How I Lived and Treated Severe Acne and Remained Fabulous
Firstly a wee disclaimer.
I am not a doctor or skin specialist and you MUST go to your doctor before you try any of the remedies that I tried.
Secondly this is my experience of conventional acne treatment and natural remedies.
Before trying any natural remedies ALWAYS consult your doctor first.
OK, back to the good stuff! The beginning of my skin problems started when I was 12 and it appeared firstly on my cheeks before spreading over the rest of my face, down my neck, chest and back.
I did what everyone does and washed obsessively, which had no affects what-so-ever.
My mum took me to the doctors, where I was prescribed antibiotics, which would work for about 6 months before the spots would return then I be prescribed a different variety of antibiotics.
Repeat for 4 years.
In addition to the antibiotic I would be prescribed a gel that would 'peel' the infected skin away, which worked but would leave bright red inflamed skin in its place, hardly worth it! I turned 16 and I was prescribed the Pill, one of the variants that improve the skin, and that cleared up my skin very well, but it made my periods excruciating and I would rather have the acne instead.
So I went back on to antibiotics until I was 18 when I started to have adverse reaction to the antibiotics and I had to come off it.
Now, I had been working at a health store for about a year, being trained on all the different remedies and their different applications when I decided to try out remedies to clear my skin.
I tried the following: - Herbal Tincture of Calendula Complex to clear my lymphatic system of toxins, - Herbal Tincture Milk Thistle Complex to cleanse my liver of toxins and support it.
- After the liver, the skin is the bodies next largest excretory organ, and if your liver is not doing a great job getting rid - Filtering out all the toxins, your body will flush it out through your skin instead, resulting in spots.
- Selenium and Zinc tablets to be taken after meals.
(200ug of Selenium and 15mg of Zinc) The Selenium would recycle anti-oxidants and prevent free radical damage, while the Zinc helps to heal the soft tissues such as the skin.
- Aloe Vera Topical Gel to soothe my very sore skin and take away the redness.
The herbs flushed out all the toxins, resulting in several pretty bad outbreaks of spots but after each outbreak my skin looked a little better and because of the selenium and zinc the outbreaks healed up much faster.
Most importantly they did not irritate my stomach like the antibiotics did.
After 4 months I discontinued with the Calendula, as I had not seen any more improvements with no spot recurrence and at the same time I tried to stop taking the Milk Thistle however spots returned quite quickly so I kept taking it for years.
Practical information for Acne Suffers: If the natural remedies are not your thing, for whatever reason here are my tips for minimising the impact of acne on your life.
Do not apply perfume direct to your skin, only to your clothes.
Do not use fabric softener.
Wash & condition your hair before you wash your body, any shampoo/conditioner residue will cause spots.
ALWAYS take your make-up off, ideally as soon as you get home.
Use cleanser, an alcohol free toner and an oil-free moisturiser.
Use a make-up primer, ideally silicone based.
The primer creates an even layer on your skin so that when you apply your foundation it will not pit or highlight scars or budding spots.
Use a mineral foundation.
Invest in a spot treatment for stubborn spots.
You only need a tiny amount and it really does what it says, I found it too be particularly good for those unbelievably painful blind spots that seem to last an eternity.
It takes out the redness without irritating your skin.
Do not use a body moisturiser.
Personally I always breakout if I use anything like that, if you need to moisturise I recommend using baby oil after the shower.
Do not use sponges or brushes to apply your foundation.
Your fingers are washed way more often than the sponges.
Do not pick at black-heads or blind spots.
You will scar, as I did.
Highlight another feature.
My logic at the time was to distract peoples eyes away from my skin to my eyes, so I have always worn brightly coloured eye shadow, and it is nice to look in the mirror and see a part of yourself that looks pretty & sparkly.
And lastly, try to have confidence.
I know exactly how hard it is when you have acne to feel good about yourself, but do not let these spots upset you, you are wonderful and it is horribly true that the acne will get better as you get older.
I am not a doctor or skin specialist and you MUST go to your doctor before you try any of the remedies that I tried.
Secondly this is my experience of conventional acne treatment and natural remedies.
Before trying any natural remedies ALWAYS consult your doctor first.
OK, back to the good stuff! The beginning of my skin problems started when I was 12 and it appeared firstly on my cheeks before spreading over the rest of my face, down my neck, chest and back.
I did what everyone does and washed obsessively, which had no affects what-so-ever.
My mum took me to the doctors, where I was prescribed antibiotics, which would work for about 6 months before the spots would return then I be prescribed a different variety of antibiotics.
Repeat for 4 years.
In addition to the antibiotic I would be prescribed a gel that would 'peel' the infected skin away, which worked but would leave bright red inflamed skin in its place, hardly worth it! I turned 16 and I was prescribed the Pill, one of the variants that improve the skin, and that cleared up my skin very well, but it made my periods excruciating and I would rather have the acne instead.
So I went back on to antibiotics until I was 18 when I started to have adverse reaction to the antibiotics and I had to come off it.
Now, I had been working at a health store for about a year, being trained on all the different remedies and their different applications when I decided to try out remedies to clear my skin.
I tried the following: - Herbal Tincture of Calendula Complex to clear my lymphatic system of toxins, - Herbal Tincture Milk Thistle Complex to cleanse my liver of toxins and support it.
- After the liver, the skin is the bodies next largest excretory organ, and if your liver is not doing a great job getting rid - Filtering out all the toxins, your body will flush it out through your skin instead, resulting in spots.
- Selenium and Zinc tablets to be taken after meals.
(200ug of Selenium and 15mg of Zinc) The Selenium would recycle anti-oxidants and prevent free radical damage, while the Zinc helps to heal the soft tissues such as the skin.
- Aloe Vera Topical Gel to soothe my very sore skin and take away the redness.
The herbs flushed out all the toxins, resulting in several pretty bad outbreaks of spots but after each outbreak my skin looked a little better and because of the selenium and zinc the outbreaks healed up much faster.
Most importantly they did not irritate my stomach like the antibiotics did.
After 4 months I discontinued with the Calendula, as I had not seen any more improvements with no spot recurrence and at the same time I tried to stop taking the Milk Thistle however spots returned quite quickly so I kept taking it for years.
Practical information for Acne Suffers: If the natural remedies are not your thing, for whatever reason here are my tips for minimising the impact of acne on your life.
Do not apply perfume direct to your skin, only to your clothes.
Do not use fabric softener.
Wash & condition your hair before you wash your body, any shampoo/conditioner residue will cause spots.
ALWAYS take your make-up off, ideally as soon as you get home.
Use cleanser, an alcohol free toner and an oil-free moisturiser.
Use a make-up primer, ideally silicone based.
The primer creates an even layer on your skin so that when you apply your foundation it will not pit or highlight scars or budding spots.
Use a mineral foundation.
Invest in a spot treatment for stubborn spots.
You only need a tiny amount and it really does what it says, I found it too be particularly good for those unbelievably painful blind spots that seem to last an eternity.
It takes out the redness without irritating your skin.
Do not use a body moisturiser.
Personally I always breakout if I use anything like that, if you need to moisturise I recommend using baby oil after the shower.
Do not use sponges or brushes to apply your foundation.
Your fingers are washed way more often than the sponges.
Do not pick at black-heads or blind spots.
You will scar, as I did.
Highlight another feature.
My logic at the time was to distract peoples eyes away from my skin to my eyes, so I have always worn brightly coloured eye shadow, and it is nice to look in the mirror and see a part of yourself that looks pretty & sparkly.
And lastly, try to have confidence.
I know exactly how hard it is when you have acne to feel good about yourself, but do not let these spots upset you, you are wonderful and it is horribly true that the acne will get better as you get older.
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