It’s interesting to see how small of a diet change can make a difference in perceived attraction. The desire to reproduce with a healthy partner is a powerful evolutionary trait.

The skin’s failure to produce sufficient superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a major contributor to acne, according to a theory that is rapidly gaining traction. The following studies are evidence for this theory:

• Superoxide anions (O2•−), were rapidly produced by keratinocytes upon stimulation by P. acnes, Superoxide anions mixed with P. acnes triggers skin inflammation.
• Superoxide Dismutase levels unusually low in 32 out of 34 individuals suffering from acne.
• Acne Rosacea linked to high levels of superoxide anions.

Keratinocytes* produce superoxide anions as an immune response when exposed to propionibacterium acnes.** Once superoxide anions (O2-) have completed their work, superoxide dismutase catalyzes their destruction. If this process fails, excess O2- will kill skin cells, leading to inflammation and the blockage of the sebacious glands that causes acne.

If our theory holds true, then we must find a way to produce a healthy level of superoxide dismutase.

CuZnSOD is the form of superoxide dismutase used to remove superoxide anions from human skin. Structurally, CuZNSOD consists of mostly Tryptophan, Cysteine, Copper, and Zinc. The chemical reaction that produces CuZnSOD, however, requires abundant melatonin.

An all-night melatonin surge is the best way to produce sufficient CuZnSOD. To induce an all-night melatonin surge, you must limit melatonin production during the day, which requires retinal*** exposure to unfiltered sunlight. This signals the pineal glands (****) to halt melatonin production, saving tryptophan (a melatonin precursor) for nighttime melatonin production.

In addition to melatonin, the following nutrients increase keratinocyte production of superoxide dismutase. Deficiency in them can lead to insufficient levels of superoxide dismutase:

Zinc -> proven to combat acne, and part of the CuZnSOD enzyme.
Tryptophan -> Tryptophan is essential because the body cannot manufacture its own. Tryptophan is used by the body to produce seratonin, which is later converted to melatonin.
Cysteine -> The body can produce this, and it is widely available from common foods, including red peppers, garlic, onions, and all meat.
Vitamin B Complex -> Tryptophan is converted to Vitamin B in cases of Vitamin B deficiency. Doing so depletes tryptophan levels.

Malabsorption, a digestive tract issue often called food intolerance or fructose malabsorption, is the source of many health problems. In cases of malabsorption, the digestive tract fails to completely absorb nutrients. This is likely why blood tests from acne sufferers show low levels of a variety of nutrients.

Specifically, malabsorption can cause improper absorption of tryptophan in the intestine and reduced levels of tryptophan in the blood. Symptoms of malabsorption include gas and diarrhea. Alternating the diet to minimize malabsorption can lead to a decrease of those symptoms.

Based on the superoxide dismutase theory of acne, we propose a four-fold approach to combating acne, all of which involve increasing nutrient levels.

1: Regulate the melatonin cycle.

2: Combat malabsorption. This is a complex task, but can be done by avoiding fructose (sugar) and other carbs, eating only after spending time in outdoor sunlight. Eating certain foods in dim light can induce malabsorption while eating them in bright light does not. Eat sugars in limited quantities, even in fruit. When eating fruits, eat those with low fructose levels, such as berries. The Wikipedia article on malabsorption recommends avoiding the following fruits:

3: Eat an anti-inflammatory diet rich in vegetables, organic meat, and low-fructose fruits. This will ensure that all essential nutrients are available.

4: Take vitamin supplements Zinc and Vitamin B complex. SOD as a supplement is unproven to help. Supplement melatonin as a last resort. 10 days of melatonin supplements increased ZSOD levels only 3%, but 30 day of supplementation increased ZSOD levels 23%.

Special thanks to the incomparable Databased.

* Keratinocyte is the most common cell type in the epidermis — the outer layer of the skin — constituting 95% of epidermal cells.
** Propionibacterium acnes live in the skin of all human beings, making them an unlikely root cause of acne.
*** The retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the human eye.
**** The pineal gland gland in the brain. It produces the serotonin derivative melatonin, a hormone that affects the modulation of wake/sleep patterns.

“Garlic, onions, peppers, egg yolks, beans, and to a lesser extent cabbage and cauliflower. It would get so bad at times that even ingesting the sulfur that occurs naturally in meats would cause me to be sick and breakout.. Whatever the explanation, eliminating these foods has made VAST improvements in the condition of my skin, bowels and my over all quality of life.”

“According to Dr. Shah, Botox prevents the production of the sebum, which in turn starves the bacteria that causes pimples.”

Unlike traditional topical acne cures, which seek to kill bacteria or thin the skin, this method goes directly after the sebum production. Accutane works in a similar manner. Propionibacterium acnes feed on sebum; without it, they cannot proliferate in the skin.

I question both the efficacy of this procedure. It seems impossible to inject enough botox into a human face to stop sebum production from every hair follicle. Even if you could, Botox is a paralyzing agent. Perhaps better left for minor cosmetic work, rather than face-wide treatments. The human body is not prone to wasteful actions. Sebum is produced for a good reason: It keeps the skin moisturized and waterproof. Turning off the sebum flow, even if an effective acne treatment, is a wise long term plan.

Still, Dr. Shah must be praised for searching for new methods to treat acne. There is too little innovation in the field. I hope that I am wrong, and that this works well for him and his patients.

Dr. Shah published a study on this method of treating acne.

The most common theme is a hormonal issue, followed by genetics and diet. Despite minimal actionable information on the list, it is interesting to see the way that acne sufferers think. Very respondents thought along the lines of lifestyle, despite a growing body of data that shows acne can be treated with lifestyle changes.

The theories:

“the weather in texas, using the wrong products.”

“My skin won’t stop producing oil!”

“my dads side of the family had it”

“i don’t drink enough water..?”

“No”

“genes”

“no. i don’t know why it could only be occuring around the mouth. i’m just developing beard but i don’t think it is the problem”

“SMOKING CIGARETTES AND GENERIC CLEANERS THAT STRIP YOUR FACE OF GOOD THINGS or maybe DEMODOX MITES OR SOME SKIN FACIAL PARASITE THAT BURROWS INTO HOLES”

“Genetics. My mother’s fifty-three and still has effing acne. Also based on this survey, the fact that I basically never go outside. Aaaaand all the fruit. And sleeping at two in the morning.”

“I run on the treadmill at least 6 times a week-but i never wear make up during that. Maybe that contributes? Also my eating habits probably.”

“I’ve always had acne of and on and has gotten worse since my pregnancy. I think because I went on anti-biotics at a fairly young age (about 15) my skin has a lessened ability to fight acne independently.”

“Sleeping on my pillowcases…Too much sun exposure…And my father had horrible acne when was my age… And maybe my hair drips oils down on my face… Also, I never broke out, with the exception of one little zit or two, Until i first used a acne medication to just cure the one little zit…I put it all over my face and instead of just having one zit I had forty. Acne medication made it worse it seemed like”

“I run on the treadmill at least 6 times a week-but i never wear make up during that. Maybe that contributes? Also my eating habits probably.”

“Hormones, since im only 17″

“Hormonal? I don’t wear make up on a day to day anymore and when I do, I keep it to powders and oil-free kinds. I switched to better skin care products and I drink at least 3-4 bottles of water a day. I have bangs, but I don’t think it’s my hair because my forehead is clean. I have it mostly on my cheeks, so I think it’s hormonal. I think of anything else that could be making me break out.”

“genetic”

“Hormones”

“i touch my face”

“I think it has a lot to do with stress and a sluggish digestion system. Possibly hormones as well?”

“i mostly get acne when my face gets oily/shiny. basically my skin is only matte when i exit the shower. when my face sweats i feel an itching and the next day theres a pimple”

“hormone flucuation-stress”

“mineral makeup? hormones?”

“Hormonal. My skin was at its best during both of my pregnancies. I also think the overuse of commercial products (Proactiv, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid) has made my skin dependent on them”

“vitamin deficiency, hormonal imbalance”

“Digestive issues. Typically, I believe breakouts one the forehead are related to digestion and I struggle with my digestive tract.”

“genetics, picking, hormones, nothing I do ever gets rid of it.”

“I believe the cystic acne in my 20′s was caused by an infected gallbladder.”

“genes. a lot of my family has similar scars on their face.”

“Stress/genetics”

“I believe my acne is hereditary and also brought on by stress.”

“I have oily skin. Other than that I can’t imagine why because I keep it clean and use things to make it healthy.”

“Hormones, Hormones! life!”

“heredity”

“i believe i am just prone to getting it due to my sebum glands. i also was thinking i could be allergic to something. thinking about getting a food allergy test. i also think my acne has caused me my anxiety and so i worry and stress about it.”

“yes stress and hormones”

“my skin type. I think the dry skin blocks the sebum in my pores..I don’t exfoliate enough? And maybe hormones?”

“I have dry skin mostly so maybe the flakes are clogging the pores? Hormones..”

“hormonal changes +30.”

“maybe an allergy, but I’m not sure. I feel like I do everything right and nothing works.”

“Heredity?”

“No idea, comes and goes. It was fine during the summer, now its bad. Haven’t used medication for ages.”

“I have crappy sleep, generally interrupted by night sweats. I’m sure this is a contributing factor.”

“Very poor diet in the past and using lots of topicals”

“Hormonal, yeast overgrowth, food allergies (?)”

“I always have way better skin during the summer. I’m outside all day in the sun and I sweat a lot. I figure thats gotta be part of it”

“Stress and exhaustion would be the obvious, hormones as well, beyond that I wish I knew!”

“Stress, lack of sleep, processed food, lack of involvement outdoors, less physical activity.”

“I have a lot of stress and I have very good hygiene but I am ocd about my skin.”

“I have had theories that my clothes have not been clean enough and that’s why I break out on my chest and back. I simply cannot get rid of it. I’ve noticed that when I am off my birth control my skin tends to break out worse, so I also have wondered if it is due to hormonal imbalances.”

“diet, dryness, stress,”

“smoking cigaretes, eating greasy foods, candy”

“I thought it was from eating at like McDonalds or somewhere greasy like that, but its been over a month since I have done anything like that, and I think my acne has only gotten worse!”

“hormones, stress, anxiety level”

“not sure!! bad genes”

“Hmmm. One thing I think is because my mom uses those wax fabric softeners in the dryer, for our towels especially. Another could be because I use the same beard trimmer almost everyday to trim down excess facial that I hate. I can’t think of anything else, since I take care of my body so well JUST because of my skin issues.”

“Yes,this might sound very silly, but I somehow have a feeling that I got acne when I first masturbated,two years ago,from that it all started.”

“chemical inbalance?”

“maybe climate and dietary fluxuations”

“Oily face and I’m still in teenage age ???”

“stress and hormones”

“i have no idea why i have acne. I have tried everything, drink plenty of water.maintain a good hygiene and stay away from greasy foods. always wash my fash, maybe i over clean my skin using harsh products to try to relieve my skin from the oil, but then if i stop using any product and just use water my skin gets worse…”

“When i was younger my skin was extremely oily, but i took care of it with the accuntane. Now, I do not know why it is coming back.”

“i don’t usually get big breakouts occasional pimples and little spots but i believe it can be from stress”

“Genetics – my mother had it, as does my sister. Hormones, bc it got worse after I stopped taking regular birth control and got on low-dose”

“I starting wearing make up when I was in 5th grade. Never washed it off”

“I suspect hormonal imbalance, allergies and intolerances”

“genetics, hormonal, other than that I don’t know”

“candida”

“yes i definitely believe it has to do with my hormones and the food intake. Thats why I cut back on sodas and I believe that dairy is a big contributing factor because when I stop eating it my face clears up. did a cleanse for 3 days only lemon water with cayenne pepper and maple syrup skin cleared right up!”

“hormonal, genetics”

“oily face, my room is hot”

“no”

“possibly hormonal”

“Eating spicy food regularly.”

“hormones, large pores”

“stress”

“Stress, lack of sleep, and diet.”

“maybe hormonal changes related to stress”

“Heredity, diet”

“I’ve had trouble with letting emotions out, and I feel that imbalances my hormonal system.”

“I do tend to be regularly stressed”

“hormones”

“i don’t get enough sun and i have depression”

“hereditary, health, hormones from my mirena”

“Touch my face when my hands are not clean, not waching the make-up off my face at night some nights, premenstrual acne, heriditary”

“hormonal”

“over production of oil in certain areas of my face.”

“generally not optimal lifestyle?”

“possibly stress, but haven’t seen a pattern”

“No”

“My menstrual cycle plays a huge role, I just believe this is my genetics and there is no pure cure.”

“I never had acne then I started shaving with an expired aftershave without knowing , Acne followed and I couldn’t get rid of it till now .”

“I think stress adds to it. Also I’ve noticed it’s worse since I’ve moved to the new area I now live in. I think it has to do with the water because it clears up when I leave town. Acne also runs in my family.”

“in cold weather i don’t get that much severe, when my body becomes heat , in summertime its getting worst.”

“use of creatine for a week, genetic factors, some foods, stress, bad luck! …”

“i pick at my face sometimes its hard not to. otherwise its probably heredirary, i just have really oily acne prone skin. its also sensitive and gets red with just any little touch.”

“Stress, food related, liver?”

“I think it is some kind of hormonal imbalance and am quite certain that weather/climate is a contributary factor, atleast in my case.”

“I am unlucky. Like someone being born with down syndome or someone who goes deaf over time. It’s a freak occurrence which I – the least deserving person on the planet – have had the gross misfortune to befall me. It is proof of evolution’s indifference to suffering. It just is.”

“based on my 10+ yrs research..mainly stress..poor diet”

“maybe overeating or lack of sleep”

“I believe it’s a bacterial infection and no matter what I do to the skin on my face, I will continue to breakout until I get the root problem…bacteria”

“given that Ive tried everything except Accutane (never plan to go down that route) and that a recent bloodtest showed my hormone levels to be normal – I strongly suspect a gut problem. Or perhaps an allergy to something. I plan to get tested for foods and non foods as well as nutrients to confirm this.”

“I believe that my acne is a combination of genetics and a bad diet.”

“i have no idea why. and it just seems to be getting worse and spreading. which is really getting tiresome”

“hormones, lack of sleep , hard water”

“hormones and stress”

“no bad genes both my parents suffered from acne my mom had severe acne starting in her 20′s my dad have mild teenage acne but nothing serious”

“Eating lots of sugar? Genetics”

“Started being severe when I had a stressful year leaving home at 19 to do a traveling ministry. I was immediately extremely stressed out by the sudden change of leaving home and friends and started breaking out severely as soon as I got there. It was a 9 month program, never lacking in stress because of the teenagers we worked with, lack of sleep, diet of pizza and cookies and diet coke. No exercise.”

“mostly for stress.”

“food, mainly when i eat chocolate, cheese or something too greasy, breads sometimes aggravate it if eaten too much”

“MY DAILY ROUTINE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT !!”

“I really have no idea what to believe, I think i’m kinda slow in the aging, i entered puberty later than the others , and I didn’t have acne when others had. I just believe it is testosterone, but it can be anything.”

“skin irritation ingredients”

“It seems like lately that after I have whole wheat I gat breakouts.”

“Yes! I went to Maui on vacation and my acne almost disappeared. I didn’t figure out until several months later that it was probably the vitamin d. So I started taking a vitamin d supplement but that only helped a little bit until I came across your website and started taking vitamin B, zinc and boron as well. Now my acne is basically gone. I keep thinking it is too good to be true I hope it doesn’t come back.”

“Diet, stress, and genes”

“that I don’t excercise enough and need to sweat out/balance hormones more”

“Honestly, no. Genetics? (my sister had bad acne, too). The Wellbutrin? (I didn’t have such bad breakouts before). Insufficient movement during the day? (I tend to be fairly inactive during the day, though I do still exercise).”

“my family past of abuse has lead to me to be unable to cope with any stress or anxiety I’m prone to depression and I believe it is all linked to my skin.”

“not eating right, so not receiving necessary nutrients. makeup. not sleeping enough. stress. hormones.hair on my face. no exercise. waxing.”

“my mother’s side has it”

“no just not fair and older I am much more an effect it has on my life!!”

“Theories? Besides the fact that most of my family members had had acne in the past, I think it is the crazy sebum secretion and my anxiety. I also think it has to do with an imbalance of hormones that I wish I can control. Other than that I think that my liver is not functioning at it’s best and since the skin is a detoxifying organ, I think it has to do a lot with that.”

“no”

“I think i’ve just screwed up my skins cycles, you know by using so many crappy arse products over the years. I’m skeptical about the diet thing, because your average person eats like crap, well most people I know anyway, and I eat REALLY healthy, I’m talking low-gi, full fibre, little wheat, little sugar, little processed foods, lots of healthy proteins, etc.”

“hereditary i guess….hormones”

“genetic from my dad”

“when i use to workout, sun exposure..”

“Stress”

“teenager hormones”

“i think it is my anxiety and stress. i get stressed very easily and cant control it. once i am upset about something, i fixate on it until it is resolved”

“I think at my current age, it is most caused by my diet.”

“My skin seems to produce a lot of oil in the afternoon, and I might be missing some vitamin or nutrient that is important for my skin in my diet.”

“I think my acne is due to hormonal imbalance, sleep cycle ruined and to much gluten.I eat a lot bread or pasta”

“Diet and acne, toxins built up in liver, antibiotics, not enough water, milk, caffeine, sugary foods”

“My mom has the acne so maybe it’s genetic. Maybe my testosterone level is too high for a woman.”

“No idea. Had it since I was a teen. Accutane was the only thing that worked but had to stop after 2 mos because something in my blood test worried my doctor about my liver.”

“Maybe bacteria living inside of me.”

“genetics?”

“coming off the pill”

“I don’t eat as healthy as I should and I’m not much of a water drinker, but what’s healthy these days ?! And besides that I shower quite often and I dance but I don’t sweat that much”

“hormones, puberty, could be the food im eating”

“hereditary– mother had it. beginning to think it’s a skin allergy since i am an adult now, who still suffers from acne.”

“Lack of sleep”

“I have tried to change to ‘free’: detergents and soaps. I use Cetaphil soap and cleanser. I think my acne has improved because of changing my detergents, but it has not completely gone away despite birth control and changes in my environment.”

“hormones!!!!!!!!”

“I touch my face frequently. I also pick at it sometimes. I also use coverup and makeupp.”

“I think that the combination of my genes and being an anxious and shy person (not becasue of acne, but being so since i can remember)is the combination of my acne in my case. I’ve ruled out any other physical possibility by doing tests and eating healthily for long period of time, including drinking lots of water.”

“I think its heredity my mom had adult acne but not bad”

“Genetics, both my parents had acne when they were teens.”

“I drink green tea every day, but I sometimes slip and have coffee if I need extra energy. I like my coffee light and sweet. I think i might be allergic to dairy and sugar.”

“I have no idea why I have acne. I’ve had it for 6 years.”

“yes, my skin got worse when I got back on my adderall”

“A combination of genes, bad diet and picking at my skin all the time”

“Seems like im allergic to something. been on acutane twice now and it still comes back”

“high stress levels, depression, oily skin….eating habits”

“I have no idea, but I have a feeling that my skin just isn’t responding well to what I’m currently using. I also have a feeling stress comes into play a lot.”

“Milk intollerence perhaps.”

“Men on dad’s side of the family all have acne including my father. Diet is probably another factor.”

“oil clogging pores. maybe even diet.”

“I think it might be because of what I eat. During the summer, I used to notice that after I ate fries from McDonald’s, I would get acne. At first, I didn’t believe it (because during the year I would eat McDonald’s like several times a week and had constant acne) but then I tried stopping and it would get less and as soon as I began again, it would come back. But it might be more than just fries. Pizza, hamburgers. I dunno. It might be random. I try fixing my acne regularly and it disappears for a while and for perhaps a day there is nothing that hurts. But then it slowly comes back. Perhaps I need to sleep more because I notice whenever I nap or sleep, my acne seems to go down (but perhaps that’s because of a long period of no touching and relaxing). I try not to scratch or even touch my face.”

“Hormones”

“I had anorexia for 3 years and started to actively recover at the start of the summer. About 2 months after is when I suddenly broke out, so I think the combination of a great calorie increase and unhealthy food might have something to do with it. Also, I was on Loestrin birth control since February to bring my period back (anorexia gave me amenorrhea) but I stopped getting my period a couple months before I broke out. So I think my hormones might be screwed up.”

“Genetics, inflammation, and picking”

“hormonal?”

“I worked at McDonald’s for 3 years, 3 years ago, and that’s when it started. I assumed it had to do with the amount of oil on my face, as well as the food I ate.”

“I think it may be a gluten intolarence as I eat alot of bread and cereal”

“I don’t know. I work out regularly. I’m in great shape. My diet isn’t perfect..but it isn’t awful. No clue why its so bad.”

“My mother had acne as a child.”

“stress?”

“My periods are very irregular. my skin was only good during pregnancy. I have read many articles online about how having hormonal imbalances can cause androgen levels to go up and increase sebum in the skin which is from testosterone. I have also read this can be from excess high glycemic foods so now that i have cut these foods way down i am hoping to see a difference. I also am at the end of a face treatment series that was actually causing more breakouts because i could not wash my face with harsher products or exfoliate so now i am hoping my skin will balance now that this collagan boosting series is over.”

“paxil maybe? i used to have good skin, 1-2 zits maybe in a week and then 1 turned 20 and my face isnt clear at all i have zits all over my forehead and chin”

“I’m truly stumped by it, since I eat a ton of vegetables and fruits and nuts. The only thing I can think of is that I need to cut back my nut consumption drastically, that somehow it’s messing with my sugars (since I usually eat sugars and nuts at the same time).”

“HORMONES, HYPOTHYROIDISM, STRESS/ANXIETY, DIET”

“because of my mother’s genes and stress in school”

“Genetic reasons possibly as my father had it when he was young and my brother has it too.”

“Hormones because worse with age…?”

“genetics..I do everything I can! and maybe lack of sleep”

“Oil in skin”

“body still detoxing. and digestive system, stress and hormone inbalance due to the pill.”

“sugar/diet/stress”

“I think my medicine causes it.”

“stress, hormones”

“sleeping on only one side of my face. pillowcase may be oily.”

“I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, I stress a lot and suffer from depression due to hormonal imbalance. I have been told this may be the cause.”

“makeup?”

“I have too much gluten and too much chocolate sweets. I’m also suspicious of my cosmetic products causing harm.”

“I think possibly my oily skin, hormonal problems, genes, stress and anxiety, lack of sun and relaxation”

“stress, ovarian cysts, oily skin, too much sugar in diet”

“It came out of no where. I mean I had just far head break outs in the summer but they weren’t bad this past summer. Right before I started my new job. Maybe nerves. Since working I haven’t been drinking much water, I used to drink a lot more, and now I’ve been drinking nothing but coffee. So I think It could be stress, too much coffee, and klonopin, also not eating as good as I used too.”

“Hormone imbalance?”

“used steroids in past”

“sweats sodas”

“Puberty”

“imbalances all around. if my diet isn’t great, I see a flare up. If I take an over the coutner drug, I see a flare up. I just have to be super gentle on my body and skin to have it behave.”

“sunlight?”

“I thought maybe from not washing my hat enough because i used to wear one every day when i was in the military, but i have been out for 3 years now, and i still have it”

“I’m stressed out, my body has a lot of toxins, my skin is oily, I pick my pimples, I could go on forever about why i think i have acne.”

“Vegetarianism or location, as my acne first arose when I moved away to college and became a vegetarian (which I did at the same time, about 2.5 years, ago, and the acne has not cleared up since)”

“I’d say hormone imbalance, and a lot of toxins in my body”

“Hormonal since it seems it all began with the first pregnancy.”

“I think 95% my acne is because of clogged skin pores. i need really good deep skin cleansing solution.”

“stress is the only thing I can come up with”

“hormonal imbalance and stress”

“eating diary products”

“hormone”

“Genes. I’m also not sure how much water helps my skin. Sometimes I think it makes it worse.”

“Mercury dental fillings (amalgam).”

“Insulin resistance (however I am skinny) leaky gut, hormonal imbalance”

“When i follow a strict paleo diet my acne gets 90% better but then after about two weeks i get tired of eating like that. I also thank maybe i have a candida overgrowth from all of the antibiotics i have taken.”

“no”

“genes, mum and uncle both had problems with acne from my grandpas side”

“I have flare ups when my hormones change, and then i constantly have tiny white heads that just look bumpy”

“my parents have/had acne. my mother still has skin issues.”

“I think my acne is related to diet, stress, and possibly allergies to makeup. It’s also exacerbated by compulsive picking.”

“Genetic+bad routines”

“NO- I wash my face correctly everyday”

“A mix of lack of sunlight in the winter and not changing bedsheets to often (even if I change once a week)”

“It must be genetically. I do what I can to get rid of the acne but its still there.”

“I get stressed easily. This could be possibly a reason, but probably no the only one.”

“I’ve always felt that my acne was related to my diet and exercise regime. I did go through a mild case of anorexia a few years ago in which i exercised for 2 hours a day and ate perhaps a salad a day and my skin was perfect ! Nevertheless I don’t want to go back to that stage in my life. The problem is that I don’t have a lot of time to put into my skin. I am in school in pure and applied sciences and the majority if my time is taken by that. Therefore I don’t have time to exercise more than twice a week and eat the perfect diet (although i am vegan). That is why I believe my skin is not very nice. Nevertheless this is simply what i think and may have nothing to do with reality.”

“some kind of imbalance from within”

“I don’t wash my bed sheets that often. I maybe wash them once every two weeks.”

“medication”

“maybe using too many different products on my face”

“i believe my acne could be genetic or hormonal, because my dad and aunts use to have. my brothers also have acne. and hormonal because i get more when my monthly is about to arrive.”

“bad diet not exercising”

“STRESS”

“something internal i recently developed eczema dandruff and acne”

“no, maybe lack of exercise, not enough water, my diet could be purer.”

“Night shift, too much dairy, bulimia, lack of sleep.”

“stress level, immune dysfunction due to my illness (cfs)”

“No theory, I know why. I’m Gluten Sensitive & Acne is 1 of many allergic reactions I have to it. Very, very, very hard avoiding it.”

“genetics”

“I have a bad habit of picking little spots, but I think it tends to flare up when I have a lot of sugary food in a month”

“I used oily moisturizers for about a year, sun makes it worse, and my diet”

“hormonal, nutritional, vitamin mineral deficiency”

“bacteria and oily skin”

“i believe it is because i need a better facewash and maybe some necessary vitamins”

“Genetic and medication induced.”

“Hormones, possible deficiency from vegetarian diet, graveyard position for my job.”

“I believe I have an autoimmune disorder of some sort because I spent a good amount of my life indoors without exposure to nature and I was too clean as a child.”

“It started with hormonal birth control, but I took it out over a week ago and have seen no improvement so far. Could be lack of sleep from having a baby, and stress. Also maybe lack of sunlight in the winter since I am usually clear in the summer”

“Hormones/ poor diet?”

“I HAVE NOTICED TO BREAKOUT WHEN I EAT EGGS,BEANS, AND MILK. I AVOID ALL THESE AS MUCH AS I CAN BUT IT’S TOO HARD.”

“hormones and dna”

“stress”

“stress”

“Hereditery, caused by facial hair stress”

“I know my picking aggravates it, but not sure as to the main reason”

“Not drinking ebough water and not eating healthy”

“Wearing too much make up, dehydration and poor diet”

“probably genetics”

“I think I had it due to physical and emotional health issues”

“Hormones and stress possibly.”
“Hormones, stress, and possibly a gluten sensitivity”

“food allergy/intolerance or hormonal/digestion issues”

“not enough sun exposure would be my guess.”

“Listed where I described my acne”

“Food intolerances, too much sebum, bad sebum quality?”

“hormonal imbalance as i have multiple symptoms. including lowered sex drive moodyness and acne. i believe the pill has contributed to my hormone imbalance. stress. although i excercise i think i need to do more”

“My theory is oversensitive sebaceous glands which produce a high level of oils and my body has p. bacteria that feed off of the excess oil. Also, the fact of irregular shape in these hair follicles do not allow skin within cells to shed
properly resulting in cystic acne.”

“eating too much junk food and not eating lettuce, spinach, etc.”

“I have thought about hormones, used birth control, makeup, now I am gluten free for the first time and have cut refined sugars out, nothing seems to help. I am thinking about cutting dairy out now.”

“I’m sure stress is a big reason, poor diet, caffeine, cigarettes, make up and touching my face are causes”

“diet not being optimal. Gluten intolerance. Some spiritual aspect. Genes.”

“Caffeine, stress, sensitive skin, hormones, food sensitivities, not using the right cleansing system, exercise, unbalanced life”

“Because I’m unlucky ”

“I think it has something to do with my hormones.”

“I have no idea”

“Heridity, oily skin, SSRI meds.”

“hormonal disorder i guess”

“I belive my acne is hormanal and that I inherited it from my parents who both had very bad acne. My mother still have cyclic breakouts.”

“Hormonal reasons.”

“Most likely my skin isn’t getting enough moisture and is having to produce more oil which leads to acne.”

“Genetics, maybe diet”

Please contact david@acneresearch.org. We have a budget for both your salary and the research effort itself.

This position would require you to work in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Japanese scientists tackled the issue of sleep and acne reduction in a questionare based study (of questionable value due to the methodology), and found a strong correlation between acne and lack of sleep. Other studies have demonstrated that sleep deprivation increases stress levels and reduces immune system function, while diminishing the appearance of physical beauty. Sleep loss has also been proven to lower testosterone levels in young men. This study showed that stress — a proven result of sleep deprivation — leads to acne.

The body of science on the sleep-health connection is vast, and makes a compelling case about the importance of sleep.

Here are guidelines for getting high quality sleep, based on clinical sleep research.

• Sleep for more than 8 hours every night.
• Sleep in a completely dark room.  Use aluminum foil to darken windows if necessary.
• Go to sleep at the same time every night.
• Don’t rise to an alarm.  Schedule so that you can wake up naturally.
• Exercise daily. A 30 minute walk at sunset will do wonders for your ability to sleep well.
• Set the bedroom temperature to 70 degrees. A low body temperature aids falling asleep.
• A cold shower before bed is an effective way to lower your body temperature.
• Eat foods that contain tryptophan.
• Avoid alcohol, which inhibits sleep and can lead to nighttime awakening.
• Avoid caffeine and other stimulants, although if you cannot abstain, take them first thing in the morning.

Good sleep is not an effective acne cure by itself, but it is impossible to cure acne without good sleep.  In other words, bad sleep causes breakouts, whereas good sleep is a single (but important) step in the process of treating problem acne.

On a personal note, I am a wonderful guinea pig for acne experimentation because I can induce it with bad behavior and stay clear with good behavior.  For me, a surefire way to cause acne is sleeping for under 7 hours, several nights in a row.  When I fail to regulate my sleep cycle, I am promptly rewarded with several fresh acne lesions.

The answers:

“I stopped eating chocolate and noticed a dramatic improvement (less pimples/breakouts). Increasing my water intake helped reduce breakouts too. However none of this has helped my oily skin/blocked pores.”

“No, my acne just has its days when it’s alright and then sometimes it gets pretty bad”

“I went to another town and even after not washing my face for three days my acne seem to be getting better. But as soon i returned to my hometown the acne continued.”

“Not that I know of. But for sure when I eat worse my acne increases.”

“Stay out in the sun a lot. And be very happy with life”

“I would say eating junk food and not getting enough sleep.”

“When I started taking tetracycline, my skin was completely clear, but then I became resistant to it.”

“My adult acne started around August of 2009. I was getting married in November of that same year. My skin got better around September when I was doing a lot of exercise, but then I got the flu and I wasn’t able to get back into my
routine. I also ran out of my tinted moisturizer and couldn’t get to buying it again so I started using an oil-free foundation instead. My skin got worser around February of 2010. I stopped using the make up I had been using and slowly started switching everything. I’ve seen an improvement in my face since about May, which is when I got back from a 2 week trip to Brazil and I switched to Dermalogica.”

“Yes, I tried Accutane but was unable to complete my cycle due to moving complications. I had to quit 4 months early”

“Drinking more water and eating more fiber made my skin much better.
Going off birth control for a few months and breaking up with my long term boyfriend (high stress) at the same time made my face go insanely bad.
Taking my makeup off as soon as I get home from work seems to have also made a positive improvement.”

“worse: using harsh stuff like benzoyl peroxide, scratching out acne. better: not doing ANYTHING all day just sitting in a cold area where I don’t get sweaty”

“Pregnancy made it better. My skin FEELS better since using Braggs apple cider vinegar but it doesn’t cure the acne.”

“Taking zinc”

“Not really, though last year I decided to use nair on my upper lip and after that all my acne started focusing there and on the sides of my mouth. Before most of my acne was on my forehead, temples,Jawline, neck, back and chest, all of which has not changed.”

“Bad effects from using hydroquinone – seemed like I would breakout every time I tried to use it. Using Retin-A cream caused breakouts. Incorporating professional exfoliating treatments once a week seems to help. As does NOT wearing heavy foundation or blush or bronzer. I will breakout if I wear primer.”

“Yes. I was released from the military and have not found another career. After being released I noticed more breakouts.”

“Excercise made it better”

“I try all the time. when i was 17 1 was on Accutane and it changed my life for the better until i had kids then its back again”

“Worse due to stress”

“Using accutane made it better, changing birth control to yaz made it worse.”

“Diet + Supplements helped. Stress reduction helped (included the removal of video-games and horror movies that stimulated my adrenal glands on a daily basis)”

“Diet. went from a very high carb, high sugar diet to the ‘paleo’ diet cleared up my severe acne in one month to very light acne

“Better, stopped taking antibiotics, and started taking probiotics instead”

“Like I said. Over the summer my acne goes into hibernation, but always comes back when I go back to school. I have a summer job that has me up at 5 every morning and in bed by 10 at the latest. I also get way more sun during the summer and eat meals at more regular times during the day. I’m also less stressed and generally happier. I don’t know what factor causes my acne to retreat. It’s probably all of the above. But it’s too cold for me to stay out doors much here, and theres barely an sun.”

“I was on the pill. That seemed to help for a long time. I have used benzoyl peroxide a lot when I was younger, but it doesnt seem to help anymore and it also made my very sensitive skin kind of red and irritated. SA clears my skin up nicely for awhile but then seems to become ineffective. I use it when I would like to temporarily get over a bad breakout stretch, at least until it seems to quit working. I have eaten better in the past, and that seemed to help sometimes (or not at all). Whenever I get very stressed out that seems to make it a lot worse.”

“During the summer, my acne improved greatly. Much more sleep. More outdoor activity. More attention to diet. More attention to myself. Less stress.”

“I stopped washing my face twice a day and picking my lesions. Leaving my face alone and washing once a day helps”

“I stopped smoking cigarettes it got extremely better.”

“Not really. Just skin regimens have helped but always had issues sticking to them, since I don’t want to be a slave to them forever. But I can say that the Acne.org regimen over a year ago, for about 3 months, twice a day was amazing, and I screwed it up adding in a stupid Clean and Clear scrubbing cleanser to exfoliate a little…what a bad idea. Broke out everywhere. I never went back on the regimen after that, and I regret that to this day.”
“worse: moving to Germany better: there was no one thing that I did when my skin got better. I had been doing the same things for some time before that and I was still having breakouts.”

“No. I’ve tried many ways to reduce it but it seems not helpful at all.”

“worse, when i get less sleep and drank less water. and better when i do the opposite”

“I have always had bumps on my forehead and chin. but i guess around prom my skin really cleared up. I don’t remember what I did exactly i think i was just more into drinking water then even eating. Oh yea, and i stopped biting my nails for a good long time around then. (I have been biting my nails… always really have ever since i could remember…terrible habit)My skin is at its absolute worse right now though.. i have acne all over my face (luckily no where else, use to have a little on my back but that disappeared) i have little bumps completely every place on my face except for my jawline basically. And on top of that, huge obnoxious pores on forehead, nose and around nose, and chin. Blackheads mainly on my nose with some sprinkled on my cheeks ( that i pop… not good cause once it heals its replaced an abnormally larger pore) then i get whiteheads on my cheeks. that i admit i also pop too… my left cheek is way worse than my right one, i usually just get the whiteheads on my left side.. I have noticed the acne on my cheeks got worse when i started wearing blush.”

“As of right now I could not pin point a dramatic change other then the time I was on Accutane.”

“washing my face every night”

“Getting off ortho tri Cyclen made it MUCH worse”

“Plenty of water, no dairy, no sugar, little to no processed foods, low GL-diet. I’ve reduced stress, added an acne product regimen, and also used very specific vitamins.”

“Swimming in the ocean a few times a week seemed to help quite a bit”

“2010 in spring started to notice much worse breakouts, it has continued and is getting worse. Just went through breast cancer for the second time. Not sure how they are related accept for possible hormonal imbalance.”

“Going vegan last summer cleared my skin a lot. also Yaz birth control pills but they made me depressed and moody”

“yes. I did a master cleanse fast and I stop drinking sodas and drinking no sugar added juices. made it alot better”

“yes, I went off the birth control pill last May and started having problems with cystic acne. I went back on about 2 months later.”

“I lost my job so I’m home a lot more and think that’s why I am having break outs. I just really want to know if there is a way to get rid of it for good…even when I had a job I had occasional breakouts.”

“Stress from loosing my job”

“They got much better when I moved to the USA from Europe about a year ago, stayed that way for about 3 months, but returned to their previous state after.”

“I read skinny bitch and went vegetarian and organic for a few months and cleared up. But I have always had spells of clear skin. I have been going to dermatologist since I was 11, I have also been checked over by endocrinologist to look for root cause but non found. I won’t take birth control pills but think they may have helped sometimes when I used them in the past.”

“Eating healthier.”

“Not that i have noticed, I’ve been on Accutane twice and every time my skin got better. Once i got off Accutane my skin would get oily and id get a lot of blackheads on my nose.”

“I stopped letting my cat rub against my face. Which was hard because I’m close to them and love the affection. That helped a little as far as my acne was concerned…I also don’t pick as much as I use to which helps. I started changing my pillow case regularly as well which seemed to help.”

“When I was pregnant, it cleared up entirely. I got the Mirena IUD, and my skin remained clear while breastfeeding for approximately 9 months. When I stopped breastfeeding my son when he was 11 months old, my acne came back worse than ever.”

“Increase in exercise improved my skin. Washing my face once daily increased acne. Birth control pills improved my skin.”

“stress makes it worse…used progesterone cream and made it terrible.”

“i went to college, but it didn’t get worse for the first semester, only noticed a changed after winter break”

“I recently went off birth control and acne has been worse since.”

“I cut caffeine out of my diet completely and noticed a significant change.”

“I started taking a vitamin B supplement and a garlic supplement . which made my acne severe untill i stopped them.”

“last month I tried using Creatine and I think it caused me a lot of spots…”

“yes. when i used to go out and drink/party a lot my acne would get worse but it was also largely due to me not washing my face before bed when i came home. its improved now due to my own cleanliness and less partying but its stubborn”

“Staying up till 3 in the morning was pretty much a killer. Eating red meat all the time did me in too.”

“As long as I have live in my present city ( hennai, tamilnadu, India) there has not been a day without acne. The climate here is more humid as it is near sea and very warm or rather hot. I moved to bangalore for 3 years and I had very
very rare breakout. My skin became smooth and clear. Bangalore weather is less humid and cooler. I returned to chennai some 3.5 years ago. My skin was fine until I got pregnant which was 9 months after I returned to chennai. I had to abort due to some reasons. Now my acne wont go.”

“Nothing. Lifestyle has nothing to do with acne. Just like cancer is not affected by whether you wear a nice wooly hat. It’s a disease which needs cured. I’ve gone through the spectrum of lifestyle changes and as such, my life is undeniable proof that this idea is nothing but a silly myth.”

“i was extremely stressed out a few weeks ago and saw my skin breakout”

“Didn’t have pimples till I went away from home to all girls college abroad (its just on forehead)”

“No, not really. I’ve had the same, persistent acne for 13 years. It’s not horrible if you look at my face, but it’s still very noticeable and having 3-4 large lumps on your chin area is very difficult to live with.”

“No. But there are a couple of things which spring to mind that worsened my acne. Firstly – I almost never touch my skin, not even for a second. But the few times I might casually touch a part of my face, even a couple of times, just for a few seconds – I almost certainly get a breakout there – in that VERY SPOT. The strange thing is that Im a serious germaphobe so wash my hands a zillion times a day with antibacterial – as such, they are almost always clean. So my skin seems to be hypersensitive to be being touched..? I don’t know.

Second, I used the Lerosett system a few months back. The clay mask was alright but the facial wash absolutely wrecked my skin – my breakouts MULTIPLIED – I had big painful pimples all over my right cheek that HURT and wouldnt go away for days, as well as pimples everywhere else.

Aside from these two, I have never noticed a visible and dramatic change – either bad or good – in my skin, as a result of any dietary/lifestyle changes. I do notice that a healthier diet gives me more energy, I sleep less and feel much less fatigued/lethargic.

As far as stress goes – this seems to have minimal effect on my acne because Ive had phases where Im almost completely stress-free and so happy – acne is still there. Nowadays Im down with exam revision and obviously very stressed – yet have pretty much the same level of acne – maybe 1 or 2 pimples more – nothing major.”

“At 16 my Mom made me cut out fast food from my diet. I have to say that this was a turning point for my acne, I believe that alone downgraded it from a 7.5 to a 6. Before that I had tried numerous medications, including tetracyclin and other oral antibiotics. At 20 I stared taking oral contraceptives. At the time I my dermatologist told me that I should try treatment with isotretinon, which requires birth control pills administered for at least 3 months. My acne cleared up during those 3 months enough that I did not need the isotretinon treatment anymore (the problems described above are what I vividly remember from 3 years ago). I plan to go off the birth control pills in 3 months, and naturally I predict that my skin will severely worsen.”

“I went on birth control and it got dramatically better. Its gotten worse again at college”

“After having my son at 25 my acne became worse”

“When I gave up dairy for a few weeks, all acne on my body cleared up, but not my face.”

“When I became a sophomore in college, my acne got dramatically worse.”

“When I started eating all organic foods my severe acne went down to moderate.”

“started taking vitamin d, vitamin b complex, zinc and boron. I started taking these vitamins together from the information on this website. I am really happy I found this site my acne is basically gone. I have 1 little zit right now but it is healing. A few weeks ago I had about 10 to 20 on my face and I was really upset.”

“I’ve tried diet, supplements, and topical treatments and nothing has ever worked”

“exercise, living abroad in a very hot country completely cleared my acne”

“Yes. It’s only been this bad in the past few months, since starting my depression medication (before that it was almost completely clear). But I’ve been sleeping a lot more since starting my medication, and doing less exercise (before that I’d run once a day at the gym for 30 minutes, and go to an hour of Bikram yoga two or three times a week). So it might be a result of either one.”

“When i was 17 i moved away from my abusive situation at home and moved into a nice place with a load of friends i didn’t work and spent the whole time getting stoned, not working being a bum, not worrying about anything and my skin cleared up fine for a few years”

“at one point i was getting sun every day. i would wash my face twice a day with proactive cleanser and put erythromycin on the pimples and that kept my face clear for awhile but then i stopped using it. when i eat healthier, my acne improves too.”

Thank you for according us your time and understanding”

“no only time acne better is on dianette pill.”

“I am still trying to figure it out! Through out my final exams I had very clear skin and once I finished and did well my acne flared up again!”

“Got a job, made my acne terrible,”

“I stopped drinking soda and became regularly hydrated and I fixed a stomach disorder and noticed a significant decrease in my acne. I also strayed away from getting fast food often to never.”

“i stopped smoking and drinking for about 3 months to see if that changed my acne at all and my acne became worse as time went on. i have know idea how that is possible”

“I think its possible my diet is the cause of the increase in my acne. My back and chest got worse about 2 years ago after the death of my mother. I am pretty sure my increased consumption and current addiction to cereal is the culprit.”

“An acne product system I had purchased worked very well, but once I stopped using it, and tried using something else, the acne came back twice as bad. Using the a Dove soap bar worked very well for a time, but the acne has returned and the Dove regimen I still use doesn’t have the effect it had before.”

“not really, when in go in Holidays in the sea, i see some improvements”

“I have had acne since teenage years I have been off and on roaccutane but only recently realized that roaccutane was not fixing my skin when my skin got very bad after drinking 5 coffees in my new job. I have drastically changed my diet with all the recommendations for my diet.. eg. no dairy, drink green tea, drink lots of water, eat whole grain bread instead of white, limit starch foods, zinc tablet, eat a well balanced diet… etc etc and I have seen a noticeable change. I cannot wait to get of roaccutane and continue a great well balanced diet without the dry flaky skin.”

“I can’t remember such situation. I used metronidazol for one year and it cured my acne for a while but I think that my skin got used to it and it doesn’t work anymore. I tried using birth control pills and they helped but didn’t cured my acne completely.”

“Only taking Accutane. Amazing product. Wish I could have continued”

“Yes I have made it better by being active and working out. Even in High school they had a Gym that is for free it made my acne clear, but since I wanted to build muscle and gain mass I didn’t want to stop eating the food my mom gave me. Still that in turn from working out everyday made it clear and using products like clean and clear to Neutrogena then I quit using nuetrogena because it made my face really oily and red. Clean and clear helped a little, but they came back like they were immune to it.”

“When i am relaxed, not in school, exercising, and happy. Also, it’s seemed to clear up after i took my first Xanax pill.”

“Drinking a lot of water”

“Yes, I think taking birth control and using eco-friendly ‘free’ detergents has improved my acne. I lived in Argentina for 6 months and my acne pretty much went away during that time, I don’t know if it was because there were less chemicals in my environment or what. Once I had to take metronidazole orally, and my acne really cleared up from that.”

“Pregnancy wreaked havoc on my body. Acne was only one of the issues.”

“I stopped touching my skin for a while.”

“Drinking lots of water improved my skin, got rid of 95% of blackheads, lots of fresh air seems to help, and using sauna”

“About a year and a half ago, I started taking a multi vitamin and broke out so bad. I didn’t know that it was the multi vitamin until about 3 months later. My husband did some research and found that vitamins with iodine were causing people to have acne breakouts. Needless to say, I stopped taking the vitamin. When I turned 40, about a year ago, I started to break out around my mouth, which I was told, was hormonal and that there was nothing that I could do about it. Once the zit goes away, I often have a dark blemish that could last me up to 6 months.”

“I have noticed that becoming a vegetarian has made my acne go away a little bit.”

“Stopped doing sports during my exams which made it worse, and stopped eating chocolate for 8 weeks which made it better, stopped wearing make up for a week which made it better and stopped picking my skin which made it better”

“Can’t recall anything except taking Accutane.”

“New meds, new workout routine.”

“My acne has definitely gotten worse since moving from Boston, MA to Hoboken, NJ – but that’s also around the time I stopped using Duac temporarily.”

“Completely cut out cows milk, made skin much better (less inflamed/angry), Anti-Candida helps Seb Derm and little Acne”

“When i had my exam period last year, I broke out like crazy. I realized I did not work out for 3 weeks and was super stressed.”

“I think eating better and beginning to use skin products might have helped my acne. At least I’m not scratching it as much. But taking Advil made me break out like never before and all over my body. It was horrible.”

“Going to school has dramatically increased it along with remodeling a house.”

“Anorexia completely cleared my skin. I had mild acne in middle school, but when I stopped eating it completely cleared up. I had no zits for 3 years. And then suddenly, 6 weeks ago, I’ve had the worst acne I’ve ever seen. 3 months ago I started eating a lot more (from around 1200 calories to about 2700 calories) and eating a lot more unhealthy things (pizza, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, etc.) Also, the last time I had a period was 3 months ago. I had lost it because of the anorexia, but I was put on Loestrin in February and it immediately returned. But when I started eating more, it disappeared, which makes NO sense. So I think the Loestrin might have screwed up my hormones. Also, this is the same facial cleanser I’ve used for the past 3 years, but over the summer I would work out in the middle of the day and started washing my face 3 times a day instead of just 2.”

“Stopped picking=duh, amazing! Gluten free= pretty nice but too skinny! Birth control = halfway decent”

“I think taking my antidepressant has made it worse but it also gets really bad during times of stress”

“After doing the veggie diet, my body seemed to detox which i could tell from my digestive system working better…and within 3 weeks my acne was the worst i had ever seen. this was a month ago and i also was getting ematrix skin treatments at this time which like i already wrote about, seemed to increase my acne. now i am starting to get it back under control.”

“I am a raw vegan, and switching from a Standard American diet to a raw vegan diet dramatically improved my acne. However, I am still having a bit of trouble, and that’s why I’m so frustrated–I’ve been doing it for one and a half years now!”

“HUSBAND JUST LOST HIS JOB A FEW WEEKS AGO–ACNE HAS GOTTEN WORSE. ACNE SEEMED TO BE BETTER WHEN USING CLINIQUE 3 STEP SYSTEM. ACNE WAS WORSE WHEN I WAS PREGNANT BOTH TIMES. SKIN WAS BETTER WHEN I TOOK VITAMINS REGULARLY”

“Starting a script on doxycycline antibiotics initially made my skin less oily and bumpy but after taking it for too long my skin became very, very dry and hard to manage. Also my hair started to become bristle so I’ve been taking inner health plus to attempt to replace all the good bacteria that I killed off during that period.”

“yes. diet, skin care products, a detox for candida and getting off the pill. contraceptives. using wild yam hormonal natural balance cream and eating well. Using all natural organic skin and hair products- morroco method. and botani skin care.”

“I did a cleanse and everything was great, then I went somewhat back to normal and my acne went crazy…worse than ever. That was in September I think, so I’ve gone back to being more strict about dairy and gluten, but things are not clearing up. I though it was due to consuming too much soy milk and stress at work, so I got completely of soy, switching to almond milk, and changed my attitude at work…but I don’t know why I keep getting jaw line cysts. They previously cleared up great when I started BHRT 1.5 years ago, but lately I don’t know what’s going on.”

“I lived in Australia, it was non-existent then, moved back to the United States and it came back and has become stubborn, small zits persisting and occasional larger pimples”

“Started with menopause”

“I gave up dairy and sugar, wheat all together and it seemed to get better but then I got severe depression so I had to re-evaluate what I was eating, lifestyle again and I ended up eating what my dietician prescribed which meant eating wheat and dairy again”

“Not sure. i think when I was taking B complex and chromium picolinate supplements it helped to make it better. I think that when I was using Glycolic Acid topically, it made it better.”

“In the summer it seemed that running and swimming 4 days a week helped, but i was also in the sun a lot and not under a lot of stress. Now i am in school and exercising is not helping nearly as much, if at all anymore.”

“When I first met my husband my acne was bad all of a sudden, but I used Accutane and it went away until now. That was 10 years ago. I am 29 now.”

“Coconut oil has made it better. Xanax and Adderall has made it awful.”

“When i joined the marine corps, thats when the acne started”

“My acne became dramatically worse when arriving to college in September 2009. There were many factors that could play into that: change in location from Raleigh to Philadelphia, change in sleeping pattern (I tend to have a later bedtime now), becoming vegetarian, alcohol consumption.”

“I did eat only vegetables and chicken for a month. I cut out all sweets and bread and milk. It improved my acne, with a couple of pimples still there.”

“When I visited Cuba in 2005, I spent that entire two weeks walking most of the day and while I thought all the sweat would make the acne worse, it didn’t. I was almost acne-free by the end of the trip. But I’m back on the coastside where I hate moving in the cold and rain. My skin does seem to ‘breathe’ better after a hike.”

“better – no caffeine. more water preferably lukewarm. proper hygiene. lemons. less oily more boiled food. better in winters. worse – before and during periods.worse in rainy seasons.”

“I stopped drinking so much alcohol and incorporated green tea into my diet which has helped”

“Stopped taking the pill microgynon”

“When I drink water it does help but I hate the taste of water. I’ve never really known where to start to make the changes.”

“I don’t know. I stopped working out as much and became lazy and that was for worse I guess.”

“When I eat paleo my acne gets better extremely fast but then plateaus at about a 3 and i get tired of eating like that if my acne doesn’t fully go away.”

“Im from germany but I lived one year in the USA and I lived in spain for 5 months. and my skin was better when i live in the states and in spain. The tap water in spain and in the states contains more chlorine than the tap water in germany and sometimes I felt like thats what made it better but I dont know.”

“I had a child while pregnant and nursing, my face was clear now that I recently started to get my period the acne came back”

“Every time I tried a new product prescribed by dermatologist, my acne got worse. the only application that will actually help is Clearasil.”

“Only Accutane made a difference. I took it 2 years ago. My acne returned about 2 months ago and I am considering going back on Accutane but would much rather find a natural way to control it.”

“yes, drinking water, not picking my face”

“Sudden improvement last summer, no change in lifestyle”

“Being anorexic a few years ago made my skin perfect. Nevertheless 2 years ago I went on a completely raw diet which lasted about 3 weeks and went for a run every morning and this made my skin PERFECT as well. Nevertheless I do not have the willpower to eat raw for the rest of my life, unfortunately.”

“Birth control made my acne ten times worse”

“Exercise made it worse”

“No. never made a lifestyle change. it got worse when i turned 19 ”
z
“Yes. When I was 19 I joined the military. After 4 months of only water and lots of exercise my face cleared up 100%. But I didn’t drink coffee then & wasn’t on Zoloft”

“Taking oral antibiotics (Bactrim)”

“Acne started when I was 16 at the same time as CFS. Sedentary lifestyle, insomnia, much time spent indoors. never really improved or got worse. I notice less physical activity and less stress tends to make it better.”

“Do my best to avoid Gluten. When successful results are amazing. Not just for Acne either. Arthritis, Acid Reflux, Eczema, and about 25 other problems greatly improve or go away.”

“When it started getting worse on my face (around the late summer of 2010), my wife and I had just decided to separate after being together for 17 years. I was sad and very stressed….I am sure this had something to do with my acne flaring up. Thing is, it has not gotten that much better since then and it’s been over a year and a half. Also, the acne on my body had/has been roughly the same level all these years since I was in my teens.”

“I stopped eating sugary foods for a couple of months, which seemed to make it a whole lot better, but I find whenever I have a sugary week then the next two weeks I suffer.”

“I haven’t made a lifestyle change”

“Switched to sulfate free beauty products. Began green detox smoothy every day. These helped. Switching to graveyards at work made things worse”

“Taking Zinc took away a lot of redness and seemed to help but its come back a bit as well”

“Going to the dermatologist and following a consistent regimen helped my acne, but I believe it is exfoliation and squeezing that keeps my skin even.”

“Yes, laying out in the sun or tanning seemed to help my acne in the past. As soon as I got Implanon birth control in November of 2011 of acne became bad and got progressively worse. I got it removed but have yet to see improvement from removing it”

“When I completely cut out mild products, sugars and starches (like breads and pasta) I do not get acne. Unfortunately that type of diet is not conducive to my current lifestyle.”

“Changing my diet helped quite a bit”

“Taking the Accutane was the only thing that made a dramatic difference in my acne.”

“I can’t really remember how any changes affected my acne.”

“Yes–I started washing my pillow cases once a week and that helped.”

“Yes, i got on and off birth control and each time my face got worse. however, i feel that constantly changing my routine and products affects my acne more.”

“Only thing i can think of is sun beds, but I didn’t use them a lot. maybe once a fortnight if that but haven’t been on for at least two years.”

“When I’m depressed my skin breaks out. I spend more time inside, i don’t eat super healthy, i don’t drink water. Everything I do to my skin is self destructive and its all because i feel lazy depressed and hopeless about the state of my
face. I get on health kicks where i am determined to take better care of myself and i get a nasty break out and all that work feels useless so i eat a grilled cheese or fall asleep with make up on”

“Diet helps but not dramatically. Zinc helps a lot for one supplement”

“I’m not sure, I spend a lot of time analyzing my acne, like when it gets worse, when or why it gets better. I thought I found the solution with a gluten free diet. But I have a bad spurt of acne right not, while eating extremely healthy diet. I think it tends to get worse when I work in restaurants, though I am not around oils or cooking of food. Maybe the anxiety is an affect.”

“Not intentionally but I do notice my skins clears slightly during the summer or breakouts worsen during the winter months”

“Vacations usually make skin better. Avoiding gluten made a huge difference. Diet in general made better (eating healthy foods and avoiding sugars).”

“Better – I think cutting caffeine, no chocolate, sun, and drinking lots of water help but I can’t say it makes it dramatically better. Worse – not showering especially after exercise, coffee, certain lotions or facial cleansers”

“Stopped drinking milk and watching cheese intake a few weeks ago. Seemed to help at first but been breaking out the last 7-10 days.”

“I stopped taking any SSRIs for one year and took Lamictal. During that year, my acne was limited.”

“Tried to eat healthier, but there was no change”

“Changes in my diet and exercise improved my acne, and my mood. I do not drink any soft drinks, sugary drinks and I drastically reduced my intake of gluten. I am moderately gluten intolerant- it gives me stomach cramps and heartburn.”

“I came off the pill and my acne got a lot worse around my chin. It then started to spread up onto my cheeks.”

“Not really but hot yoga helped for a while.”

If the results of this study are correct then we can draw some conclussions:

1. Eating foods dense in Vitamin A and Vitamin E is likely to diminish acne. A healthy dose of spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, and almonds could do wonders for problem skin. Supplementing both vitamins would help, as well.

2. Proper food digestion may be a problem for acne sufferers. The population of acne sufferers does not consume significantly less food with Vitamin A / Vitamin E than the general population. Perhaps an inability to properly digest food causes a failure to extract vital nutrients. I have long observed that acne is more common in underweight individuals, which may be related to similar digestive tract issues.

Perhaps the acne research community should put more effort into understanding what makes the digestive system run the way it needs to.

*There is no guarantee that this — or any acne study — was conducted properly. Two poorly researched studies on the chocolate / acne connection lead to 30 years of dermatologists and nutritionists (the very people who should know better) erroneously telling the world that diet had no effect on acne.

The inner battle between productivity and being happy with my appearance has led me to stopping and restarting caffeine a dozen times this year alone. When I’m off coffee, I break out less.

All the starting and stopping and staring at my skin in the mirror has taught me something interesting: even when my skin is free of acne, it looks worse when I have had coffee that day. It’s difficult to describe exactly how my skin looks worse, but it does. Enlarged pores and a reddish hue, yes, but there is more. My skin looks aged and unhealthy, like I spent the last 10 years tanning excessively. To contrast, after I quit drinking coffee I quickly become amazed at how fresh faced I appear.

Our polling shows that half of acne sufferers believe that coffee exacerbate their skin problems, while half find it has no effect. How would these people would feel if they adjusted to the beautiful skin that for me comes with complete coffee abstinence from, only begin drinking it and watch their skin transform to irritated and ragged?

How many people would quit drinking coffee if they believed that it contributed negatively to their physical appearance. If you drink coffee, does that idea give you some pause?

Another thought. Perhaps I have a mild case of acne rosacea: “There are also some food and drinks that can trigger flushing, including alcohol, food and beverages containing caffeine (especially, hot tea and coffee”.