Acne

[whyhellochello]

Hey..
i have read in many threads that people use honey(does it have to be raw) as a face wash, or coconut oil, and apply aloe vera as a mosturizer..

im currently using dr. bronners liquid soap..it seems good so far.
then i use acv..is this damaging to my skin? i heard the less you use the better your skin will be?? the reason i use it is because i have acne marks left over from old acne, and i heard acv helps..
then i use olay mosturizer in the morning because it has spf..
i tried looking for something organic/natural lotion that has spf..i found nothing..what do you guys recommend?
at night i use jojoba oil. i like it so far.

any suggestions??

[zig_zag]

Yes, I suggest you use as little as possible. You will most likely find that with a raw diet high in vitamin c and other natural, live antioxidants, your skin will heal itself rather quickly!!! I cannot emphasize how little product your skin really needs, and how it actually benefits when you leave it alone...
I use Dr. Bronner's as well, and love it. I still use a generic brand for my lotion "CETAPHIL", as it is the only thing I've found thus far that has worked for me and my skin is so sensitive that any new product can very easily cause me to break out, so I don't even bother looking for an alternative... I don't think regular SPF, though, sorry... Personally I don't find SPF to be very necessary, but then I live in New York City and only get scorching sun 3 months a year, so...
I'm surprised JoJoba oil isn't clogging your skin... You're lucky there!
Honestly, I think that with a good diet high in enzymes, phytochemicals, and naturally occuring antioxidants, in addition to regular exercise, low stress and sleep.... Your skin will only reward you, as long as you aren't smothering it with the wrong, abrasive products;)

[Clare]

All of the mineral makeups are about SPF 15 (at least mine is) and it's a physical (chemical-free) block. You don't want to use chemical sunscreens - they only block some of the UV's anyway and not the dangerous ones so that your poor skin can't even tan in defense...

My acne has been helped both by raw and my dermatologist :-) I love CeraVe cleanser and moisturizer which he recommended to me (at Walgreens, Rite Aid). I like that the moisturizer is based on caprylic acid, which is present in coconut oil but coconut oil made me react even when I gave it two months. I am also using Retin-A .04% at night and 5% benzoyl peroxide in the morning. The dermatologist also believes B vitamins are important for reducing inflammation. This program is totally transforming my skin. (sigh) I wish that ACV, oatmeal, or coconut oil could have done it for me. I sure tried...

[RawLoveBaby]

I've had skin problems since I was a teenager and some pretty awful acne and rashes on the face as an adult. Most of it cleared up from doing a 3 week intense cleansing/raw food regime at the Optimum Health Institute. This included, raw food, juice feasting, lots of wheatgrass, and colonics. Now, I am about 80% raw. The 20% is rice, fish, other cooked items, but nothing is processed or contains gluten, or dairy. My skin breaks out a little but is still lots better. I like my lifestyle now and wish my skin were as clear as it seemed to be getting on the strict cleanse, but that strict regime would be too much for me to happily abide by at home.

I agree with using as little as possible. I used to use so many harsh products. They seemed to make everything worse. They certainly didn't help. Also, no picking or touching. I noticed this makes it worse too. Currently, I use Burts Bees cream cleanser, An msm lotion from David Wolfe's website as for moisturizer or olive oil. I love the olive oil. I don't use SPF much. But I have mineral makeup that contains it that I use once in awhile.

[samariah]

my acne is largely due to hormonal imbalance and out of wack blood sugar. so to keep it in check i:
eat as raw as possible
the more greens the better
take fenugreek and saw palmetto
take a zinc supplement
get plenty of vitamin c
exercise often
plenty of water
dr. bronners soap is great :)
i also take used green tea bags and apply them to my face as well as drink plenty of green tea.
too much acv irritates and worsens my skin so i use it very occasionally.

[NoniPixie]

i agree. . the less stuff i use, organic/raw or not, the better my face is. it's like it knows when i'm paying too much attention to it!

i don't know how open you are to urine therapies... i haven't seen any threads on here so far with them... but they work amazingly with my skin.

also... manuka honey is the most amazing remedy i've ever put on my face. and yes i can tell a huge difference between the different honeys. i get the manuka honey from david wolfes or raw gurus site. it's really expensive for honey, but since i use it topically and you don't need much it lasts a long time. i highly recommend this honey. it's had the best effects ever on my face and i can tell immediately.

[Arky]

For those who currently have an acne problem, a potent probiotic may help your symptoms (in relation to this, it's actually quite interesting reading the customer reviews for some of the probiotics on iHerb.com's site).

Systemic (serapeptase etc.) enzymes can be remarkably effective for scarring, as I've experienced myself, firsthand. I use Vitalzym.

There have already been some great suggestions in this thread, from several people, and I wholeheartedly agree with samariah's recommendation to go heavy on the greens in your diet. While this may not reduce existing scarring, it certainly provides the body with an enormous array of nutrients (see Victoria Boutenko's discussion on greens and nutrients in her book 'Green For Life') and definitely improves skin health and may have a beneficial effect on the appearance of scars, even if not actually helping to remove them. Also, some almonds and a little avocado in the diet will be helpful because of the high levels of vitamin E.


When I used to suffer from acne, in my teens, I was prescribed Retin-A and benzoyl peroxide, as Clair has mentioned, too, and I must admit that although I wasn't keen to use it, it did make a positive difference.


J.

[Clare]

Wow, Arky (J.), your scars were reduced by enzymes? I need those :-) I am taking notes and have to check iherb. I have been using what I think is a good probiotic from them for a couple years, plus homemade kraut and kombucha but unfortunately still needed the extra help...I still have some moderate texture scars on my cheeks from the cystic acne I had in college when I was totally unhealthy...If it weren't for the scars my face would look completely normal now.

[whyhellochello]

samariah - what is fenugreek and saw palmetto?? and how do they help acne??

nonipixie- manuka honey..im deffinitly going to check into that...ive heard from a lot of people on here tha they use honey as a face wash.. im not sure how you do taht..but lol..hopefully ill figure it out.

Arky- ive heard of taking probiotic but never actually have done it..you motivated me to actually go buy some..im going to see if my health food store carries the brand you use ! :)))

thanks!

[Arky]

Just to clarify - iHerb is a retailer of other manufacturer's products. I only mentioned them because they have online reviews and offer an enormous choice. Even though I live in the UK, I still order from them, from time to time. They're a superb company to do business with.


Re' the effect of systemic enzyme supplementation on scarring, I suggest you check out a man by the name of Dr. Wong - just Google him. I posted at length about this, a couple of years ago, but I can't find the post in the archives, so perhaps that one's been deleted as well... :rolleyes:

Please let me emphasise that I am not talking about standard digestive enzymes (although these may, by lightening the load on the pancreas, free up the body's own systemic enzyme manufacturing capabilities). What I am specifically referring to is systemic proteolytic enzymes. You must look for these on any enzyme capsules if you are hoping to achieve improvement in scar tissue. This will mean paying a premium in comparison to digestion-only enzyme supplements. Vitalzym is considered one of the best and although they're not cheap, they have worked for me.

Notwithstanding the above caveats, some individuals have reported positive benefits from the topical application of mashed-up papaya skin pulp (the greener / less ripe, the better) and pineapple juice (particularly from the stem of the pineapple, which is higher in enzymes than the main fruit flesh). Applying these to the skin on a regular and consistent basis may yield postive results but I cannot personally attest to this, since it is not something I have (yet!) tried.

Lastly, make sure to include living, sprouted foods in your diet. They help the body to repair itself, in a myriad of ways.

J.