Most acne patients have no idea what the real causes of acne are. The internet is full to the brim with myths and misconceptions.
First you have the acne gurus who claim that you need to buy their vitamin supplements. Then you’ve got the detox merchants who claim that your liver is toxic, and you need to buy their detox kits.
Finally you have your kindly but rather misguided doctor, who assures you that hygiene is to blame and you can easily solve the problem by using the latest face wash.
With such a vast sea of fraud and business interests it is extremely easy for an acne patient to get confused, or knocked off course entirely.
You’ve got to make sure that this doesn’t happen to you, and fortunately there is an easy solution: learn the root causes of acne. If you understand the actual science behind acne then these fraudulent claims will simply bounce off you.
There are a few correct claims out there; for example vitamin deficiencies can be important, and face washes will have a limited effect. However the claims are often exaggerated for business purposes; knowing the science will allow you to separate the nonsense from the truth. You will also be able to identify the opposite; obscure strategies that seem like scams to the average person, but make sense to you thanks to your knowledge of the science.
Aside from avoiding scams, you also need to know the root cause of acne so that every strategy makes sense to you. If you don’t actually understand what you’re doing then curing acne is far harder. You might stumble upon a solution that does work, but if you don’t understand why it does, then it’s all too easy for you to unknowingly make a choice that lets the acne return.
Note: this is a very complicated subject. If you want the bare bones on the first cause of acne, then scroll down to the end of this article.
The real causes of acne
The two basic causes of acne are blocked skin pores and chronic inflammation. There is a huge variety of other factors that can lead to acne, but every single one does so through those two pathways.
Blocked pores create the perfect environment for acne to breed, and chronic inflammation is the fuel for the acne fire that really kicks things off.
In this article we will cover blocked skin pores, how they occur, and the specific science behind the problems they cause. Most people think that oily skin is the main reason behind blocked pores, but it isn’t; by far the most important factor is sebum oxidation.
What on earth is sebum oxidation?
Firstly, oxidation is simply the process of something reacting with oxygen. This occurs in all walks of life; a banana that ripens is oxidising, and a steak that turns grey in your fridge has oxidised to an extent.
Sebum on the other hand, will be familiar to you as it is the oil your skin produces. Sebum’s primary job is to lubricate your skin, and thus protect it from dryness and damage. For example, have you noticed that on a hot day your skin gets oily? Most people think this is sweat, but it’s actually sebum, which is lubricating your skin and protecting it from dryness.
Sebum is an oil that is made of various fatty acids, some of which are triglycerides and wax esters. 12% of sebum is squalene and it is this substance that leads to acne.
While the process might be called sebum oxidation it is really the squalene that oxidises. When squalene gets attacked by oxygen, it mutates into a substance called squalene peroxide, and this is one of the most powerful acne causing substances in the whole world. It is so powerful that in one study scientists could create acne simply by applying squalene peroxide to a rabbit’s ear.
Read Annihilate Your Acne – learn to prevent acne and stop just treating it!
What’s even more interesting is that the amount of acne produced correlated directly to the amount of squalene peroxide applied.
But why is squalene peroxide so bad?
The problem is that SP is highly comedogenic, which means that it blocks your skin pores. When sebum oxidises, it causes a condition called hyperkeratosis, which means that far too much keratin is produced. Keratin is this tough protein that binds your skin together and keeps it hardy.
More of that might sound like a good thing, but with too much keratin not only do your healthy cells stick together, but your dead ones do as well. These dead skin cells then glue together, form giant clusters and lodge in your skin pores.
What makes squalene peroxide doubly effective is that it stimulates a local increase in sebum. Most acne patients have gallons of sebum on their face anyway, and this localised increase makes matters worse. The excess sebum then combines with dead skin cells, forms the perfect recipe for blocking your skin pores, and does precisely that.
How blocked pores lead to acne
When your skin pores get full of sebum and skin cells it alters the oxygen tension, allowing bacteria (p. acnes) to flood in and breed. If you suffer from chronic inflammation, then this bacteria will be attacked with an overwhelming immune system response and your pores will get red, swollen and painful.
So squalene peroxide itself does not create the pimple, but it is still extremely important because it provides the conditions in which acne breeds. With no sebum oxidation, there are no blocked pores, and almost certainly no acne.
To summarise, sebum oxidation creates squalene peroxide, which triggers a massive increase in the substances that block your pores.
How does sebum oxidise? The role of vitamin E
Your body knows that the squalene in sebum can cause problems when oxidised, and to combat this it has a potent weapon: antioxidants. The main job of an antioxidant is to prevent oxidative damage (you may have guessed this), and to prevent this from happening to sebum your body sends a ready supply of them.
The particular antioxidant your skin prefers is vitamin E, which is the 2nd most abundant antioxidant in your body. The reason why vitamin E gets the honour is because 1) it is particularly potent, and 2) vitamin E is fat soluble, meaning that it works well in sebum (which is made up of fatty acids).
The top 6 vitamins and minerals for clearing acne forever
Your body actually sends vitamin E to your skin in a very tight correlation with the amount of sebum produced; in other words, the more sebum you produce the more vitamin E will be sent there. In clear skinned people this system is working very effectively; vitamin E is preventing squalene oxidation, pores aren’t getting blocked, and there is no acne…
Acne patients, on the other hand, do not have enough vitamin E to protect all the squalene. The amount of squalene produced basically outnumbers the amount of antioxidants available. This can happen due to three key factors.
Factor 1 – excessive sebum production
When you produce masses of sebum, it means that far more antioxidants are required to protect it, and this in turn makes it likely that you aren’t getting enough. The problem is that almost every acne patient is unaware that oilier skin needs more antioxidants, so they don’t compensate by changing their diet.
By far the biggest contributor to oily skin is hormones, including androgens like testosterone and DHT, and also insulin and IGF-1. These all stimulate the receptors in your sebaceous glands, which signals them to create more sebum.
However you do NOT need to reduce all these hormones. It is best to focus on reducing insulin and IGF-1. Testosterone and DHT are vital for all the androgenic effects that we all know and love; sex drive, a deep voice, muscle mass, and aggression (focussed and used in the right way, of course).
Recommended – the 7 greatest natural topical treatments for acne
It is very healthy to have high levels of androgens and you can easily reduce sebum by focussing on insulin instead. Insulin should not be entirely reduced, but most people have excessively high levels of it. IGF-1 is an offshoot of insulin and is naturally reduced as insulin falls.
Numerous other factors can also increase sebum production, with vitamin deficiencies being a prime example. Then you have many other factors that impact your insulin levels; for example, we cover in my eBook Annihilate Your Acne how sleep deprivation can severely impair your insulin functioning.
Factor 2 – lack of antioxidants in the diet
If you don’t get enough antioxidants in your body then there won’t be enough to protect your skin. The good news is that the solution is very simple; eat more antioxidant rich foods. The average Westerner doesn’t eat anywhere near enough of these foods; his intake of green vegetables, colourful fruits and herbs is far too low.
If you have high sebum production and acne then it’s likely that you need more too. There will be a ton of information coming about antioxidant rich foods but for now, remember that the following foods are rich in antioxidants: green vegetables, berries, herbs, spices, coffee, tea, and dark chocolate.
One classic example of an antioxidant rich food is the pomegranate. Eggs actually contain a good amount of antioxidants too, like the eye-protecting carotenoid lutein, something that they’re not generally noted for.
Why zinc supplements can reduce acne by 49.8%
The most important antioxidant to get is vitamin E, as it is so vital for protecting your squalene. This study here found that acne patients are much more likely to be deficient in vitamin E…
…but other antioxidants will help too; vitamin E has numerous other antioxidant functions in the body, and by getting other antioxidants you can relieve it from these duties and allow it to focus on protecting squalene. The other main fat-soluble antioxidant is vitamin A, and the great thing about vitamin A is that it’s also fantastic for treating oily skin.
Factor 3 – oxidative stress in the rest of the body
One of an antioxidant’s biggest jobs is to neutralise free radicals, and when there isn’t enough antioxidants to do this you’re in a condition called oxidative stress. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules in your body that are missing an electron, or in basic terms, their structure is incomplete. This makes them highly unstable and to regain this stability, they go on a quest to find another electron.
The problem is that this quest leads them to target healthy cells; the free radical will basically “steal” the electron of another molecule. This might seem great, as the free radical has regained its stability, but the problem is that the molecule it stole the electron from is now a free radical in its place.
Why bread and pasta are a massive cause of acne
This then embarks on a quest of its own, and then the next molecule embarks on a quest, and then the next one, and so on. The result is a cascade of damage to cells in your body; they are continually getting their electrons pinched, breaking down, and disrupting your bodily function.
What’s even more problematic is that free radicals cause such a big cascade that they can reach and thus damage any part of your body. One of the classic problems caused by free radicals is blindness, due to healthy cells of your eyes being attacked.
There are numerous other problems that free radical overload can cause and they include cancer and heart disease. The basic message is that too many free radicals are toxic for your body and hence, your body automatically attempts to neutralise them.
To do this your body uses antioxidants. Antioxidants hunt down your free radicals and give them extra electrons; thus their stability is restored and they no longer cause damage. Antioxidants are well suited to this function because they don’t become free radicals themselves; they are stable either with an extra electron or without one.
How this affects your skin – the problem this poses for your acne is very simple: when there are more free radicals in your body, more antioxidants are needed to deal with them, and this leaves less available to protect your squalene.
Free radical formation is affected by your diet, but also numerous lifestyle factors. Smoking is a particularly notorious cause. Chronic inflammation can cause a huge increase in free radicals (you’ll find out more tomorrow). Countless environmental chemicals found in beauty products that you might be using can increase free radicals.
Air pollution is a factor, even sugar consumption can generate free radicals in your very bloodstream. Some claim that marijuana smoke bathes your skin in free radicals, but it’s generally safer than tobacco as long as you vape it.
Using antiperspirants and deodorants causes free radicals to form, pesticides in fruits can generate them once inside your body. The sources are endless.
Why dairy can either destroy your skin or improve it
For a start you can read this article containing 9 simple strategies to avoid free radicals. They include avoiding apple juice, minimising sugar, and ditching any benzoyl peroxide creams.
Summary
It’s very important that you understand sebum oxidation. However you don’t need to know every tiny little detail. If the explanations above were too complex for you, then the summary below will give you everything you need to know.
- Sebum oxidation is one of the two most important causes of acne. It is responsible for blocking your skin pores, which is what allows acne to develop in the first place.
- Sebum is the oil that lubricates your skin. Acne patients typically have higher sebum production.
- To oxidise simply means to react with oxygen. It is actually not sebum that this happens to, but squalene, which is a key component of sebum.
- When squalene oxidises it transforms into squalene peroxide; this is what makes sebum oxidation bad for acne.
- Squalene peroxide blocks your pores by stimulating even greater sebum production, and by increasing the number of dying skin cells. These factors combine and form the perfect recipe for blocked pores.
- Sebum alone can block your pores but when it oxidises, the process above means that the situation is far worse.
- Your body prevent sebum oxidation by sending antioxidants to your skin.
- Therefore the basic situation that causes sebum oxidation is when your sebum production is greater than the antioxidants available to protect it.
- This situation arises in three ways. The first is if your sebum production is abnormally high, making it impossible to get enough antioxidants.
- The second cause is not getting enough antioxidants in your diet.
- The final factor is excessive free radicals in your body. You body uses up antioxidants to destroy these free radicals and thus prevents them from protecting your skin.
If you don’t have the time to research the science behind acne in extreme detail, and if you want a supplement that will tackle the above factors in a natural way, then an excellent starting point is to take extra vitamin E.
Adding supplementary vitamin E on top of that you gain from your diet already will strengthen your skin against free radicals tremendously.
The ultimate vitamin E supplement, the one I recommend elsewhere on this website, is this Garden of Life Raw Vitamin E (amazon link). As opposed to traditional vitamin E supplements, which contain a single isolated form like alpha-tocopherol, this vitamin E is derived from plants and contains the full array of tocopherols and tocotrienols for optimal absorption in humans. Hence it’s doubly effective at preventing acne.
Conclusion
I’ll reiterate the point; preventing sebum oxidation is one of the two best strategies for clearing your skin. Without sebum oxidation there are few blocked skin pores, and without blocked pores acne struggles to survive at all.
Sebum oxidation isn’t hard to tackle either; lowering your insulin levels and boosting your antioxidant supplies are the best strategies, and doing both is extremely easy.
All this might be very complicated but if you put in a bit of effort and make sure you understand it, you will reap the rewards when you are faced with your own choices.
We’ve discussed the first root cause of acne so that only leaves the second: chronic inflammation. Understanding both of the root causes in detail will give you all the weapons available; simply preventing sebum oxidation will work well, but if you combine this with ending chronic inflammation then your acne will be completely crushed.
Come back tomorrow, on October 12, for an article about the acne causing menace of chronic inflammation.
Update: here it is, part two of the real causes of acne
Thanks for reading!
Hello,
when a pimple has formed on our skin , how does our body heal it naturally ?
The body will heal it just like any wound. Acne is caused in the first place by an inflammatory response to bacteria in the skin pore, which builds up thanks to the pore getting blocked. The usual cycle is like this: bacteria builds up, it gets attacked by an over the top inflammatory response, the pore swells up and becomes acne. The bacteria will then be killed by the response, and there will be no need for an inflammatory response anymore, so it stops, and then the “fuel” for the acne is shut off. Your acne remains big and red but the healing process will begin. The issue that acne patients have is that their immune system is too powerful and it still remains too active. Even if their is a little bit of bacteria left the immune system will still attack it. Hence the acne does heal, but it takes a lot longer than for somebody else. That’s one reason why addressing chronic inflammation is extremely important; because keeping it under control will allow old acne to heal faster. Hope that helps.
Thank you for your response. I have also read that sometimes bacteria doesn’t need to be present for a pimple to form. Is this true?
That is true. Sometimes when sebum oxidises it can actually trigger an inflammatory response in the skin on its own. What happens is that the sebum oxidises, it then stimulates your skin to release pro-inflammatory chemicals, and this causes the skin pore to become red and like a pimple. Normally this happens after the bacteria is attacked with an inflammatory response but sometimes it can happen without it. Bacteria makes the opportunity for a pimple even greater. Either way it’s still important to get the same factors under control. You need to prevent your immune system from becoming hyperactive because that’s what causes all acne to become as bad as it is. That includes almost all acne whether it’s triggered by bacteria or not.
Thank you for your help, much appreciated.
So basically in summary if my immune system doesn’t attack my pore a pimple can’t form.
Yes a pimple wouldn’t form if the immune system didn’t attack it, but with that said you don’t want to completely reduce the immune system’s activity, because you would get pretty sick. The key point is that most acne patients have an immune system that is over-active, so what you need to do is bring it back to a normal level. The way to prevent a pimple from forming is firstly, to keep the immune system restrained, and secondly, to prevent your pores from blocking so that your immune system doesn’t attack them in the first place (because if your pores aren’t blocked there won’t be any bacteria to attack). This article tells you how to prevent the pores from getting blocked, and there’s also a link to an article about the causes of chronic inflammation, which is another term for an over-active immune system.
Thank you Richard, this information and knowledge has really helped me :)
Glad to here it, I advise that you read this article on chronic inflammation (over-active immune system) as it will tell you what causes the problem and what you can do about it.
https://supernaturalacnetreatment.com/inflammation-silent-acne-menace/
This is the best explained information I have come across about causes of acne that I have read/heard. Thank you for writing this. As a woman, who at 33 suddenly developed chronic adult acne for ‘no reason’, this is information that I can actually work with in order to fix this. Thanks again for a well written article.
Thanks! I also recommend that you read this article, which is the second part of this series. https://supernaturalacnetreatment.com/how-inflammation-causes-acne/
Hi, I was wondering – does topical vitamin E help prevent squalene oxidization or only sources from the diet?
They both work well. Topical vitamin E sends it to the skin directly where it’s needed, so it’s very concentrated. Dietary vitamin E means it gets built into the sebum the most efficient way. Best to start by getting what you need from food, and then experimenting with a topical cream if that’s what you want to try.
Hi Richard.
I really love your page. Such great information and very many inspiring facts.
You are going into this in details so one can understand the whole process of how things work.
I’m occasionally reading you post for inspiration. I even bought your book.
What you are writing in this post is highly true, as I see it. I rely on the information and also take supplements to reduce the oxidation. But oxidation is also triggered from deeper causes. Have you studied gut health? I think many underlying health problems, especially autoimmune diseases, acne etc has the root cause in the gut. If it is left untreated to long it will effect other organs that again will spread to other diseases. What do you think?
I also have a question for you. It is a little complex but I have to ask anyway.
First of all I have to get it out of the way. I changed sex from female to male 4,5 years ago. That means that I have been on Testosterone replacement for those years. I have had severe and horrible acne since. The doctor told me that it would pass after 6 to 12 months. But it never did. I’v tried everything both natural and medical (except accutan).
When I was a child from age 9 – 13 I got streptococcus in my throat 1-4 times each year, and I used antibiotics to kill it – because my doctor told me to, and I didn’t know better, neither did my mom at that time.
(All infections started after a removal of the appendix because it got very infected and I almost died.)
After age 13 I had issues with strepto. 0 – 1 time pr year until age 21. At age 13 I got psoriasis. And age 15 I started to get acne mostly on my forehead and some in the T-zone. At age 19 – 25 I rarely had acne, just a little outburst on my chin after my mother died at age 23.
I never used antibiotics for acne but a lot for streptococcus. I also had some respiratory infections between 19 and 24. Probably due to smoking (I quit 3 years ago).
So when I started testosterone at age 25 my acne exploded. My higher cheeks where filled with acne, so much that the whole cheek on both sides turned into one extremely large cyst. It took 6 months for it to slowly clear up, and a year all together. Then the worst went a way, but alle the small/middle bumps came to my whole face. My skin was covered with acne for at least a year. In desperation I startet to use benzoyl peroxide and used it for a year, until I realized that my face always was always very red, inflamed, irritated and my skin aged drastically. Yes, the acne got a little less but everything else got worse.
In this period I also tried everything from chlorella, to spirulina, to zinc, magnesium, oxygen liquid, antibiotics, rice bran, purely fruit powder, c-vitamins, a-vitamins… the list is LONG. (of course not all at the same time)
After removing my uterus 2 years later, it became a little bit less prominent (the uterus keeps trying to push out estrogen so it is crucial to remove it).. But still very bad, including a lot of cyst on my neck both front and back. Some periods where better but mostly pretty bad.
That is 2 years ago.
After doing a lot of blood test, I discovered that I had very high dose of Testosterone levels, but the free T was in normal range. But my skin was on it worst.
I stared to experiment with the dosage of Testosterone for my self with waiting longer to take the next T – injection. Instead of 12 weeks, I ended up with 17 weeks at most. The problem then was that my levels became fucked. Testosterone levels where fine, but free testosterone, SHBG and other related hormones way to low. I got hot flashes and slow hair growth. So now I’m back on 12 weeks doses, but just a little over half the normal amount of T (with recommendation from my doctor).
I notice that every time I take the T – injection, after about 2-3 weeks, my face explodes with acne. It dosen’t matter how high or low my present T level is on, so when it increases my body reacts.
I have several friends that have changed sex (FTM) and just had acne the first year in the same way as puberty.
They do not have an acne problem 2-3 weeks after new injections. But I do.
I think there is a link to all the antibiotics I took as I child/teenager. I also have a theory that I might have leaky gut. The past 6 weeks my skin has been great after taking a lot of prebiotic and probiotics including high dose of c-vitamin and lots of water. BUT after my last T – injection I got a huge breakout, as usual. It hasn’t been that bad in a long time. I am now almost loosing all hope. I have tried everything from raw food, to superfood, to coconut water, coconut oil, to probiotics to C-vitamin, E-vitamin etc , etc. I’m still eating all that. I’m drinking green tea and applying it topically + raw honey face mask. I drink aloe vera. Yeah, still the list is long.
I never eat or drink:
Soda or sugar liquids.
Processed food
Diary
Fruit. Maybe only a apple or two each month .
Chocolate or candy (only raw organic chocolate)
Sugar
Soy products
Cashew nuts or peanuts (I tend to breakout from these).
Wheat and oats.
A few times I eat potatoes and rice. I also eat a little thai food now and then. But mostly salats and vegetable woks or coconut milk basted food. My food intake is pretty clean.
I have stayed away from what, sugar, processed food (I only use Yacon as sweetener) and diary/milk products for 2 years. So that can’t be the cause.
This is very complex, and I have no clue anymore what to do. I have been home, not leaving my doorstep for 1 week now, because i’m physically, emotional and mentally down because of my heavy breakout.
Do you have any suggestion what I can do? I don’t think I can take supplement to lower DHT because then it would stop my body hair and beard production. It seems to me that it comes VERY slowly in. I wish I had more body hair. All the men in my family is hairy, so my gens says I would get a lot of hair. But I think there is a huge hormone fuckup, so it won’t grow to its full potential. Is there any supplement I can take to lower DHT but not loosing the risk of stop the hair growth? Or any other suggestions? Medication is out of the question.
Thanks,
Mike
(Sorry for my bad english but it is not my native language.)
I forgot to metion that I am 30 years now! And all issues are still here!
Hi Mike, thanks for the story. Your main problem is almost certainly that you now have the testosterone levels of a man, but the androgen receptivity of a female. You see, a woman has a lot less androgens in her body naturally, but the sensitivity of the androgen receptors to DHT, the receptors which kickstart the acne process, is about ten times greater. So you’re in a uniquely tricky position. You won’t be able to cope with high levels of androgens compared to someone born a man, or at least not as easily.
Therefore you have three options. One, reduce the amount of TRT you’re taking, which I assume you don’t want to do. Secondly, you can use topical androgen inhibitors, which won’t negatively affect the DHT levels in your whole body. The best example of that is green tea, which you can read about here.
Finally, you can simply work extra hard at tackling the other factors. You say you didn’t take all the minerals and nutrients you listed at the same time. Well, you should, if you have the money. Zinc, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin D, and so on all have different powers. You want to push your intake of acne-clearing nutrition to the limit. Your diet sounds good, with no dairy, no wheat, and so on. However, fruit is beneficial if you pick the lower sugar varieties as they contain tons of antioxidants and vitamins. You can eat more than two apples per month. If you don’t have much money, then I highly recommend this article on cheap dietary strategies to follow, and this article on cheap lifestyle tricks.
Comment back if you need more suggestions. Remember: there’s always more strategies available than you think! Good luck.
Hi Richard, first I would like to thank you for sharing your amazing knowledge about acne with us. I stumbled on your site after a heavy break out I had a few days ago after a mild sun burn on my face and body. Note that I dont have any acne on my body its all on my face. I usually keep my acne under control with a strict Paleo diet. Last week I did a pretty intense workout outside without any protection on my face and I think it depleted my antioxydants at the worst time under an intense sun. I have a pretty high sebum production due to years of using BP and smoking marijuana daily. I stopped everything a few weeks ago by the way. My skin is in much better condition than it was but after that break out it made me research a bit more. I think this crucial information about squalene oxydation is the last piece of the puzzle for me. Thank you again and for anyone struggling with a breakout I found that using a damp cloth soaked in green tea with lot a Himalayan salt works like magic. Just apply it for a few mins and rinse after. God bless
Thanks Marc, I would keep up with the workouts as despite triggering pimples temporarily intense exercise has many benefits in the long run. That Himalayan salt trick sounds great!
So the reason a lot of people like myself cured their adult facial acne with egg yolk left on for 20 minutes would be it’s antioxidant properties. And luteIn?
What do you think?
For me it finally went away and never came back. Eureka!
That’s one possibility.
Hello, how long does it take for the acne scars to heal as my acne scars had already been for 1 year but it still doesn’t recover yet. Can u recommend the ways to use to let it heal faster.Or maybe is because I am using bezonyl peroxide. Thank you. Sorry for my bad English.Also,how to prevent my skin from sagging.
Can you help explain why benzoyl peroxide is such a popular treatment? It would seem the peroxide would cause the sebum to oxididize and clog pores, if Im understanding you correctly.
BP does have some strong antibacterial powers, it’s the side effects which dermatologists rarely mention.
How to cure SLE?
And whats the diff. Between
Rosecia and SLE
Hi Richard,
Your site is amazing, I’ve spent a good few hours on it and I’ve bought the vitamins and zinc you recommended, and decided to keep my sugar to 50g a day max! But before I discovered your website I read about how Niacin can really good for your skin, so I ordered a flush-free niacin supplement. I haven’t found this on your site yet – what do you think of Niacin for skin?
Thanks
I have acne on my forehead,cheeks and chin.My forehead acne is really bad how can I get rid of it ? How do i get rid of old and new acne once and for all? I’ve been using bactorban and saw some results . My right cheek is getting better but my left cheek not terrible like my forehead.Finally I have three pimples on my chin[at the moment]The aloe vera isn’t really working and it itches me. .I put baking soda , lemon ,cucumber on my face but it didn’t work
I once went to a website about acne and they said I should use bezonyl peroxide and everything you was false they said it true but I remembered your website. Before I saw your website they told me my liver was toxic .
Would you please make a tutorial on how to get lighter skin. When I type ‘how to get lighter skin’ I see lots of ways.Your’re the acne/skin expert.
Hi there,
Since oxidised Squalene is the cause of acne..would I be right to say that we should avoid it in skin care products? I have squalene as an ingredient in my moisturiser which is why I’m asking. Thank you very much for your post: it’s very helpful!
Smart question to ask; it’s probably safe as long as you follow the steps in this article, keeping your antioxidant stocks sky high. If anything, the outside squalene will just add to your antioxidant requirements slightly. While on the subject, I don’t actually recommend pharmaceutical moisturisers because they’re usually terrible for inflammatory ingredients. Natural oils like grapeseed oil or argan oil are just as effective and they contain other benefits like vitamin E as well.
Hi Richard,
I went through a period of over-indulgence (ate too much sugar and too many grains) about 2 months ago and became a little lazy about taking my vitamins. I know this may sound like an exaggeration, but one morning (during this time of indulgence) I woke up with small little acne bumps covering my entire forehead.
They were absolutely everywhere!! I have usually suffered from acne around my jawline and cheeks and it has usually been cystic / hormonal acne–different than the small little acne bumps that look inflamed but not really white heads I now have. I have tried to get back on the wagon since then and have been taking my vitamins and almost totally sustaining from grains and trying to cut back on sugar but I am still seeing a lot of little bumps on my forehead. I thought you might be able to come up with some ideas as to what I should focus on. I also eat salmon 3-4 times a week. I need to exercise more but have a pretty healthy diet overall being from California and able to focus on veggies, fruits, and healthy protein.
I take the following supplements:
Vitamin A (pure encapsulations beta carotene with mixed carotenoids https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064R8DQG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Vitamin D3 ( Garden of Life https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JAT318/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Selenium (Selenomethione https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017I2CLY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1)
Zinc Picolinate (Pure Encapsulations https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00083B1DY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Vitamin E (Solgar https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001VURB0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Vitamin K (Garden of Life https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0098U0REC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
I am desperate at this point and any pointers would be very much appreciated!
Hello,
How should one balance the ph of the skin? Is it ok to cleanse with a mild cleanser and moisturize or do you recommend a toner too? If so, any ingredients?
Also, any ideas for getting rid of flat, white scars and hyperpigmentation?
Best Ever article on acne I have ever read on internet, I’ve been searching for acne causes n cures, this is the hallmark of all the acne info I’ve come across.
Thanks, but make sure you read part 2.
Hi , I’ve been getting acne since i was 18. ( I’m 23 at now ). And I discovered your site while i was trying to find solution for my comedonal acne. My problem is not inflammation. It is just my sebum commonly trapping in my pores and with time they are getting hard like rock. Does it mean it is highly about my vitamin e deficiency ? I have no overproduction of sebum. I have a dry oily skin.
“With no sebum oxidation, there are no blocked pores, and almost certainly no acne” .. unless you are using comedogenic products on your face that is also cramming your pores.
That’s true as well. Sebum oxidation is the baseline problem though, which causes problems in teenagers before they even start applying comedogenic ingredients.