If Ayers is right, then paleo probably would through reducing inflammation. I've certainly found that eating a better diet generally (even pre-paleo) improved skin generally. Vitamin K2 is supposed to be dramatically and instantly positive for skin, but I don't know whether that would apply directly to acne. A brief look on wikipedia also suggests that paleo would be beneficial via offering more micronutrients (A+E), lower carbohydrate and no dairy.

In general I'd certainly expect paleo to help acne and skin trouble, but if you have some antecedent cause of massive inflammation that won't go away (such as extreme hormonal inbalance during adolescence) then you might well be stuck with the symptoms.

It's important to note that some peopple might experience skin problems during the initial transition from SAD to paleo while the body detoxes and normalizes.

While not strictly paleo, if you supplement your diet with whey powder or other dairy proteins to build muscle, you may worsen your acne.

My skin has improved a lot on a low carb version of Paleo (very little fruit), but any dairy other than ghee will cause break-outs. My shoulders are a lot better, but my chest will still break out with dairy.

The answer is yes. I learned about it from Loren Cordain's "Dietary Cure for Acne". I did however have a reoccurance of acne when I ate a bunch of dried fruit. So be cautious about eating lots of fruit as that will spike blood sugar and cause breakouts.

HG diet + no nuts == no acne for me. If I introduce nuts (specifically pecans/almonds), I break out immediately. I seem to do ok with macadamias. It might be a omega 6 thing rather than the nuts...not sure.

Low inflammation paleo food helped me. Very rarely get any shoulder acne now.

Put HFCS in my mouth and I can pretty much guarantee myself acne in two days. Happens if I binge eat with a decent amount of fruit involved too, but not nearly as bad.

Sugar was the difference for me. Going on a Cordain diet with lots of fruit cut down on my acne, but I still had it. Going on a PaNu diet without sweet fruit pretty much eliminated it.

Yes, avoiding sugar and grains keeps my skin clear. If I go on a carb binge, it will eventually show up on my face. I first understood the relationship between diet and complexion when I was staying with a family overseas. Breakfast everyday was sweet tea with milk and bread with butter and jam. We never got much meat with our meals. My chin broke out with the ugliest rash, which thereafter would recur whenever my diet was too sugar-heavy.

Acne vulgaris: a disease of Western civilization

BACKGROUND: In westernized societies, acne vulgaris is a nearly universal skin disease afflicting 79% to 95% of the adolescent population. In men and women older than 25 years, 40% to 54% have some degree of facial acne, and clinical facial acne persists into middle age in 12% of women and 3% of men. Epidemiological evidence suggests that acne incidence rates are considerably lower in nonwesternized societies. Herein we report the prevalence of acne in 2 nonwesternized populations: the Kitavan Islanders of Papua New Guinea and the Aché hunter-gatherers of Paraguay. Additionally, we analyze how elements in nonwesternized environments may influence the development of acne.

OBSERVATIONS: Of 1200 Kitavan subjects examined (including 300 aged 15-25 years), no case of acne (grade 1 with multiple comedones or grades 2-4) was observed. Of 115 Aché subjects examined (including 15 aged 15-25 years) over 843 days, no case of active acne (grades 1-4) was observed.

CONCLUSIONS: The astonishing difference in acne incidence rates between nonwesternized and fully modernized societies cannot be solely attributed to genetic differences among populations but likely results from differing environmental factors. Identification of these factors may be useful in the treatment of acne in Western populations.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12472346

I haven't read the study, but apparently it also includes the detail that when members of these populations are exposed to a western/modern diet the exhibit all the traditional symptoms of acne.

Another:

Abstract: Acne is a common dermatologic condition that affects many individuals in different decades of life. The specifi c role of diet in the development of acne has been a topic of debate for many decades, but this controversy has come to the forefront in recent years with new studies indicating the potential role of diet, contradicting historical studies. This article reviews past and more recent data regarding the link between diet and acne, commenting on areas where new investigations many help to elucidate the true contribution of diet to the pathogenesis of acne.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/579326_1

I don't know any of the science behind it, but I can attest that since beginning eating Paleo only a month ago, the acne that my husband had on his back ever since I met him (attractive, I know) is clearing up. And we still eat some dairy.

Paleo (PaNu) for me helped me a lot with my acne on my back and i don't get spots on my face anymore. I eat dairy almost every day: Butter, Ghee, Cheese, Yoghurt, a tsp homogenized milk in my coffee

Two days ago I used lots (250g in two days) of butter and all hell broke loose on my face :(

Diet certainly helps SOME people with acne. But it also doesn't do anything for many others. I have direct personal experience with three cases, though not strictly following a paleo diet.

I was misdiagnosed with Celiac Disease and I went on a gluten-free diet for a year. No improvement with my acne (face, back, some on chest and arms). I was also vegetarian for a few months - no improvement.

Then I ate a lot of meat, carbs and whey protein for a muscle building program, for about a month. No change in acne (it actually improved a bit). My acne only went worse while I was taking Country Life zinc picolinate, but not when taking Karuna zinc picolinate (equivalent doses, but Karuna has copper).

I'm 30, Caucasian, body fat around 20%.

My girlfriend has this almost flawless skin, and she can eat whatever she wants (plenty of dairy, carbs, cookies, sweets, fruit etc.). She does eat these items on an everyday basis, yet she never breaks out. She's 22, Caucasian, body fat around 30%.

It's obvious that diet has different effects on different people, and there should be some sort of test (skin sample? DNA?) that tells you what you should not eat, in order to reduce acne.

Hi, just wanted to throw my anecdotal story in. Went Paleo (Robb Wolf style, 99% compliance) 4 months ago and saw a significant improvement within days of going fruit free Paleo. Unfortunately it started coming back again (mostly just face and a little bit of sholders) when I hit the 3 month mark and got kind of loose with the fruit and agave I guess. I also started getting mystery sick from things around that time. I think I've got some sort of malabsorption problem and am getting tested for Fructose Malabsorption on Friday. I'm also a complete lactard and can't even sniff the butter without my guts gurgling. So, with the FructMal hypothesis in mind and lots of sketchy info about eating for FructMal I found FODMAP. The commonality there is IBS which I have symptoms of when I eat off Paleo, or eat any fruit. Oops?! Did I just scarf that apple? Bad Leah!

Turns out cutting out all FODMAPs has been awesome though it keeps my diet ridiculously simple. A side benefit is that I've only gotten 2 pimples since I started eating FODMAP free a month ago. Only 2 and they were pretty small! It was pretty obvious to me that it was related to some garlic I'd chosen to ingest and a yuck-nasty fried dough thing at Cafe du Monde when I was on vacay. Can't tell you why taking out FODMAP has worked so well for my skin, but it is awesome. And it actually isn't that bad anymore food wise. I've started re-introducing foods that are regular Paleo, but mostly they just make me feel icky wicked and then I get a zit the next afternoon. What I'm trying to say here is that my face was showing me that something was wrong with what I was eating like it's a notice board. It was saying in pimple language across my jawline and shoulders that "You have inflamation still. You must stop eating onions and garlic for gods sakes!" Well, it probably didn't say all that but you get the point. I had to do what amounts to an elimination diet to get the proper foundation set to then re-introduce foods and see how my body responds.

Hope you all have good luck turning off the notice board.
~Leah

I was looking through old pictures of myself last night and wow, my skin used to be AWFUL! The pictures where it was the worst were when I was a vegan. Now that I'm paleo (no grains, legumes, sugar, dairy, fruit, or nuts), I rarely get a pimple. If I cheat and eat dairy, a few do crop up, but they're definitely not as bad as they were!

Absolutely it works for acne, it started helping with me as soon as I went paleo. However, the biggest breakthrough was when I started including vitamin K2 in my diet via uncooked grassfed butter. My skin literally went perfect the next day. So eat paleo and make sure to include grassfed butter, free range eggs, organ meat and probably a daily high vitamin butter oil supplement in your diet. I would be very surprised if this didn't immediately rid you of acne on your whole body, it worked for me.

For me it was the near-elimination of dairy that got rid of it. My skin went nuts after my first pregnancy, was very oily, inflamed, sensitive, you name it. I broke out all the time and felt like a greaseball even in the winter. It improved somewhat after I went paleo, but didn't disappear until I stopped dairy. I used to eat tons of cheese like Swiss, American, jack, cheddar, milk in cereal (pre-paleo), then half-and-half in coffee. Those things seem to affect me the worst. Butter and cream are fine. Greek yogurt, feta and mozzarella are fine in moderation (I'm talking a little bit once or twice a month). My skin is still combination, I get oily in the T-zone, but I don't break out anymore.

My most reliable method for clear skin is laying out in the sun daily. I also saw benefit from eliminating grains and sugar and from going totally no-poo. Proper hydration, lots of sleep and lots of good fat have also contributed. I would ditch the clearisal and look into oil cleansing method or no-poo (hair and body) for sure.

I think there must be a wide variety of different contributing factors for acne. It's so interesting to read about all the cases above.

My husband's acne cleared completely and almost instantly on a low-moderate carb, lacto paleo diet. He still drinks milk, probably no more than a cup a day though. I have never seen his face clear like it is now, and we have been together for years (are in our early 30s).

Interestingly, if he drinks more than a few serves of alcohol, the acne returns for around two days, then clears completely.

I have rosacea, a form of it that looks very much like acne. Since going paleo, I have seen good improvement (enough for others to comment), but not complete remission. I also use dairy, although a 3 week stint with none didn't have any noticeable effect on my skin. I attribute the improvement in rosacea to reduced inflammation. I've found Dr Ayers' blog very interesting and hope to try out a lot of his suggestions.

Getting back to dairy, I would be very interested to hear from anyone (eg in NZ or Australia) who has access to A2 milk and could comment on the effect on acne/rosacea. I am wondering if it is the casein in milk or something else that tends to cause/aggravate acne.