So, in my last video about why I don’t recommend taking Accutane, I mentioned that there is sometimes an initial breakout when you use holistic treatments.
I should have explained that better because I realize now that it sounded a bit scary!
Have you ever heard of something called a healing crisis? It’s not as bad as it sounds.
Well let me explain to you something about the skin.
Your body is constantly detoxifying wastes through our body’s natural methods of disposal. Your lungs, your bowels, your urine, your liver. When these become too overloaded and can’t keep up with all the toxins flowing into your body, this is bad news – because the toxins have to come out somewhere.
For some people, they end up overweight because their bodies decide to store the excess in their fat cells. For some people, it comes out in the form of a headache or arthritis. For some people, it decides to release the excess through the skin… sometimes in the form of acne.
Okay, so what this means then, is that when you first decide to change up your lifestyle for the better, the overloaded detoxification organs, like the liver, release their excess toxins. This is the first step in the healing process and it’s a great, wonderful, fantastic thing!
But because everything is still pretty backed up at this point, it can come out through your skin which results in a very temporary worsening of your acne.
This shouldn’t last more than a week or two before your acne goes back to the average level of acne that you normally see. You should also be aware that this probably only means a few more spots than usual. If you generally have mild or moderate acne, it’s not like it’s going to suddenly jump 5 points on the severity scale, so don’t worry.
In this time after your healing crisis, your body will begin to heal your disposal organs, and they will be able to dispose of toxins properly, without having to get them out through your skin.
This is when your acne will begin to clear up
I want to emphasize though that a healing crisis is not even something that is guaranteed to happen. It’s more likely to happen if you jump head first into a strict cleanse or detox diet, where your body is suddenly capable of releasing a bunch of toxins at once.
If you were to make slower changes to your health, it’s unlikely you would see any worsening of your acne at all.
The point of this article is that it’s a reminder to you all to be patient… there’s a lot of healing work going on in your body that you can’t see, and it can take a couple months before you start to notice a difference on your face.
I know, I know… it’s unbelievably difficult not to get scared and frustrated when you are making all this effort and it doesn’t appear to be working.
I used to go crazy about it, but just remember that calming down and having a little faith will help your body to heal faster than going nuts in frustration. I experienced all this stuff myself… the healing crisis, the frustration, the worry. And look at my skin now!
So just relax, take a deep breath.
Go for a walk with a friend or meditate in nature. Remember that this isn’t forever.
You’ve dealt with acne this long, what’s a few more spots when you know this is the last few months you’ll ever have to deal with them?
Do you usually have enough patience to see if a treatment works, or do you quickly go from one treatment to the next? Share your experiences below!
you should make an article about having good will power, because everything I try to be holistic someone whips out the pizza and my will power is too weak to say no 🙁
Hi Summer…
Yes I definitely understand! I will work on that article or video tomorrow, thanks for the suggestion!
I finally understand why, I though I was eating something wrong, thank you for the article. Also does brown rice contain gluten and wheat, because I hear gluten isn’t healthy for the skin and with such a strict diet we are so limited in what to eat
Hi Laura!
I’m glad to put your mind at ease a bit, it can be a frustrating journey at time, and quite easy to let those little streams of doubt poison your progress!
Brown rice doesn’t contain wheat or gluten. I eat it all time! The grains that do contain gluten are wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and kamut, although people are generally the most sensitive to wheat gluten specifically. Oats are questionable because they do not inherently have gluten in them, but they are often contaminated with wheat, so be careful of those.
Grains that don’t contain gluten are rice, corn, quinoa, amaranth, millet, and buckwheat.
Also, if you’re wondering what to eat and feel restricted, sign up on the right side of my site there to download five of my favourite dinner recipes. They’re all gluten, dairy, and soy free, and super yummy! And easy! Hopefully it’ll help.
Thanks 🙂
I think I might be going through this process already. I’ve been eating healthily for a week, and a few days ago I started to get bad spots. Before reading this post I couldn’t believe it! – I was eating so healthily yet I was getting worse spots.
I know… the healing crisis thing can be really scary and confusing if you don’t know why it’s happening! But remember that it’s a good thing!
i have been breaking out for 3 weeks from the detox diet and i hope i gets fixed
woops do you think you could delete that comment because i didn’t mean to put my full name down! ill rewrite it if you want, maybe just showing my first name, thanks! H
Hi Harriet… to answer your question, I took the free recipes down quite a while ago! Sorry!
This is a very helpful article, I have changed my skincare (from grapeseed/jojoba oil to coconut oil) and doubled in kefir consumption at the same time so something is definitely happening — it was making me crazy, my jawline and throat is covered and some on my cheeks which never happens before… it seems now is the time to chill out so thanks a lot for this wealth of information!!! Enjoyed your free ebook as well 🙂
haha… weeelll uhh despite the topic of this post, be wary about using coconut oil on your face! It actually can be really comedogenic!
Most of what I’ve researched says organic extra virgin coconut oil is non-comedogenic and that it gets deep into the skin and pushes out all the bad stuff hence the breakouts for a couple weeks while refined coconut oil is extremely comedogenic so wow, that’s really confusing. I don’t want to break out, obviously but also don’t want to give up on something prematurely if it’s a temporary consequence of cleansing. Maybe I will go back to eating the coconut oil and putting jojoba on my face 🙂
The reason the reason coconut oil scares me is because Fran Kerr wrote an article about it a long, long time ago saying ‘Oh wow, I love coconut oil for my face’ , as it seemed to help get rid of her cystic acne. But then there’s an article a while later going ‘Aaaacctually….despite it clearing my cysts, it ended up clogging all my pores and my skin took months to recover’ :/
But then again, she used it because she had heard awesome reviews all over the internet! So there are some people who love it…… just shows everyone’s different :/
It seems as though she was using virgin coconut oil, not extra virgin. I always have a hard time finding extra virgin at the store, it seems to not be as widely available – but maybe there is a big difference there in its pore clogging abilities between extra and just virgin?
Yes you have a good point there, I think because the fatty acide composition with coconut, it can’t be considered virgin or EXTRA virgin as with olive oil, those are 2 very different qualities of olive oil but with coconut the acid composition is different, so it would be difficult to distinguish any differences between virgin or extra concerning the coconut oil.
Here in Holland from what I have seen there are only 2 distinctions, virgin or extra virgin (here it means the same) and REFINED refined = run away (even the organic kind). Do you have the link for the articles? I would love to read those, am still on the fence about giving up the virgin coconut oil, it smells nice and is half the price of organic jojoba oil and I think everything is starting to clear up, it has been just over 3 weeks now *fingers crossed* In the beginning i was waking up with a new spot almost everyday and now it’s coming further and further between so will keep a very, very close eye on changes and if things worsen or don’t get better at all, it’s back to jojoba!
I would get those deep painful cysts in my neck/throat/jawline and back with eating things made with sunflower oils or soy oils and other cheap oils, it was terribly painful. Too much omega 6 I guess. Inflammatory badness
Oops nevermind, I found her blog through a search… definitely going back to jojoba oil, don’t want to aggravate the situation and i’m already freaked out enough lol guess it just isn’t that suitable for very sensitive skin prone to breaking out so much, oh well that’s life 🙂
Previously, I used soap and I would get breakouts occasionally. Then I tried Neutrogena which made me break out badly and I stopped using it after a week and went back to soap. Then I did some research online and decided to try Lady Soma’s Antioxidant Berry mask and what a great purchase.
Once per day, I have been using Lady Soma’s Antioxidant Berry mask and it has been great to me. It has not only prevented breakouts, but it is also clearing out the little white heads that were on my forehead (I have oily skin) and blemishes. It’s not a harsh product either and feels rather mild. I can see why everyone loves this mask!
Could you tell us the ingredients of the berry mask? Sounds like it would make me hungry!
I have used the generic form of Proactiv for about 2 years. A few years ago I had switched to pescatarianism (with minimal dairy) and 4 weeks later my forehead/sides of face broke out horribly in little bumps. I tried drinking ACV, honey, EVOO, gave up and tried a topical prescription, then quit that and finally used Proactiv, which cleared up my face in a snap.
Because I want to decrease my dependence on plastic and want a more natural approach, I was preparing to switch to jojoba oil, but all of a sudden, the teensy bumps appeared again before the jojoba even touched my face! I was on a gradual decrease of Proactiv, but perhaps the pores just KNEW what I was up to and wanted vengeance. UGH. So I did make the switch, and it’s been 13 days of jojoba… Nothing has gotten worse–which is great! But not better either. I’m not prepared to go through this three-year process again. Does anyone relate to this?
Yep, those topicals, especially BP seems to give this major rebound breakout after you quit, just pleading with you to go back to it. But it’s just an endless cycle unfortunately.
I’ve been on proactiv for about 2 years aswell, about 5 months ago i completely stopped the proactiv and went straight to the oil cleansing method with EVOO (not coconut however). I used it for a few weeks and my skin went from flawless to extremely bad, so i freaked out and stopped, went back to BP. After that my skin just got worse and worse, the BP didnt clear it up this time. Now i’m on prescription antibiotics for severe acne and a topical cream. Everyone says if you stick it out it will get better, but i’m not game enough to try again any time soon. I was aware i would get acne during the detox stage, but it was just so bad it was unbelievable! My whole teenagehood i never had acne on my neck, now at nearly 20 ive got cystic acne half way down my neck and all around my jaw and chin, and it has affected me so much I avoid leaving the house. I’ve also been a vegeterian (mostly vegan) for years and a healthy one too! I dont know what to do 🙁
I had the exact same reaction with OCM using Castor Oil and EVOO, all after stopping Proactiv after using for 6 years. Mine’s getting better using organic raw honey mixed with whole milk, but it’s a slow process. I’ve reduced amount of refined sugar in my diet as well as carbs, too, and have been drinking Meta-D: mixture of organic apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, apple juice, cinnamon, and water. Not sure if it’s the combination of everything or what, but it’s slowly getting better!
This article ease my tension. Im quite worried when i started my cleansing and detoxification program (Herbalife) It’s my firstweek now and i notice my skin suddenly have acne breakouts. Im wonderin what could it be possibly wrong doing healthy stuff and yet acne becomes worse. i drink a lot of water and skipped unhealthy foods at all. i started this program abruptly, thinking that it could be that my body is making some adjustments.
I just cant wait to get my skin back and even better! reading this article makes me feel relief! Could you give me more some of your advices? Im actually doing a full pledge detoxification process for my skin and well being. Take care!
Hye.i’m also using herbalife products and right now, my skin become worst because of acne. I just patient n have faith that one day I’ll have clear and healthy skin. So, I want to ask something. How about your skin condition right now ?:-)
I just recently went healthy and organic of many years eating fatty, rich foods. My skin was never clear to begin with, but not that bad either. Now exercising everyday and eating tons of veggies, drastically reducing bread, sugar, and dairy. Drinking nothing but 1 cup of coffee, green tea, and water. Bam! Skin’s breaking out like crazy! Tiny bumps all over my skin and it feels like sandpaper. Allthewhile trying to stop using BP, ughh so discouraging! Trying to remain positive that all this hard work will eventually pay off!
Paige! I realize you write this 3 years ago but I was reading through comments to see if anyone’s story is similar to what I am experiencing and your description of your acne sounds just like mine! Ughhh all over my forehead and temples. Just bumps that make it look like my skin is so congested and clogged. It’s also on my cheeks too but not as noticeable. What ended up happening to your skin?!
Interesting. I think I’m going through the “healing crisis” now, although it’s been going on for a couple of weeks.
I used proactiv for 6 years and decided I was through using those harsh chemicals; so I tried the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM): part Castor Oil/EVOO. By the 2nd week, my face just erupted, but not in my T-zone, only up the sides of my face and under my eye brows. I’m still battling it, even after not using OCM any longer. It’s frustrating, but this week started seeing improvement while using organic raw honey mixed with whole milk every night.
i have the same problem, i was in a hope that i will clear my face, after week and half of healthy eating i started to break out. and it got worse and worse.i had small rashes all over my forehead, which after two week disapeared.but till now i have big problem with my chin. one pimple is gone three other are coming out, it feels really bad and i am also ashamed of that.but i am not gonna quit i just believe that it will go away. i am not the one as i can see.tracy you were writing it will take about two weeks, but it is month and half now, do you think this is a problem?and other thing is that my chin is five times worse then before, not only some more spots. one possitive thing is that my oiliness went down.
Hi Marina,
The small rashes sounded a lot like detox, but as for the extra chin acne, I’m not so sure. There is a possibility that you are reacting to a food that you are eating more of now than you were before.
so what should i do now? i really dont know, it is like i cannnot help myself now…i wasnt so bad with my skin, but now i am on the chin.i eat a lot of vegetable i was avoiding fruits for some time, because i didnt want to eat sweet things for some time.the one thing i know i did wrong i wa eating seitan for three times, because one man said it is ok, but then i was reading that is pure gluten. is there possibility that i am allergic to some vegetable or fruit? i just dont know..
Unfortunately it’s possible to be sensitive to nearly anything. If the problem doesn’t clear up, you might need to go to someone who can test you for sensitivities, like a naturopath, or some other natural practitioner https://thelovevitamin.com/1971/naturopath-acne/
hank you very much for your answer, i will let you know if i was succesfull 🙂
I’m really glad that I came across your articles this evening, because I was having a crisis of faith today.
I was thinking of all the changes I’d made to my life and wondering if it was really worth it, since my skin looks terrible right now and I look YUK! … I was in an Italian deli and I was so close to just getting lots of cheesy, meaty products, baked goods, wines and all that … but I didn’t … I don’t want to waste all this effort I’ve put in…
…also most of my changes were made on scientific merits and ethical choices which I will never go back on… not after what I have seen ” Forks over Knives ” and ” Earthlings ” ( I recommend watching these documentaries … be strong and watch them till the end, they can get quite upsetting )
x be excellent to each other
Hello,
I did a detox that lasted for 2 days and a half where I just drank juices. After the detox my skin broke out like crazy on my left side of my cheek. I got around 7 blemishes (some were cystic type). However on my right side I only got a few. Right now I have two cystic blemishes on my right side. I have changed my diet, I am now eating fruits, vegetables and brown rice, etc. Why do you think I broke out like that? Is it because of the detox? my skin was fine and then it went crazy. Also, what is chronic hyper inflammation? I think I have that. I tend to get very red all of a sudden. When I laugh, when I am talking to people, as if I am embarrassed. Please get back to me!
Hi Paola,
yes, I’m pretty sure that this is a detox reaction. I can’t tell you why it’s on the left side: it could also have another origin – frequent use of your cell phone, sleeping on the left side,… But then you’d probably have the same problem always.
I also think your skin condition (hyper-inflammation, getting red easily) sounds quite like rosacea. Did you ever google this? Maybe this could give you a clue. Washing the face with oatmeal-water is pretty calming: just let some oatmeal soak in a little water for 10 minutes, stain and then wash your face with it. Try not to use any other products. Especially greasy products are not great for rosacea skin.
Hi Svea,
thanks for your reply. Although, I am 100% sure it is not due to cellphone or sleeping on my left side. I sleep facing up never on the side and when I speak on the phone I never have it touch my skin. Therefore, I find it strange how crazy it broke out. I was going through a little stress a week before however.
Also, I know what rosacea is and it is definitely not that. At least I don’t think so because my skin isn’t red throughout the day. I am saying for example, when I am out in the shop and i start speaking with a stranger my bodies begins to get hot and my face too and I get red. Do you know what I mean? It later calms down but it always happens instantaneously. Its not just with strangers, if I start laughing I also get red. Its so weird……
Thanks for your response.
. All these good changes that have improved my acne by getting no more giant pimples that hurt but smaller non painful pimples now and not as many as before but I’ve been noticing over the past couple of weeks maybe a little longer that I have been getting more clogged pores on my forhead and little tiny congested bumps all above my lips and on my cheeks beside my nose and now some more on my chin even though a lot of the stuff on my chin had cleared in certain areas then smaller bumps are coming up. My questions is could this be from the jojoba oil or is this just a sign on healing? I did quit the birth control pill only 8 weeks ago but that seemed to help my skin rather than worsen it. Lonnnng post and a lot of information haha but I need some one elses opnion but just my own I keep second guessing myself!!!
Hi Sweets, well, if you’ve been doing the changes for 8 weeks and only now starting to experience a detox, it’s probably not exactly detox. I actually would think it’s an effect from quitting birth control (often people find that breakouts from quitting don’t show up up until months later).. but be happy! It probably would have been a lot worse if you hadn’t been doing all this stuff.. you’re really helping your body weather the storm of quitting… keep going and don’t get discouraged… it will pass before you know it!
Hello Tracy,
I have a question, 2 weeks after my detox I broke out really badly on my left cheek on my face like really bad. I had more than 10 pimples without exaggeration. I am still struggling to get them to go away. Today however, they are pretty much not inflamed. But, I wanted to know the cause of it since my right side was perfectly fine and still is. What do you think it is? It is not because I sleep on it or the use of my cellphone. So, what?
Forgot to say that I started all these chnages 8 weeks ago. Supplements, seed cyling for regulating. My cycle and hormones, castor packs to cleanse the liver, cuutting out dairy, processed foods and refined sugar mauka honey and jojoba oil on my face….
Thanks Tracy! That makes me feel better 🙂 Im moving back to BC where we are both from!! Ive been living in Alberta for 3 years away from all my family and friends and really hate the winters here! I noticed my acne always got worse in the winter. I have a feeling things will improve even more when I go back home and loose the stress of being so far from home.
haha! Well nothing against Alberta but….. well actually lots against it, way too flat and cold for me!! haha I’m so happy for you you’re coming back to BC 🙂 We got the life out here! Which part of BC are you from?
I’m from the fraser valley, from aldergrove actually if you know where that is lol, between abbotsford and langley. I’m super excited!! When I first started to research acne online and I found your website I really felt like we had a lot in common from where we were in our lives when we started to get the sever acne. I just turned 23, I also am working at a pub and was eating terribly and drinking way to much but now have just been eating salads at work and ignoring all the peer pressure to drink. I’m also from bc etc etc. It helped to know that here is someone that was where I am now and now look at her!! You’ve been such a huge motivater to keep me moving!!
Yep I know where Aldergrove is, been through there before. Super glad I provided such inspiration, does sound like were in very similar situations!
Hi Tracy, i started detox 2 and a half months ago and breaking out really bad, how long could I expect this to last? If I go back to my old habits will my acne stop?
Desperate and unhappy
I am so with you here!! I went through an emotional healing crisis and my skin went crazy…I also gained 15 pounds. I trusted it though. I did so much emotional work in a short time, my body freaked out. It did everything it knew to do to keep me safe (break out, gain weight). I didn’t allow it to stop me though. I understood what it was doing and keep going. Eventually, as I cleared old stuff….the weight came off and my skin improved. Thanks for sharing this insight!
I had a question regarding the length of time a general ‘healing crisis’ is for most people. It’s been 3 months since I’ve started making changes and it seems to just stay the same or even get worse. I use: Makuna Honey to cleanse, Jojoba Oil to moisturize (I followed your video), with a little Tea Tree Oil mixed in. I also use a Bentonite Clay and Apple Cider Vinegar mask. My breakouts are a mixture of regular pimples, blackheads, and now cystic bumps. I don’t wear face makeup (maybe once every other week to go out and it’s Bare Minerals which has never given me a problem) and I use natural products for my daily eye makeup (I forget the brand right now). I eat pretty well, and workout practically every day at Bootcamp. I drink tons of water and take my vitamins, and probiotics. How much longer should I wait … half the time I don’t even want to look in a mirror because it’s so bad, I’m almost ready to go back to the chemical products! At least when I was using those, my face didn’t hurt, haha. Any advice? Thanks!
My acne has gotten worse, I never used to wear makeup, now i cant find one that would conceal it, I too dont even want to look in mirrors or go out. When will this stop?
Hi
This is the first time I am posting about my situation related to face skin anywhere but I just cant seem to get over it. I have had acne in my teens and early 20s( I am 24 now). After medical treatment it cleared up but still I never had clear skin. Then this year i decided to get serious about my health and started excersising regularly and my skin was just fine.. Lots of brown spots with ocassional pimples.. Also to mention i used to drink about 5l of wAter everyday and eat fruits everyday.. But still I would binge on sweets and oily food ocassionally. In this past month i started to drink a hell lot of water.. Like 8-10l everyday. I usually have a bottle of water with me everytime. And I am experiencing break outs in spots. Yeah I had a lot of clogged pores but this is freaking me out and I cant seem to get away with it. I am obsessed with staring in the mirror and cant get my mind off it. Please help me out. Really need support. Everyone keeps asking me why am i getting breakouts everywhere