How to get rid of Oily skin, pimples, blackheads - acne

How I've learned to deal with oily skin

 I will try to be short and squeeze in 10 year of research and experiments in order to have pure and clear skin as much as it is possible

I have oily type of skin which means large size pores on my cheeks, nose and forehead. I tend to have acne (blackheads and pimples) on my face, my back and shoulders. My skin gets oily in an hour or less without help of any make-up or other natural powders.

17-18 years old. Around this age I stared to care about how my skin looks like. First thing I did I went to a cosmetologist to get a facial. I have tried several techniques: traditional cleaning with fingers, metal blackheads extractor, vacuum blackhead remover. The last one did not work at all, it cleaned nothing. Most effective for my stubborn blackheads was traditional cleaning with the fingers and metal blackheads extractor. It is painful, especially around the nose and eyes but I could put up with pain in order to have a clean and smooth skin. I was switching one cosmetologist after another till I found a good one. Not all of them do a good job. It is very important to find a devoted one. 

How to spot a good cosmetologist in my opinion: 

• short nails; neat in appearance; has a doctor/ nurse (nutritionist) diploma; never suggests you to follow a course of treatment (in other words not a money sucker); enjoys seeing your clean skin after the work is done;

Back then. Since I was cleaning my skin regularly in the salon my skin got a lot better but still I had to go there twice a month to do my back and face. My cosmetologist was glad to see my skin getting better. She suggested (what was in her opinion the best option for me) taking birth control pills. I remember taking: diane 35, janine (jeanine), yasmin (yarina).

Diane 35 had a very lovely girl on the packaging with a nice rosy cheeks and beautiful skin! I was taking them for 6 months. I gained a lot of weight!!! I was eating everything I could get my hands on. My skin got better but I was very depressed all the time. I had problems with my memory and concentration. I developed an addiction, it was hard to stop using them. When I stopped taking them I started loosing my hair.

Jeanine was an exact opposite of Diane 35. I was taking them from 2 to 3 months. I lost a lot of weight. I had no appetite. All I wanted is to drink a lot of liquids. Improved my skin though (as in I had no red pimples and less sebum).

Yasmin was terrible. It helped my skin but the first week of taking them made me nauseous. My breasts got huge and swollen and all my body felt the same way. I remember reading that these pills had an effect of storing water in your body. I took them for 2 months, maybe less, since I wasn't feeling good. My body also felt heavy.

So I topped experimenting with contraceptive pills and I decided to treat it externally with products that are on the market (which contain salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide) plus facial cleaning.

Now. I have never stopped researching. Finally I realised that the problem was inside not outside. I understood that you should not fight pimples and blackheads with some harsh methods.  You should take it as some sort of a signal that your body sends by letting you know that something is wrong.

I started by changing my eating habits. I was used to cooking at home and I wasn't eating fast food but still it wasn't enough. So when you decide to change your eating habits, start little by little unless you are a person that can change everything overnight.

Hormones in your food.  I cut the intake of additional hormones that can interfere with your body natural hormonal system and cause disbalance that can lead to acne. I stopped: 

• drinking or eating from plastic (bisphenol a), eating mass production meat, using cosmetics that contain parabens, eating products that contain cow's milk (I'm lactose intolerant and it causes acne)

Liquids. I am drinking 2 litres of water a day (from a stainless steel bottle) and a lot of loose organic green tea.  I have changed my plastic kettle to a stainless steel kettle. Tea does taste much better that way (heated plastics give a very weird taste).

Vegetables and fruits, grains. I am eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. I also eat different types of grains. I try to avoid pesticides and eat organically grown food.

Meat. I only eat organic meat.

Sport. I started doing Ashtanga yoga a year ago. Sport improves blood flow in your body and metabolism. You get rid of the toxins through the sweat.

Vitamins. For your body to function you need vitamins. Either you receive them from your food or as supplements. Eating well improved my skin, but still  I was getting spots, so I did a bit of a reading on the internet and found vitamins that helped me a lot. It might be a bit complicated subject but I will try to be short and informative. Things you need to know in my opinion before taking vitamins:

• for vitamins to work you need to take the right amount (mg, iu); for vitamins to be absorbed they have to be taken with a suitable meal; make sure you have read the ingredients (naturally there shouldn't be any suspicious and complex titles);
• vitamins can come in capsules, liquid, tablets or soft gels. Make sure you check what the capsules/tablets are made of. I stated to avoid "vegetarian" capsules after I found out that they are partially synthetic (some sort of a plastic). No thanks!!! I have nothing against gelatine capsules but if you are, you can always try and find vitamins which come in tablets.

Pantothenic acid 1500-2000 mg per day. 1000 mg in the morning with my breakfast that consists of oats cereal, dried fruits, berries and soy milk. White powdered vitamins, tablets and milled dried herbs should be consumed with raw vegetables, fruits, grains, etc. Later in the evening (when I have my salad) I take 500mg or 1000mg if I see more spots. My skin became less oily and I basically got rid of inflamed spots.

Agnus castus 1000mg is taken with salad and vegetables, fruits. Helped with my PMS and acne a lot. It keeps hormones in balance in women's body. I wouldn't recommend it for the guys.

Vitamin C 2000mg-3000mg. I prefer timed release ones. Since they come in tablets or white powder capsules I take them with vegetables and fruits. You should never take vitamins on an empty or half empty stomach!
L-Lysine powder
Pure Marine Collagen

Theses three are fundamental. Don't worry if you take a bit more in a reasonable way. These kinds of vitamins do not get stored in your body and leave your system in a day or so, depending on how much liquids you drink.

Other important vitamins:

Vitamin E 1000, Omega-3 (organic flexseed oil in a glass bottle, one tablespoon), Vitamin D3 5000IU once a day during lunch time with meatballs, baked potatoes, baked/fried vegetables, pasta or grains.

Brands that I trust for now: Now Foods, Swanson, Healthy Origins vitamin D3 and E, Solgar, Quest vitamin C (I buy them rarely).

External treatment. Tretinoin cream 0.1% (Stieva -A), Liole Blackheads clear, organic oils, organic aloe vera cream.

Result. Before I couldn't imagine myself going out without make-up or someone touching my face. Now I am alright. I get occasional spots on my back but nothing too drastic. I can say I have a clean skin.

P.S. I hope you find this useful. I might make a post on skin care routine and on how to use Tretinoin and my personal experience using it; also how I keep my blackheads clean with Liole Blackheads clear and how to stay matte if you have to go out.

Thank you for reading :) If I remember something else I will update :)

* I am not a nutritionist I would suggest you to go and see one.  

 

Updates information. 

I don't take as much supplement as I used to do it before.

 

Books to read: Anthony William (all of his books are great), Period Repair Manual: Natural Treatment for Better Hormones and Better Periods (Lara Briden ND)!!!