Acne is a holistic problem, so treat acne holistically.
Do this by not only focusing on skin care or diet to fix your skin.
Even for you Love Vitamins who have been following my blog for some time could do with a reminder about this.
This is the number one thing that people don’t quite understand about acne (or they logically understand it but emotionally don’t abide by it).
This limits their potential for permanently clear skin.
People think that acne is entirely to do with what happens to your skin on the outside. Or that it’s entirely about what you eat.
Most people, especially before learning about holistic acne treatment, think it’s all about dirt and bacteria that sits on the skin.
That’s why people assault their faces all the time with these face washes, creams, and shattered dreams that the next product will be the right product (I know! I’ve totally been there!).
Except it never really works. If it did, you probably wouldn’t be here reading this because your acne would be gone.
For others, they jump head first into changing their diet, feeling like if they can just have the “perfect” diet and never ever ever slip up, only then will they have clear skin.
And they drive themselves insane in the process.
What you do to your skin on the outside, and what you eat, are both indeed very important.
And your choices in this area can greatly worsen or improve your acne situation.
But That’s Just Not the Whole Story
Sometimes the creams and washes do get rid of acne, but not for very long, because they aren’t getting to the root of the problem.
What they’re doing is temporarily covering it up until it breaks through the barrier and comes back.
Or they just cause really unpleasant side effects, and you’re totally sick of it.
The root of why you are getting acne in the first place usually comes from within the body, so if you want permanently clear skin you have to start working on the acne problem from the inside out.
“Great! I’ll just eat the ‘perfect’ diet then, and then I win” you think. “I don’t care what it takes”.
Later I see you crying over a sandwich because you couldn’t be perfect, and now you’ll never clear your acne.
No, friend. It’s not just about your skin care. And it’s not just about your diet.
Your body is holistic and it’s all the little efforts and actions in each area of your health that add up to success.
It’s not “perfection” in a couple areas that bring you clear skin. It’s balance in all areas.
What Does Holistic Even Mean?
Holistic means whole, and interconnected.
Your body is holistic. All your organs (including your skin) are alive and connected to each other, and the health of one is affected by the health of the rest of them.
So your skin can’t be fixed like a broken part of a machine that is disconnected from the rest or your body.
What happens in the body determines the health of the skin.
That’s why you can’t only focus on skin care. Good, gentle, natural skin care is super important. But in most cases, it’s not going to get to the root of the issue
Lots of people get that but then they go on to *only* focus on skin care and diet (with about a million supplements thrown in on the side).
But much like how your skin is holistically connected to the rest of your body, your diet is holistically connected to all the other areas of health.
If you want your healthy diet to work in your favour, you need to figure out a way to mange your stress levels better.
You need to look your life and give attention to those areas that are ailing you – relationships, finances, career, your creativity, your self care, your spirituality.
You need to get a bit of movement and exercise.
You need to sleep better.
You might need to support your digestive system, liver, or give your hormones a gentle helping hand.
I Promise It Isn’t Just Diet
But many people focus solely on diet. Sure they might give a bit of a nod to these other things. But emotionally they feel like clear skin entirely rides what they eat.
People do often clear their skin solely with a perfect diet.
Except they’re so stressed and fearful about it that all that stress burns rubber through all the nutrients you just ate. As a result you only stay clear while you are eating the perfect diet.
You mess up, then you break out; then you stress and try to be even more perfect, and what’s worst of all is the feeling of being trapped by all this.
I think it’s much better to just not be so perfect about it and stress way less about it. Eat well the majority of the time, and really savour and enjoy the times when you splurge.
I know this from experience. I’ve relaxed in leaps and bounds with my food since I first started this acne journey.
I’m so much happier and my skin is absolutely just as clear, if not clearer than back then.
Acne is a holistic problem. It doesn’t just ride on one thing. Find the balance, clear your skin.
Are you truly treating your acne holistically? Or do you admit you are a little bit uber focused on one area?
omg such a great post! Yes, I have totally been there. While I truly believe that good skin starts inside, with what you are putting into your body, it is still so much more than diet. Stress is huge. So is sleep, And a million other things. But you can’t make yourself crazy. You do the best you can, and when you slip don’t beat yourself up. And as far as the topical stuff goes, once you clear your skin from the inside out, the topical stuff is just the icing on the cake!
Absolutely! 🙂
Did u ever do bentonite clay internally and if so did you get any negative side effects or have any advice?
Hey A, I tried it years ago. Didn’t really do anything for me, but bentonite clay masks are awesome for drawing stuff out. Even good on bug bites!
Hi A – no, I looked into but never ended up trying it for whatever reason. Psyllium husk has been the thing that I have used to cleanse and “sponge” up toxins from the intestine
So carbs are the issue? this is what I have been told. this means I cant have my daily donut? HAHA
Hey Sarah! Yeah, the donut probably isn’t doing you any favors lol! I discovered that grains are really a problem for my skin and digestion. But I’m fine with things like sweet potatoes and butternut squash.
Hi Tracy,
I can relate to this post a lot. A balanced diet is healthier than a perfect diet. I went through a similar journey as yours with diet and acne. It’s nice to know there are others who have reached this type of awareness. What I really appreciate about your post is your balanced appreciation for diet and the mind because a lot of people try to pin one against the other, when as you said they are “whole, and interconnected.”
Thanks for your thoughtful comment Christopher, glad to hear this post resonated with you! 🙂
Hey Tracy!
I love all the natural options you suggest on your blog and wanted to use your links to buy them for my daughter. I can’t ship to Canada, do you have this problem with the products you recommend from Amazon? How do you work around that? Thanks!
Hi Tracy, I often just buy similar but different products that you can find in Canada, depending on what it is. What ones are you looking to get?
It’s just hard because… well, “stress” is hard to quantify. Am I stressed? I don’t even know! I mean, I don’t feel positively calm and happy all the time, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a normal human way to exist… as though in a lobotomized, drug-induced state. I just don’t buy positive thinking, which so often seems to merely be self-deception… I’m too much a realist and philosopher, bearing the burdens of the world in my mind. I don’t think I can change who I am just to have better skin. Presumably, I get enough sleep. I don’t really exercise (except my arms occasionally) but I’m standing all day at work.
It just seems like there must be some specific, medical cause of my recent acne: I never used to get acne like this (many small whiteheads, or are they pustules?) on my inner and upper cheeks and chin. I used to not care what I ate at all, and only had about one or two large, painful papules on usually my forehead or nose, sometimes lip or chin, at any given moment. It was a worse kind of acne, but much LESS OF it. Now it’s “mild” but lots of it. Or maybe it’s not mild, it often leaves a red inflamed mark for a few days. This has been since around the start of this year, 2018. Maybe it was part of last year too, I don’t remember. But it’s only been there since I’ve been trying to be very careful with my diet. I don’t think I’m more stressed than I used to be, either. What have I tried? Cod liver oil, skate liver oil, plain ol liver, fermented foods, probiotic mist spray, bentonite clay masks, cutting out most vegetable oils and processed foods, avoiding fluoride, and “Thyme Out”. I use Uncle Harry’s natural toothpaste as a spot treatment, which I find to be as effective as benzoyl peroxide, back when I used that. I even recently tried calcerea sulphurica, homeopathy! But it’s only been a couple days so I can’t say it hasn’t worked yet. My skin did seem better the day after.
I’m just losing hope. My mother consulted a dermatologist against my will (I am 22 years old) and got me prescribed azelaic acid, which costs hundreds of dollars. I haven’t gotten it yet, but it’ll be a real bummer if I end up becoming dependent on something that is so expensive, or worse, spending that much only to not have it work at all.