How to Relieve Acne-Causing Stress in One Second Flat

Don’t worry – you don’t have to be in nature for it to work!

You know that stress = acne. Or at least it heavily contributes to it in a myriad of ways.

It affects your hormones, it affects your digestion, it eats up your nutrients, and it redirects blood flow away from your skin to deal with whatever’s stressing you out.

Hands down one of the best ways to reduce acne is to reduce stress. But it can also be the hardest!

How do you stop stressing?? It often feels like it’s not in your control. Or like you’re not even consciously aware of it for the most part.

Well one thing I learned this year from dealing with general anxiety is a quick, effective, and practical tip. [Read more…]

How Elizabeth Finally Ended Her Four Decade Struggle with Acne

by Tracy Raftl 10 Comments

Today we have an interview with reader Elizabeth Resnick on how she finally came to clear her skin and remain happy and healthy ever since!

If you’d like to fill out your own clear skin interview to be featured on the blog, then just click here.

What was your experience with acne? How many years did you have it and how did it make you feel?

I have struggled with cystic acne most of my life, starting around the age of 11 or 12 and off and on until my mid 40s.

It definitely made me feel self conscious. I was always worried about covering it up. To this day, I am always checking my makeup, even though my skin is clear. Old habits die hard.

What kinds of things did you try prior to holistic healing that didn’t work?

You name it, I tried it!

I started seeing a dermatologist early on. I was on oral antibiotics (back then it was minocycline and tetracycline… probably some others too.)

Also Retin-A and various topical prescription products. Tons of drying masks, face washes, toners, etc.

I used everything from high end department store products to drugstore brands. I also tried some more natural topical products.

In high school I went on Accutane, which cleared my skin up for several years, but the acne eventually came back with a vengeance. [Read more…]

This Cheap Drug Store Ingredient Is the Best Thing I’ve Ever Put on My Face

by Tracy Raftl 52 Comments

Okay, so I’ve been chomping at the bit to talk about this. I gave it a few weeks as a test run, and now I have to let you know about glycerin for dry, dehydrated, acne prone skin.

Last week on the blog, I talked about humectants, which are ingredients in skin care that attract and hold water in your skin. This is all very important for healthy functioning, acne free, and young looking skin.

Now, for good part of a year, I’ve been using an awesome DIY moisturizer that contains a mixture of facial oils, aloe vera, and an assortment of other nourishing ingredients like essential oils and MSM.

I’ve been very happy with this mixture. My skin has been looking very nice since using it, and it feels dewy and hydrated for… well, at least two thirds of the day.

I have to admit that later on in the day, as well as after waking up in the morning, I did still feel like my skin was a little tight. Not terribly, but a little bit. I felt like there was some room for improvement.

But the thing is, I thought I had my bases covered when it came to humectants. [Read more…]

Using Humectants in Your Skin Care for Hydrated, Acne Free Skin

by Tracy Raftl 29 Comments

In past Love Vitamin articles, I’ve talked about how to properly moisturize your skin to prevent acne…

The two main ingredients in the recipe of good skin moisturization are water and oil.

Water is probably the most important part… without water, your skin is dehydrated. It’s sort of prune like… it feels tight and unpleasant and shows all kinds of lines (even if your skin is also oily).

However, without proper oil (also known as an “occlusive” ingredient), your skin becomes dry because it can’t hold that water in. The water in your skin evaporates out into the air and gets even more dehydrated.

This is all very important because your skin needs to be properly hydrated in order to function the way it’s supposed to… in other words, skin that is smooth and acne free!

So today I want to talk about what they call “humectants”.

Humectants are ingredients in skin care that attract water to your skin and hold it there, magically making it feel super hydrated and young looking! No kidding! [Read more…]

How to Treat Acne Caused by High Androgens

by Tracy Raftl 24 Comments

As an adult woman, you probably know that hormones have a lot to do with your acne!

After all, the relentless onslaught of acne at certain times of month seem to have a mind of their own, and it doesn’t matter what you do to the outside of your face… it just won’t budge!

Now there are a lot of different hormonal balances you can have (check out my Hormonal Acne Guide for more info) and it seems that nearly all of them seem to lead to acne for some people.

However, the end result of all of these imbalances is that it leads to your body converting androgens (male hormones) into an extra potent form of testosterone called DHT.

DHT is the hormone at the end of the line that directly causes you to break out.

Now, if the underlying issue is that your body has elevated level of androgens (ex. testosterone, or adrenostenedione), then the problem is that there’s simply a larger pool of androgens to potentially convert to DHT. [Read more…]

How Domh Found her “Natural Acne Cure” Through The Love Vitamin

by Tracy Raftl 2 Comments

Domh

Today we welcome a guest story from Domh, sharing her success with The Love Vitamin method!

Right around puberty is when the acne started. I would have the occasional spot on my chin, cheek, near my nose, etc…but the worst of it was the countless, tiny bumps all over my forehead.

No over-the-counter methods worked, so when I was 12 we went to the dermatologist. I went on an oral prescription, tetracycline, and a prescription topical cream. I also got rid of my bangs.

The bumps cleared up, but I still had the odd zit here and there, as one does when they are a teen!

Fast forward seven years, I go on birth control, get married, and begin “adulting”. My skin stayed pretty clear, even when I got off of birth control.

My skin has always been what I would call combination… cheeks completely fine, but the T-zone and chin were always greasy by the end of the day. But still, it just wasn’t a problem acne-wise.

In fact, I would often be complimented on my “beautiful skin”, or my “ivory complexion”. Clear skin was a part of my identity.

At that point, my regular routine included an anti-acne exfoliant in the morning, and then a gentle cleanser to remove makeup at night, toner, and moisturizer. Years without a major incident.

But Things Changed and Clear Skin Was Now a Memory

And then… something happened. It crept up slowly, but a few months after my 30th birthday, I realized the bumps that had tormented me in my pre-teen and early teen years had returned! [Read more…]

2016: My Year in Review

by Tracy Raftl 7 Comments

Hello lovely Love Vitamins… happy 2017!

Okay I know I’m a little late on the mark there (what with it being the 9th of January already), but hey… I’m still getting back in the groove after my holidays!

I decided to start a little tradition: a yearly review post… a look into what went on with me last year personally, professionally and skin wise! A little catch up party and a look to the future.

So let’s dive in. What happened for me in 2016? [Read more…]

How to Remove Makeup Gently and Naturally

by Tracy Raftl 10 Comments

Removing makeup is just the most fun I’ve ever had!

How to remove facial makeup gently and naturally without using chemical removers is a question I understandably get a lot.

One method that I have recommended in the past is using a very fine microfibre cloth such as the Jane Iredale Magic Mitt. All you do is wet the cloth and gently massage it around your face and it removes makeup with only water.

This isn’t a bad method and lots of people have loved it. I still think it’s a better option than chemical makeup removers. Magic Mitt lovers, if it works for you keep using it!

However, I’ve learned a lot about external skin care over the last year, and I no longer expressly recommend doing any mechanical exfoliation at all, particularly if your skin has an imbalance like acne or redness. [Read more…]

How to Cure Your Acne Phobia

by Tracy Raftl 13 Comments

This post is an add-on to last week’s post about my general anxiety and panic attacks. Read that first or this one won’t make much sense!

So last week I talked about how I’ve been dealing with general anxiety this year and even a few panic attacks.

This is all new to me, but I shared about how I found this guy’s website to be incredibly helpful. His explanations about what’s really going on when you have anxiety and worries, and his advice about phobias and “anxiety humour” made a HUGE difference for me.

After reading and implementing his info, I pretty much immediately saw a huge relief in my anxiety. And now it’s not like I never get anxious thoughts, but they go quickly and I don’t feel controlled by it anymore.

Anyway – while my general anxiety these days is more about scary “what ifs” like death and illness and crippling accidents rather than acne, I saw a lot of parallels between my general anxiety and the usual experience of acne anxiety (which I’ve certainly had my share of!)

This also means that a lot of the advice about how to solve general anxiety and panic attacks can also work to make your life dealing with acne a lot better.

So first of all: [Read more…]

How I Eased My Anxiety and Avoided a Full on Panic Disorder

by Tracy Raftl 8 Comments

Hi Love Vitamins 🙂

Today I wanted to talk to you about my recent experiences with general anxiety, and what I’ve found has helped me the most.

I have always been a worrier if I have had something to worry about (aka acne), but I’ve never really considered myself to be someone with just general anxiety.

However, after a challenging 2015 which included going through a period of deep loneliness as well as my scary-intense Ayahuasca experience, I wound up with this lingering anxiety that just wouldn’t go away.