dietary changes and acne Archives

If you look back at my blog archives over the past eight years,you’ll find a countless number of posts about my experiences with acne. Everything from what I’ve tried to combat it to the lifestyle changes I’ve implemented.

In the last year alone, I went to a dermatologist (who wanted to start me on a $500/month prescription), started birth control, and switched my entire skincare routine over to Drunk Elephant. And while the condition of my skin has improved dramatically and the number of breakouts I get has decreased quite a bit, I still feel like there’s more I can do. I say this because I still break out every now and then, and it’s painful, and as vain as it sounds, it’s not pretty.

Before I go into the exact changes, let me address what I’ve noticed in the last 6 months or so. Every time I indulge a little (or a lot!), specifically with cheesy and sugary foods, my skin responds very negatively. For example, after our weekend in Traverse City where I drank lots of wine, ate lots of cheese, and had two desserts in one day, my skin went nuts. The same thing happened after Thanksgiving weekend because I ate mac n’ cheese for 4 days straight. And again after Vancouver (re: four nights straight of wine and dessert).

I’m thinking you know what two of my changes are! If you guessed significantly reducing the amount of cheese (I don’t really consume other forms of dairy) and sugar I eat,you’re right. Looking back, I think if I moved the needle even 80%, I’d see a huge improvement.

My third change is implementing a sleep routine. Of course, Mr. Kaiden may throw this off a little, but I know I can do better. For example, instead of falling asleep on the couch, I should just go to bed. I’m also hoping that by creating a bedtime routine, I’ll be able to fall asleep and stay asleep for most of the night. I’ve read a lot about how sleep impacts skin health (along with everything else), so I’m putting it and myself to the test!

Those who know me well may be thinking, “But Par, you LOVE cheese and sweet stuff. Are you really just giving it up cold turkey?” Trust me, I’ve been toying with this exact thought for a while now. My answer is this…for the next month, I’m giving up cow’s milk cheese and refined sugar. After that, I’m going to reevaluate how my skin looks and feels and take it from there. To be honest, I think my days of eating multiple slices of pizza are gone, but that’s what it’s comedown to. I can’t deal with my skin looking like it did when I was 15.

With that being said, after this one month period, if there’s something I want to try, I will allow myself a bite or two of the good stuff. I mean, life’s too short to totally give up the stuff you love!

So here’s the plan for the next month at least…

No cow’s milk dairy
No added/refined sugar (super dark chocolate a-ok!)
Operation ‘get better sleep’ – put a routine in place and no handheld devices for the hour leading up to bedtime

I know lots of you are interested in these kinds of experiments because many of us struggle with adult acne. I’ll revisit this here on the blog in a month to share my progress. Hopefully I learn some good stuff!

WISH ME LUCK!

Acne has been an unwanted part of my life since I was 12 years old – not always horrible but always present. In fact, I honestly can’t remember a time when my face was completely clear. Not fun.

In an effort to reduce/eliminate the bumps, I’ve tried numerous products over the years – Clearasil, Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, Noxzema, Proactiv, and a number of prescription medications as well, including birth control. My most recent purchases were a Desert Essence face wash and blemish stick, of which I’m still using the face wash. As far as acne lotions are concerned, I’ve gone back to the Proactiv Repairing Lotion because the flare ups were getting really bad again.

After going to a dermatologist and learning that my acne is hormonal, I pretty much gave up my [lifelong] dream of having clear skin one day. My doctor prescribed Spironolactone to help with excess oil production as well as the blemishes, and generally speaking, it’s been helping. But just not as well as expected.

With a wedding coming up, I knew I had to try something different. In January, I started researching new acne products and even found a few that I wanted to try. Around the same time, I made some dietary changes – not at all for acne reasons. In fact, one of the changes wasn’t even something I intended to do.

Change #1: So, as I stated in my January goals post, increasing my water consumption was a top priority for me. And believe me when I say, the H20 has been flowing in these parts! On average, I probably drink anywhere from 64 to 80 ounces of water a day.

Change #2: Since January 1st of this year, I’ve eliminated artificial sweeteners from my diet – no more Diet Coke, no more Splenda in my coffee and yogurt, etc. I’ve always known that a little bit of real sugar is better for me than fake zero calorie sweeteners, but I loved the idea of no added calories. But my mindset has slowly changed to where I now opt for raw cane sugar in my coffee and yogurt and accept that a little bit of sugar won’t cause me to gain weight.

Unintentional Change #3: Late last year I started buying a carton of almond milk every week along with a half gallon of skim milk. I enjoyed almond milk in my smoothies and protein creations and skim milk in my cereal and with my meals. Slowly, I started phasing out skim milk, and now I only buy almond milk. It’s really grown on me! I had no intention of doing so – it just kind of happened.

Now, you’re probably wondering, where the heck I’m going with all this.

Here’s my hypothesis – I believe that because of some combination of the three changes listed above, my face has started to clear up and stay clear. I have ZERO evidence or proof that this is indeed the case, but it’s the only thing I can come up with. Since January, there’s been a noticeable improvement in my skin, and I can’t attribute it to any new products because my regimen has been the same for the past six to eight months. If anything, the improvement may just be due to change #1 and #3 because there have been studies done on the effects of increased water consumption and decreased daily consumption on acne, but who knows, #2 may also be a factor.

I’ve always thought that my acne problems were genetically passed down to me, but over the past two months, I’ve seen awesome results by making three easy and healthy changes – more water, no Splenda, and less dairy*. Experimentation has been the name of the game for the past 16 years, and since this experiment is good for my body and my face (so far), I’m a happy camper! Again, I have no proof that these things are directly linked to my clearer skin – only time will tell. I’ll keep y’all posted.

*Eliminating skim milk from my diet is the only change I’ve made with regard to my dairy consumption. I still eat small amounts of cheese and yogurt a few times a week.