July 2018
A big topic on my “blogging bucket-list” has always been to have the courage to share my struggle and journey with acne. Over the years, I’ve read numerous other blog posts, watched countless YouTube videos, and analyzed unbelievable before and after pictures. I always found it inspiring to read the stories of others going through the same struggles I was, and even when their miracle cure didn’t work for me, and I was left in tears yet again over how I looked, I still clung to the hope that things would get better, I would have that success eventually.
For those of you that read my bIntroduced post, you might have caught the little tidbit saying “I’m not perfect in any sense of the word. Yes, I have acne,” and “If I could give just one person confidence about how they look or inspire someone to live fit and fearless by sharing my stories, it would all be worth it.” It’s taken a lot of work, self reflection, and not a little bit of dark chocolate, to finally feel more comfortable in my own skin. I’m not by any means at the finished product, I’m always working on it, but if sharing my story can provide the same comfort and hope to one other person as others’ stories have done for me, I will gladly write all day about it!
Please note, all pictures in this post are natural, there are no filters and I have no make-up on. It took a lot for me to finally hit the publish button. With breakouts, acne scars, and a very transparent complexion, I am very hesitant to let others see my bare skin. I hardly ever leave the house without make-up on and am very skeptical about any pictures showing my acne. Please be mindful about this and leave hurtful things out of the comments!
So, without further stalling, I guess I’ll just jump right in to my story and hopefully share some helpful information and tips for others struggling with acne!
I’m a 22-year-old college graduate, and I still suffer from acne. I, of course, had the regular acne starting in my early teens. Some blackheads in middle school, the occasional pimple in high school, but nothing too traumatic. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school and starting college that my acne really began to flare up. It was then that I started noticing I wasn’t dealing with your typical adolescent acne, but rather, with adult cystic acne.
For anyone lucky enough to not know what cystic acne is, allow me to explain. Cystic acne is a severe form of acne consisting of swollen nodules laying under the surface of the skin. They are large, red, and very painful. There is no quick way to remedy them, they do not pop, and even with all the right treatment, they are still likely to scar. For me, I would typically have two or three of these at a time along my jaw and chin, right out where everyone could see.
At this point, I had decided to go to a dermatologist to see what they could do for me. I went to exactly two dermatologist appointments before losing faith in them. Both doctors treated my case as something negligible and laughable. One of them explained, very condescendingly, that everyone’s body has chinks in their armor, and health problems can manifest in different ways. They stated that for some, this was heart problems, or gut problems, or chronic disease, and that I was lucky mine was just unsightly blemishes on my face. They acted as though it was absurd that I had the nerve to take up their time with something as jovial and cosmetic as acne. They then preceded to prescribe me the run of the mill pills and benzoyl peroxide bar without even listening to my story or what I’d already tried. It was a humiliating and demoralizing experience that I have not been willing to repeat in these past four years.
It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that I started making connections about my lifestyle and acne. For one, I noticed my acne flaring up around a certain time of the month, leading me to think that it was a hormonal problem. Also, certain foods seemed to break me out as well. Anything fried, or very heavy dairy, and I was all but guaranteed to wake up the next morning with more acne.
June 2016 The worst of my acne days. I know it doesn’t look as bad as it was, but keep in mind, these are best of how it looked, and the only photos I kept of myself from that time because I hated seeing it.
Then, two summers ago, my acne was absolutely out of control. My entire jaw was covered in cystic acne. No matter how clean I tried to keep my skin, I was still left with scars, and no amount of face washes or treatments were working. By this point, I had tried everything. Commercial products like Proactive, Murad, and Epiduo; natural products like Yes to Tomatoes, Neutrogena Naturals, and homemade sugar scrubs. I’d washed my face with honey, massaged lemon juice on my scars, and at one point, I actually rubbed a banana peel over my face! Nothing topical was working. I absolutely hated the way I looked. It got to the point where I was cancelling plans to go out with family and friends because I didn’t want to be in public knowing how my face looked, and then I felt even worse for letting something seen as trivial and cosmetic by most dictate my life. It was time for a change.
It was time to stop attacking my face with a hailstorm flurry of different products and start treating my acne from the inside. That summer, I conducted the most in depth research about acne as I’d ever done. I wasn’t going to make any progress until I actually knew what I was fighting against. Strangely though, many dermatologists claimed that there was no proven link between the foods we eat and our acne. Maybe they’re right, but I kept wondering how there could be no scientific evidence of a phenomenon countless people report? Or how about those who switch to a healthier diet and see improvements in their skin? I know it’s only my skepticism based on my earlier experiences, but I couldn’t help thinking that of course the dermatologists wouldn’t confirm this, if they did, they would all be out of the job and we would all be talking to nutritionists right now.
What many acne treatments fail to tell you is that cystic acne is not caused by bacteria on the surface. In fact, most adult acne is not a topical issue. It is caused by internal inflammation in the body. This could be caused by leaky gut, hormonal imbalances, or poor diet. Deciding to start with the most manageable of these, I began to tackle my diet.
That summer, I started a complete lifestyle change concerning what I ate, a process I’m still working on two years later. I’ve nearly completely cut out packaged, processed foods-goldfish are my weakness, but hey, I’m not perfect! I cut out a lot of dairy from my diet, including milk and cheese. I’ve also added a lot of fruits and vegetables and am more mindful of healthy alternatives, such as whole grain bread in place of white, almond butter in place of peanut butter, and almond milk in place of dairy. Read below for all of my tips and tricks!
As stated many times before, I am far from perfect. The truth is, there is no one miracle cure that will work overnight 100% for 100% of people. While I haven’t completely cured my acne, I have seen significant results in the past two years and I strongly believe it’s due to the lasting lifestyle changes I’ve made. A healthy outside starts with a healthy inside. Maybe this is what sparked my passion for health and fitness and wanting to share it with others to encourage everyone to live fit and happy rather than latch onto current trends. I still suffer from the occasional flare-up, such as this past weekend’s fishing trip: three days of fish slime, junk food, and not nearly enough water-the pictures below were taken last night after scrubbing off all the salt water and fish slime! But the severity and frequency of breakouts have noticeably improved, the texture of my skin looks a lot healthier, and when I’m on it with my water and healthy diet, my skin is clear and smooth! Below, I’ve written out my biggest changes that have greatly helped me take control of my acne:
Keep It Clean, Keep It Simple
Before switching to treating my acne naturally from the inside, I was obsessed with trying every acne wash and lotion out there. I had drawers full of half-used products that promised beautiful results but irritated my skin and left me worse off than when I started. Washes, toners, lotions, day creams, night creams, it was all too much. I’ve since seen much better results using simple face washes that don’t over-dry my skin followed by a light weight, non-greasy lotion. I’m currently using Clean & Clear’s Deep Action Cream Cleanser and their Dual Action Moisturizer. I like to switch-up my wash every bottle or two to keep it fresh, but have been using this lotion for almost a full year now and love it! I also use St. Ive’s Green Tea Scrub in the shower to gently exfoliate and remove any dirt and sweat at the end of the day.
Hydrate or Die-drate
I know, it’s a goofy saying, but we used to say it in one of my classes when we did site visits out in the hot sun and now I can’t stop! Hydration a huge part of healthy skin, as well as over-all health. Water helps to cleanse our body of toxins, removes waste from our GI tracts, aids in cellular repair, and lubricates our joints to ensure normal functional capabilities. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. The general guideline for water is 8 cups a day. To get more specific, the recommendation is to take your body weight in pounds, divide it by half, and drink that amount in fluid ounces. For instance, if you weigh 140lb, you would need to drink 70 fl. oz. a day. And it doesn’t just have to be water! Tea, juice, fruits, vegetables, and soup all contain high amounts of water. I definitely notice a difference in how I feel between days that I drink enough water and days I go dehydrated.
Eat Smart
This obstacle required a lot of research and many a Pinterest info graphics. While there is no one magic food to cure acne, the biggest goal I’ve worked towards is just eating natural, whole foods, and cutting out packaged, high processed, and high sugar foods. Quality fats help to fight internal inflammation. Fish, avocados, nuts, and seeds all contains healthy amounts of Omega-3 to fight inflammation. Vitamin A and beta-carotene can be found in green and yellow fruits and vegetables, carrots, sweet potatoes, garlic, and ginger, and aid in repairing damaged skin. Vitamin C from oranges, apples, leafy greens, garlic, and sweet peppers help sooth irritated skin. Leafy greens like broccoli, spinach, and kale, eggs, and liver are great sources of Vitamin E to help protect skin. Zinc, a common mineral deficiency that can be found in pumpkin seeds, oysters, liver, eggs, apricots, peaches, and cocoa, aid our skin in healing. Also be sure to track your current diet for any foods that are followed by acne flare-ups. For me, it was heavy dairies, such as milk, ice cream, and mozzarella, and fried foods. Always remember to keep it light and natural, and when in doubt, moderation is key!
Move More, Stress Less
Exercise is a great stress reducer and can work wonders in improving our health, both inside and out. Physical activity earns many physical rewards, such as improved cardiovascular health, decreased risk of chronic disease, and weight loss and muscle gain, but also helps improve our mental health. People often think of stress as an abstract idea, but there are concrete systems at work. When our bodies are stressed, they release the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. In short doses, these hormones allow us to deal with threats, but prolonged exposure can suppress the immune system, leaving a person vulnerable to illness and inflammation, and could cause acne flare-ups. Exercise reduces the levels of the body’s stress hormones by working them off and sweating them out, therefore reducing the risk of inflammation due to immunosuppression. I know it’s hard when you’re playing connect the dots with red marks all over your face to not stand in front of the mirror and obsess over it, but try to take a step back and breathe. Have fun, don’t push your friends and family away, and never sacrifice the things that make you happy!
Like I said at the start, as difficult as having acne has been, if this post can reach just one person and give them the inspiration to keep trying and feel confident in their skin, I will gladly talk all day with you! If you’re struggling with acne, don’t hesitate to drop a comment or send a message to share your story, or ask something you might be curious about concerning acne; I would be happy to continue with skin care posts and advice!
Until then, thank you for reading, and I hope this provided useful information!
Yours Always,The Girl Behind the Blog
Cat J.
bFit bFearless 