Acne Breakouts?

Use a gentler cleanser.
Use a flannel to wash your face with.
Always moisturise your skin after washing it, with SPF if possible.

I started doing these three things and they calmed my skin down in a major way.

ETA: Oh yeah. And change your pillowcases regularly & sleep with your hair tied back from your face. I don't buy the whole 'toxin' business - I think the sweat is just causing irritation and perhaps scrubbing with hot water (use warm or tepid) is increasing that irritation and causing more spots.

My guess is that perhaps sweat is blocking your pores and causing breakouts (assuming you don't get acne for hormonal reasons and it's only happening since you started working out). To remedy this exfoliate regularly and drink loads of water. Your body should adapt over time. It's great like that.

I've been dealing with bad acne for at least 13 years. (I get the hard under skin acne that hurts like a mother...) And more gym time made mine worse bc of the extra sweat bacteria in my pores. I actually got more discouraged and stopped going for a while.:(

I've done prescription (epiduo was the closest to anything that worked but it burned so bad) I've used everything at the face wash isle. But what has actually worked for me was Clinique Mild cleanser, Clinique toner, and Clinique 12 hour moisture surge. I wash my face with a sterile gauze pad. Wash cloths have too many oils on them that never entirely go away.

And the most important part is.....DONT TOUCH YOUR FACE!!!!!!! I could never leave mine alone! I was always thinking if I just get this blackhead out it will be better. But I realized all my friends and my husband who have GREAT skin never mess with their face. I now maybe get 1 or 2 a month when I'm PMSing.

Oh and I know clique is expensive but they do full returns on anything of theirs that you do not like or that does not work for you.

Try a tablespoon of molasses in the morning. I've been struggling with acne for the last 1.5 years since I've moved to MN until I tried that. Reducing dairy, eating blueberries and avocado also helps. It's amazing how what you eat matters so much more thanx te sin products you use!

So first off, all the cleansers in the world will most likely not solve your issue. The surface of your skin isn't the problem, Acne is an internal issue. You need to find that cause of it... it could be an allergic reaction or more often then not a hormonal response to your new habits.

For the people claiming sweat removes toxins? Unfortunately, science says, "Wrong". Though sweat from the apocrine glands may contain a few extra additives, such as proteins and fatty acids, but in general, all sweat contains the same primary ingredients: mostly water, some sodium and chloride, and to a lesser extent, potassium. Though you do lose electrolytes when you sweat, perspiration contains only trace amounts of any type of toxins.

If you really want to detoxify your system, you'd be better served by making sure your liver and kidneys are operating in tip-top shape, since it's these key organs -- not your sweat glands -- that are mainly responsible for filtering any toxins from your blood.

if you are REALLY sweating (like hours of cardio sweat) you can even accumulate a salt layer on your skin that feels almost grainy.

Considering your body is made up of water and sodium... this is kind of a no brainer. Salt =/= toxin however, sorry guys science wins this debate. Feel free to use the google-ness to verify if you wish.


To solve your acne problem:

1. DO NOT use a series of OTC harsh chemicals that contain salicylic acids or peroxides. This tends to aggravate your skin and dry it out which then leads to more clogging from dead skin flakes. Things like Proactive are a joke and often stop working just as quickly as they start.

2. Take an allergy test. Rule out aversions to things like Wheat and Dairy.

3. Get your Hormones tested. If you have PCOS or abnormal Androgen levels your body might be producing excess sebum. This can be controlled with pills to normalize your hormones.

4. Inexpensive, gentle, and natural things you can use on your face:

Honey + Baking Soda (antibiotic/exfoliant)
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (Toner/Antibiotic)
Fresh Lemon (Toner/Hyper-pigmentation lightener)
Mango (Antioxidant)
Egg White (Tightens skin)

I also like to use a natural Alpha Hydroxy cream every night and bi-weekly moisturizing mask of 1/2 castor oil 1/2 Sunflower oil + a few drops of Tee Tree Oil. You mix the three together, apply to face, then with a super warm wash cloth let the oils loosen the build up in your pores by holding the cloth to parts of your face. It won't make you break out and leaves your skin super moist.

I do the above and am taking a few pills to normalize my hormones....I went from dozens of deep skin pimples and such to only one or two around my period. Even those are sparse.

As for make-up... I stick to mineral based items. Nothing you can buy at Walgreens though. Brands like Covergirl and Maybelline are garbage for your skin. I tend to shop at Sephora ot Ulta for higher end natural products, however I do occasionally love ELF (Target) for their inexpensive brushes and eye make-ups.

All that said? Try to put as few heavy things on your skin as possible. Nix the brand named moisturizers, the OTC cleansers Especially the ones "formulated for acne", the silly toners that dry you out, etc. Just treat your skin gently and with love, it'll not only cost you less but you'll be less frustrated with it.

OH and DON'T get severe prescriptions from a dermatologist that come with a laundry list of side effects... there is no need to put your body through that if you can control it without chemicals and potentially toxic ingestion.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like to talk about it more... =D

It will pass. It's your body ridding itself of toxins. make sure you're washing your face twice a day and moisturizing. If it does not clear up in a few weeks visit your doctor or dermatologist.

This^^^^

Sweating does not remove toxins from your body. That is a silly myth.

Not this^^^^^

It will pass. It's your body ridding itself of toxins. make sure you're washing your face twice a day and moisturizing. If it does not clear up in a few weeks visit your doctor or dermatologist.

This^^^^

Sweating does not remove toxins from your body. That is a silly myth.

Not this^^^^^

No, DrFlave is correct sweating does not remove toxins because.. Science.

And second... Washing your face twice a day + moisturizing is suggestion a topical solution to an internal issue... see a problem here? I won't argue that your particular case may be related to internal toxicity, as I said above... one step of many is to get tested for food allergies. (A cheaper but more lengthy option is to eliminate known triggers like Red meat, Dairy products, Processed foods, Wheat and wheat products, Refined sugar (sweets, white sugar etc) High fat foods, or Yeasty foods, Caffeine, or Alcohol... then reintroduce them slowly to see what might be your trigger. Getting tested is faster though.) BUT most acne is Hormonal.

I would talk to a doctor, not a dermatologist. Doctors are able to test you for issues beneath the skin vs. prescribing randomness that only affects the top layer of your problem and does NOTHING for what's causing it. It's like painting a wall to hide the mold beneath it... if you don't address the epicenter? The mold will seep through.

This also goes for "Acne Fighting OTC" crap like Clean and Clear or Neutrogena whatever (and the notion that washing your face twice a day will just "clear it right up")... if that actually worked, no one would have acne. I promise you, people with this problem wash their face plenty. Infact they cause MORE acne because they are aggravating their skin with all of the washing. I only wash my face before I go to bed and before I put on make-up and I splash warm water after workouts. Days where I stay home? I don't touch it... there is no need. You gotta let your skin do what it's built to do.

It will pass. It's your body ridding itself of toxins. make sure you're washing your face twice a day and moisturizing. If it does not clear up in a few weeks visit your doctor or dermatologist.

This^^^^

Sweating does not remove toxins from your body. That is a silly myth.

Not this^^^^^

No, DrFlave is correct sweating does not remove toxins because.. Science.

Wow, who can argue with that incredibly well thought out science based argument. JTFC, dude. You make me laugh. :flowerforyou:

Make sure you're not wearing make up when you work out. That + sweating will clog your pores and cause breakouts. Also, washing with a cleanser too many times a day can strip your skin of natural oils and can cause over production of oils, causing breakouts. Too much exfoliation can cause breakouts. Warm water and a soft cloth can do wonders for your skin.

I noticed I starting breaking out really bad when I started insanity. I also started eating new foods. Couldn't figure out what was causing it then thought the main thing I had introduced was peanut butter. Read up on it and turns out a lot of of other people have found it causes acne. Stopped eating it and instantly skin improved. Are you eating a lot of peanut butter? Or for some people dairy can cause it

I never thought of that but you must be right! I started eating peanut butter with apples as a snack, a lot. But now I'm not eating it anymore because I've noticed it messes up my stomach. And some how the acne thing is going away! I already scheduled an appointment with a dermatologist!
Thanks for the thought!