My Top 5 Acne-Busting Secrets
How I soothed my adult acne without medication
I’ve struggled with adult acne for years. In junior high and high school, my skin was baby-bottom smooth with not a blemish in sight. I often thought how lucky I was to have bypassed the whole puberty “pizza face” thing. I had no idea what was coming. In my third year of university, my skin changed forever. Painful breakouts of cystic acne and skin that was somehow both impossibly oily and bone-dry at the same time was my new norm.
I had moderate to severe acne at my worst- and no “before” pictures to prove it, since I avoided cameras like the plague during this time of my life.
I tried everything for my skin- many months of birth control pills, going dairy and gluten-free, breaking the bank by switching my skincare routine every month or two, and even removing all forms of sugar (including fruit- sad times)… I consumed supplements by the fistful and made countless visits to my naturopath and family doctor to no avail. Switching up my skincare routine or diet would often seem to work, only to leave my skin in far worse condition just a few weeks later.
At my worst, I would make excuses not to go out for dinner and drinks with my friends, which was one of my favourite things to do. Frankly, life was tough. I was in a terrible headspace for years. I was constantly berating myself for something that I knew was out of my control, because I felt I should be able to make it better.
Things changed for me in 2018. I decided I wouldn’t be a victim to my skin anymore. I realized that as I encountered other people with “skin problems” like mine, I never thought anything negative about them. I had never encountered a single soul that I found to be unattractive and unworthy because of their acne. I happen to think that all humans are amazingly beautiful. So why didn’t I afford myself this same grace?
I decided one day in January 2018 that enough was enough. “I am gorgeous.” I would tell myself. “My skin may be red and spotty, but I’m funny, intelligent, and fun to be around. I’m not going to hide anymore.” I stopped wearing makeup on my face to facilitate the healing process. I decided to be unapologetically me. These affirmations helped immensely.
Little did I know that the almost 24/7 stress I was subjecting myself to merely because of the appearance of my skin was turning my acne into a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was stressed because I was breaking out, and I was breaking out because I was stressed!
After struggling for nearly four years, I have finally narrowed down the five things that helped me beat my adult acne. Don’t get me wrong- I do still break out every once in a while. But these five things made a world of a difference, and I would highly recommend trying them if you struggle with adult acne-like me:
Mindset makeover
Finding self-compassion and eliminating that negative self-talk was life-changing. It may sound strange, but every time I smile at myself in the mirror and tell myself that I am beautiful is incredibly healing. Here’s the deal: like attracts like. So when you’re constantly talking down to yourself and telling yourself that you’re ugly or unworthy, or whatever your go-to personal insult is, your body and the universe listens. But as soon as you change your story from a drama to a romance, the universe changes its story as well.
Allow yourself to feel love for ALL of you, and the love will just keep coming. Here’s a quote from the Upanishads that illustrates this point perfectly:
“Out of abundance she took abundance, and still abundance remained.”
Another important point that I think fits in here is not only changing how we view ourselves but how we view everything else in our world- the environment, the food we eat, etc. If you’re constantly telling yourself “this piece of cheese is going to make my skin break out so bad” or “I always break out right before my birthday party” then the vicious circle of self-fulfilling prophecy will continue.
Do yourself a favor and throw these limiting beliefs out the door right now! When you make a decision to believe something like that, the universe will ensure it comes true for you. Change the story- reframe your thoughts and give yourself the love you deserve and watch your skin heal.
SWEAT IT OUT
Your skin is a detox organ, so oftentimes if you’re breaking out, it’s because your colon isn’t eliminating toxins as effectively as it should be. (But that’s a topic for a whole other blog post).
The point here is that a great way to facilitate the elimination of toxins through your skin is by doing any activity that works up a sweat. That’s why infrared saunas are so great for detoxification. However, you really don’t need a fancy at-home sauna or wellness club membership to ensure you’re detoxing properly.
All you have to do is sweat once a day - and any workout will do! Important note: After you’ve finished your sweat sesh, make sure to rinse off within 20 minutes to ensure that the toxins aren’t being reabsorbed through your skin- this can lead to more breakouts. I always notice a huge difference in my complexion when I’m consistent with my daily workout.
MATCHA TEA
This grassy-green tea is amazingly high in antioxidants, which fight free radical damage, making it a veritable skin superfood! Antioxidants keep skin looking youthful, speed up healing time for zits, and brighten skin tone.
I replaced my morning coffee with matcha tea at the beginning of 2019 and it made a noticeable difference in the texture of my skin. Normally, the extremely cold and dry winters where I live means months of super dry and flaky skin, leading to almost constant breakouts. Not with the matcha.
I consider matcha a secret weapon for supple skin during the holiday season and beyond. And guess what guys, if you really don’t like the taste (it definitely takes some getting used to), you can get most of the benefits from putting it directly on your face! Check out our matcha face mask recipe here.
Collagen Peptides
Gorgeous skin starts in the gut. When you’ve got a healthy gut, your body is much more efficient at eliminating toxins, keeping your skin blemish-free. Collagen peptides is a tasteless powder full of amino acids like glycine, proline, and lysine, which help to repair the gut lining, reducing overall inflammation in the body.
When inflammation is reduced, the redness, swelling, and pain of zits and breakouts calm down. Collagen also contains other amino acids like hydroxyproline, which stimulates the synthesis of collagen in the skin, speeding up cell regeneration which means that your skin is able to recover from a breakout much faster.
Collagen synthesis is super important- but unfortunately, our bodies aren’t effective at synthesizing enough collagen on their own, and this is further exacerbated by stress and lifestyle habits. By adding collagen into your daily routine, you’ll give your skin a chance to repair itself quicker. Check out my collagen matcha latte recipe here, which I drink every morning.
Fermented foods
Fermented foods are another super important daily addition for gut health. They contain live cultures of beneficial bacteria that enter the gut, pushing out all the not-so-good bacteria that are there from poor dietary and lifestyle habits, stress, etc.
There are many delicious options for fermented foods these days - kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, kefir, and yogurt (if you can tolerate dairy). I’ve even seen fermented Sriracha-style hot sauce!
When you start to incorporate these into your diet, start small- too much can lead to some mild digestive symptoms like bloating and gas. Over the last year or so, I’ve worked my way up to a good scoop of sauerkraut or kimchi with both lunch and dinner, and often a swig of fermented pickle juice after breakfast!
So there you have it! Please note that this is a very simplified list, of course. It’s important to realize that since everyone is unique, there is no one size fits all approach to this stuff. It’s possible your adult acne is being caused by a food allergy. Or a multitude of other factors. But do give the items on this list a shot- commit to six weeks and see what happens. I’m confident you’ll see some improvements!
If you’re sick of the trial and error of adjusting your diet and lifestyle to find something that works for you- I can help. My passion is skin health - and as a Certified Holistic Nutrition Consultant, I can design a lifestyle and diet plan made specifically for YOU to see long-lasting results.
If you’re interested, contact me for a free 15-minute consultation. We can Facetime or correspond via email or even text- whatever you’re most comfortable with. Rest assured that I will do my best to find your very own acne-busting protocol!
So, is there anything you’ve changed in your diet or lifestyle that made a difference for your breakouts? Please share your own acne-busting secret weapons in the comment section below!
