Looking back, my acne was caused by so much repressed stress and anxiety that I barely got enough sleep and I just wasn’t eating right. I didn’t want a quick fix anymore. Thus, this whole holistic approach. It has transformed my overall health and outlook in life.
These holistic practices cleared my skin and helped me regain back the confidence I once lost:
Problem: Stress
Solutions:
Practice meditation every morning or every night before you sleep.
Don’t underestimate the power of breathing and the power of your mind. Meditation is proven to ease the mind, help reduce stress and anxiety and improve productivity. I try as much as possible to start my day with a 5 minute meditation. It was haaaaard to practice this at first; millions of thoughts run through my head everytime I’m told to “focus on my breath” but as a teacher once told me, that is why we always “practice” meditation, because it’s a constant effort. It is not a way to escape but a way to acknowledge and control your thinking . If you have a short attention span like me, I suggest you watch ‘The Mind Explained’ on Netflix to gain more insight on this. I use the app “Calm” and Spotify’s Guided Meditation Playlists; my current favorite is “Celebrate life with Kimilu Life Coach”, a podcast dedicated for daily motivations and unlocking your full potential.Get moving. Exercise!
Make it a point to exercise three times a week, whether it be yoga, pilates, cardio boxing, running or simply walking. Just make sure to get those endorphins running because they are the happy hormones that promote energy and happiness! It doesn’t only ease stress but also improves your over-all wellbeing! The physical improvement and toning of the body is a bonus as well. I love using the following for my at-home workouts:
Problem: Poor Sleep Quality
Solutions:
- Don’t sleep with your phone, set it aside 15 minutes before going to sleep. I’m personally still working on this but I make it a point to actively do this. Blue light from the phone emits UV rays that disrupt our skin and also our sleep cycle process.
Try Magnesium Pills/Supplements
Magnesium is a mineral that helps promote restful sleep because it helps our body relax. Magnesium aids this process by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, the system responsible for getting us calm and relaxed. It also regulates melatonin, a hormone that guides our sleep-wake cycle. I recently bought *Magnesi-Om by Moon Juice and besides the fact that it’s so pretty in pink when mixed, it has a berry good flavor too (see what I did there).
Problem: Imbalanced Diet/ Leaky Gut
Solutions:
Avoid Sugar/Dairy intake especially when you are about to get your period.
This is so challenging but your skin and body will thank you for fighting it off. I’m not saying don’t avoid sweets completely because I’ll be a hypocrite if I told you I don’t eat sugar anymore, all I’m saying is pick your battles. Regulate your sugar intake, especially when you’re about to get your period. I personally crave more sweets and chips when I’m about to get my period so I allow myself to just eat one kind of sweets for the week (usually it’s ice cream). After that, I tell myself I can’t anymore. Just ask yourself “Is this worth getting a pimple the next day?” If it is, then by all means eat it! If not, Congratulations! You have great self-control. Keep it up!
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Eat (or/and drink) more probiotics.
Try adding yogurt, kimchi and pickled veggies into your diet. I personally love drinking kombucha, a probiotic drink that’s made out of fermented black tea, these days. For beer lovers, out there, this is a WAY healthier version of beer.
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Assess your diet. Eat more protein and fat, less carbs!
As previously mentioned, acne can be a signal to heal an issue from within. Avoiding too much consumption of carbs (because carbs mean sugar) is a start. Simple carbohydrates cause a spike in blood sugar levels which then causes insulin levels to increase and that causes inflammation. Insulin is also responsible for stimulating sebum production and increases skin’s sensitivity to androgen hormones, which causes an increase risk of acne. Have a balanced diet is all I’m saying.
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Consider eliminating Gluten from your diet. Yes, gluten-free may not just be a fad.
Before I go further let me just explain what gluten is. For the longest time I’ve also been so confused as to what it really meant? Wheat? Bread? “but how are some bread gluten-free?” It turns out that Gluten is a protein found in many grains, including wheat, barley and rye. It’s common in foods such as bread, pasta, pizza and cereal. Gluten acts like a binder, holding food together and adding a “stretchy” quality to it. Basically, gluten is something very hard to get rid of since it’s found in most of our favorite things to eat. Unfortunately, gluten provides no essential nutrients. It’s like an eggplant. People with celiac disease have an immune reaction that is triggered by eating gluten. They develop inflammation and damage in their intestinal tracts and other parts of the body when they eat foods containing gluten. However with celiac disease or not, gluten has been shown to irritate the gut lining and trigger a release of a chemical signal called zonulin. Zonulin signals the small spaces in the intestinal lining to open, which then could cause a leaky gut, a damage in intestinal permeability or the ability for undigested food particles to enter the blood stream. Bottom line is that gluten promotes inflammation especially in the gut flora. Most studies say there are no real benefits in going gluten-free especially if you don’t have celiac disease since most gluten-rich food contain essential nutrients such as fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, iron, calcium and vitamin D so it is important that when you consider eliminating gluten in your diet, you make sure you make up for the missing nutrients and consume food that are rich in those said nutrients. Be careful as well for those desserts that are gluten-free. Although they are gluten-free, they are extremely high in sugar and/or saturated fat, so again, everything in moderation is all I’m saying.
Some gluten-free options include:
- Quinoa
- Brown, black, or red rice
- Buckwheat
- Amaranth
- Millet
- Corn
- Sorghum
- Teff
- Gluten-free oats
You can always start by consuming less gluten rather than completely eliminating it in your diet. Replacing white rice to brown rice/black rice or quinoa is a start. As always, before making DRASTIC changes in your nutrition, consult a nutrionist or your doctor to see if this will do you more harm than good.
Problem: Overuse/ Wrong Skincare Products
Solutions:
Keep things simple
When it comes to stress-related breakouts, or any breakouts, less is more with skin care. We tend to put more on our face thinking it will make the spots go away faster but it won’t.There are so many skincare lines to choose from so choose what resonates with you and your objectives but make sure they have the key ingredients that help with acne, which are: Salylic Acid, Benozyl Peroxide (For spot treatments) and Sulfur.
When I broke out, I used this Eminence’s Acne Advanced Collection and just applied those three products. Eminence is an all-organic skincare line that we also carry in our spa and use on my clients! In just three months, the bumps were gone and then I just dealt with the some acne marks afterwards. My skincare line became much simpler after what happened but I still use the Acne Advanced cleansing foam cleanser till now, since it has Salicylic Acid. For Acne prone skin, it’s suggested to continue using salicylic acid (even just in your facial wash) even when acne is not present anymore. The C. Acnes bacteria (previously P. Acnes) is present in everyone’s skin, it just gets activated when we get hormonal imbalances or when dirt gets trapped in a pore. So it’s important to take note that using gentle products that have salicylic acid is a good way to prevent the onset of future breakouts. Besides, salicylic acid is an anti-inflammatory product so it minimizes skin irritation as well.
I just stick to the basics now: Cleanse, Tone, Apply Vit C in the AM/ Apply Retinol in the PM, Moisturize and then when there are breakouts, I spot treat. And then I do weekly facials on myself using masks and peels!
Spot Treat and Use an Exfoliating Toner
Break outs don’t necessarily happen in the entire face so it’s important to spot treat so as not to ruin the rest of your complexion. Target the inflammation and redness by applying a saliclyic acid based spot treatment or benozyl peroxide (I recommend just starting with a 2.5% concentration). Be careful when using spot treatments though! Make sure to put moisturizer and not to mix it with other strong medications like Retinol.
If you don’t have access to those products, try making Green Tea Ice Cubes then use those ice cubes as a toner and press into those blemishes/breakouts more to spot treat. My classmate in Esthetician school introduced me to this trick. Green tea has lots of skin calming benefits like reducing inflammation and calming down redness. Making it in ice cube is pure genius. Trust me, it works.
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If you have the means, have a deep cleansing facial and when in doubt, consult an expert.
The advantage with going to deep cleansing facials is that it helps your skin restart and in a way, helps your skin become a clear canvas for your products. As the name suggests, your face will be thoroughly cleansed and trained hands would extract any impurities ready to be extracted. This can help your skin clear up faster.
You can consult an esthetician (*hint hint* me)to help you go over your lifestyle and help you suggest products based on your skin type and lifestyle that will help you achieve your desired complexion but do remember that your skin’s improvement all depends on how much patience and effort you’re willing to give.
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I know this is pretty extensive but in tackling all these, you will notice how it not only improves your skin but also your habits, lifestyle, and outlook in life. Through this journey, I learned to live and accept the imperfections that I have while continuously evolving as much as I can. Like I said, this is just a phase. Ultimately, the solution starts with developing self love and acceptance. It gets better, a lot better, once you realize and accept how imperfectly perfect you are.
Your situations don’t define you, rather it’s how you choose to respond to it that do.
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Disclaimer: I receive a small commission for products with an * on it. These are products I’ve personally tried and tested so I’m recommending what has worked for me. Every skin is different so as always, take all my suggestions with a grain of salt.
With love,
Kathlyn Sanga, LE