Peat-friendly Acne Treatments?

[Shrimp]

I have horrible, scarring acne that I've been unable to control through diet or supplements; had it since I was 12 and I'm 24 now. I've been following Peat loosely for about 8 mos. now, but it hasn't helped my skin issues.

I use 10000 IU of Nutrisorb A, magnesium oil, 100mg of Niacinamide, 1000mg eggshell Calcium, 1mg Vit. K and about 2 tsps salt daily, and am on 45mg NDT prescribed by my NP (still hypo) and 25mg Progest-E days 14-28. I eat bacon, eggs, OJ, beef, gelatin, potatoes, some rice pasta with tomato sauce, occasional shrimp, dried apricots, dark chocolate, coconut oil, coconut sorbet, everything organic/additive-free. I don't do dairy because it makes the acne even worse, and I don't do coffee because it makes me feel weird even with cream/sugar. Topically I've been using copper peptides and salicylic acid for damage control, but they don't help the acne much.

Is there anything else I can try, topically or internally? This is getting old; I feel like I've tried everything and then some.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[jyb]

I also have acne issues. I can keep my skin under control, let it heal and look healthy if I implement the following. It's preventive and not a cure, its possible acne will always come back if I'm careless as long as I'm hypothyroid.

- Niacinamide: small doses (50-100 mg) two or three times per day. If it works, you should see a difference fast (a few days).

- Keep your daily nutrisorb A, maybe increase it if you keep having new spots. But really that's in addition to eating liver weekly. Adding oysters occasionally is said to help too due to high zinc. Eating those foods regularly (not too often) is much more important than nutrisorb A, in my experience.

- 250+W incandescent bulb shinning on your face daily. Light is shown to help tissue repair. It might help with existing scars. In my experience, it also helps prevent new spots or their duration.

- Some of the food you mention might be a problem. Experiment with and without them one by one. Chocolate for example gives me small acne pimples, I suspect due to things added in most chocolate bars. Rice pasta with tomato sauce? Replace it and see. I assume you also do a raw carrot salad daily too. Apricots? Not sure if the fiber is safe.

- Don't wash your face. Maybe rinse it with water only and occasionally. Although the skin products you mention are said to be helpful, if you don't see a benefit then I'd drop them.

 

[cliff]

Besides the things you said washing with baking soda can help exfoliate.

How are your temps, pulse and digestion?

 

[Dan W]

Thanks for those tips jyb and cliff. My situation is similar to Shrimp's, and I will try some of the suggestions.

Shrimp, I am able to stay clear using the topical benzoyl peroxide regimen described at acne.org if that's of any use to you. But it's time-consuming and not really Peat-friendly.

 

[jyb]

Thanks for those tips jyb and cliff. My situation is similar to Shrimp's, and I will try some of the suggestions.

Shrimp, I am able to stay clear using the topical benzoyl peroxide regimen described at acne.org if that's of any use to you. But it's time-consuming and not really Peat-friendly.

It seems like benzoyl peroxide would be harsh and damaging to the skin. If I were you I'd double-check if there are not long term consequences. It would be much preferable to make it work with the RP inspired suggestions above, because those are habits useful for metabolism recovery in a general way not just skin health.

I'd replace it with the 250+W light thing (while doing the other things too), which you can think of as a topical treatment. But the light supplementation is in my opinion safer and also of a more general effect on your health.

 

[Dan W]

Long-term benzoyl peroxide problems have been in the back of my mind...I'd like it to only be a temporary fix until I can get to the root of the problem.

I'm hesitant about the increased light because moving up to 160 watts seemed to increase my acne, even when adding more vitamin A. Maybe I just didn't add enough extra vitamin A.

I'm pretty close to optimal on my temps/pulse/digestion.

I'll definitely try more niacinamide and the washing advice.

Sorry to hijack your thread, Shrimp :)

 

[gretchen]

This may or may not be helpful; I've read good things about blue light for acne:
http://www.triabeauty.com/skin-perfecting-blue-light

I know Ray says about red light is antistress and am not sure what he says about blue, maybe you could email him.

I agree about the bp; it's harsh and should be used temporarily. You could pair it with orange Neutrogena acne wash. Leave the wash on a few minutes then dry and put on a bunch of bp. You can also ice your face 10-15 minutes a day. An aspirin mask (crush a few in water to make a paste)might also help.

 

[John Eels]

Baking soda is the wonder substance: useful for washing, for acne treatment, for deodorant replacement, adding to baths to increase sodium, for raising CO2 when eaten, to lower the acidity of foods, e. g. OJ. If there was a silver bullet I'd bet on baking soda :).

 

[John Eels]

Some far-fetched ideas:

1. Maybe there is a connection between PUFA and acne (more PUFA in your fatty tissues increase the likelihood of acne. The relationship isn't clear as some report less acne when they supplement with fish-oil which might work by lowering the metabolism, or some other way. I think there is more to the story than higher metabolism increases the requirements for Vitamin A. The issue is multifaceted).

2. People have reported less acne when they stop jerking off. I don't know what this reflects upon. Maybe prolactin may account for this.

3. It might be related to food intolerances. Milk is more challenging to digest than simple sugars like grape sugar. The broader context is digestion. I think digestion is very important. It's tied to so many seemingly unrelated things like mood, skin health, energy levels etc.

 

[jyb]

This may or may not be helpful; I've read good things about blue light for acne:
http://www.triabeauty.com/skin-perfecting-blue-light

I know Ray says about red light is antistress and am not sure what he says about blue, maybe you could email him.

I agree about the bp; it's harsh and should be used temporarily. You could pair it with orange Neutrogena acne wash. Leave the wash on a few minutes then dry and put on a bunch of bp. You can also ice your face 10-15 minutes a day. An aspirin mask (crush a few in water to make a paste)might also help.

He says blue is pro-stress, it's the wavelength you want to avoid.

On the opposite, it is the infrared that has been shown to heal tissues. I'm not convinced about the beauty product with blue light, because you can also find good comments for the same products with red light. So might as well use the red one, and of course buy the bulbs yourself not use those expensive and probably less powerful products.

 

[jyb]

Some far-fetched ideas:

1. Maybe there is a connection between PUFA and acne (more PUFA in your fatty tissues increase the likelihood of acne. The relationship isn't clear as some report less acne when they supplement with fish-oil which might work by lowering the metabolism, or some other way. I think there is more to the story than higher metabolism increases the requirements for Vitamin A. The issue is multifaceted).

2. People have reported less acne when they stop jerking off. I don't know what this reflects upon. Maybe prolactin may account for this.

3. It might be related to food intolerances. Milk is more challenging to digest than simple sugars like grape sugar. The broader context is digestion. I think digestion is very important. It's tied to so many seemingly unrelated things like mood, skin health, energy levels etc.

1. I don't agree, because a lot of acne prone people are very slim. I'm not sure whether they have more pufa stored than others.

3. I agree that some acne can be caused by digestion. It's subtle, because you can feel okay despite something wrong with the food and acne is the only symptom (or runny nose). I find that the acne triggered from specific food is different from that caused by hormones (say when I supplement excess pregnelonone): spots have different appearance and locations. Acne might also be caused lack of nutrients. I'm hypothesizing that the latter is the main reason why I have tendency to get acne, and I am more prone to this deficiency due to hypothyroidism.

 

[robertgoteki]

For acne, topical niacinamide is probably even more helpful than taking it orally: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7657446

It also has other benefits on the skin (improves texture, protects against UV damage): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17147561

It dissolves easily, so you can open a capsule and easily mix up a 4% solution in whatever cream, gel or liquid works well on your skin.

 

[jyb]

For acne, topical niacinamide is probably even more helpful than taking it orally: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7657446

It also has other benefits on the skin (improves texture, protects against UV damage): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17147561

It dissolves easily, so you can open a capsule and easily mix up a 4% solution in whatever cream, gel or liquid works well on your skin.

Any suggestions on how to prepare a niacinamide mixture? Oily things like coconut oil are risky for acne skin. Would water work? Alternatively, water based moisturizers.

 

[Dan W]

I just tried mixing Nutrisorb A, water, and niacinamide (in around a 20:20:1 ratio by volume) and it worked ok as a topical. I don't know how closely that matches the dosage in the experiment though.

 

[Jenn]

Baking soda is the wonder substance: useful for washing, for acne treatment, for deodorant replacement, adding to baths to increase sodium, for raising CO2 when eaten, to lower the acidity of foods, e. g. OJ. If there was a silver bullet I'd bet on baking soda :).

Your skin is an extension of your liver. Skin issues can also be an amylase deficiency, pancreas and/or saliva glands are overloaded. Baking soda is awesome internally and externally. I always feel better after washing with BS.

Potassium rich foods help, like potatoes and OJ. Raw foods are good too, just to take a load off the pancreas. pH matters too if you want you enzymes to work. If milk makes more acne, have you tried raw milk and have you checked your pH? Milk is an excellent food, from healthy animals, but only if you are actually digesting it. Been there, done that.

 

[biggirlkisss]

I remember one time putting coconut oil on my face and breaking out. I wonder why that happened.

 

[John Eels]

Your skin is an extension of your liver.

That's an interesting thought, Jenn. Can you back it up?

 

[Jenn]

I remember one time putting coconut oil on my face and breaking out. I wonder why that happened.

Because your body didn't know what to do with it. Olive oil is sometimes utilized better by the skin.

I routinely use coconut oil (when I remember) all over my body. That's partially how I "eat" it. Seriously, helps with weight loss, sleep, cravings, core body temps, etc. I can't eat that much fat, makes me nauseas.

Some people experience break out with coconut oil or excessive dryness. The kind of coconut oil can matter for the skin. I prefer virgin for the skin, refined for cooking.

 

[Jenn]

Your skin is an extension of your liver.

That's an interesting thought, Jenn. Can you back it up?

http://www.ehow.com/info_8154420_skin-c ... order.html

Personal experience too. I no longer put anything on my skin that I wouldn't be willing to eat.

 

[John Eels]

http://www.ehow.com/info_8154420_skin-c ... order.html

Personal experience too. I no longer put anything on my skin that I wouldn't be willing to eat.

Thank you for the reference. I like your guideline about no longer putting anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat.