Acne

[Jeannette]

Hello...I am relatively new to macrobiotics but i am enjoying myself and this site! thanks to everyone. does anyone have any experience with macro and acne? i have been plagued with acne for years (i'm 25 and i've been breaking out since i was 16) and i was wondering if the macro diet will help me. so far, i've seen good results. skin looks clearer, but i'm wondering if it will last. any tips or advice will be appreciated! thanks. =)

[JanetM]

Hi Jeanette

I hope you don't think I'm stalking you (!!) but I was just flicking through the posts and saw your question on acne. I have always thought that acne was a sign that your kidneys are stuggling but I'm not entirely sure. I found these words on the Alchemycal Pages website:

"It is necessary to understand that skin conditions of every kind signify that the body is seeking to excrete waste products through the skin because the organs which normally perform this function are tired, weak and stagnated."

"...Therefore we have to eat and live in the manner which will allow for the cleansing and detoxification of these organs. We accomplish this by adopting our macrobiotic dietary habits and doing the Ginger Compress regimen on our abdomen...

Another useful skin cleanser for women only is the Daikon Hip Bath...."

So continue with the macro diet - it will do your skin a lot of good. Perhaps consider also doing a ginger compress/daikon hip bath series. For more information on ginger compresses here is a useful link:

http://www.cybermacro.com/forum-files/index.html

cheers, Janet

[Jeannette]

Thanks Janet! Your reply is much appreciated. =) I actually did a round of ginger compresses, followed by some BAD breakouts, but things seem to be clearing up a bit. I hope that it only gets better. I'm also doing the hip baths as well. I guess it just takes more time to see results from natural therapy, but in the end, it will serve me best.

Best,
Jeannette

[Nancy]

Hi Jeanette,

Following the Standard Macrobiotic Diet, Michio Kushi has a pamphlet book from the K.I. entitled the same with food guidelines, will gradually clear your skin. Avoid animal foods and fats, esp. including dairy foods. Also, avoid greasy foods (french fries, fried onion rings, fried fish, chicken, hamburgers, etc. --these are not recommended for the macrbiotic diet. Also, avoid oils.

From adolescence till some point in adulthood the sebaceous glands overproduce oil and cause acne (some adults have acne at age 40!). Adjustments in your diet can clear this situation completely.

It will also help to aid your body's natural elimination. Some home remedies for enhanced elimination: Ginger Compress, Daikon Hip Bath, Hot Towel Body Scrub morning and evening will enhance elimination through the lymph system.

Also be sure you are using a topical skin product that will not overdry your skin or has unnecessary chemicals. It is important to keep a PH balance on the skin. After adolescence men usually have much clearer skins than women, --because women fall prey to the advertisers pushing all kinds of goop and skin products. Men go au natural, and thus have a perfect PH balance on the skin.

Hope this helps,

Nancy

[Rafflesia]

Hello Jeanette,

I sympathize with you and your skin. I always had clear skin until my mid 20s. Now I have problems with it in phases. I nototive the time around my period or time of great stress can be particualrly bad. Adjusting my diet has helped control the situation much.

I have read that when you are starting a period of detxofication, such as a cleanising diet, or regualr pratice of a form of yoga where you sweat a lot, that the skin breaks out much in the beginning, as a consequence of the body releasing tons of toxins through the skin. That has been my experience as well, that it was a phase, but eventually was passed, but when I fall off the macrobitotic train (meaning eat much less balanced meals and don't exercise as regularly for a consecutive period of time), I notice it reoccurs briefly when I re-enter the macrobitotic phase.

I have been advised that drinking aloe juice helps, because ti strenghtens the liver, which processes the toxins that come to the skin, when the liver is overtaxed. I mix it with a bit of apple juice so I can tolerate the bitterness. I don't know how macrobiotic aloe juice is, but the plants can grow here and it works for me, so I don't question it so much. again, I have only recently started pursing a macorbiotic life, so I don't have the weight of much experience to speak form the dogma, I only know what helps me.

[Jeannette]

Thanks for your replies everyone! I appreciate them.

[Carrie]

Hi Jeanette,
I'm 26 and developed acne about a year ago, despite a vegan, organic and relatively clean diet. However, I was a regular coffee drinker, which I have since given up, in addition to cleaning up the rest of my diet.
The main reason for my post is to give you an external tip that seems to be working for me. Every night I make a poultice of epsom salts and water. (Use lots of salts, I would say about a 1:1 ratio, but I never measure) Let the salts dissolve a bit and add a few drops of tea tree oil and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Soak an organic cotton pad in the solution. When the pad gets wet, you can often peel apart the layers allowing you to use one or two pads for the whole face. Get the pad really wet and make sure you sop up some epsom salts on it. Then stick it to the affected areas. Leave the cotton pads on until they dry and begin to recrystalize. I take the pads off before I go to sleep, but leave the solution on all night. I rinse it off in the morning with either plain water, or a sink basin of water with a few drops of tea tree and AC vinegar. I've been doing this for about a week now and it is beginning to draw out whiteheads that I've had for a year. Hope this helps.

[Carrie]

One more thing... I forgot to say that before I do the epsom salt poultice, I rub emu oil (not vegan, I know) on, and let it sink in for about 10 min. It is a good carrier oil - deeply penetrating and non-comodeogenic. It also helps counteract any drying effect the tea tree might have. I think you could probably use jojoba oil too as it has similar properties. Both also help the healing process -- getting rid of all those little pesky red marks. This along with a good diet and lots of lemon water and kukicha tea between meals is helping my acne a lot.

Best,
Carrie