How to get rid of acne?

[Hans]

I am 23 years old and my face still breaks out like a teenager. And they leave out scars... Honestly i tried everything. Putting a clear t- shirt on my pillow bed every day. Non- diary diet, healthy diet. Benzoyl Peroxide creams, Salicylic acid, Acnemix cream, Acne soaps, lemon on face before bed, Tea Tree Oil... You name it, i tried it.

It is getting ridiculous. I deal with my face everyday. Im 23! Whatever i do, i wake up next morning with a new acne on my face. It never ends. It never ends. I even put a thick layer of Benz peroxide cream on every part of my face.... That f*cker finds a way out from somewhere and pops up again.

Only relief i exprienced that i remember was from carnivore diet. However i can not sustain that lifestyle nor afford it nor want it.

I also took Accutane for only 3 DAYS at 16 which destroyed my whole life and gave me ED. So oral drugs are a big no' for me.

I don't know what to do anymore. I really don't...

I honestly envy people who have poor hygine with clear, baby skin. They put their hands on dirty places and then they touch their face everyday, with zero acne. They drink like ***t and eat like ***t. Still, ZERO acne.

F*ck my GENES FOR REAL. Wish i wasn't born like this.

Do you have oily skin as well?
Are you eating high FODMAP food or food you might be sensitive to such as gluten, nightshade, etc?

 

[aniciete]

I am 23 years old and my face still breaks out like a teenager. And they leave out scars... Honestly i tried everything. Putting a clear t- shirt on my pillow bed every day. Non- diary diet, healthy diet. Benzoyl Peroxide creams, Salicylic acid, Acnemix cream, Acne soaps, lemon on face before bed, Tea Tree Oil... You name it, i tried it.

It is getting ridiculous. I deal with my face everyday. Im 23! Whatever i do, i wake up next morning with a new acne on my face. It never ends. It never ends. It's like bad dream where the dream throws ironic stuff and mocks you.

I even tried to put a thick layer of Benz peroxide cream on every part of my face daily.... I looked like as if i was wearing a white mask.

That f*cker finds a way out from somewhere and pops up again.

Only relief i exprienced that i remember was from carnivore diet. Did it 2 weeks and barely finished it with 10kg's of loss. I can not sustain that lifestyle nor afford it nor want it.

I also took Accutane for only 3 DAYS at 16 which destroyed my whole life and gave me ED. So oral drugs are a big no' for me.

I don't know what to do anymore. I really don't...

I honestly envy people who have poor hygine with clear, baby skin. They put their hands on dirty places and then they touch their face everyday, with zero acne. They drink like ***t and eat like ***t. Still, ZERO acne.

F*ck my GENES FOR REAL. Wish i wasn't born like this.

Have you tried any topicals that would eliminate bacteria?

 

[Cooper]

Have you tried any topicals that would eliminate bacteria?

I edited my post a bit, pls check out again. Yes i tried with no results... While writing this, i have a thick layer of acne cream on my face.

 

[Cooper]

Do you have oily skin as well?
Are you eating high FODMAP food or food you might be sensitive to such as gluten, nightshade, etc?

Yeah i have oily skin. Not so extreme but above normal.

My diet is mostly unprocessed meat, bread, pasta, oat, bananas and vegetables. Low sugar, no caffeine.

Can i be sensitive to carbs or gluten? I am not sure that is interesting.

I really don't understand why i still have acne. It's like some enzymes and genes on my skin are just overexpressed.

 

[aniciete]

I edited my post a bit, pls check out again. Yes i tried with no results... While writing this, i have a thick layer of acne cream on my face.

Have you tried doing an elimination diet? I’ve seen some users on here say they’ve discovered allergies/intolerances while committing to an elimination diet. I believe someone said red meat and rice is a good starting point for most people.

 

[Cooper]

Have you tried doing an elimination diet? I’ve seen some users on here say they’ve discovered allergies/intolerances while committing to an elimination diet. I believe someone said red meat and rice is a good starting point for most people.

Thanks for interest, no i didn't try that out. I will check out Google about it.

There are periods where i don't eat red meat or rice though, i never observed a decline.

 

[TradClare]

Not Peaty advice, but only two things have worked very effectively for me: 1. The McDougall Diet followed perfectly, as in "The Clear Skin Diet" by the Nelson twins. and 2. The acne regimen from acne.org which involves a low % benzoyl peroxide regimen that is continued forever, because if you go off it the acne returns.

I didn't have to do both of these things, just one or the other. The McDougall diet makes me feel amazing but it's so strict and almost impossible to be social

Now that I'm in my 40s I don't have to be as strict but I do use a salicylic acid lotion daily and avoid dairy most of the time. I usually have 1-2 small pimples going, more if I eat something with cheese or even taste peanut butter

 

[Cooper]

Not Peaty advice, but only two things have worked very effectively for me: 1. The McDougall Diet followed perfectly, as in "The Clear Skin Diet" by the Nelson twins. and 2. The acne regimen from acne.org which involves a low % benzoyl peroxide regimen that is continued forever, because if you go off it the acne returns.

I didn't have to do both of these things, just one or the other. The McDougall diet makes me feel amazing but it's so strict and almost impossible to be social

Now that I'm in my 40s I don't have to be as strict but I do use a salicylic acid lotion daily and avoid dairy most of the time. I usually have 1-2 small pimples going, more if I eat something with cheese or even taste peanut butter

Still have acne at 40s?! Damn, that sounds like my future then? LOL.

Thanks a lot for this information though, i am checking out that Nelson diet right now.

 

[Hans]

Yeah i have oily skin. Not so extreme but above normal.

My diet is mostly unprocessed meat, bread, pasta, oat, bananas and vegetables. Low sugar, no caffeine.

Can i be sensitive to carbs or gluten? I am not sure that is interesting.

I really don't understand why i still have acne. It's like some enzymes and genes on my skin are just overexpressed.

Some people are sensitive to gluten and get an immune response and this can cause acne. You can eliminate gluten and see how that works. Grains also contain fructans, which some people are sensitive to. You said that you did best on a carnivore diet which shows that you react negatively to some kind of plant food. You just have to identify which ones.

 

[Korven]

I am 23 years old and my face still breaks out like a teenager. And they leave out scars... Honestly i tried everything. Putting a clear t- shirt on my pillow bed every day. Non- diary diet, healthy diet. Benzoyl Peroxide creams, Salicylic acid, Acnemix cream, Acne soaps, lemon on face before bed, Tea Tree Oil... You name it, i tried it.

It is getting ridiculous. I deal with my face everyday. Im 23! Whatever i do, i wake up next morning with a new acne on my face. It never ends. It never ends. It's like bad dream where the dream throws ironic stuff and mocks you. I am a good looking guy but this acne thing always throws my confidence off.

I even tried to put a thick layer of Benz peroxide cream on every part of my face daily.... I looked like as if i was wearing a white mask.

That f*cker finds a way out from somewhere and pops up again.

Only relief i exprienced that i remember was from carnivore diet. Did it 2 weeks and barely finished it with 10kg's of loss. I can not sustain that lifestyle nor afford it nor want it.

I also took Accutane for only 3 DAYS at 16 which destroyed my whole life and gave me ED. Some people born just unlucky eh?

So oral drugs are a big no' for me.

I don't know what to do anymore. I really don't...

I honestly envy people who have poor hygine with clear, baby skin. They put their hands on dirty places and then they touch their face everyday, with zero acne. They drink like ***t and eat like ***t. Still, ZERO acne.

F*ck my GENES FOR REAL. Wish i wasn't born like this.

Hey bro this all sounds very familiar to me.

Religiously applying benzoyl peroxide to my face worked great for a couple of years to control adult acne but then it suddenly stopped working (?) and my breakouts got way, way worse. It was a nightmare. The only thing that stopped the breakouts was a 100% meat diet which was a disaster for my health in other ways. Eating low-fat whole food plant based didn't help either, I think it just made the scarring worse due to malnutrition.

My theory is that many cases of adult acne isn't "normal acne", but bacterial folliculitis caused by Staph aureus. Do you have breakouts in/around your nose or ears? Have you done any antibiotic courses in the past? Do you have "normal acne" or does it look more like folliculitis? Any scalp acne? These could be indicators of a chronic staph problem.

I've been able to stop the stupid acne creams and nowadays I have clear skin with only using a sulfur mask a couple times per week.

If I could go back in time I would do these things to clear my skin:

- Strict elimination diet of meat and white rice and some well-cooked vegetables to pinpoint foods that cause skin inflammation. I've discovered that I can reliably cause skin breakouts by eating certain foods that cause gut irritation/inflammation for me. Common culprits: dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, corn.
- Eating lots of grass-fed red meat.
- Hydration. Drinking a good amount of water is important for clear skin - preferably 2 litres or more. Drinking only fruit juice/milk etc wasn't enough for me. And it needs to be HOT water.
- To deal with a staph problem, I would do daily nasal rinses with iodine and salt to decolonize the nasal cavity, and I would buy Bacillus Subtilis probiotics to kill off staph aureus in the gut: NIH study finds probiotic Bacillus eliminates Staphylococcus bacteria. This was a game changer for me.
- Cistus Incanus tea. This is awesome - I've found that I can eat junk food and not get breakouts if I drink a good amount of this tea daily.
- Getting enough fiber so that you're pooping 1-2x daily and getting rid off estrogen and other fat-soluble waste/toxins.
- Other avenues to explore: thyroid supplementation, getting rid of SIBO with antimicrobials or antibiotics, fixing gut dysbiosis with a good diet, antimicrobials/ probiotics.

 

[Cooper]

Hey bro this all sounds very familiar to me.

Religiously applying benzoyl peroxide to my face worked great for a couple of years to control adult acne but then it suddenly stopped working (?) and my breakouts got way, way worse. It was a nightmare. The only thing that stopped the breakouts was a 100% meat diet which was a disaster for my health in other ways. Eating low-fat whole food plant based didn't help either, I think it just made the scarring worse due to malnutrition.

My theory is that many cases of adult acne isn't "normal acne", but bacterial folliculitis caused by Staph aureus. Do you have breakouts in/around your nose or ears? Have you done any antibiotic courses in the past? Do you have "normal acne" or does it look more like folliculitis? Any scalp acne? These could be indicators of a chronic staph problem.

I've been able to stop the stupid acne creams and nowadays I have clear skin with only using a sulfur mask a couple times per week.

If I could go back in time I would do these things to clear my skin:

- Strict elimination diet of meat and white rice and some well-cooked vegetables to pinpoint foods that cause skin inflammation. I've discovered that I can reliably cause skin breakouts by eating certain foods that cause gut irritation/inflammation for me. Common culprits: dairy, gluten, eggs, soy, corn.
- Eating lots of grass-fed red meat.
- Hydration. Drinking a good amount of water is important for clear skin - preferably 2 litres or more. Drinking only fruit juice/milk etc wasn't enough for me. And it needs to be HOT water.
- To deal with a staph problem, I would do daily nasal rinses with iodine and salt to decolonize the nasal cavity, and I would buy Bacillus Subtilis probiotics to kill off staph aureus in the gut: NIH study finds probiotic Bacillus eliminates Staphylococcus bacteria. This was a game changer for me.
- Cistus Incanus tea. This is awesome - I've found that I can eat junk food and not get breakouts if I drink a good amount of this tea daily.
- Getting enough fiber so that you're pooping 1-2x daily and getting rid off estrogen and other fat-soluble waste/toxins.
- Other avenues to explore: thyroid supplementation, getting rid of SIBO with antimicrobials or antibiotics, fixing gut dysbiosis with a good diet, antimicrobials/ probiotics.

First, thank you for your detailed reply. I love this forum, you learn things that you can't learn elsewhere.

Yes!! I have scalp acne since puberty. They are like hardened and stiff, numb to touch like acnes.

Currently, my acne is everywhere except my forehead and temple (they have their own past scars.)
My acne looks like normal acne, they always differ in size and shape, they usually start red and then create a whitehead which i pop if it is not painful.

I have mostly around my cheeks and my jawline, usually my acne develops due to touching, although i try to avoid this. A one mistakenly touch to my face in GYM? Tomorrow an acne appears in that place. I had a weekend with my EX? Acne appears where she touched my face or around my lips... Few on chest and some small ones always on my back.

Now, that Staph bacteria theory was great to hear. So you say that if i take probiotics and drink that tea i can get rid of my acne?
I am not sure about how to do my elimination diet and i am not sure if it is the root cause.

I tried cutting out diary for a year and it didn't help. I also didn't eat eggs for 2 weeks now and i sitll have acne. Maybe my issue is Gluten? I don't consume soy and corn, rarely.

About thyroid health, i took Accutane at 16 for 3 days which destroyed my sexuality. (Check out my other posts here if you wanna see more about it.) It may well sure damaged my gut too as other cases report life altering gut issues, i remember having excessive gas after quitting Tane' but that went away within a month or so. I did a TSH test and checked out other hormones, TSH was healthy, other hormones were within ideal-ish range.

I don't have any gut related symptoms. No symptoms of Dybiosis or SIBO except fatigue. But i heard that SIBO can also be silent/ symptomless. So i will make a test next week with a Dr.
The SIBO breath test and maybe i will ask him to get my gut bacteria checked. I know a post SSRI guy (It is called PSSD, google it.) who had ED and sexual issues got recovered with SIBO treatment on Reddit, his test came out positive and he had no prior gut symptoms.

Anything you want to add? And most importantly did you have gut issues to begin with? Or did you experience gut related issues? What were your symptoms?

I am trying to find Bacillus containing probiotic right now and will order the tea and will eat healthier. Grass- fed meat is currently very hard to obtain here, things are very expensive here now. I may move to U.S in next 2 years maybe then... What anti- microbials or antibiotics you can recommend btw?

Thanks.

 

[Korven]

First, thank you for your detailed reply. I love this forum, you learn things that you can't learn elsewhere.

Yes!! I have scalp acne since puberty. They are like hardened and stiff, numb to touch like acnes.

Currently, my acne is everywhere except my forehead and temple (they have their own past scars.)
My acne looks like normal acne, they always differ in size and shape, they usually start red and then create a whitehead which i pop if it is not painful.

I have mostly around my cheeks and my jawline, usually my acne develops due to touching, although i try to avoid this. A one mistakenly touch to my face in GYM? Tomorrow an acne appears in that place. I had a weekend with my EX? Acne appears where she touched my face or around my lips... Few on chest and some small ones always on my back.

Now, that Staph bacteria theory was great to hear. So you say that if i take probiotics and drink that tea i can get rid of my acne?
I am not sure about how to do my elimination diet and i am not sure if it is the root cause.

I tried cutting out diary for a year and it didn't help. I also didn't eat eggs for 2 weeks now and i sitll have acne. Maybe my issue is Gluten? I don't consume soy and corn, rarely.

About thyroid health, i took Accutane at 16 for 3 days which destroyed my sexuality. (Check out my other posts here if you wanna see more about it.) It may well sure damaged my gut too as other cases report life altering gut issues, i remember having excessive gas after quitting Tane' but that went away within a month or so. I did a TSH test and checked out other hormones, TSH was healthy, other hormones were within ideal-ish range.

I don't have any gut related symptoms. No symptoms of Dybiosis or SIBO except fatigue. But i heard that SIBO can also be silent/ symptomless. So i will make a test next week with a Dr.
The SIBO breath test and maybe i will ask him to get my gut bacteria checked. I know a post SSRI guy (It is called PSSD, google it.) who had ED and sexual issues got recovered with SIBO treatment on Reddit, his test came out positive and he had no prior gut symptoms.

Anything you want to add? And most importantly did you have gut issues to begin with? Or did you experience gut related issues? What were your symptoms?

I am trying to find Bacillus containing probiotic right now and will order the tea and will eat healthier. Grass- fed meat is currently very hard to obtain here, things are very expensive here now. I may move to U.S in next 2 years maybe then... What anti- microbials or antibiotics you can recommend btw?

Thanks.

Scalp acne, acne on cheeks and jawline (staph bacteria can move from ears to your cheeks on your pillow as you sleep), a past history of taking Accutane (I've seen people get gram negative folliculitis and/or chronic staph infections after taking the dreaded TANE) all suggest you might be dealing with Staph acne. After spending waaaaaaay too many hours researching skin issues, getting a messed up gut flora or skin flora after taking Accutane seems to be a pretty common occurrence.

Like Hans said I would cut out the gluten for 2 weeks and see if things improve. It might not be a problem but you will never know unless you try eliminating it. And take the Bacillus Subtilis probiotics plus drink at least 2 liter of the Cistus incanus tea or just plain hot water per day.

And yeah if you can get a SIBO test done that could be useful, as you say sometimes you can suffer from a stealthy/silent bacterial overgrowth. Oregano oil is a pretty good, broad-spectrum antimicrobial.

Before I used to think my gut health was "fine"... but it really wasn't. I had frequent episodes with nausea and stabbing pains around my ileocecal valve/appendix. Eating a vegan diet for 3 years, followed by more insane restrictive diets, really weakened my digestion and caused more gut issues; heartburn, bloating, alternating constipation/diarrhea, fat malabsorption, poor bile flow, feeling nauseous or poisoned.

But really my issues with acne only started after taking antibiotics. I think a dysbiotic gut flora is one of the key drivers for skin issues (explains why some can eat donuts and McDonalds and get no breakouts).

 

[kyle]

Oral vitamin A in acne vulgaris. Preliminary report - PubMed

Oral vitamin A (retinol) is generally not considered useful in the treatment of acne vulgaris. We conducted a study which showed that retinol was indeed ineffective at the usual doses of 50,000 to 100,000 IU daily. Retinol was highly efficacious in doses of 300,000 units for women and 400,000 to...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Elchupanibrain]

Scalp acne, acne on cheeks and jawline (staph bacteria can move from ears to your cheeks on your pillow as you sleep), a past history of taking Accutane (I've seen people get gram negative folliculitis and/or chronic staph infections after taking the dreaded TANE) all suggest you might be dealing with Staph acne. After spending waaaaaaay too many hours researching skin issues, getting a messed up gut flora or skin flora after taking Accutane seems to be a pretty common occurrence.

Like Hans said I would cut out the gluten for 2 weeks and see if things improve. It might not be a problem but you will never know unless you try eliminating it. And take the Bacillus Subtilis probiotics plus drink at least 2 liter of the Cistus incanus tea or just plain hot water per day.

And yeah if you can get a SIBO test done that could be useful, as you say sometimes you can suffer from a stealthy/silent bacterial overgrowth. Oregano oil is a pretty good, broad-spectrum antimicrobial.

Before I used to think my gut health was "fine"... but it really wasn't. I had frequent episodes with nausea and stabbing pains around my ileocecal valve/appendix. Eating a vegan diet for 3 years, followed by more insane restrictive diets, really weakened my digestion and caused more gut issues; heartburn, bloating, alternating constipation/diarrhea, fat malabsorption, poor bile flow, feeling nauseous or poisoned.

But really my issues with acne only started after taking antibiotics. I think a dysbiotic gut flora is one of the key drivers for skin issues (explains why some can eat donuts and McDonalds and get no breakouts).

thanks for your info about staph acne. iˋm dealing with this skin issue since my teens and still with 38 years of age and after 3 rounds of accutane

 

[Korven]

thanks for your info about staph acne. iˋm dealing with this skin issue since my teens and still with 38 years of age and after 3 rounds of accutane

I'm so sorry to hear that you've had to deal with this ***t for so long - it really is so frustrating and painful and kills your self confidence.

I don't have much more to add than what I've already posted. As you have probably realized, trying to kill the Staph bacteria with antibiotics, accutane, antimicrobials, etc, only makes things worse long-term. The focus has to be on reducing inflammation, fixing your gut microbiome and making your body really healthy (creating an inhospitable environment for Staph bacteria).

Doing an elimination diet is super important to pinpoint offending foods. Dairy in particular seems to be the worst for flaring up this condition, possibly because milk contains Staph bacteria. Drinking raw milk was a disaster for me, never touching that stuff again!

Oh and also, I forgot to write about the connection to demodex mites. Demodex mites live on your face and carry around bacteria, including s. aureus. If you haven't tried it already, taking an antiparasitic like ivermectin and/or Soolantra (topical ivermectin) could be worth a try.

 

[Elchupanibrain]

thanks Korven

i live in switzerland, so almost all pharmaceutical staff is nearly impossible to get even the cistus tea

could you explain why you recommend hot water?

 

[DaveFoster]

Try granular activated charcoal for about a week and message me how it goes. A few tablespoons in water away from meals.

 

[Dr. B]

Scalp acne, acne on cheeks and jawline (staph bacteria can move from ears to your cheeks on your pillow as you sleep), a past history of taking Accutane (I've seen people get gram negative folliculitis and/or chronic staph infections after taking the dreaded TANE) all suggest you might be dealing with Staph acne. After spending waaaaaaay too many hours researching skin issues, getting a messed up gut flora or skin flora after taking Accutane seems to be a pretty common occurrence.

Like Hans said I would cut out the gluten for 2 weeks and see if things improve. It might not be a problem but you will never know unless you try eliminating it. And take the Bacillus Subtilis probiotics plus drink at least 2 liter of the Cistus incanus tea or just plain hot water per day.

And yeah if you can get a SIBO test done that could be useful, as you say sometimes you can suffer from a stealthy/silent bacterial overgrowth. Oregano oil is a pretty good, broad-spectrum antimicrobial.

Before I used to think my gut health was "fine"... but it really wasn't. I had frequent episodes with nausea and stabbing pains around my ileocecal valve/appendix. Eating a vegan diet for 3 years, followed by more insane restrictive diets, really weakened my digestion and caused more gut issues; heartburn, bloating, alternating constipation/diarrhea, fat malabsorption, poor bile flow, feeling nauseous or poisoned.

But really my issues with acne only started after taking antibiotics. I think a dysbiotic gut flora is one of the key drivers for skin issues (explains why some can eat donuts and McDonalds and get no breakouts).

certain supplements seem to exacerbate acne especially if they cause constipation. taurine seems to worsen it, some of the b vitamisn in high doses like biotin, b12 also do. whereas b6 seems to help it.

either policosanol or thiamine hcl significantly improved my skin texture. i didnt have much acne before, but i had some on the upper shoulders/rear shoulders and face, and some scars on those areas and on the face. normally all the choline supplements and creatine also significantly can impact acne. choline bitartrate, alpha gpc, biotin, etc. i dropped the thiamine, still using policosanol so will see if that's what is doing it.

you got acne after antibiotics? doctors often prescribe antibiotics for acne! i got weight gain from using doxycycline a doc prescribed for acne. i think it was 100mg. probably messed with my development in other ways too. it was during critical years of 17 to 18... put on about 55 pounds in a year from them.

 

[Peachy]

-1-2 oysters daily
-Raw carrot daily
-Liver
-If drinking milk I think low-fat is worse for acne
-You could also experiment with dandelion root tea. This can make breakouts a little worse for a week or two, then better.

Gently exfoliating skin with a facial brush helps. For an acne cleanser I like Boscia clear complexion cleanser. I know some of the ingredients aren’t great but I like that its active ingredient is willow bark and it doesn’t strip skin like others. It’s half off right now on Amazon.

Amazon product ASIN B07PPNMW27View: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PPNMW27/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5VBEXKJE8NPKY56GTGDM

 

[Madlash]

I'm not sure that there are definite dietary causes most of the time, as in "one weird trick" diet solutions. Don't do anything immoderate (when I had acne it would sometimes drive me insane and I would do harsh and counterproductive things). The usual skincare routine for mild to moderate acne involves a gentle cleanser followed by either salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide (experiment to see which helps more). On top of that I can recommend adding a bentonite clay mask to your skincare routine, once or twice a week, as well as switching to cold showers. Keep your diet on point and be patient.