and over the counter, and nothing worked!! My skin was horrible from the stress of my first round of finals in university so my mom took me to an esthetician for the first time (in late January) That was also around the time where I started eating better, drinking a lot more water, and eating less dairy. My esthetician did extractions and she gave me some products by a brand called Image and I use a Clairisonic. Now the only dairy I eat regularly is Fage 0% Greek yogurt. I also stopped eating soy because of the estrogen content and I switched to almond milk.

So basically I don't know if it was my diet/cutting out dairy or my new skincare regimen that cleared up my skin or a combination of the two, but I'm happy either way!! Now I only wear a tinted moisturizer instead of full coverage liquid foundation

And when I exercise I wear Aveeno Tinted Moisturizer and it hasn't caused any problems for me.

GreenTeaForDays

I never suffered with acne as a teen and have always had pretty good skin but I have noticed since I have changed my diet and been exercising more I have been having pretty bad break outs, mainly around my chin and forehead! As this hasnt really been a problem for me before, usually only get a few spots around the time of my period, I do think it must have something to do with the diet and exercise. I dont know whether its the sweating or what but its getting me on a bit of a downer and I have only just started and dont want anything to start putting me off my goal!

If you are not already, I suggest immediately rinsing if not washing your skin after a workout. I often use some natural tea tree oil cleansing pads (Desert Essence brand) when I workout at the gym so I do not have to wait until i get home to clean my face.

I agree with what Eleisabelle said. It seems like exercise is a double edge sword. Exercise increases circulation, releases good endorphins into the blood stream and the sweat can detox your skin which all seems good to me!

sl1ngsh0t

I'm 36 and still have acne. I have no idea when it will end, but hey! look on the bright side; those with oily skin take longer to wrinkle

nnylee

Me me me!! My acne was terrible most of my life!! I started eating better and working out last year (I am and started at 26) and it's definitely cleared up.

wikiderm

Hello, MFPers.
This site came to me on a Google alert because my major interest is diet and acne. Full disclosure - I'm a dermatologist.
So I thought I'd explain a few things to set you on the right track.
Acne is indeed turned on by stress, even controlled stress and healthy stress like sports. Hard to do anything about that.
The problem with menses and PCO is a challenge. Both can be helped with BCPills and spironolactone. But try to avoid the BCPills that contain androgenic (male) progestins. The best are the ones with drospirenone, but they do slightly increase risk of blood clots if you are susceptible. To get around that, choose a second best BCP, one with norgestimate, and consider adding spironolactone to that after you've been on the BCP for a couple of months. Start with 50 mg/day for a couple of months and move up to 100 mg/day if you are over 150 lbs. It takes a few months to work fully.
The diet connection runs through the male hormone (androgen) receptors in all the hormone-responsive cells in your body. Normally 'closed', they are opened by insulin and a relative called insulin-like growth factor - 1 (IGF-1). Casein raises IGF-1 and whey raises insulin so that is why dairy is a problem. Sugar and high glycemic load foods raise insulin.
Once the androgen receptors are open, ANY male hormone can reach them and turn on acne. These hormones come from ovaries, testicles, adrenal glands, birth control pills and are in ALL cow or animal milk plus other cow dairy products.
To understand what happens in the pore, take a look at the animation at http://www.acnemilk.com/acne_animation The site is non-commercial.

HelloSweetie4

I noticed my skin clearing up once i got into the habit of drinking at least 64oz of water a day and I started using an apricot scrub in the shower. I've had acne since I was 10 and it did get a little better once I reached adulthood, but it was still alway there. Now, for three weeks out of the month, I have clear skin. TOM always makes one or two pop up. Maybe some day it will go away for good lol

GreenTeaForDays

Hello, MFPers.
This site came to me on a Google alert because my major interest is diet and acne. Full disclosure - I'm a dermatologist.
So I thought I'd explain a few things to set you on the right track.

Thank you for your information Dr.! It is extremely valuable.

For now, I have decided to cut out dairy immediately from my diet and I plan on reducing/removing all added sugar soon. I will see how this goes and then consider cutting out gluten too. I have also started up a vitamin regimen. I have a lot of supplements that I take whenever I remember but I have never taken them regularly or simultaneously so I thought I would give it a try.

I'm going with:
Zinc, vitamin A, b-complex, vitex and soon I'll get an omega-3. I'll also continue with my daily multi-vitamin.

As many of you pointed out, water is also important and I am HORRIBLE about drinking water consistently throughout the day. I usually just drink a glass with meals. I don't have any excuses except for laziness, I suppose, so I am going to try to drink a lot more.

Thank you again for everyone's input. It is really nice to hear what works for other people.

Scoobies100

Greasy foods like takeaways cause me to break out - and chocolate. I know because the day after I am plagued with spots! i have suffered since about 14 years old.

I'm on medication for my skin now. It's called tetracycline if you want to look it up. I've had no bad side affects and I rarely get a single spot now - even on my T.O.T.M.

mallory3411

I had terrible acne when I was a bit younger. Nothing helped I ended up doing six months of Accutane. I didn't have any bad side effects minus everything (lips, skin, eyes, nose) being super dry! That was the worst of it. Haven't really had a problem since.

When my acne started to flare up a touch last year my doctor put me on Diane 35 which is a BC but worked really well!

katy84o

I had a huge problem with acne and after many trial and errors of cutting things out of my diet, I found that what broke my face out was soy milk. I can eat small amounts of tofu, and soy in other products don't usually bother me, but if I drink soy milk I'll break out. I cut it out for about a month and my face cleared up. I had a glass because I do enjoy the taste and I missed it; two days later I had terrible breakouts and I now avoid soy milk completely. Anyhow, as most with acne know scars always appear after which just makes it all more depressing and frustrating. I have found that during and after a breakout I take fresh aloe from my plant and break open a leaf and very liberally apply it to my skin. It clears the breakout up faster and helps to lighten previous scarring and any new scarring. Good Luck with it I know it can be frustrating, but at lot of times it is something you are eating and it'll take some time to figure out the trigger. Personally I wanted to avoid all medications. I didn't want to take any pharmaceuticals but after about 3 years I finally figured it out and I've been break out free for quite sometime, as long as I don't consume to much soy or any soymilk

caytee118

my skin has cleared up a lot since I became a vegetarian and also right after you work out your suppose to wash your face right after you work out and before you go to bed

DanicaLeeC

I think some of us are just unfortunately prone to it, but I think for a lot of us, our diet and exercise plays a huge roll. I would tend to get a few breakouts along my jaw line or chin area before I'd get my period but that was usually the extent of - maybe the odd one on my back.

Since I've started working out consistently for the past 4 months, I've had break outs all over my chest and back, sometimes on my shoulders. NEVER before has this happened to me, this badly. I spoke to acupuncturist who said that due to changes in exercise and diet (better foods in, lots of water and green tea, etc) that my body is basically detoxing - it's pushing out all the bad toxins and it's coming out in the form of acne.

SO - that made me feel a little bit less discouraged. I did buy some ProActive body wash and pads and some body lotion, which has seemed to help clear it up a little bit as far as the bumps and redness. I'll continue to drink lots of water and hopefully all it is a detox and it'll clear up eventually.

Also, take a look into Ayurveda... depending on your dosha and the types of food and exercise that is best for you, lots of things can affect your skin and energy.

Hope you figure things out -- the body is an amazing thing .. so complex yet so simple....

nomoreplaying

Got my first acne at 13. I'm almost 63 and still have it. the only thing that helps me is benzoil peroxide, but it only helps. skin vitamins helped, but only helped. No diet helped. So now I am still battling acne along with wrinkles and sagging.

alicialiken

You said don't want to resort to Accutane, but have looked into at all?

I had moderate acne all through high school and it got worse in college. Finally, at 23, I went to a Dermatologist and he put me on Accutane last summer. It was the best thing I've ever done for my skin. I was on it April 2011 until September 2011 and I SWEAR, I have not had one breakout (or pimple!) since.

I've tried it all.. ProActive, face masks, Differn Gel, tanning, expensive face washes.... none of it made a noticeable difference.

They make it sounds so scary, but truly the only side effects I experienced were dry skin & lips. Sure it's an extensive process (you MUST take birth control on it, have to take monthly pregnancy tests, have a healthy cholesterol) but the results are beyond AMAZING. My self esteem couldn't be better.

Although it's not for everyone, it sounds like you should seek professional help if you really want to get rid of acne for good. Talk to a dermatologist and see what they recommend. Good luck!

GreenTeaForDays

I am aware of acne fixes like acutane, birth control, etc. and I think it is great that they help so many people. When I am desperate I often consider harsh medications, expensive topical remedies or acid peels to mask the underlying problems but I really want to cure the internal problem and hope to do so with diet alone. I don't expect it will be easy, but I feel that it is the right approach for me, my long term health and my pocketbook.

alicialiken

Accutane (supposedly) is supposed to fix the internal problem. It shuts your oil glands (practically) off for 6 months. I paid $10 per month for mine (doesn't include monthly dermatologist costs or lab costs) and that's WAY less than I'll spend on $50 ProActive over a lifetime, LoL.

If you want to concentrate on "curing" it by diet alone, more power to you...but sometimes it's more of a genetic problem than a dietary problem, such as my case.

messagetolove

The cause of people's acne outbreaks is rooted in their diet and lifestyle choices, which causes an imbalance of hormones that stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce excess oil. Stress can also play a part. That's why facial skin care products fail in the long run for so many people. Even if they do get some initial success (and usually only people with mild acne do), the acne usually comes back if they stop using the products, because they were only treating the symptoms of the problem.

If you are an acne sufferer, you have to target the root cause to get your skin clear for good. I used to have bad acne, and i used almost every skin care product out there, believe me. But none of them worked.

I got rid of it in the end, but what you have to do is change your diet and lifestyle, because that's what's causing it. It took me a couple of months, but i've never had any problems since. The free guide on this site http://bestacneproductsx.org can show you the right way to start getting rid of it.

WILSONBA

i've noticed that exercising and reducing my stress level has cleared my skin up a lot. also, i use "nanocleanse" which has salic acid in it. it burns a little but i see results.

Mdin1029

This is what has helped me (I think):
1. Washing with a gentle cleanser (as many said, I did the harsh acne washes in the past). I use Purpose face wash and try to only wash 2 times a day
2. Witch Hazel toner! Made a huge difference, 1time a day and Alpha hydroxy acid every other night ( I got it from Acne.org), helps with darks spots too.
3. bc pill
4. drinking more water
5. tea
6. eating more fruit and veggies (high vitamin a)
7. exercise (relieve stress)
8. less coffee, no smoking,
9. not over drying or over moisturizing (I use Clinque dramatically different moisturizing GEL)
10. Praying!

I am going to also try avoiding dairy, and avoid my whey protein shakes this month to see if that makes even more of a difference because I have been pretty clear for about 3 months, but I am attending quite a few weddings in the upcoming months so I want to try to avoid even the occasional monthly flare up.

GreenTeaForDays

This is what has helped me (I think):
1. Washing with a gentle cleanser (as many said, I did the harsh acne washes in the past). I use Purpose face wash and try to only wash 2 times a day
2. Witch Hazel toner! Made a huge difference, 1time a day and Alpha hydroxy acid every other night ( I got it from Acne.org), helps with darks spots too.
3. bc pill
4. drinking more water
5. tea
6. eating more fruit and veggies (high vitamin a)
7. exercise (relieve stress)
8. less coffee, no smoking,
9. not over drying or over moisturizing (I use Clinque dramatically different moisturizing GEL)
10. Praying!

I am going to also try avoiding dairy, and avoid my whey protein shakes this month to see if that makes even more of a difference because I have been pretty clear for about 3 months, but I am attending quite a few weddings in the upcoming months so I want to try to avoid even the occasional monthly flare up.

I am going with the gentle cleanser approach too. I just bought CeraVe so we will see how that goes! I was using Desert Essence tea tree oil face wash but my skin was getting really dry. Anyways.. I wont go to far into it, I can talk about products all day and that isn't really what I was aiming for in this thread...

My skin is starting to look a bit better. I have been on top of my vitamins, drinking lots of water and cutting back on sugar. I am still eating lots of fruit, so my MFP sugar allowances are always exceeded. I'm not sure if that is a bad thing in terms of my skin.

Only time will tell. Good luck with the weddings! I know how that goes!

kristenlees122

i tried everything, or so it seemed, as well.
the only thing that worked for me was to quit drinking soda and drink loads more water. i used to drink 5 litres or more of coke a day :-| i stopped, my skin cleared up. i still have sweets sometimes, and it doesnt affect my skin, but if i have a soda or two, the following week my skin starts to resemble what it used to.

GreenTeaForDays

Update:

It has been nine days since I posted the original post and I am starting to clear up a bit. When I first wrote this post I had about 10 cysts on my chin, cheeks, jaw line. All of the red marks are still there but the inflammation is completely gone. It is too soon to tell any of the changes I made have contributed to this small success and I still have a few things to work on. So far this is what I have been doing:

Diet:
No dairy products
Cutting back on added sugar
Drinking more water (Work in progress)
Adding 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. cinnamon wherever possible (good for insulin resistance)

Supplements:
Zinc
Vitamin A
Vitex (otherwise known as chasteberry -> possibly good for PCOS and hormones)
Slow release acidophilus probiotic

Habits:
Running 15 mi. per week
Daily yoga/calisthenics
Using a mild cleanser (CeraVe. Does anyone else use this? It feels like I'm washing with lotion.)

I have tried combinations of all of these methods on and off for years. This is the first time I have tried them all simultaneously and I think my acne is responding (hopefully!!!). Once again, it has only been about a week so it could just be luck. I'll keep updating.

GreenTeaForDays

Update, again:

I finally went to an endocrinologist after being officially diagnosed with PCOS. While my hormone levels are "normal" they are slightly elevated and I was prescribed 100mg spironolactone (an anti-androgen that many of the first commentators on this post recommended!) to help with my skin. My Dr. also advised that I keep up with a healthy diet (low GI is best) and exercise. I guess this answers my original question.

I've been taking the medication for a few weeks and I haven't seen a lot of change yet, but I'm hopeful.