I've been Paleo for 2 months now, and have struggled with acne my entire life. This is the reason I went Paleo in the first place. While my face has cleared up tremendously, the pimples keep coming back. They're never as big as they used to be and there aren't as many, but my face isn't clear like a lot of people claim their faces become once they start eating Paleo. I aslo struggle with scars. They're lasting longer than they've ever before. Does anyone know why or what I could do? I'm starting Whole30 to see if that'll change anything.
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Background questions:
As a side note: I think most questions should include the above info.... Actual suggestions:
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Are you eating nuts? Or a lot of chicken, pork, eggs, and/or olive oil? You may still be getting a fair amount of O6 from these foods which would cause inflammation and thus acne. |
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I know that Omega 3's are stressed on Paleo - but for me, too much and my acne flares up, as does inflammation in my body. I got cystic acne like I hadn't experienced in years after becoming Paleo. This may change over time for me, but right now I can't handle tons of fish or fish oil capsules. You might be going through a pretty hefty hormonal upheaval, as other people have said. It will take longer than 2 months for that to get straightened out in your body. Dairy does cause inflammation in a lot of people, including me. I make ghee from pastured butter and seem to thrive on that, but all other dairy aggravates my system. Also, my friend bought me a facial last year. I always thought my skin was oily, but she told me it's oily below, and dry and flaky on top. I was using harsh scrubbers - she made me switch to a creamy/rich cleanser and an oil free moisturizer. I was using MyChelle Pumpkin cleanser and their oil-free moisturizer. It definitely helped, but it's too expensive. Now I approximate with what I can afford. And do things like avocado masks on occasion and jojoba or sea buckthorn oil on my skin a few times a week. There is a supplement regime I take, and since I've been doing it, I haven't had one zit (not even around my period), and my gut feels a lot more soothed. Its: 1500 mg Sea Buckthorn daily(1:1 ratio on Omega 3 and 6, plus the really rare Omega 7). Some people would definitely poo-poo this since it's a seed and fruit oil, but it's helped my body than anything else I've ever taken - which has been a lot lot lot of stuff. 15000 Vit D daily 200 mcg Vit K2 (not K1) every few days 3 tsp Natural Calm magnesium supplement every other day I eat fruit for Vitamin C, which is so necessary for the health of my skin. If you have candida and leaky gut, which many acne sufferers do, you should skip the fruit until you can kick the candida. Get lots of Vitamin A too from stuff like sweet potatoes (again, a no if there is candida) and grassfed beef. The health of your liver is something to consider too. It has taken me years to clean out the junk in my liver from having Celiacs and from growing up on a horrendous diet. Actual liver cleanses can be way too hard on many people's system. Eating bitter greens like Dandelion and/or supplements like bitter melon, gentian, and buplureum can help the liver's self cleansing process. Just be warned if you do start cleaning your liver out, you're going to feel worse before you feel better. Good luck! |
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Another thing I noticed is that I can't do lacto-paleo and have clear skin. Are you eating dairy? |
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Hi everyone! Wow, there were lots of responses, thank you all for your advice! I haven’t been able to read everyone’s responses seeing as I was at work all day, but I will touch upon the main parts. Yes, I am female lol. I do exercise-weight training and cardio at my house because I can’t afford to belong to a crossfit gym. I’m not one of those girls that will only lift with a 3lb weight either. I’m a heavy weight lifter, but not too heavy because don’t want to hurt myself. I don’t eat grains or diary and I’m not one of those “put creamer in my coffee” people either because I don’t drink coffee. Since I’m just starting out, I wanted to do it right. My cheating is less than 80/20 and I never cheat with a full meal. It’s always a bite or two. Rarely I will eat uncured, no nitrates bacon or almond butter, things like that. I know people disagree on whether or not that’s Paleo-hence, why I’ve decided to try Whole30. I wash with a green tea cleanser that I get directly from a licensed esthetician that specializes in holistic medicine. It’s extremely gentle and I use a separate towel to pat dry my face when I’m done washing. I used to use a vitamin C serum she gave me, but I found that to make my face break out too. This was before Paleo, so maybe I should try it now and see if anything changes. I’ve done facials in the past and never saw a big difference. Plus I can’t afford it every month. I get plenty of sleep. Even though I’m an adult, I have a bedtime. For stress, I take Pilates once a week and have a light workout if I need to, or sometimes going head strong into my workouts relieves my stress. No change in stress levels really. I take fish oil supplements daily. Vitamin E, and only eat organic, grass-fed meat, and wild caught fish. I haven’t started the vitamin D because I didn’t know how important it was. But from what I read, I will certainly start that right away. I only wear makeup to work to get a solid color on my face, seeing as red marks can off-set the tone. I never wear makeup when I’m home and wash my face so I don’t workout with it on. I always use clean pillow cases. I’m OCD and wash my sheets often. I do have a doctor, but refuse to use the medications he’d prefer I put on my face. This is why I went Paleo in the first place. I do eat nuts, chicken, omega-3 enriched eggs (800 mg each egg), beef and only cook in extra virgin oil olive, don’t eat a lot of pork though. But I take my fish oil supplements to help balance that. If I need to give it more time, I completely understand that. I just read about other people’s success and wonder why mine hasn’t cleared up as quickly as others. Thought there was something wrong with me. If my body is just different, I can handle that. Been struggling with acne for a long time so I can give it another few months. |
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One thing that really helped me was to just stop putting any soap or product on my face regularly. What I do now is not wash my face unless it is actually dirty. On most days, I wash my hair with all natural soap and then I rinse it carefully to make sure that minimal amounts of the rinsed soap touch my face. My face is just rinsed from the water only. WHen I get out of the shower, I towel off. The only time I wash my face is if I can see actual dirt on it. Then I wash with all natural soap only and just enough to get the dirt off. LIght dirt will come off with just a wash cloth and water anyway. Excess oil comes off with just water and drying with a towel. Once in a while on very hot sweaty days, my face does look shiny by the middle of the day, at which time I just take a towel or napkin and wipe off any excess shine. End result is my acne was much less and interestingly, even though I was not making an effort to remove oil from my face, my face actually became much less oily. I wonder if an oily face is from the body's response to try to replace the oils many people keep stripping away with all their soaps. THe body might get in a habit of producing a lot of oil if people are constantly dessicating it with tons of soap. Anyway, all I know is by mostly just rinsing my face, oil production stabilized and my face rarely looks oily even after all day and my skin is much clearer. Natural body oils are naturally antibiotic so that actually makes sense. Improve the health of your skin with better moisturization the natural way and healthier foods and you improve your skin's ability to fight of germs. PLus a constant moderate supply of face oil may help vitamin D production. Body oil is there for a reason, why fight it? |
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I have the same problem, and have some scars too, but they are starting to fade and my skin is breaking out less. I agree with everyone who says that less is more with facial products. I try to use a really gentle, natural cleanser (no acne washes or anything) and a really gentle moisturizer with sunscreen (sun will make the scars last longer). That's it. All the harsh washes, gels, and "clearifying" products just make my acne worse. Also, drink lots of water, and don't touch your skin! That's the hardest part for me, but it's really true. Less makeup is always better too. I know you probably want to cover up the scars, but at least when you're at home, go without any makeup. That is what has worked for me. Good luck! |
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I've found that Rooibos tea helps a great deal. One or two cups per day. It reduces the amount of oil that your sebaceous glands produce. Also I use a cleanser with glycolic acid. You need the glycolic acid because its the only thing that helps to separate the skin cells. Your pores clog because the skin cells don't break apart the way they are supposed to. That is caused by too little of the enzymes that facilitate the reaction that separates your skin cells before they flake off. If they don't separate your pores will clog. You need something with glycolic acid to get them to separate. Zits happen below the surface. It doesn't matter how dirty the top layer is. Those skin cells have to separate from each other or you will get zits. |
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Take 50mg of Zinc a day! Make sure no dairy or gluten! And Vitamin D of course. |
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Hey it's been another two months since I posted my question. My face has improved a lot since then! Still some ways to go with the scarring. I have started supplementing with Vit D and hopefully that'll help along with summer coming. To answer everyone's question about dairy, I don't tolerate it. It makes my skin break out so I'm absolutely dairy free. Thanks everyone for your help. I'll keep you'll posted in another two months! Definitely takes time though to heal what feels like a lifetime of acne! |
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Are you using any products? It could be the chemicals in a face wash or toner irritating your skin. You may want to try Witch Hazel- buy the all natural toner on Amazon, not the one in the drugstore that contains alcohol. Witch Hazel has natural healing properties and may help with the scarring. |
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Eat foods high in Omega 3 (salmon) and supplement with probiotics (Primal Defense). Use a lotion with alpha hydroxy acids (Kiss My Face makes a good one) and you will have gorgeous skin in no time! |
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Maybe try changing your pillow case every day or every other day. I have naturally oily hair, so when I sleep I'm pretty much rubbing my face in the grease my hair transfers to the pillowcase (gross, I know). Also try splashing your face in the morning (and maybe night) with cold water. And like everyone else said, work on perfecting that O3:O6 ratio! |
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Firstly, stop eating nuts and seeds, period. Heavy in omega six. Ditch chicken and pork and eggs if theyre major parts of your diet. This was a sneaky culprit in my own journey. Start supping with GLA. I use Solgar, here (I take two caps per day): http://www.amazon.com/Solgar-Super-Gla-300mg-softgels/dp/B000YMYOS8 Its got the best concentration of GLA with as little as possible other omega sixes. Although in principle I would love to say to stop using soaps/cleansers etc that you may be using, in my experience this HAS NOT been necessary. I have used for years, and continue to use daily, Proactiv. Only chemical gross stuff in my daily life but eff it, I like the fact that my skin is remaining clear. Zits have a profound effect on my mood, outlook, even libido. Its just a confidence-killer. And this is me at 31 years old with a good job, athletic, etc. My point is only that I fully appreciate how difficult of a problem this can be. GET THE OMEGA SIX OUT OF YOUR DIET! |
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Dr. Cordain has done a lot of research on acne: http://thepaleodiet.com/published-research/ As others have asked, I'd be curious what your diet is. Have you done 30 days of truly strict dairy-free Paleo? |
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Try using raw, organic, extra virgin Coconut Oil as a moisturizer. I've had acne for a long time also, so I'm willing to try just about anything. I've been rubbing Coconut Oil on my whole body for 3 weeks now, and my skin is SO soft and after two weeks, my acne has started to clear up. I haven't gotten any major zits on my face in this third week. Also, I've found that when I do get a zit or even a scratch or a burn (which is fairly common for me I work in a restaurant) it heals MUCH faster than before. It smells great and is all natural! You should give it a shot, start with using it on your body first to make sure nothing weird happens (everyone's skin is different, I didn't get any weird reactions) then smear it on after a shower! Check out this link: |
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I've been paleo for a year and a half. I still break out, though I no longer get it really bad like I used to. It's a slow process, 2 months is not enough to undo everything. |
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My skin hasn't really improved much from going Paleo and my friend just recommended me Herpanacine I just ordered some this morning and I'm very excited to try it out. It's basically a blend of vitamins and minerals. Many people from reviews I've read had cystic acne for years and taken stuff like Accutane without any results. |
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This will likely get burried in the comments, but this simple, nay, elementary hack is far more effective than any cocktail of drugs on the market. Place a fresh (clean) towel over your pillow each night. Don't reuse the towel. After you've used it once, wash it. Simple as that. |
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You should try some DIM. My face cleared up dramatically in about two weeks. |
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I don't do that but I use cream and it diloseint work but try a hot towel.that works |
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