Having acne can be a distressing situation, especially when it follows you from your teenage years into adulthood. Having acne can also prevent you from going out and living your life, because you feel self-conscious about the way that your skin looks, or maybe you feel like everyone notices? Sometimes you can spend hundreds of dollars on products, for none of them to clear up your skin.
However, I'd like to educate you today on the fact that acne is one of the ways your body alerts you to an imbalance. Acne is literally the external expression of an internal imbalance, and typically when you treat the root cause of acne, you can see a huge improvement in your appearance, and how often you break out. I do want to remind you though, that it's not realistic to think that if you use the right products or treat the root causes, that you'll never break out again. I will go over a few factors of acne and how you can help keep balance in order to achieve and maintain clearer skin.
Control your body's inflammation. Acne is considered to be on the autoimmune spectrum and can be one of the first signs of autoimmune dysfunction, although you should always seek medical advice and treatment from a medical doctor. Autoimmune disorders do not develop overnight- for most people it can take decades.
Nutritional deficiencies- Vitamins and minerals can affect acne directly or indirectly. A few supplements to watch out for are vitamin B6, B12, iodine (salt), testosterone, whey protein, and branched-chain amino acids, as they can cause or worsen acne.
Other ingredients to avoid are products containing denatured and stearyl alcohol (common in toners and astringents), fragranced products, parabens, artificial colors, mineral oil, and lanolin.
Zinc, vitamin A, D & E, some omegas, selenium, chromium, niacinamide, & biotin (although be careful with Biotin, as it can go both ways), can help balance your body and encourage clearer skin.
There is medical research that has established there is a relationship between health of the gut and acne. Key factors that correlate with acne and gut health are: Nutrient absorption, hormone balance, leaky gut, and food sensitivity. Alcohol can also cause and worsen acne.
Hormonal balance is another huge factor in acne. Everything we do affects our hormones, and your body's response will depend on whether you are male or female. We typically will experience a stressful event, then we eat foods that may be high in sugar which upsets our gut health, and our immunity then becomes compromised. Hormones are then imbalanced, and the consequence is a breakout. We've all been there. However, when you over your systems with stress and sugar, we get systemic inflammation. And remember, inflammation in our body is a trigger for acne.
These are just a few things that can be contributing to your acne. Have questions about homecare products and other ways you can clear your skin? Book a consultation with me, and let's get you the best skin of your life. Thanks for reading and subscribe if you haven't yet for more facts about acne and how you can help manage it.