Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Okay, so I've followed every bit of paleo advice to try and eradicate the acne that continued to populate my forehead, nose and chin to no avail. My skin there remained as it always did: oily with clogged pores. I can't put any kind of soap on my face, it always makes it worse, so I tried researching other "natural" treatments and came up with an oatmeal mask.

The recipes online have honey and all kinds of other things in them, but I just ground up some oats and made a simple paste with the oat flour and some warm water. I've been slathering that on my face and letting it dry every time I take shower (about 3 times a week).

The results...It doesn't irritate my skin at all, and EVERYTHING irritates my skin. My pores are clearer, smaller and my skin in that region is less oily and more balanced in tone and the acne is greatly reduced. My skin hasn't looked this good since I was pre-pubescent. I've been doing this a few weeks now.

So...eating oatmeal isn't paleo, but how about putting it on your face? Has anyone tried this? What other uses have you found for grains that don't involve eating them?

flag	asked Jun 3 at 3:58 Marie 1,249●2●6

Warren D · Answer 1 · 2012-06-03 10:02:39Z UTC

The results...It doesn't irritate my skin at all, and EVERYTHING irritates my skin. My pores are clearer, smaller and my skin in that region is less oily and more balanced in tone and the acne is greatly reduced. My skin hasn't looked this good since I was pre-pubescent. I've been doing this a few weeks now.

Who cares if it's not "paleo"? It's worked for you and that's great.

Miriam · Answer 2 · 2012-06-03 04:31:24Z UTC

I've found that oatmeal is wonderful when used in skin cleansing products. It provides a very gentle abrasive and is soothing. I've even used it to treat poison oak instead of calamine lotion. I have no idea if it's considered paleo or not, but I'm not going to let that stop me from using it!

ThinnerStrength · Answer 3 · 2012-06-03 04:47:39Z UTC

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Be sure you aren't allergic to gluten. Skin absorbs everything. Have you tried coconut oil?

edited Jun 3 at 4:47

answered Jun 3 at 4:40

ThinnerStrength
3,015●3●20

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You can't digest cotton or nylon either, but you let those touch your skin... – Corbab Jun 3 at 5:55

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Oatmeal only contains gluten if it has been cross contaminated with a gluten-containing grain. – Jen Jun 3 at 20:43

Seppo · Answer 4 · 2012-06-06 07:34:15Z UTC

I would mirror the other posters here, who cares if it's paleo or not. We should do things for the sake of health - not to follow a dogma.

So let me see if I understand this correctly, you have oily skin and are looking for solutions to it? Oily skin is a 2-fold problem. On one hand you have genes that make acne-prone skin more sensitive to androgen hormones, and overactive conversion of testosterone to DHT in the skin. And on the other hand we have high insulin and IGF-1 levels making the problem with androgens even worse.

Given that you already eat paleo you probably have insulin & IGF-1 under control. So we can ignore that part.

There are substances known as 5-alpha reductase inhibitors that hinder the conversion of T to DHT in the skin. This is important because 1) it's overactive in acne patients and 2) DHT has a far more potent effect on the skin than other adnrogens.

Green tea extract is actually one of the best substances to use. In one study green tea lotion reduced sebum production by 70% over 8 weeks. Zinc and some fatty acids can also help (topicall applied).

Thos are perhaps the most important things. There's some more advice here: http://www.acneeinstein.com/oily-skin-remedies/

Is it paleo to put oatmeal on your face?

4 Answers