I didn't expect this problem with my face
bethpaige86
Posts: 23 Member
About a week and a half ago I gave up soda, sugar, and red meat. (Also no wheat, but that was a year ago so I don't think it is related to this). 3 days ago I woke up to a most epic break out on my face. We are talking the kind of break out that you see on teenagers... Teenagers in a Proactive commercial. My mother has a theory that sice I am basically detoxing from all the junk I cut out of my diet that my face broke out because of everything leaving my system. If this is the case then someone else must have had this too. I curious if anyone can relate
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Replies
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I've experienced breakouts with major diet overhauls before too. I just make sure to drink lots of water to help it clear up.8
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My question would be what did you add to your diet? I'm not clear on how not eating something would make you breakout.13
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Two thoughts..
1. See a doc. You don't want it to scar and they have plenty of stuff to help
2. Workout like crazy. When I've had break outs (being 39) I find that the more I sweat and shower right after, the better my skin is. I'm not a doc, just my two cents!6 -
Yes, I have had this happen when switching my eating. By switching eating I mean drastically reducing or cutting things out. Lots of water and a few days of patience in the only advice I can offer.4
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The skin can do that when the food intake goes through a drastic change.
The skin will probably clear up in a few weeks. Be patient.4 -
How could not eating these things make a person's skin worse? I'm struggling to see a link here.4
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changing foods may affect the proportions of "stuff" being processed by the body - changes to the biochemistry of the body can have "interesting" effects - Think about what a powerful curry can do to your GI tract if you have not eaten one for a while !!
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This has happened to me too! When I started this, I had the worst kind of skin problems. Patience, water and a good face wash helped me and after 3 weeks I was back to normal!5
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May I suggest cleansing your face with Witch Hazel? Get kind that has no alcohol in it. It's very soothing and cleansing and is an astringent which helps get rid of much of the oils that can clog pores but is also moisturizing (or at least doesn't dry out the skin). This was one of my grandmother's Life Pro Tips.4
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Me too!1
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Same!!!! I've had the MOST horrific breakout of my life since I started losing weight and cut out the junk. I found an extensive exfoliate, cleanse and toner routine has finally got me spot free however this has been over the course of 6 weeks. I don't know what the hell it was but it was a million times worse than any spots I've ever had, at one point I counted 15 on my chin it was AWFUL and I'm talking cystic painful spots here. My confidence hit rock bottom and even though I had lost weight I felt awful because my face was such a mess. Glad to say its on the mend now!2
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I have experienced similar.
Lots of water, gentle face cleansing routine (try something like the Liz Earle hot cloth cleanse and polish, and a gentle toner), and patience. It will clear.
Obviously no picking!! If you really must squeeze a spot, cover your fingertips in toilet tissue first and wash wash wash your hands!2 -
It's the way your body responds to getting rid of the toxins inside your body. It's going to show up on your skin. Drinking water will help flush the toxins as well as a good probiotic.3
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I think most toxins are stored in fat and since you reduced your carb and fat intake you actually started to loose your bodyfat which had stored those toxins. Drinking lot of water and cleaning your face with non-alcohol based products should improve it. Just don't overdo it, you don't wanna end up with dry skin.3
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Me too and I am in my 50's!! I thought it was because I had added more non-fat dairy to my diet - never thought about released toxins I will continue to plod along and give it a week or two. Helpful post ... thanks!
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It could well be your body trying to detox everything. It's not the same but I did a course in hair and make up years ago, and part of it was a theory class in skin care. We learned that using things like deep-cleansing face packs can cause major break-outs, which people were assuming was a bad thing - but in fact it was bringing all the impurities to the surface. It could be the same here - all the bad stuff literally coming to the surface to try to get out. If that's the case, continuing healthy eating and drinking lots of water should help clear it up within a few weeks.
Some people take courses of mild antibiotics for bouts of adult acne, such as Lymecycline, although to avoid any negative side effects it might be good to also take probiotics (at a different time of day) while on the antibiotics. Your doctor would be able to prescribe these.
Other than that, I find an invigorating facial scrub helpful for clearing the pores and minimizing any problems. I use St Ives Invigorating Apricot Facial Scrub.2 -
Just stop it with the with toxins already!!19
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I didn't realise we were only allowed to have one opinion about everything.....
Having looked it up online, a lot of people get skin break-outs during initial stages of detoxing.4 -
Have you started exercising recently as well? If so, are you removing all your makeup before you work out? If not it can sink in to your pores as they open up when you start sweating and things can get a bit gross.0
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There are peer-reviewed scientific articles in medical journals saying that the chemical analysis of human fat cells show that some environmental pollutants end up stored inside. Incidentally, I previously did a lot of research to see if my father's exposure to agent orange could have anything to do with the many illnesses and heart issues I had as a child. I never found an answer about my own health, but studies confirmed he likely STILL has the chemicals from agent orange exposure in his fat cells.1
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How could not eating these things make a person's skin worse? I'm struggling to see a link here.
Because the breakdown of foods, hormones, etc causes by-products that have to be excreted. A major diet overhaul creates more by-products that need to be excreted. When the other detox organs become "taxed" with the extra need to rid the body of these by-products it goes for the next available detox organ. The skin is an excretory organ.BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Just stop it with the with toxins already!!
No. Because the reality is, your skin is the largest organ of your body. We detox things out of our body via the liver, kidneys, lymph system, skin, and sweat glands. My friend's doctor had him take epsom salts bathes to help his liver and kidney (he only had one) detox out of the skin more to lighten the load on those two organs. When a person breaks out after a major diet overhaul that is exactly what their body is doing. It is working overtime to get rid of the junk in their body. The cleansing organs aren't doing it fast enough so it comes out the skin (because our skin is the largest organ of our body).
I get so sick of people saying their liver detoxes just fine or they need a doctor. Your body detoxes out of major organs and your skin is the largest of those in your body. If you don't like the word "toxins" then you can replace that with a big long explanation of "The body gets rid of broken down cells, digested food, and other by-products of the body by excreting them out via the major detox organs of the body. These include the liver, kidneys, lymph system, skin and sweat glands." Or, you can generically call all of the crud your body gets rid of "toxins" because it's shorter. On a technical level a "toxin" is poisonous. In the health realm, people understand the word "toxin" to mean broken down by-products of the body's functions. If you don't like that term being used, then fine, have it your way. Use a big long explanation of what detox organs do. I don't care. Either way, the body excretes via the skin as well as liver and if broken down by-products are building up faster then the excreting organs can handle then alternative methods can be used to help the body push things through faster for the comfort of the person (ie epsom salts bathes for liver and kidney patients). If left alone, the body will eventually clear things out but the person may be uncomfortable for awhile when they experience extra sweating or acne, etc. For the OP, the obvious diet change is causing her body to "detox" out the skin - because that's one of the functions of skin!
OP, you can help the acne by just taking care of your face as you would for teen acne. You can also help the body push through the excretory process ("detox") by taking epsom salts bathes, drinking LOTS of water, exercise, etc.
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jennybearlv wrote: »I'm not clear on how not eating something would make you breakout.
There can be a couple things going on. Primarily, when one starts eating healthier and exercising more, the body gets back to a faster/healthier cell regeneration rate. This includes skin cells. Unfortunately, that speed up can uncover blemishes that haven't surfaced yet. It's the same process that happens when one starts a retinol regiment for acne issues. It's very common for the first 3-4 weeks of a retinol regiments to make things worse before they get better.
Also, diet changes can cause hormonal fluctuations. The more severe the changes are (good or bad), the greater chance the hormonal shifts can happen. For many, those shifts can cause a temporary breakout until the body adjusts to the hormonal changes (Think PMS related breakouts).
Last, but more rare... increased physical activity. Some people with sensitive skin can see an increase in acne due to sweat clogging the pores. This is easily remedied by cleaning the skin as soon as the workouts done.
But it's most definitely NOT due to detoxifying
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It isn't from toxins oozing from your pores.
As previously mentioned, if you also started exercising, you may need to remove all makeup before exercise and definitely you should be careful to wash your face immediately after to remove sweat.
If your breakout is related to the diet change, it's most likely because what you eat can affect the ratio of oils and how much oil you produce through your skin. Changes usually aren't really noticeable to us unless they're significant - like the total diet overhaul you describe.
Much less likely is that your weight loss (if any - you don't mention) affected your hormones, but I doubt you'd have lost enough weight fast enough this early in your new diet.3 -
Ditto what everyone else has said. You can help the process by holding your head over steam for periods of time (I'd probably just google best practices for steam cleansing your face) - it brings the blemishes out to the surface all at once, but after you get through that part, (as long as you keep on going with your new routines) your skin should clear up and stay more clear than it was before because it's cleaned itself out. :-)2
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OP are you constipated or not going everyday?0
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Giving up soda, sugar and red meat is unlikely to make you break out, IMO. Giving up leafy greens or healthy fats might affect your skin.
Was there something traumatic or stressful that happened just before you began your diet? Stress was always the biggest cause for my adult acne.
Sometimes people change their diet after a relationship breakup or the loss of a job or even to get ready for an exciting vacation, or because they're starting a new relationship. Sad stress or happy stress can cause skin eruptions. Just something to think about.
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No. You don't rid "toxins" through the skin because there aren't any in there to begin with.It's the way your body responds to getting rid of the toxins inside your body. It's going to show up on your skin. Drinking water will help flush the toxins as well as a good probiotic.
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The MAIN reason for this would be a shift in hormones. Especially if you just added or restarted a physical fitness program. Androgenic hormones increase (yes even if you're female) through exercise and even in diet.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 2 -
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