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Acne after 6 months raw

Hi Everyone - please help!!

I've had fairly clear skin my entire life with the exception of eczema here and there. I had a few breakouts when I was in high school and college so I started using Proactiv. Since then, no major problems. I would LOVE to get off of the proactiv and had switched to an all natural oatmeal soap via the advice of a homeopathic doc but that made things worse. Right now I am using Dessert Essence face wash and a little Proactiv benzoyl peroxide. I would like to give that up because of all the nasty, scary ingredients in it, but it seems to be helping a little bit. I should also note that I have tried not washing my face at all and then washing it only with water just to let my skin replenish and distribute its own oil accordingly. I live in a tropical climate and do Bikram yoga regularly so I am sweating a lot and shower twice a day (limited use of soap so as to not dry out the rest of my skin).

Fortunately, eating raw has completely gotten rid of my eczema. Unfortunately, I am now getting major, painful acne all over my face. I have it on my forehead, nose, chin, cheeks and jawline. It is painful to the touch. After 2 months of this and trying every natural method out there, I caved and went to a dermatologist. She prescribed prednisone and two antibiotics. One of them is topical and the other is oral. I tried the topical for two days and it seemed to making things worse so I stopped with it. I am still taking the oral antibiotic and the prednisone. I am really not liking taking either and have spent so much time on the internet searching for ways to get rid of whatever I have.

I used to have glowing skin and received compliments on my complexion all the time. When I first started eating raw my skin got even more luminous and it was such a great conversation starter for people who were interested in my diet. But now people are starting to wonder if I have some serious health concerns because of the shape my skin is in.

I am so confused and I feel that I have exhausted my search of what to do next. If there is anyone out there with a similar situation or advice for me, I would truly appreciate the help.

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Comments

  • zinfandelzinfandel Raw Newbie

    What does your diet look like? Lots of greens I think help speed up detoxing. (like energy soup). I think grains and nuts/seeds aren't great for the skin. Maybe cutting out fats. Are you consuming anything unnatural?

    Keep your chin up and you'll be great in the long run. I'm really sorry!

  • miss soufflemiss souffle Raw Newbie

    mm yes.. what food are you eating :-) and for how long?

    and how long has this been going on for?

    my sister usually doesn't eat the healthiest and said that when she does start eating pretty healthy her skin gets pimples LOL so i think its a detox sign, gets worse before it gets beter bla bla...

    i had gay as skin in high school and took roactutane which is just high amounts of vitamin A and worked super well!

  • Hi RawMermaid,

    What foods are you consuming?

    This can be a huge key...

    If you can post what a general few days of food looks like (or a week)

    maybe there are some clues within that will

    be clear.

    xo

    Rona

  • Thank you to everyone for the questions and support!!

    I consume a TON of greens - green smoothie everyday with either spinach or kale and bananas and apples, big salad everyday with flax oil, hemp seeds, sprouts, cabbage, kale, spinach, romaine, whatever organic greens are on sale at the store. I've been juicing cucumbers, carrots and beets every morning for breakfast. Occasionally I'll eat banana ice cream for dessert, or make raw macaroons when I've got a sweet tooth. I eat raw almonds for snacks and just tons and tons of vegetables.

    My diet is fairly simple and my body feels great (tons of energy) eating this way. The only thing is my skin doesn't show it.

    Any advice?

    THANK YOU!!!!

  • Raw Mermaid-

    A very similar thing happened to me. However, I'm not 100% raw by any means. I consume natural foods, vegetables, nothing from animals, no dairies, sugars, flour, etc... My skin was a lot nicer before I turned "healthy." I've noticed a lot of changes in my skin, and for the worst. Partially because I haven't been completely consistent with my skin and health regime. What I noticed made my skin worst was not completely changing my products over. I was using products with harsh ingredients and they scarred my skin because of the chemicals. One thing I can tell is that juicing leafy greens is soo beneficial, ie: dandelions are excellent. I know my skin problems come from my body detoxifying. I was much heavier and therefore had a lot of saturation in my body which is now coming through my skin. It's important to stay away from sweets. Detoxify the liver because the liver is connected to the skin. Generally if you have skin eruptions that means your blood in intoxicated. Which is something I found I had. It sounds like you eat healthy, so keep at it! I would start juicing just greens, very little bit of fruits if you need, and juice large quantities of your bitters. Red Cabbage juice is also really good for your liver, intestine, skin, etc. It sounds like you may be consuming to many sugars from fruits, I would be careful. You probably need more bitters less sweets. You have to work with the inside and the outside. You could also be experiencing hormone dis balance, which causes adult acne in women. So I can't say for sure that one thing will work, but you must definitely keep detoxifying. Some teas that are generally good for women with acne are burdock root, milk thistle, and dong quai. Check out the book http://thegreenbeautyguide.com/. She recommends putting onion and garlic externally for acne. I know how you feel, I've been going through the same thing. My skins better now, unfortunately I have to live with some scarring, but I know my body was a toxic mess and my skin was just filtering it out. All the best.

  • internettouristinternettourist Raw Newbie

    I too started having acne after starting raw. After much thought, I don't think it was the detoxing. I have tried many things. And after more than a year of acne and now no acne, here is my recommendations.

    * Do not consume large volumes of nuts daily to up the calorie or omega 3 intake. Consume it here or there, but not in noteable quantities daily. People who consume nuts have mold in their blood. Nut consumption is only natural if you are a squirrel.

    * Do not consume almond milk; substitute in more fruit for nuts and almond milk removal.

    * Do not consume tomatoes or other night shade plants.

    * No milk or dairy of course

    My favorite new thing

    * Consume two Oil of Oregano (Solaray for me) pills--one after breakfast, one after dinner a day

    Consumed in addition to the 2 tablespoons of EV coconut oil I consume daily at the same times--break and din

    Like I said, I have no break outs now; and I was very embarrassed before. Peace out child!

  • "People who consume nuts have mold in their blood. Nut consumption is only natural if you are a squirrel."

    tell me more.... i've heard people saw nuts are not digestible, but I thought that was because people didn't chew the nut's till they became oily buttery goo in their mouth. why not almond milk? what about nut butter?

    and how do you get mold in your blood?

  • Thank you internettourist and dandeliongirl!

    I'm going to go easy on the fruit (ie - sugars) and try those herbal suggestions. Juicing greens is a great suggestion too. I think it really might be some sort of hormonal imbalance. Thank you so much for all the advice!!

    Internettourist - is the oil of oregano helping your acne? How long did it take for you to see results?

    Much love to all of you for your kind words!!

  • internettouristinternettourist Raw Newbie

    I'm one who eats a lot of fruit. To not eat nuts, one ends up eating a lot of fruit.

    I saw the acne finally go away when I stopped consuming tomatoes. Tomatoes are a night shade plant. Eating bananas (increasing consumption) helps detoxification also. I guess they say what your liver cannot handles ends up showing up on your skin. The bananas will help.

    I saw a noticeable improvement in the acne when I stopped eating nuts and drinking almond milk. There were no more chin clusters after that. I felt much better.

    The acne was gone before I started oil of oregano. I was looking for something to deworm my neighbor's black lab who I have been walking. I already have a zoo of my own. So I didn't want to pay more for Heart Guard. Plus you have to do a test before starting Heart Guard. I came upon oil of oregano. It's used for livestock. But a lot of people use it. It's suppose to be the cure all for infections, yeast problems, respiratory, digestive and skin issues. Well the lab was in pitiful shape when I started walking him, not because the people weren't feeding him. His coat was dull. Flies flew around his ears and head the whole 2 mile walking trip each day. Within one day of starting the pills, flies stopped flying around his head. Now his coat is very shiny. And he looks like a 5 year old dog. He's 14 years old.

    After seeing how great he looked, I started taking it myself, one pill after breakfast and one pill after dinner. I noticed immediately that the inflammation that has always been around one of my toes that I had broken three years back went away. A month later, all my toes look nice. The rest of me looks like it is being dewormed also. Excess fluids are going away.

    I take pills and noticed no taste or stomach upset. The only negative is that it does make you smell a little bit after a long day, but nothing like how meat eaters smell. Before taking the oil of oregano, I had zero B O on my mostly raw diet. Just wear deoderant and you won't smell a thing.

    I have read that oil of oregano will clear acne. A bottle of Solaray 60 pills is $7.88. For me that would be a one month supply. They say to make sure you are getting the real oil of oregano. There are some companies apparently packaging a different type of oregano oil.

  • internettouristinternettourist Raw Newbie

    "How do they get mold in their blood?" by Dandelion girl

    It's a fact I have seen on medical shows on t.v. I have not come across why. Other t.v. shows will say to eat nuts every day because nut eating people live longer.

    I don't like breakouts. I believe people could be living longer because people who consume nuts might also consume a lot of vegetables and fruits.

    Mold? I don't know if the nuts come with mold or they encourage growth of existing mold in your body.

  • RAWBLADERAWBLADE Raw Newbie

    I RECOMEND:

    stop taking any pills! it is detox!

  • I know this is going to sound very left-field but have you tried just not washing at all? The reason I'm asking is that for me, all my acne (and I've had it really bad most of my life) went away when I changed my diet and just stopped washing my face completely (this excludes rubbing water on it). I was a little in disbelief that lack of washing was actually the solution (and thought maybe it was just my diet that was helping) so I did a little experiment and went back to washing my face again. Surprisingly enough, my face started breaking out the very next day! I think it's just the fact that all the natural oils are getting stripped from the skin, and I didn't realize just how vital a role they played until then.

    I realize that this could be something that works for very few people who have suffered from chronic acne, but it's worth a shot maybe if you are up to trying it. I'm just happy to finally have clear skin, not to mention saving myself a fair bit of money by not having to buy facial cleansers anymore!

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    if it is detox a colonic might help. also, perhaps you are allergic to something. my husband gets bad acne from garlic. a raw diet would not cure him if he had garlic on raw. you can get tested for these things.

  • leahcelesteleahceleste Raw Newbie

    I too have had acne on and off eating raw. I don't know what the answer is but it is your body's way of making you think about things!:)

    I think drinking green juices have helped me and being careful about my sugar intake. I guess I have not thought about nuts being the problem.

    I tried a remedy that was posted by a member here though I cannot remember who and I am sorry that I can't credit you! It has been working and it's cheap.

    After you wash your face or rinse with water soak a cotton pad with apple cider vinegar and use on your face like a toner. Then after that make a cotton pad wet with water and put a tiny dab of tea tree oil on it and swab the problem areas of your face with that. After this I put on my moisturizers. I do this mostly each night and then use the apple cider vinegar as a toner is the morning. I think this works because I remember reading that your skin needs an acid PH as a barrier to protect itself from bacteria and whatnot. Also because who knows whats in the water we bathe in I think using a toner even if you wash your face with water is a good idea to restore this acid mantle.

    One more thing that I have tried that worked but I just have trouble sticking with it is brushing my face with a toothbrush. I had the strangest experience with this: I was doing it pretty regularly for a while and the skin on my face started to look and feel great. But then these big hard pimples started to pop up underneath my ears on my neck. It so happened that the direction I was brushing my face was toward those spots. So I truly believe that acne has to do with stagnant lymph fluid in your face on some level. I also think that is why the european style facial with lots of massage does so much good for people if they do it often enough. It's the massage that is keeping the fluids underneath the skin circulating and clean.

    Hope that helps!

  • Rawmermaid, i am very new to being raw so take my advice with a grain of salt but after reading a blog about someone who went raw they made various mentions about how occasionally eating cooked food when they initially started things to slow down detox .I am not suggesting you do that but you seem to be on a pretty hardcore raw diet Juicing TONS of greens every day. I just reckon your detoxing loads.I don't know how you can slow it down though but reckon certain greens etc.. probably increase detox.

  • Boils..

    I have read that drinking a ts of turmeric in hot water twice a day makes boils go away fast..

    I just found it on my searches aout dermatitis on earthclinic.

    Maybe that could help you .

  • CarnapCarnap Raw Newbie

    Get a headphone set for your cellphone. I just realized that's why I have so many blemishes on my cheeks...constantly. Could be stress, too. Of course, you should excercise and eat as many greens as possible. Even fat will help your skin. When I consume hemp oil my skin looks great.

  • erinerin Raw Superstar

    I know you have gotten A LOT of advice, but I figured I may as well put mine up here too, because it could be the thing that works for you since we all know there is no one cure all for everyone. I had acne before going raw and it did get worse after going raw. I found that when I ate lots of greens, limited my sugar amount, and avoided eating heavy meals, my acne got much better. I also stopped washing my face regularly. I used to use Proactiv and other over the counter cleansers with salicylic acid. They would REALLY dry my face out then a few hours later my face would be extremely oily. After a couple weeks of not washing my face on a regular basis (I was with a natural cleanser about 1x/wk) the oils balanced out and I now have no problems with oil at all. My acne is gone for the most part besides maybe a couple pimples during my time of the month, other than that, all clear. Just stick with raw and I think it will pass. I have read several things that say detox symptoms after going raw can last up to 2 years. Just stick with it, and you will get through it! Good luck!

  • In my opinion it is detox, as other already said stop taking drugs, it is in conflict with your raw diet. Most people don't realize that the raw diet facilitates detox, so it is absolutely normal that things will get worse before getting better, it is part of the detox process.

  • CarnapCarnap Raw Newbie

    PS I started washing my face with rice flour, chick pea flour, etc. it takes of the oil but does not mess with the PH of your skin.

    sometimes I apply jojoba oil then wash fifteen minutes later with the flour so my skin doesnt have oil on for too long...

  • Hey, I have a lot of experience with acne - eating both SAD and raw! My acne got a lot worse after being raw. I've found so much relief when supplementing with zinc, selenium, and a b complex (I use New Chapter brand, they are a whole foods vitamin line and are the best I've used. They've helped more than any other brand). It sounds like your diet may be lacking in those minerals and vitamins, and a deficiency in those is linked with acne.

    Also, acne along the chin can be indicative of hormonal imbalance. Have you tried seeing a naturopath to see if your hormones may be out of whack? That was a huge factor in my acne too. Doing both those things (along with a low-fat, nut free diet), have helped a lot.

    Please give them a shot... Best of luck!

  • waterbaby12347waterbaby12347 Raw Newbie

    Wow with all this wonderful advise you must now be confused... smile So let me add another idea for you to consider...

    When we use soap and other products on the market to clean and tone our faces, the oils are stripped... then our glands have to go into over-drive to replenish the much needed oil on our skin... Now if you wash your face with oil then there is no replenishing from the glands... And everything calms down and gets back to a normal situation...

    I have been using a mixture of 25% mineral oil and 75% EEVO as a bedtime cleaner... I massage it into my face and then place a hot wet wash cloth over and allow it to sit until cool, then repeat 3 more times... I put coconut oil on my lips and go to bed... In the morning I wash my face only with warm water, then massage coconut oil in before make up... I do NOT us a face makeup, only eye and lip makeup...

    I also believe you are detoxing, continue with your wonderful eating and try the oil cleaning technique... Remember mineral oil is drying so if the 25-75 mixture is too oily for you then adjust the percentage to more mineral oil, maybe 35-65... If it is too drying change to 10-90 ratio...

    Good luck, I know your situation will improve soon!!!

  • troublesjustabubbletroublesjustabubble Raw Newbie

    Be careful with oils. Even pure ones can irritate certain skin types. Coconut oil caused me to break out after I had been using it for a month or so. I don't think stripping the oils from your skin is a good idea either. I just wash my face with water in the morning and in the night and occasionally use baking soda scrub or ACV. My skin cleared up after that. I still get occasionals during my time of the month.

  • I've found the one thing that works the best for me is to drink lots and lots of green tea. I still have little spots every now and then, but for the most part my skin is very clear. I tried taking dong quai for over a month and my skin was pretty clear when I started, but started breaking into spots all over my face and even my body immediately after taking the dong quai. I kept taking it fo over a month and it did clear up somewhat, but I ended up stopping it as it just made my skin worse. I started drinking more green tea than usual and that fixed the problem.

  • CarnapCarnap Raw Newbie

    I'm starting to wonder if my mercury fillings have to do with my persistent spots on the cheeks (strangely enough, next to the darned fillings).... Anybody have similar experiences?

  • stimulants and caffeine are really bad for acne (coffee, cacao, black/green tea, etc).

    no one has mentioned this so i'm going to throw it out there (most people will probably think it's gross but be open minded), applying your urine on your acne with an organic cotton ball will tone your face and make the acne disappear. google urine therapy for acne.

    don't use any synthetic skincare products! even the "natural/organic" ones aren't natural enough. always make your own products. make a facewash out of garbanzo bean flour and dried ground up orange peels. moisturize with almond oil and a few drops lavender essential oil and try the urine therapy. besides the urine therapy, keep all other skincare routines to a minimum. let your skin do what it does naturally. don't interrupt it with constant cleansing and moisturizing.

    acne can be a sign that your digestive system is sluggish. eat a bunch of organic papaya, rejuvelac, raw sauerkraut, unsweetened coconut kefir or yogurt, (probiotics, cultures, good bacteria). stop eating when you're 80% full.

    a veggie juice fast for atleast a few days will get rid of the acne indefinitely.

    keep sugar (including sugary fruits) to a minimum. up your intake of veggies, especially greens.

    dry skin brush. only brush with natural bristles! works great to stimulate lymph glands and detoxing.

  • Adding to what internettourist said about the oil of oregano, the reason this works is because its an antifungal. And what fungus causes acne? Candida in your stomach when overgrown becomes a fungus. Candida feeds on sugar so when you eat more fruits you will notice more breakouts. Taking antibiotics and steroids are the 2 worse things you can do for this since you are killing all the good bacteria as well( the bad multiplys much faster) and weakening your immune system. The most important thing you should do now other than eating raw is take a probiotic everyday( + try a product called Threelac if you want quicker results bc it feeds on candida) and eat low fruit for a while until you notice a difference.

    Hope this is helpful!

    Megan

  • I've been raw for 6 months and i have the worst acne that i've ever had. I've been changing what "type" of raw that I am though. Meaning, I started off gourmet and then once i did my green smoothie feast for 3 days it really got bad so i'm guessing im detoxing AGAIN. i didnt even know that you could get acne on your cheekbones... i also have little bumps under my mouth on both sides of my chin that are constantly there. i wonder about the hormonal imbalance thing but i am on the pill (which doesn't make me happy but i don't menstruate without it!) anyways, tonight i am trying water only, ACV astringent and tea tree oil. i hope this works! pllleeeaaasse!

  • I've been dealing with acne post-raw for about nine months (i've been raw for 10 months). Two weeks ago I bought a juicer off craigslist for 15 dollars. I started juicing a lot of carrots and to my delight, my acne has settled down ten-fold. try juicing carrots!

  • also, I went off hormonal birth control 5 months ago and that exacerbated the acne situation. I started adding maca to my morning smoothies and that might have helped a little bit. It's supposed to balance hormones.

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