Dear Readers,
This week’s question comes from Beena. She writes:
My children and I sincerely thank you for your article last week! My husband had learned that a symptom of COVID19 was losing a sense of smell and had taken to passing gas in our vicinity as “a public service,” to ensure our noses were working. We are delighted to report we no longer have these daily check-ins after 3 days because the enzymes work! My husband’s missiles have been decommissioned! Ha haha! So that was so effective I wanted to ask if there is anything I can try for my teenager daughter’s acne. It really bothers her confidence. We’ve tried all the creams and she goes to college next year (if college will happen next year) and she is getting more sensitive as time goes on. Have you any ideas what we could try? I am hesitant to put her on birth control pills or antibiotics (doctor’s suggestions) and she is asking about Accutane. If you can’t answer this in your article kindly contact me privately and we can arrange for her to see you if you feel you can help. Thank you!
I’m so happy to receive this question! I suffered for many years with teen and adult acne and it can impact self-esteem horribly. Our faces are what the world sees of us every day! It impacted my confidence so I feel for your daughter. You’re doing her an incredible service to look for holistic solutions to help her!
Unlike her, I did not have parents who knew how to help or direct me and my doctor put me on all of the medications you listed after the common topical prescriptions failed. I would caution parents strongly from going that route before exploring natural therapies that can be equally (or more!) effective. The prescribed treatments ultimately made me very sick for a number of years. I will outline the side effects of these common prescriptions and tell you about an alternate treatment today. Holistic therapies are the only therapies I have seen solve acne without disturbing long-term side effects.
For anyone suffering from serious acne, I recommend 1:1 support because people need guidance in making lasting dietary changes, which are necessary to solve this problem, as there are usually food intolerances and some digestive and hepatic issues in tandem with skin issues. These need to be addressed. If they aren’t apparent at the onset, they manifest within a few years and if they are suppressed the disease goes to the internal organs – often the mind. In cases of mental illness (all psychosis I have seen) there is a history of skin and/or digestive issues that have been suppressed.
As you may know, I have a special interest in holistic mental healthcare due to my son’s suffering and I can tell you digestion, skin issues, and mental health issues almost always dance in tandem. This is why your daughter needs 1:1 help. What you are seeing on her skin is the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. It’s an indicator of an imbalance in the digestive and hepatic system and it needs to be addressed, not suppressed, if you want to help her to overcome it and be healthier in the long run.
First, let’s look at the common medical prescriptions and their side effects:
Topicals
This includes topical creams, gels, and sprays and they can include soap, scrubs, acids, peroxide, and antibiotics. They are usually used to a) dry the skin’s oils and b) remove the dead skin cells on the outer layer of the skin and the sticky glue that holds them in place. This can also include moisturizers and toners.
Using these to solve the problem is not unlike putting a drying agent or scrubbing agent on mold in a home. Even if it looks better fora time it’s not fixing the source of the problem, so more mold is going to crop up.
It’s also important to understand how the body functions. When the skin is stripped of its natural oils by drying agents the body works hard to make more oil as a result. This is because the oil is actually the skin’s protective mantle. It’s slightly acidic and meant to be a protective barrier to bacteria. Stripping it regularly makes the body think there is an attack and ramp up oil production. So clients often end up with skin that is dry and flaky yet oily, in need of washing more and more frequently. This therapy works against the body’s natural mechanisms, not with them. In the long term this can cause scarring, as the skin requires it’s protective layer to heal itself when we pick at it, which often happens with acne. It also makes the skin more susceptible to infection and to damage from scrubs.
Scrubs are used to assist in removing the outermost layer of skin cells and the glue-like substance that holds those cells in place. The idea is that those sticky cells cause pores to block, which results in acne. However, the excessive scrubbing in addition to drying products often leaves the skin raw, flakey and oily. It’s far more prone to scarring and infection at this point.
Acids are used to do the same thing but by chemical means. If they’re strong they can cause chemical burns, but most included in skin care products are rather gentle and can assist in helping the skin to shed more frequently. However, the creams that they are included in often have scents and other chemicals that can irritate skin further.
Oral antibiotics:
These are given long term to help stop the bacteria that cause acne. It can be effective on acne in the short term, but the problem with this therapy is it’s indiscriminate and the intestinal bacteria is wiped out, as well. The long term results of prolonged antibiotic use are only now being investigated, but we know yeast infections, urinary tract infections, mental health issues, weight issues, and chronic cystitis are all correlated. Over time this will make skin worse.
Holistic alternative:
Wipe face with colloidal silver on a cotton ball to naturally reduce bacteria on the skin without harming the acid mantle or gut biome at least 3x per day. You can keep a spray bottle in your sack or purse with blotting pads and spray it on those to dab your face through the day. This really helps and won’t damage the microbiota.
Birth control (oral, injectable or ring):
This is often prescribed to girls/women for acne and we do not understand the long term impact, but I believe there is a case to be made that it is dangerous. Aside from causing horrible mood swings and depression/ anxiety in many females, these chemicals often cause somnolence, weight gain, a lack of libido, and long term hormonal havoc. Many women who have used these long-term come to me with chronic hormonal imbalances and skin troubles, as well as yeast infections and chronic, antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections. I do not believe these chemicals are as safe as they’re marketed to be and suspect their proliferation is related to the uptick in estrogen dominance in youth (early sexual development, obesity, adult illnesses, feminization) as these chemicals are released via our urine into the collective water system. As such, I feel it’s always better to go the natural route vs using birth control to treat skin conditions, especially when skin conditions can be treated naturally.
Holistic alternative:
Use herbs to balance any hormones that are imbalanced and remove excess testosterone from the system. There are many such herbs, but it’s important to make a remedy specifically for each client’s imbalances containing only what they need. This is something I offer in my clinic.
Accutane:
This drug (Isotretinoin) is composed of a synthetic form of vitamin A in large doses to treat acne specifically. It has many dangerous side effects, including lifelong impaired vision and severe birth defects if you are to get pregnant while using it. The full list of side effects can be found here.
Holistic alternative:
Natural vitamin A is also good for skin and we are often not getting enough of it. Adding quality cod liver oil to your diet and beef liver is a great way to start to get the form of vitamin A that helps with skin conditions. Cod liver oil is a supplement that helps down regulate inflammation in the body, which is what acne ultimately is.
In addition, specific supplements help many people with chronic or systemic acne. But the primary way to control acne is through an anti-inflammatory, omnivore, probiotic diet and food intolerance testing to determine foods that trigger inflammation for you. Some basic measures you can take at home are:
Increase your water intake and add apple cider vinegar (unpasteurized) to your water
Reduce your dairy consumption (often related to acne, possibly because of hormones in milk or improper digestion)
Reduce your wheat consumption (chemically sprayed and damages the gut)
Learn how to make fermented foods (see this site to learn how)
Add any digestive support that is needed for optimal digestion
If symptoms still persist, use homeopathy to correct the underlying problems
With these combined, I have yet to see acne that is not fully resolved.
With these combined I have yet to see acne the is not fully resolved. But natural treatments take more time than prescription ones do, so keep this in mind and make a commitment to at least 6 months to get great results!
I am so thrilled people like yourself are exploring holistic solutions, Beena, and this is why I write this column, so thank you for writing in! If I can help one reader avoid the horrible side effects and suffering I endured it’s so worth it!
As always, if readers have a health or nutrition-related question for the column, I welcome you to write to me atnonienutritionista@gmail.com. And if you’re looking for more specific health information, check out my website and blog at nonienutritionista.com. I provide 1:1 health coaching (online) to help sick people to overcome physical and mental illness using science-based, holistic interventions.
Namaste!
Nonie Nutritionista