The great battle for perfect skin and how I eventually got there Part 2

Ok so in Part 1 I described my tragic past of being an acne riddled teenager as well as an acne riddled adult. (Yes it carried on well into my 20's and even into my 30's). Now lets talk about the time I disocvered the root cause of my acne and the amazing things that helped me clear my skin.

I am a massive fan of researching subjects I'm interested in. Whether it is  make-up products, tutorials, fashion or beauty editorials, films or music videos. Such was the case for acne as well. I hit Google hard. I researched and read up about acne non-stop. It was liberating seeing so many people suffering with the same problems and reading through their stories, sharing in their stories of success or failure at curbing their acne. It was during this feverish Google hunt that I discovered the following book:

http://www.acnefreein3days.com/

I Know what you're thinking right? Is that even possible? 3 Days to clear up acne. How could this possible be? I went to 7 different dermatologists in 14 years and they couldn't clear it up. So what made Chris Gibson's method different?I bought the book and started the programme. I followed it religiously and started seeing a difference on the second day already. Not a subtle "Oh it's a little better" difference but a "Holy beard of Zeus my skin is clearing up" difference. This was when I realized where the big problem lies. And to be honest I always expected it to be the root cause of my acne. It was my diet and the food I ate. When I fasted on the 3 day programme I saw incredible results. My skin was crystal clear and looked like a toddler's skin. The minimal amount of products applied to my face during this programme also made me realize that skincare doesn't need a million things to become better. You need to look at what works and why it works? After the 3 days I returned to normal eating, cutting out most of the bad foods that were described in the book. After a few months of strictly eating a super healthy diet  I started slipping back into my old eating habits and before I knew it my skin was back to it's old tricks.

That's when I had my light bulb A-Ha moment.Through a process of elimination I started cutting certain foods from my diet. Closely observing the results on my skin. After a few months it was clear that the biggest culprits were dairy, sugar, meat, wheat and caffeine. I also researched it quite extensively and was quite shocked about what I read. Especially about milk and its devastating results on skin. You can read more about it here:http://www.clearskinforever.net/milk-acne-does-milk-cause-acne/

I knew I had to make some drastic changes to my diet. I quit the foods that made my skin worse cold turkey. I've never believed in doing things slowly so I went in full blast.Perhaps this was the not the best idea because I had such massive withdrawals from cutting these foods out of my diet that I couldn't stand up straight on the second day of detoxing due to nausea and migraines. I knew that if my body reacted like this to cutting these foods from my diet that they probably weren't that great to begin with anyway. After the detox I felt much better andI started on my journey of becoming a raw food loving vegan. I know what most of you are thinking now? Isn't that the most restrictive diet in the world? Where do you get your protein from? How can you live off only eating raw vegetable  and fruits? Believe me these thoughts all ran through my head as well. Luckily I discovered a few amazing people and books who made the transition period and adjustment so easy for me. They include:

https://www.rawlicious.co.za/item/the_magic_of_superfoodssoftcover

 http://www.markusrothkranz.com/healfacenews/healyourface.html

I quickly discovered the magic of green smoothies, the abundance of delicious recipes and also the powerful healing properties these superfoods posses. I have been a raw foodie vegan now for almost 4 months and my skin is glowing. A lot of other minor symptoms I suffered from also faded away including fatigue, blurry vision, allergies, excess phlegm, dry eyes, itchy scalp and some chest and back acne.It saddens me to think about all the money I could have saved, all the emotional stress I could have avoided if somebody just told me to make this change sooner in my life. I am not advocating for anybody to become a raw food follower or a vegan I am simply stating the success I've had with this lifestyle change. After trying everything on the market the one thing that changed it all was my diet. After all your skin is the biggest organ of the body and a barometer of what is going on inside. If your skin isn't clear it means that somewhere inside your body something is out of sync. Once you have discovered what it is you are well on your way to re-establishing the balance from within so that the outside can match the inside.

Once I established that diet was the main ingredient missing from my clear skin recipe I then turned to fine tuning my own skincare routine. Being a product junkie at heart I loved the idea of researching products and ingredients and quickly discovered that the cosmetic industry is really a lot shadier than what I initially believed. More of that however in the final part 3 of my clear skin journey.

End of Part 2. Stay tuned for Part 3 where I share how my skincare lifesavers and why they really work.

The great battle for perfect skin and how I eventually got there Part 1

Anybody who has ever been the victim of acne prone skin will know the havoc it wrecks on your self-esteem and the extreme lengths we go to in order to combat acne. My own battle started when I turned 14 in 1996. My skin changed from baby smooth into a battlefield of oiliness, cystic acne bumps, and blackheads galore. I was fully aware it's all part of being a teenager but somehow my skin was way worse than my fellow pubescent friends. Being a boy as well put me in the unfortunate situation of not being able to cover up my imperfections with concealer and foundation like all the ladies were doing in my high school. Though most of them never did a very good job at creating a foundation base-flashing those caked on pinky ash foundations with the tell-tale mask line around the jawline way too often. 

The added pressure of having a blood red face riddled with acne is probably the worst thing that can happen to any teenager trying to fit in. So of course I ran for the counter products. You name it I've tried. I had the mindset that the more a product burned the better it was. That burning sensation and sting I felt every time I lathered my face in benzoyl peroxide or alcohol laced products gave me the false sense that I was fighting a winning battle. How could a pimple win against something that burned like a mofo I thought? Of course soon after starting my skincare battle plan my skin became dry and flaky and the oil production tripled over night. I didn't understand. Why wasn't it working? Why are all the ads on television telling me to buy these products which didn't seem to work? 

I was beyond depressed. I couldn't look at myself in a mirror, I would switch off the bathroom light when I took a shower or bath to avoid looking at my face. I drank antibiotics and vitamin A supplements, I slept with mud masks on my face, I even covered my face with toothpaste before I went to bed. In my panic stricken state my parents intervened and made an appointment at a dermatologist for me. I was so relieved, finally an expert will tell me how to fix it all and give me a magic pill that will take it all away. or so I thought.

Like most dermatologist I've encountered in my 16 year battle with acne (yes it's been that long) the first one I went to assured me my eating habits had nothing to with my acne (big mistake I later discovered it has everything to do with what you put into your body) and secondly he prescribed a dose of the controversial Roaccutane drug. Now for anybody who has ever taken the drug you will know it comes with a plethora of side-effects including:

Not a lot of fun if you're a teenager but when you're desperate for clear skin you will endure all of these temporary side-effects. Whilst taking it I never experienced suicidal thoughts or depression I did suffer from very dry skin, chapped lips and dry, itchy eyes. My skin cleared up like magic however, it was like a scene from a sci-fi film. Watching the oil dry up and the pimples disappearing almost moved me to tears. The thought of never battling another pimple once I finished my cycle was a foreign and freeing concept and I couldn't wait for my new life with clean and clear skin. 

I finished my first cycle and I stopped taking Roaccuatane. Within a month of quitting it the acne and oil returned with a vengeance. Even worse than before-I was devastated . Why is this happening to me again? Am I being punished ? This awful setback was to the beginning of a decade of back and forth of taking Roaccutane. I lost count how many times I've taken the drug. But it would be somewhere in the 20's. Many people warned me about the dangers it posed to my liver but I couldn't be talked out of it, in that panicked state of mind I pondered who ever sees my liver? Nobody. Everybody sees my face and that was worth risking my health in the long run. Only now do I realize how immature and foolish my mind set was back then. I am by no means badmouthing Roaccutane, it is indeed a miracle worker for acne takien in the right amount under the supervision of a professional dermatologist. I was just one of the small percentages of people whose skin would bounce back to an acne state once you quit the drug. I decided it was time to look at alternatives to fixing my skin once and for all.

End of Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I share how I finally kiced Acne in the comedone.