Help! Still having breakouts! [Archive]

View Full Version : Help! Still having breakouts!

tani

07-18-2006, 05:14 AM

I am raw for 4 months now. But I must say that I am not sutisfied. I am stil having brakeouts on my face. I thought my skin will clear up by now. Before I started 100 % raw, I was 80% raw for about a year and a half, and a vegetarian for 5 years.

I dont now what to do. Does anybody have similar experience and can tell me how long does it take to clear up your skin. I was told that it takes about 2 or 3 months, but in my case it isnt so, so I am a litlle desperade and I dont now if I should even continue to eat raw, because situation on my face is geting worst :( .

DavidZaneMason

07-18-2006, 05:54 AM

Opinion:

-Eating raw is not a cure-all. Doing joyful and passionate things.....and the things that YOU think are right.......IS a cure all. Concentrate on your PROCESSES - and not the outcomes.

-If YOU think raw food is the best food you can eat....then what more CAN you do.....except eat the best food that you know?

-For some (including me........who punished my body for many years) it may take YEARS to fully experience the full benefits of eating well and living joyfully. It is a new skill to learn.

-I pray that you persevere in what you know is right (whatever that is)......regardless of the outcome.

-David Mason

sport

07-18-2006, 08:02 AM

Your body sets the priority and decides what it wants to heal first.
Be aware that your body may be currently healing a much bigger problem (and maybe a life treatening one) and is not worried about your skin. When it has finished healing the more important items it will get around to the others.
Do not cut the healing process off in mid stream. Keep it up and it will get there.

chilove

07-18-2006, 10:36 AM

I agree with what David and Sport said. Be patient, be proud of yourself for the wonderful accomplishment of staying raw for four months, focus on the positive changes that you have noticed. Remind yourself of all the other reasons you'd like to be raw. Trust that your body know what it is doing and will heal itself according to it's most important priorities.

Take care,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

asil

07-18-2006, 10:39 AM

I agree with what others have said about your body having its own priorities. But also, in the meanwhile, you can help your skins detox along with some natural treatments. Try avoiding all chemicals and soaps on your skin, washing often with plain water, dry-brushing, and being very gentle. I also copied below something I wrote for another site. I found this process very useful for clearing up skin. Hope your skin improves soon!

Baby Soft Coconut Facial
Lots of people think they have combination skin -- rough and dry on cheeks, chin or forehead accompanied by an oily nose ( sometimes parts of the forehead or chin are also oily) and enlarged or clogged pores. This type of skin is very often perfectly normal skin that's been irritated by soap and other harsh commercial products. One effective, gentle and simple treatment is a coconut oil facial.

It's most effective to do this in conjunction with an epsom salts soak. Fill the tub with hot water and a high proportion of epsom salts, turn off bathroom exhaust fans so that the room will become steamy. Once in the tub, wet your face with a bit of the epsom salt water, then coat it thickly with virgin coconut oil. Stay in the tub as long as is comfy -- I love how relaxing it is and use this time to exfoliate my whole body with a washcloth, read, listen to music, or just daydream. While you soak, drink lots of water to balance the water lost during the bath. Two or three times during the soak, use a clean washcloth to gently massage away the coconut oil on your face. Then re-apply.

After your bath, use your washcloth, dunked in the hot epsom salts water, to gently press around any areas of enlarged or clogged pores. You'll be pushing out stuff that's been accumulating in those pores. You'll be surprised how much gunk can acuumulate in pores and how something so soothing and simple can remove dead skin and calm irritation. Your skin will be pretty, glowing and pink (that pink will calm down really quickly, unlike the pink one gets from chemical treatments.)

Follow up by *skipping* soap and commerical skin products. If skin feels oily during the day, just wash with plain water and dry with a clean cloth. In a week or so, skin will have normalized to an amazing degree.

You can do this treatement several times a week until skin heals, then go to once a month or less after skin has healed.

jujube

07-18-2006, 12:17 PM

There are certain raw foods that make me break out - coconut, nuts, and avocados, mostly. I can eat small amounts of them a couple times per week and be OK, but more than that and I get acne breakouts.

For the longest time I thought it was just detox too, until I started food journaling - writing what I was eating each day and how my skin was doing. I noticed that the day after eating the above foods, my skin would be oily and I broke out. To a lesser extent, high glycemic foods (dried fruit, bananas, etc.) mess up my skin too.

At 4 months, your breakouts could still be detox, but you might want to try looking for connections between certain foods and when you break out. You might have certain "trigger" foods like I do. Do you eat a lot of fat? Maybe your liver is having trouble dealing with it. Do you eat a lot of dried fruit? Insulin spikes can cause more sebum production, which results in acne. Take a close look at what you eat and look for patterns between foods and breakouts.

Good luck :)

NuttyRawMom

07-18-2006, 12:53 PM

I agree with Jujube. Higher fat diets tend to result in oily skin in many people. Before I went raw, I went low fat vegan following Dr. John McDougall's plan. I noticed an immediate change in skin breakouts. On raw, I have been indulging in quite a lot of higher fat comfort type foods to keep me raw and this last week (today is day 30 for me) I feel as though my face is so oily and shiny. I haven't noticed any breakouts, actually, it has cleared up nicely, it is just so oily! I am in no way endorsing the cooked vegan, but I am trying to make a connection between the higher fat vs. lower fat intake. This week I am planning to try to cut back on the fat level in my raw diet to see if my face clears up. Maybe it could help you.

JohnD

07-20-2006, 09:25 AM

Hello!

I think you should definitly continue to eat raw and your face will eventualy clear up. It is hard to say how long it will take, because every body needs its own time. But the results will come, you´ll see!

Soon your story will be another one among many succeful stories from people who went raw

I hope someone else who had similar problems can help you with some informations on how long aproximately does it takes to clear up acne. I am sure there are people on this forum who had such problems

Transition/detoxification time is hard, but don´t give up! :)

Halo Aglow

07-20-2006, 09:58 AM

Have you tried juicing carrots to help your skin and liver? I break out easily but whenever I make sure I juice those carrots on a steady basis my skin is so clear and smooth. Also if I just eat a lot of carrot cake too! :D Any foods that are high in beta-carotene might do you well so foods that are yellow-orange. I've been meaning to buy myself more apricots, haven't had them in awhile.

Wheatgrass will help also.

Ohhh, do you like mangos? :D

Davylp25

07-21-2006, 02:19 AM

How do you handle your emotions? Anger especially?

Lucinda

07-21-2006, 02:28 AM

I think that you should start by being grateful for the skin that you do have. There are people with far worse skin conditions! Just think about how lucky you are!

Then visualize your skin as being more beautiful and clear!

In life you generally get more of what you focus on. So focus on the positive, and not the negative.

:)

sport

07-21-2006, 07:25 AM