Are there any acne cures that really work?

I am guessing your diet is the cause. If you still have acne beyond puberty, then it is pretty dam likely you are doing something to cause it. The doctors always told me diet had nothing to do with my acne.

Recently I have been on a bit of a diet (you can read about half of it in the fitness section) and I noticed my bad acne was going away whilst doing this. However I just chalked this up to finally getting over acne (as the doctors always told me diet has nothing to with it). I then started to drink a lot of milk (to help with getting enough protien etc for weight lifting, you can clearly see it in my log) and my acne started to flare up really badly, I honestly did not like going outside it had gotten so bad so quickly. I then realised that milk might be causing my acne. I looked it up and found there was a lot of evidence to say milk can cause acne (due to all the hormones and the insulin hit it gives you). So I cut milk out of my diet. And I also tried to reduce the amount of carbs and sugars I consumed. And also started drinking huge amounts of water. I also try to eat at lot nuts, veggies and fruit. Now my skin has really improved, I honestly cannot remember my skin looking this good as I have had acne for such a long time I forgot what cleat skin actually look like. My skin is no longer oily. I do not get any bad spots (I still get little whiteheads but to me that is like having clear skin) and my skin looks much nicer now I do not put any god dammed acne products on my face.



Being a vegetarian will make no difference, infact unless you are a vegan it might make it worse because of the foods you may end up eating. Do you consume much diary? I know the drinking milk gives me pretty severe nodules (the ones that do not come to a head and are really sore). This is because milk has a lot of hormones in it that stimulate oil production which causes spots.

Also do you eat carby and sugary foods as the main parts of your diet. If you do this probably causes insulin spikes, which I am pretty sure cause you to produce more sebum and thus get spots.



Not going to do very much because acne is formed deep with in the skin. It is not really caused by dirt or whatever on your face.



Drink an absolute **** load of water. I am talking about at minimum 3 litres a day. Also cut out all diary. Also cut out drinking your calories. Try to reduce the amount of carbs you consume. Try to consume more veggies.

If you have acne that isn't related puberty then most likely your internal health SUCKS.

I changed eating habits for good and my acne went along with it. It's a lifestyle change though, not a healthy eating spree for a month.

It's been a while but I'd say my internal health is good now, meaning that eating badly every now and then doesn't really affect me, because my body can keep on top of it all. That wouldn't have been the case if I ate badly ages ago though.

I know people have said stuff like "not all" and can be "related to puberty" but I still resent the accusation (which is what I would call it), that acne is caused by diet.

From my own observations at least, I have seen no association between diet and acne (where acne is simplified to an on/off thing). I'm not talking just one or two friends whose diet is terrible but don't have acne, or visa versa - but no association across the board whatsoever.

I'd say many people not only eat appalingly but drink like fishes too, and do they all have noticeable acne? No, a minority of them have acne (sort of you know, as you'd expect at random).

How many people who eat well have acne? Still a minority, but no smaller proportion than those who have an extremely poor diet.

I know one poor kid who throughout secondary school/college had the most awful disfiguring acne, which was eventually thwarted only with roaccutane - his family eat a traditional japanese diet. You know, the one that's meant to be so much healthier than ours? Vegetables and fish and soy-based products.

I've had mild/moderate acne throughout my teens and not only do I eat pretty well (honest to god I eat better than most), it's more than that - even when going through periods of poorer eating, poorer lifestyle, I have noticed no change in my skin.

The only things which have affected it's baseline level (eg: can be controlled a little better with careful washing/ degreasing) are the passage of time and hormonal contraceptives.

My brother has never suffered with any degree of acne, and his idea of a healthy meal is baked beans with his jacket potato and cheese.

Maybe some people can improve their acne with dietary changes, who am I to say they haven't - but I don't think its fair to imply diet as a cause for acne. (Maybe noone here really has tbf, I'm not singling anyone here out, it just seems to be a popular opinion). Some people are just prone to it, and others will never get it.

Admitted, the research isn't top quality (not RCTs), but the reason your doctor won't tell you acne is caused or controllable by diet is because it doesn't strongly seem to be the case, as going by the evidence. If it is a factor, it's no where near as important as other non-controllable factors, pretty much related to luck of the draw, puberty and whether or not you're taking roaccutance or smearing antibiotics all over your face - evidence based treatments.

I've run out of puff and really not wrapped this up at all but I can't be bothered so bla

You're missing the point.

Not all people will have diet related acne but some do. If you don't then you won't get acne if you eat badly. For some, that's the case though. Some are more susceptible to it than others. Some people's internal health and digestive system may be stronger.

It was definitely diet for me, no doubt about it. I have no reason to lie.

I know people have said stuff like "not all" and can be "related to puberty" but I still resent the accusation (which is what I would call it), that acne is caused by diet.

From my own observations at least, I have seen no association between diet and acne (where acne is simplified to an on/off thing). I'm not talking just one or two friends whose diet is terrible but don't have acne, or visa versa - but no association across the board whatsoever.

I've had mild/moderate acne throughout my teens and not only do I eat pretty well (honest to god I eat better than most), it's more than that - even when going through periods of poorer eating, poorer lifestyle, I have noticed no change in my skin.

My brother has never suffered with any degree of acne, and his idea of a healthy meal is baked beans with his jacket potato and cheese.

Maybe some people can improve their acne with dietary changes, who am I to say they haven't - but I don't think its fair to imply diet as a cause for acne. (Maybe noone here really has tbf, I'm not singling anyone here out, it just seems to be a popular opinion). Some people are just prone to it, and others will never get it.

Admitted, the research isn't top quality (not RCTs), but the reason your doctor won't tell you acne is caused or controllable by diet is because it doesn't strongly seem to be the case,

If it is a factor, it's no where near as important as other non-controllable factors, pretty much related to luck of the draw,

whether or not you're taking roaccutance or smearing antibiotics all over your face - evidence based treatments.

Deal with it



Obviously some people have more of a propensity towards acne than others. But fundamentally in most cases you can probably cure acne by having a really good diet.




I suspect most people think they have good diets if they are not fat. However the truth of the matter is that most people, even those with descent BMI, have poor diets. They do not drink enough water. They do not eat enough veggies. They eat wayy to many carbs. They do not eat enough fibre. They drink too many of their calories. They eat a lot of food that has been manipulated and covered in what are essentially weak poisons.

This is a product of Western food production. We are phenominally good at producing arable crops and sugar. We can produce bread, pasta, rice, orange juice very well compared to things like fruits and nuts. This means western diets have an in built bias towards eating more carbs and sugars than primitive man would have possibly been able to consume. We simply were not designed (through evolution) to eat so much in the way of carbs and sugars. And one of the side effects of this diet is bad skin because the digestive system simply cannot hand it, produces way too many hormones, this stimulates sebum production and bam you have got acne.

Honestly, I bet you do not have a good diet (you even half admit it when you say you eat better than most, well ****ing done you eat better than the average Westerner). You say you do, but you probably don't. You should really record your diet and see what you are actually consuming.



Obviously some people are more prone to acne than others. But that is not to say you cannot cure acne with good diet. If you have a propensity towards acne, well tuff tities. Anyway in the long run you will be much healthier and look younger if you stick to a genuinely good diet.



Duhhhhh this much is obvious. As a test how about you drink 2.5 pints of milk everyday for two weeks. See if your acne gets bad.......



No. It is because there is no incentive for anybody to actually methodically go and prove that diet can cure acne. Pharmatcutical companies that sell Benzoly Peroxide (I like to call it the aging treatment) are not going to like it if teenages suddenly stop buying their crap because the teens cleaned up their diets.



That is not an argument to just do nothing. A lot of people in my family have had bowel cancer, there is a pretty good chance I might get it. Bad luck ehh. Does that mean I should just sit on hands and behave like everybody else or should I do something to prevent bowel cancer or check for it to catch it early?



Go for it. Drug yourself up (the antibiotics probably make you more vulnerable to acne because they kill off the good bacteria in you stomach, which do some of the work to clear out the crap you consume) and cover your face in stuff that will age you super quick. I work with quite a few graduates and I can tell who had acne and used products on their face, by how old they look.

On the other hand, you could just change yourself lifestyle so that you will be healthier generally and stop the fundamental cause of acne, rather than trying to cover up the consequences.

Atleast give it a real try for a few months.


The only other things I think that are actually good for your skin is going in a steam room, I am pretty convinced this can unplug pores, so whilst it does not stop excess oil production it can stop black heads and white heads forming. And using a lemon and sugar scrub just to clear up imperfections from old acne and to make your skin nice. And that freederm gel that actually do a very good job of reducing inflamation quickly. And sunlight, all over your body to stimulate vitamin D production (not sure about this one though).

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Is this laying it pretty straight: I have to (and do actually, if you say so) believe you when you tell me that diet has improved your acne - fair enough. But then you have the propensity/ are allowed to tell me that my diet must be poor, I must be to blame for my acne... This is the whole attitude I hate and resent.

Picture forming? Or you want to rigidly stick to some quack about changing my diet because it makes you feel smug?

Even if acne is related to diet (in some people), which it may be, I concede that - the picture as according to the evidence is one of hormonal and genetic factors being pretty important in the development of acne. Ie: just bad luck. Diet certainly doesn't have any relation to my acne (or that of my Japanese friend whom I noticed you ignored completely), or within my observations, of anyone I know who does/doesn't have acne). Just being male for example, makes for way more acne-prone skin, that's why acne is actually a symptom of anabolic steroid abuse.

Ever heard of something called Bayesian Inference?

Obviously I do not know what your diet actually is. However you have told me that you have acne, which immediately raises the probability your diet is less than ideal (because most acne could probably be cured through a better diet), and I can also assume you are a Westerner and thus probably have a Western diet, raising the probability that your diet is less than ideal, you have had acne past puberty, raising the probability your diet is less than ideal, and then you say your diet is "better than most", which again raises the probability that your diet is less than ideal.

With the information you have given to me, it is a fairly reasonable conclusion to draw that there is a high probability you do not have an ideal diet. You say you do, sorry



No, because you have given me more information so I can update my apriori beliefs.

Okay, peace now?

Rub your face with a sexually mature bullfrog on the third Friday in February; that's all that works.

Proactiv is awesome for it

Or you want to rigidly stick to some quack about changing my diet because it makes you feel smug?

Even if acne is related to diet (in some people), which it may be, I concede that

"may be" related to diet - It's actually very annoying that you say that ("may be"), because I know for sure it was diet related for me. Same with Classic Liberal and plenty of others. It's actually an insult, implying that I'm deluded and imagining it all to being diet related when in reality it wasn't.