Acne Success Stories

[JKX]

Just trying to connect the dots...

You said that Doxy helped get rid of your acne and in my opinion that seems to fit with the excess iron theory. Do you disagree?

I think the reason acne is most prolific on the upper back, neck, face and head is partially due to the concentration of pores within the skin covering these regions but also it's a protective mechanism with regard to the brain. If the blood is loaded with something harmful, be it iron or something else, it makes sense to me that the skin areas located closest to the brain would try to remove it before it reaches the brain. Just a theory and I have no evidence to back this up.

Several bacteria types in the gut seem to respire using iron and I don't believe these to be the helpful types. It seems logical to me that lowering iron through lactoferrin or antibiotics would be helpful and this mirrors my experience with regards to improvements in gut health.

 

[Vinny]

Just trying to connect the dots...

You said that Doxy helped get rid of your acne and in my opinion that seems to fit with the excess iron theory. Do you disagree?

I think the reason acne is most prolific on the upper back, neck, face and head is partially due to the concentration of pores within the skin covering these regions but also it's a protective mechanism with regard to the brain. If the blood is loaded with something harmful, be it iron or something else, it makes sense to me that the skin areas located closest to the brain would try to remove it before it reaches the brain. Just a theory and I have no evidence to back this up.

Several bacteria types in the gut seem to respire using iron and I don't believe these to be the helpful types. It seems logical to me that lowering iron through lactoferrin or antibiotics would be helpful and this mirrors my experience with regards to improvements in gut health.

Ok, thanks.
Haven`t dug much into the iron theory, but it seems that avoiding iron completely is impossible in my case.

 

[redsun]

Just trying to connect the dots...

You said that Doxy helped get rid of your acne and in my opinion that seems to fit with the excess iron theory. Do you disagree?

I think the reason acne is most prolific on the upper back, neck, face and head is partially due to the concentration of pores within the skin covering these regions but also it's a protective mechanism with regard to the brain. If the blood is loaded with something harmful, be it iron or something else, it makes sense to me that the skin areas located closest to the brain would try to remove it before it reaches the brain. Just a theory and I have no evidence to back this up.

Several bacteria types in the gut seem to respire using iron and I don't believe these to be the helpful types. It seems logical to me that lowering iron through lactoferrin or antibiotics would be helpful and this mirrors my experience with regards to improvements in gut health.

Iron is not going to exacerbate acne, and your body controls iron very well, its not going to be chilling in the blood or circulation without being bound to proteins to prevent it from causing damage. The foods with the most iron also contain zinc at the least and sometimes copper which are both anti-bacterial and help against acne (zinc in particular being very good at this).

People getting acne is almost always related to bacteria and many people do not have the gut integrity nor strong immune function to deal with bacteria. Hormonal imbalance also exacerbates it.

Cysts. Juicy cysts, for years, on scalp. When worse, go down face, chest etc. No scarring though.
I`d say my skin is oily.

Sugar/carbs definitely makes it worse, so going carnivore did help for some time, to an extent that it disappeared completely. Unfortunately, it came back, despite the lack of sugar, and I`m not sure why. Perhaps, the critters adapted to the diet and hit back with vengeance. Or, they started to use sugar from gluconeogenesis. Or, unknown yet ingredient triggered it, idk.... For sure, it is very, very tricky to fix it.

I think vitamins X, Y, Z have nothing, or very little to do with it, nor hormones or supplements. It`s bacteria, IMO.
How do I know? Because a small dose of Doxycycline wiped it out for good. But it gave me also a brutal pebble poop, which discouraged me from taking an antibiotic for a very long time.

Basically, as you already probably guessed, I boil down the problem to a gut issue. Fixing the gut should solve it. I experienced it already a few times.

Its vitamins and minerals that are what help control bacteria and maintain a strong immune system. Yeh antibiotics kind of put the pressure off your own body to deal with bacteria so its no surprise it helps.

Minerals like zinc and copper play a big part in this. Zinc is vital for immune function as well as hormonal balance, detoxification. I think emphasis on lots of protein in the diet as well as lots of natural zinc, vitamin C, and good amounts of copper in the diet are big players in helping acne.

Sugar and carbs can worsen nutrient status of vitamins increasing acne or it could be the fact that carbs raise hormones and you cannot protect from the increased hormones.

 

[JKX]

Ok, thanks.
Haven`t dug much into the iron theory, but it seems that avoiding iron completely is impossible in my case.

I dont think avoiding natural heme iron is necessary. Its the sneaky fortified stuff that manufacturers seem to love which I think causes problems for some.

 

[JKX]

Iron is not going to exacerbate acne, and your body controls iron very well, its not going to be chilling in the blood or circulation without being bound to proteins to prevent it from causing damage. The foods with the most iron also contain zinc at the least and sometimes copper which are both anti-bacterial and help against acne (zinc in particular being very good at this).

People getting acne is almost always related to bacteria and many people do not have the gut integrity nor strong immune function to deal with bacteria. Hormonal imbalance also exacerbates it.

Its vitamins and minerals that are what help control bacteria and maintain a strong immune system. Yeh antibiotics kind of put the pressure of your own body to deal with bacteria so its no surprise it helps.

Minerals like zinc and copper play a big part in this. Zinc is vital for immune function as well as hormonal balance, detoxification. I think emphasis on lots of protein in the diet as well as lots of natural zinc, vitamin C, and good amounts of copper in the diet are big players in helping acne.

Sugar and carbs can worsen nutrient status of vitamins increasing acne or it could be the fact that carbs raise hormones and you cannot protect from the increased hormones.

I think zinc tends to improve acne because it increases progesterone which in turn increases ceruloplasmin. This helps regulate iron movement out of the cell. Vitamin C binds powerfully to free iron and can prevent its oxidation.

I agree that bacteria is probanly the major player in acne. However, I also believe iron from fortified foods can directly affect gut bacteria populations in a negative way, which will in turn affect gut barrier integrity increasing endotoxin.

 

[redsun]

I think zinc tends to improve acne because it increases progesterone which in turn increases ceruloplasmin. This helps regulate iron movement out of the cell. Vitamin C binds powerfully to free iron and can prevent its oxidation.

I agree that bacteria is probanly the major player in acne. However, I also believe iron from fortified foods can directly affect gut bacteria populations in a negative way, which will in turn affect gut barrier integrity increasing endotoxin.

Yes some people cannot tolerate the fortified iron in certain foods and get more acne because of it. Its probably not the best foods to eat. I do eat some though but I do not get acne from it. Its depends on the individual.

 

[Carb54]

This is something that resonates with me. Had 0 acne till age 22, and which point i got full blown cystic acne on the cheeks, neck and back which instantly caused atrophic scarring. It persisted for 2 years but was able to completely stop my acne. Currently dealing with the scarring using TCA acid spot treatment and microneedling.

The initial cause was intense stress which i believed damaged my gut. In agreement with mrchibbs that following peat principles should lead you on the right path.

The next step for each person will vary. My progression was gradual and focused on B vitamin support (nutritional yeast), easy to digest meals (white rice and meat) for a while, gluten avoidance and daily geletin. I also proactively focussed on reducing stress.

I now eat anything i want (apart from large doses of gluten) and have zero pimples.

 

[Brasica]

Hi ursidae

I had severe acne on my back for around 10 years starting age 14 which I've managed to control largely through dietary changes. You can read and see before/after pictures in the thread here:
https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/acne-update-pics.13189/

(I'm not sure how much I would attribute the success to the smoothie I recommended as I have stopped drinking that now for 3 years and my acne is still under control.)

Was your skin oily or dry?
My skin was always very oily, however I had a pretty bad break out recently in which my skin was very dry and for around 3 months I couldn't get it under control. I noticed that I was also very pale and hadn't seen a good amount of sun in 3 years so decided a course of Vitamin D (with K) supplementation might be worth a try. I took 9000 IU a day for 14 days and by the end everything had stabilised. I think vitamin/mineral deficiencies play a significant role in adult acne.


Where was your acne located on your face/body?
Back/neck

Did it leave scarring?
No

What type was it (types pictured below)?
Mainly whiteheads, pustules and cystic.

Was it scattered or in clusters?
Scattered/random generally

When did you first start breaking out and how long did you suffer from adult acne?
First started breaking out at 14 and there were more spots on my back than clear skin for 10 years. I'm still dealing with adult acne but am managing it effectively through diet. As a post earlier mentioned, If I purposely ate foods that I know would break me out I'd be back to square one within a month.

What were the dietary triggers and how did you manage to resolve it?
Main dietary triggers for me are processed foods, complex carbs, refined sugar, milk/yoghurt, tinned fish. Also any foods which cause bloating and slow my digestion.

Regular simple meals and generally following the principles on this site helped me a lot, coupled with experimentation and observation along the way. Milk and yoghurt for some reason always break me out (although the only milk I have tried have been from a variety of supermarket brands). Cheese on the other hand seems to have no effect at all on my acne, so I eat cheese as my main protein source. Butter and cream also seem to have no effect on acne. Ice cream seems to increase my acne slightly. White rice and white potatoes are both stable meal bases which allow me to eat lots of calories.

Of course, all the classic methods help too - sun exposure(big help for me), staying clean, changing clothes regularly, not touching skin, moving your body, lowering stress etc.

Do you still get blackheads?
Yes, I don't think I will ever stop getting blackheads on my face!


To parrot others above, I try not to think of Peat as giving concrete food recommendations but more as an ongoing experiment. If I ate all the 'Peaty' foods recommended I would still have bad acne - I avoid milk and minimise refined sugar but still regard mine as a Peat approach. The examples of foods I eat/avoid that I listed above were just to show that 'Peating' isn't a one-size-fits-all and that it is about applying the principles of perception and experimentation to reach your desired outcome. Good luck!

 

[Korven]

I've probably spent 100 + hours researching adult acne and how to get rid of it. I don't believe there are any clear cut answers on how to fix this.

Sure - eat a good diet and include some liver weekly, get your zinc, copper, vitamin A and so on, and do make your vitamin D is around 50 ng/mL (important for antimicrobial peptides).

Maybe try excluding milk and play around with diet variables... But seriously at this point I've gone through all possible dietary rabbit holes, carnivore, no milk, vegan, and it really didn't do anything for my pustules. Neither did any standard topical treatments, azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, tretinoin and so on.

If your 'acne' isn't responding to the usual treatments, I would first get rid of all skincare products (moisturizers, soaps) to see if your acne is caused by any chemical irritation. Sometimes just doing this will clear up your skin.

If not, get a doctor to do a skin scraping and test for bacteria, fungus, demodex and/or do controlled experiments for 2-3 weeks to determine what the problem is:

1. Gram negative/positive bacteria e.g staph aureus infection - treat with hibiclens.

If that doesn't work, try treating it as:

2. Fungal (often malassezia) - anti dandruff shampoo (climbazole is best) or some other antifungal cream. Shampoos can be very irritating used on your face so I wouldn't really recommend that.

If that doesn't work, try treating it as:

3. Demodex (mites in skin) - get a doctor to prescribe ivermectin cream or azelaic acid (also good for rosacea). Treating demodex takes some time as these mites lay eggs and have a 3 week lifecycle.

If none of these work it could be viral, autoimmune or god knows what. In that case I wouldn't know what to do, perhaps try carnivore to exclude dietary triggers and any possible gut irritation, but carnivore brings along its own set of problems so not sure if that would be a good idea.

In my case I have managed to get of persistent 'adult acne', actually chronic staph infection, by using hibiclens on my face + in my nostrils as staph colonize the nose. There's more info about this on Staphylococcus aureus bacteria colonizing the body: the unifying agent of acute and chronic disease.

 

[Carb54]

Here are some before and afters:

I dont have any pics from the worst period of breakout, but you can see the scarring that resulted

Here is 2016 pre acne:


Here is Feb 2018 a few months after it started


You can see some scarring here


Here is me today:

 

[kyle]

liver makes it worse. I have dry thin skin,it makes it even more dry and thins it. Sunshine and seawater used to work when I was a teenager, it no longer does the job. There's no oysters in this country I've been looking everywhere and I can't afford to order them from abroad. I eat all the shellfish I can find/afford. Red meat and dairy inflames me. Saturated fat makes my sebum hard, clogs me up. Everything is problematic. I want peating to work because it makes so much sense but it simply does not

Red meat/milk/sat fats don't cause sebum to harden or cause acne. It's more likely it is increasing hormone production leaving less vitamin A for the skin.

The dry/thin skin means the skin is getting more vit A but still lacks the nutrients, especially the other fat solubles, and adequate calories/high metabolism to keep the skin healthy.

 

[ursidae]

There are many interesting threads on acne on this forum. Three things I can think of: 1) are your vitamin D levels high? 2) Are you replete in minerals (zinc particularly) from eating lots of oysters? 3) Is your thyroid function normalized (as in good pulse/temperature) 4) Do you eat a little liver on a regular basis 5) Do you get sunshine

If the answers are not a resounding yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Then it's meaningless to bash a ''diet'' which doesn't exist.

About four weeks ago I finally discovered a place where they sell fresh raw oysters after three months of searching. I've consumed about 20 of them since and I'm going to eat 8 of them tommorow.

1) I haven't tested them recently but for the past two months I have been spending 10+ hours a day outside, exposing my legs, torso, face, arms to the sun all day long. I watch the sunrise and sunset and I am always outside between 9 am-3pm. The first month I was also supplementing 5000 iu every day. Carbs are eaten outside. I'm also physically active. I live in a subtropical climate currently and my skin is normally extremely pale. This is the darkest I have ever been.
2) yes, I eat a lot of fruit, fresh and ripe-some of it picked directly from our garden, the rest locally grown, overcooked white potatoes, fresh raw eggs from our hens, shellfish, oysters, grassfed beef and lamb, coconut oil/cocoa butter, grassfed beef liver, eggshell calcium, honey, my homemade bone broth, carrot salad EVERY SINGLE DAY. I supplement magnesium and k2mk4. Started eating parmigiano reggiano yesterday since I'm tired of processing eggshells. I also have access to fresh raw grassfed goats milk from the local farmers. I haven't drank it though, because I know it will end badly.
3) I'm going to make a graph tomorrow
4) yes
5) refer to point 1.

Still breaking out, still getting atrophic scarring, albeit it is more minor lately. The reason I asked the specific questions in the original post is because there are different types of acne. The acne I started getting after peating is not the acne I had in the past, it is different- it is no longer sporadic, it is clustered/forms lines, it leaves atrophic scarring, my skin is no longer oily and it forms this weird orange/yellow crust that looks horrible. Whatever it is that I have now is not what I had as a teenager- back then I was oily and used to get whiteheads on the chin and forehead. I believe it was triggered by carbs. My healing was impeccable no matter how harshly I picked. I think it was the type of acne that could be fixed by eating liver.

The thing I have right now is different. Its deep, dry, mostly jawline/cheeks, stays dormant forever and when it finally drains it leaves a hole. When I include dairy it spreads to my chin. I believe the current acne has more to do with fats than carbs and I don't think it is the type that you get. You probably never scarred.

 

[EIRE24]

This is something that resonates with me. Had 0 acne till age 22, and which point i got full blown cystic acne on the cheeks, neck and back which instantly caused atrophic scarring. It persisted for 2 years but was able to completely stop my acne. Currently dealing with the scarring using TCA acid spot treatment and microneedling.

The initial cause was intense stress which i believed damaged my gut. In agreement with mrchibbs that following peat principles should lead you on the right path.

The next step for each person will vary. My progression was gradual and focused on B vitamin support (nutritional yeast), easy to digest meals (white rice and meat) for a while, gluten avoidance and daily geletin. I also proactively focussed on reducing stress.

I now eat anything i want (apart from large doses of gluten) and have zero pimples.

What type of meat was it that you were eating with the white rice? What kind of gelatin was it also that you were eating?

 

[kyle]

Vitamin A palmitate, not beta carotene. 200k iu or so.

[Optimal Dosage in Peroral Therapy of Acne With Vitamin A Palmitate] - PubMed

 

[mrchibbs]

@ursidae

I am so sorry you're dealing with such a severe acne situation. You seem to be doing a lot of great things and yet you still go through this. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I am very happy you've found good quality oysters. The way I think of acne is that it is an indication of long-standing deficiency/elevated requirements. I feel strongly about zinc and in particular zinc from oysters being therapeutic. Can you try to eat even more of them, at least for a while? I think you may need a lot more zinc than you're getting right now. I don't want to force you to do anything, but I think it would be worthwhile. I can recommend a recipe for oyster stew , as I don't personally eat them raw very often. There are a couple reasons why I feel strongly about you getting a lot more zinc in, but I'm not sure how interested you are in what I think so I'll leave it at that for now. Another thing you may want to experiment taking more of is vitamin E.

Based on my perspective, I would simplify your diet for a little while. If you've been eating a lot of liver (daily like you're saying), maybe stop for a while. Avoid your problem foods. Emphasize ripe fruits, some light cheese, gelatinous cuts of meat (very soothing for the inflammation). Your reaction to milk points to an intestinal situation. Do you have a good reliable germicidal/antibiotic substance? Have you tried camphosal?

So in essence, more oysters, vitamin e (tocovit?), some safe antibiotic substance (camphosal?), maybe some more gelatinous meats and less eggs/liver/meats for awhile. More aspirin for a while if you don't have camphosal or something else maybe good too.

That's what I would do if I was you. I hope things improve. :)

 

[ursidae]

@ursidae

I am so sorry you're dealing with such a severe acne situation. You seem to be doing a lot of great things and yet you still go through this. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I am very happy you've found good quality oysters. The way I think of acne is that it is an indication of long-standing deficiency/elevated requirements. I feel strongly about zinc and in particular zinc from oysters being therapeutic. Can you try to eat even more of them, at least for a while? I think you may need a lot more zinc than you're getting right now. I don't want to force you to do anything, but I think it would be worthwhile. I can recommend a recipe for oyster stew , as I don't personally eat them raw very often. There are a couple reasons why I feel strongly about you getting a lot more zinc in, but I'm not sure how interested you are in what I think so I'll leave it at that for now. Another thing you may want to experiment taking more of is vitamin E.

Based on my perspective, I would simplify your diet for a little while. If you've been eating a lot of liver (daily like you're saying), maybe stop for a while. Avoid your problem foods. Emphasize ripe fruits, some light cheese, gelatinous cuts of meat (very soothing for the inflammation). Your reaction to milk points to an intestinal situation. Do you have a good reliable germicidal/antibiotic substance? Have you tried camphosal?

So in essence, more oysters, vitamin e (tocovit?), some safe antibiotic substance (camphosal?), maybe some more gelatinous meats and less eggs/liver/meats for awhile. More aspirin for a while if you don't have camphosal or something else maybe good too.

That's what I would do if I was you. I hope things improve. :)

Alright I’ll up the oysters and get the idealabs vit e. I’ve been considering doing that anyway. I eat liver daily but not a lot of it. It’s a pate and I eat a tablespoon a day.
I have oregano oil and I sometimes take a few drops of it with honey in the morning. Personally it’s potatoes, white rice and some type of fruit that give me problems (digestion wise). I get gas from carbs basically but then again sometimes I don’t so there must be a pattern I’m not seeing. Perhaps I should cycle my carbs and avoid repeating them within a day. I’ve tried no starch, fruit only and it’s more or less the same. I also tried eating only honey and it was significantly better, but I did not do it for long enough to know for sure (it always gets better when I cut off food groups but then returns to normal in a 2-3 days).
meat and eggs and non fatty fish (gilt-head bream) are the only things that don’t give me gas and digestive upset. Also I do get the gelatinous cuts. It’s quite an expensive brand so a portion of the meat is always gelatinous and there’s tallow on top of the jar. I sometimes wonder if it’s worth it to spend so much money and effort on this lol better devote those resources to someone healthy. My parents themselves have given up more or less, my father who is a medical professional consulted a psychic who informed him that my skin disease is bad karma and not related to any inflammatory processes in my body and that it won’t clear up like I want it to for the next three years. So he’s given up LOL. And you know I try to be rational but sometimes it gets to me and I wonder if it’s really true.

I don’t have camphosal haven’t heard of it. I took aspirin only once when I was very itchy and felt crawling under my skin and it improved my mood significantly. Ive been considering taking it more often but I’m still not sure about doing that since it’s not really getting to the root of the problem.

I’ll report back to you once I’ve implemented those changes.

 

[mrchibbs]

Alright I’ll up the oysters and get the idealabs vit e. I’ve been considering doing that anyway. I eat liver daily but not a lot of it. It’s a pate and I eat a tablespoon a day.
I have oregano oil and I sometimes take a few drops of it with honey in the morning. Personally it’s potatoes, white rice and some type of fruit that give me problems (digestion wise). I get gas from carbs basically but then again sometimes I don’t so there must be a pattern I’m not seeing. Perhaps I should cycle my carbs and avoid repeating them within a day. I’ve tried no starch, fruit only and it’s more or less the same.
meat and eggs and non fatty fish (gilt-head bream) are the only things that don’t give me gas and digestive upset. Also I do get the gelatinous cuts. It’s quite an expensive brand so the meat is always gelatinous and there’s tallow on top of the jar. I sometimes wonder if it’s worth it to spend so much money and effort on this lol better devote those resources to someone healthy. My parents themselves have given up more or less, my father who is a medical professional consulted a psychic who informed him that my skin disease is bad karma and not related to any inflammatory processes in my body and that it won’t clear up like I want it to for the next three years. So he’s given up LOL. And you know I try to be rational but sometimes it gets to me and I wonder if it’s really true.

I don’t have camphosal haven’t heard of it. I took aspirin only once when I was very itchy and felt crawling under my skin and it improved my mood significantly. Ive been considering taking it more often but I’m still not sure about doing that since it’s not really getting to the root of the problem.

I’ll report back to you once I’ve implemented those changes.

I feel your frustration! For what it's worth nevermind your dad, as comical as that story is, you're not doomed. Sometimes we need an outside perspective to get out of a pattern. Doesn't mean I'm better than you, it's just what this forum is for, helping each other.

Hopefully I can be of some help. Try to focus on real, actionable changes. Eating a lot of oysters, taking vitamin e is one such change. I recommend camphosal wholeheartedly, it's like a mild non-toxic antibiotic https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/camphosal-liquid-camphoric-acid-salol.31267/ and from your cutaneous reaction I strongly suspect you have something serious going on in your digestive tract. So TocoVit and CamphoSal should help a lot.

 

[Recoen]

B5 and B2 helps me the most. I know many women who saw their face clear with B5.

 

[ursidae]

This is something that resonates with me. Had 0 acne till age 22, and which point i got full blown cystic acne on the cheeks, neck and back which instantly caused atrophic scarring. It persisted for 2 years but was able to completely stop my acne. Currently dealing with the scarring using TCA acid spot treatment and microneedling.

The initial cause was intense stress which i believed damaged my gut. In agreement with mrchibbs that following peat principles should lead you on the right path.

The next step for each person will vary. My progression was gradual and focused on B vitamin support (nutritional yeast), easy to digest meals (white rice and meat) for a while, gluten avoidance and daily geletin. I also proactively focussed on reducing stress.

I now eat anything i want (apart from large doses of gluten) and have zero pimples.

I appreciate you sharing those pictures. Well unlike you I struggled with acne for 7 years before it evolved into this new form and started to scar. Implementing some peat changes is what started this process, I strongly suspect DAIRY played a role. The only reason I came back to this forum after going through every thread on acne.org is I found only 2 people on the scar board truly succeeded in fixing their scarring. Riley (Cross update~ Better late than never! (LONG but w/pics)) and DC-Girl. They both used TCA cross

the latter is one of the few people on that forum that mention following Peat and perhaps that is not a coincidence. She does use spiro though
Scar Success!
Still, her results are truly impressive. Scars are the one reason I’m still trying to figure my body out instead of resorting to accutane/conventional medicine. If
I silence my body’s signals with symptomatic treatment instead of using acne as a guide I’m never gonna reach the kind of health that allows for successful scar revision.

This log is the cautionary tale about listening to doctors that sent me back here and it’s the kind of horror story that you see on acne.org all the time
AcneJean's Log

She is basically eating a low carb low fat vegan diet which is promoted there a lot. Boiled vegetables and brown rice. The subtle mental health deterioration as the pages progress is scary.

 

[Source Code]

DMSO fully got rid of my acne, I have been using iodine now too which helps with the scarring too.