Hi all With the diversity of PC'ers, I thought I would ask if anyone has experience dealing with adult acne and the scarring. Over the past 6 months, I've been cleaning up my diet and I'm guessing that with the toxins purging out of my system, a side effect has been adult acne on my lower cheeks, leaving scarring. I'm waiting for a dermatologist appointment in June and in the meantime, am interested if there are any topical treatments that people have used to hold acne at bay and/or treat the scarring (I'm currently using a face wash with salicylic acid and face cream with a low level of Retinol A - both over the counter products).
I had adult acne in my late twenties and early thirties. I had to take medication and use a topical antibiotic. Both helped. Luckily I didn’t get scarring. The body purges toxins through the liver etc not through acne! Sometimes people make the acne worse by applying too many cosmetic acne products. Adult acne Is caused by hormones, skin type, product use or stress according to my dermatologist not ‘toxins’.
Thanks Joynz. I was on medication many years ago but am not willing to take medication until all other avenues are exhausted. Absolutely agree that the body rids toxins through the liver however our body is one unit and as the body cleans itself, all systems are involved! (the word toxin was possibly slightly incorrect, but meant gunk held in the body systems). My skin is clearer after getting the diet better.
You might want to ask your GP to do a 2 hr glucose tolerance test to check for insulin resistance. This was the cause of my acne, related to the impact on hormones from excess insulin.
I've used "Duac" and "epiduo" both once a day cream, need a GP prescription. Good results. Some of the meds can have serious side effects for acne, couldn't justify them given a topical cream cleared it up.
The ‘gunk’ is not your body getting rid of toxins, it is the result of blocked oil ducts. I’m in favour of a healthy diet, but there is little actual evidence that it has a cause and effect directly on the acne. It’s more likely that stress causes acne in some people and when they are less stressed they have less acne and at the same time eat less junk food. A correlation isn’t a cause. On the other hand, if it works for you, great! I
Thanks jprops, interesting link and will keep in mind as I talk further with dr and possibly dermatologist. I'm going down the skin treatments first and see the results.
First, no bread. Finito. 3 weeks will see the result, keep going. For a medication, full strength Retin A. Will also clear up the scarring. If you do this, do it once, full on, and then stop. Stay out of the sun. But if you stop with the bread, pasta etc, you may not need to be so drastic.
Options for helping Roaccutane - this is pretty full on and only available from Dr IPL - Intense Pulse Light. Don't see just anyone - dermatologists and cosmetic Drs tend to have better machines rather than beauticians but some are ok. It can help with the scarring but will leave your face redder for a day or so after thoughhttps://www.acne.org/laser-therapy.html
I have found hat bread and dairy clog my skin. Comes back to the 'body is one system'. it was during the transition out of wheat based products that the acne was the worst. I have found creams with low levels of Retinol-A have helped slightly. Just need to tackle the scarring. The laser therapy interests me. Quite a few internet sites said that lemon juice (being a low level AHA) on the affected sites help by lightening the skin. Just need to be careful in the sun as it makes the skin more sun sensitive (along with Ret-A). Thanks for the comments, am helping my thoughts.
There is quite clear evidence for it, it's called insulin resistance, most commonly seen in women with (the cause of) PCOS. It is the interaction of high insulin levels on other hormones that can cause acne. Insulin levels are directly affected by diet (obviously). Bread and pasta (carbs) will cause insulin spikes far more than fat for instance. If you have insulin resistance, changing your diet such as wattledo suggests can have a significant affect on clearing up acne. Insulin resistance in severe acne vulgaris
