This article is about how to get rid of acne and have healthy looking skin.
I’ve battled acne for a long time. My breakouts ranged from somewhat bearable to downright terrible.
I know from experience that having acne wreaks havoc on your confidence and takes a heavy psychological toll.
If you suffer from acne as bad as I did you know how much it sucks.
This article is my personal experience fighting acne.
I’ll tell you what I do to keep my acne under control and also share what didn’t work.
If you struggle with acne this post can show you triggers that cause acne so you can avoid breakouts.
I wrote this with blood, sweat and tears and it’s backed with my experience battling acne for a long, long time – Over 10 years, and I have the scars to prove it.
My Acne Story (Skip ahead if you don’t care)
I used to have terrible acne.
For the past 15 years, I’ve had zits, pimples, cysts and blemishes on my face pretty much constantly.
I honestly can’t remember a day after 8th grade when my face was perfectly clear.
I spent many hours at the doctor’s office, tried dozens of treatments – many that required prescriptions – and spent a lot of money fighting acne.
My parents would drive me to specialists and dermatologists appointments every couple months. Sometimes appointments were over an hour away from home.
I tried many different medications, including prescription pills (several antibiotics) and cremes (Tazorac and a few others) to control my acne.
None of the treatments worked consistently and some even made my acne worse.
Some days were better than others, but there were times when I couldn’t see past the red bumps on my face.
Those times caused me to sulk, brood, wish and pray my acne would go away.
Then, the Terrible Acne Breakouts Ensued…
I thought things couldn’t get worse until my senior year of high school when things really went south.
For whatever reason, my face broke out terribly.
My face was completely covered with red bumps and white spots the first half of the school year.
I became obsessed with the acne on my face and found it hard to think about anything else.
I was so desperate to make my acne go away, I washing my face 5+ times a day.
The skin on my face became raw, inflamed, and painful. My skin would be extremely dry and tight but at the same time look greasy.
I think my grease glands were working overtime and my face was shiny and had a glare as a result.
People would comment on it which made me even more self-conscious and desperate which lead to more washing.
Little did I know I was adding fuel to the fire by putting chemicals on my face and drying out my skin.
It was so bad and I was so desperate to fix it, I started doing anything I could in a hope to cure my acne problem.
I even put raw egg yolk on my face and almost ordered a vile of “Miracle Spring Water” from an infomercial. I was literally praying for a miracle.
As summer approached and my graduation ceremony was over my face began to clear up, finally.
The combination of obsessive face washing, stress and an undiagnosed illness (I had mono that wasn’t caught until after my body cleared the virus) were the main culprits.
The few years that followed where a roller coster of ups and downs.
I would have a bad acne breakouts followed by a brief period of improvement that gave me hope things would get better and stay better for good.
Hope was short lived however, as the acne inevitably surged back and reclaimed my face. It was beyond frustrating.
During my Junior year of college I said “Fuck it” and stopped using acne treatment all together.
I washed my face with hot water and that was it.
After a few days my skin looked healthier. I continued this for years with great results.
Who knew?
How to Control Acne Breakouts
I think we live in a society that creates problems we don’t have to makes us think we need thing we actually don’t.
For example, Listerine didn’t create mouthwash, it created bad breath.
The awareness of my acne made me treat it, and the treatment made it worse, and the cycle continued.
Eventually I found the formula that works for me to keep my face breakout free.
It’s more than just a special creme or face wash, it’s a holistic health regimen that keeps my body healthy and my skin clear.
Through trial and error, I’ve found the ‘acne triggers’ that cause breakouts.
What Causes Acne?
The cause of acne is up for debate. Doctors don’t even know for sure.
Ask a doctor and he will tell you one thing. Ask another doctor and she will tell you something different.
One thing I know for sure is acne is attributed to many factors: Hormones, cleanliness (or lack thereof), anxiety, diet, environment, immune system strength, genetic factors, habits and more. All of which I will discuss in a bit.
Another thing I know for sure, is the direct cause of acne is oily skin – But how can you fix oily skin?
You have to keep your face clean and reduce the amount of grease you produce.
Finding why you have oily skin is the the root cause of your acne breakouts.
Slow the grease production, and you’re on your way to clearer skin.
Granted, serum (grease) production is partly genetic, but you can influence it with diet, your environment, and habits.
For example, I live in Michigan, and during the summer I have almost no acne.
Probably because the oil isn’t getting absorbed my my skin, evaporating or being whisked away with sweat.
But, when fall roles around and the days get colder and shorter, my acne tends to get worse because the grease just sets on my face.
Why Does Oily Skin Cause Breakouts?
Oily skin is a breeding ground for bacteria.
Bacteria multiply rapidly. When these bacteria die millions of carcasses pile up and clog pores.
Clogged pores seal tight and the serum gland continues producing grease.
Like a lid over a volcano, the serum keeps producing but can’t escape the skin’s surface.
So, bacteria feed the growing revision of pus while constantly multiplying and dying, causing the zit to get bigger and trigger the body’s inflammation response. (Inflammation is the redness created by your body’s response to the infection.)
What Triggers Acne Breakouts?
Over the years, I’ve found several things that trigger my acne breakouts.
By keeping these things in mind, you may be able to reduce your acne breakouts simply by recognizing if these triggers apply to you and taking steps to avoid them:
Smoking
Inhaling poison has all kinds of nasty effects on your body.
It tars you up from the inside out.
Cigarette smoke continues hundreds of toxic chemicals. The thick fumes mix with your serum and turn your pores into tar pits.
Breakouts soon follow.
Alcohol
Alcohol is liquid poison with no nutritional value (other than quality beer).
Your body must process the alcohol which causes toxic by-products which is dealt with through excretion through your pores. Some of this excrement travels through your pores.
Liquor and mixed drinks are the worst. Followed by wine then beer.
A beer or two a day does not seem to cause acne for me.
But whenever I binge drink wine or liquor I’m pretty much guaranteed acne for the next week.
Dehydration
A dehydrated body is under stress and strain.
Your body has a hard time functioning without enough water.
Drinking water dilutes toxins and makes them easier to process, absorb and eliminate naturally.
Dehydration also dries your skin, making it flake off into your pores. Your skin is an organ that lets bad things out of your body and keeps bad things out of your body. It needs to by healthy to work.
Healthy skin is hydrated skin.
So stay hydrated.
Drink at least a gallon of fresh water a day. I carry a 1-quart capacity water bottle with me everywhere I go and drink about 6 full bottles a day.
Highly Toxic Environment
We are bombarded with harmful chemicals constantly.
Poisons and impurities from our air, food, water, and home seep into our skin and cause breakouts. They through off our delicate PH, our body freaks out, and breakouts ensue.
Chemicals are ingested from the food we eat and noxious fumes are inhaled from pollution and chemical cleaners.
Avoid artificial and genetically modified foods. Filter your water with a Brita like I do and have for years.
Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety through your hormones out of whack.
Your adrenal glands shift into overdrive and the stress hormone cortisol raises.
Cortisol suppresses testosterone which spikes estrogen causing someone imbalance know to cause acne breakouts.
Part of this is because anxiety speeds up body functions (due to fight or flight response) including the production of serum.
Coffee
I’m not sure if coffee actually causes my acne, but I definitely see a correlation between my coffee consumption and acne.
Could be because it makes me anxious.
Touching Your Face
Don’t touch your face with your grimy paws!
Whenever I touch my face I tend to breakout where I touched it.
Hormone Imbalance
Your body is a delicate balancing act of chemicals. Shift one thing slightly and the whole machine can experience a reaction to some degree.
For example, steroids users and abusers typically have bad acne on their face, back, shoulders and chest.
This is because injecting synthetic testosterone (or other steroid) leads to hormone imbalance and overproduction of sebum.
Keep your hormones balanced by eating right and lifting regularly.
Shaving with Old or Dull Razors
Shitty razors suck all around. They aggravate your skin and chip dead skin flakes into your pores causing clogs.
I don’t use razors with less than 4 blades. I’ll use each razor 4 -5 times max then throw it away and open a new one.
Weak Immune System
A weak immune system contributes to acne.
You feel crappy, your energy is low and there’s usually a larger underlying problem.
During the worst breakout of my life that I mentioned above, I had mononucleosis.
I didn’t know I had mono at the time because it avoided diagnosis even though I went to the doctor to get tested for it.
They said I was fine even though I felt like complete shit all day for months.
Instead of sleeping and resting so my body could fight the illness, I geared up for football practice and games in freezing November temperatures.
I felt weak and lethargic but pushed through.
It was so bad that the thought of getting an injury so I could stop with some dignity actually crossed my mind. Thankfully, that didn’t happen and I kept going.
I didn’t know I had mononucleosis until 6 months later when I got pneumonia. The doctor told me it looks like to had mono at one point because the antibodies or something showed up in my blood work.
I was super pissed but also proud that I was able to push through something so difficult.
Long story short – weak immune system or illness can contribute to acne for a host of reasons.
Another key point here – Make sure you go to a good doctor, get second opinions, do your own research and think for yourself because even the best professionals make mistakes.
It’s called medical ‘practice’ after all.
How to Get Rid of Acne and Have Clear Skin
Now that you know what triggers acne breakouts, here are things you can do to control acne or avoid breakouts all together.
My acne control regimen consists of clean eating, heavy lifting and sauna sessions.
Sweat Every Day
Workout hard everyday.
Your body was meant to move and if you don’t live as intended to it will rebel.
You should sweat through your shirt every workout.
Train harder and wear heavier clothes to get a good rolling sweat going.
Sit in the sauna until you’re pouring sweat. Sweating hard purges toxins from your body and rejuvenates skin.
My skin has a healthy glow after sweating heavily, especially after a hot sauna session.
Sweating is the best thing for you. You sweat to purge toxins and burn fat.
Eat like shit and bad ingredients ooze from your skin and clog pores.
Like sticky, filthy sludge, all that fat and grease plugs up your pores. Sweating opens your pores and pushes out all this nastiness.
Just be sure to shower immediately after sweating to wash away the filth.
Manage Stress Levels
Stress releases hormones and hormones control your body chemistry. Bad body chemistry can lead to breakouts.
Working out is the ultimate stress relief.
Other things you can do to manage stress levels are meditation, reading, working with your hands, and stretching your muscles.
The less time you spend dwelling on your acne and the worries of the world the better your condition becomes.
Wash LIGHTLY with Mild Acne Soap
Scrub your face very lightly.
Scrubbing your face too hard causes pimples.
I don’t even scrub my face, I just pat the soap onto my skin. Then let it set there for a few minutes and let the soap do it’s thing while I wash the rest of my body, then rinse.
I use Fresh soy face cleanser and it works very well.
Make it a point to rinse your face with warm/hot water before applying soap. this will clear off most of the dirt and grime so you don’t rub it into your pores.
Avoid Processed Foods
C’mon, guys. How many times do I have to tell ya?
Cut the shit from your diet.
Junk food, frozen pizza, fast food, soda pop. Anything with refined ingredients should be avoided as well: pasta, bread, sugar, etc.
A snack once in a while is OK but make sure you’ve earned it. The best snacks are all natural and have nutritional value. Like this delicious high-protein chocolate peanut butter creme pie.
Stay Hydrated
SPOILER ALERT!
You mean staying hydrated is good for you?
No shit.
You’ve heard it before but you don’t really understand until you are hydrated, then go back to being dehydrated.
Drink at least gallon of fresh, clean water every day to flush your system and keep the pipes clean.
I have a Brita filtered water pitcher at home and a large Nalgene bottle I take with me everywhere.
Avoid Coffee
There seems to be a correlation between my coffee consumption and acne breakouts.
It could be the acidity, or it could be something else, but every time I drink coffee I seem to break out.
Don’t know why exactly but there seems to be a relation. If you have acne and want clear skin, try not drinking coffee for a week and see if your skin clears up.
I will say that I do drink a cup of coffee every morning during my workout.
But I sit in the sauna right after so this my counter the ill affects of coffee consumption that cause breakouts because my skin is clear AF at the moment.
Get Some Sun
Sunlight is good for oily skin. Many people have oily skin because of their genetics. I’m Italian for example and Italians are known to have oily skin.
Oily skin is an evolutionary trait to keep Italians from burning to a crisp in the hot Mediterranean sunshine.
Sunshine drys your skin and the oil is reabsorbed like a natural skin moisturizer.
So, if you have oily skin, sunlight everyday will keep the pimples away. Just don’t over do it and get burnt.
Don’t Drink Hard Liquor or Smoke
Smoking and drinking causes big cyst-like pimples and dries out your epidermis like old tree bark.
Sleep on Your Back
Keep your face off your pillow it’s full of grease from your hair and face.
Plus the friction and pressure on your face will push grease back into pores.
How to Deal with Acne
Psychologically, dealing with acne is hard. You need to frame your mindset about it and stay positive.
Easier said that done, I know.
Here’s a few things you should now:
First things first – Know that it WILL get better. It might take a while but it will get better. Acne is partly genetic and hormonal. Acne needs to run it’s course to some extent. THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
Secondly, You can take action to improve your acne.
Review the points I mentioned above – learn about your acne triggers, start working out and sweating daily. Clean up your diet so you avoid sugar and processed foods.
Try it for a few weeks and see if your acne improves. I bet it does.
At the very least you’ll be building a bad ass body.
Also, realize that people don’t care that you have acne. So that can take pressure off socially.
Try not to think about acne. Just have your workout plan, diet plan and wash your face gently twice a day and that’s it.
Keep yourself busy. Do anything you can to keep your mind off your acne.
When you stop thinking about it long enough it will eventually start to fade away.
Seriously, just don’t think about acne! I know this sounds strange and I’ll be honest, it almost seems impossible but the more you think about acne the more likely you will do things that make you breakout.
The law of attraction if you will.
When I think about acne, I might get overly concerned about a breakout, so I might scrub my face a little harder or stress a little more.
Both of these things actually cause me to breakout! So it’s best to try not to worry about it at all and just get on with your life.
Your body is a perpetual motion machine and everything effects everything. Understand this. Many people look for a simple cause and effect relationship. you need to understand that there are 2nd and 3rd order of effects to everything you do.
You can take a stoic approach – If you can face the world with bad acne you will build character, and you will be strong. It’s tough and much easier said than done but if you transcend it and fight through you will become more powerful.
Heal Acne Naturally
Try to heal ance naturally before you take medicine.
But to take medicine before trying natural alternatives is foolish. Side effects and long terms effects of medication can be worse than the condition they are meant to treat.
Use medication with caution. Do your own research. If your doctor is a pill pusher, and suggests medication before a natural alternative, I would question their judgment.
I used to be on an antibiotic to help control my acne. I wanted a quick fix so I dutifully took my pill every day and hoped things would change. Things did not change.
I put medicated creams on my face and all they did was make my skin irritated, red and shinny.
It was expensive and probably messed with my body chemistry in a negative way.
My Acne Saga Continues
Battling ance breakouts is a campaign. It takes time for your acne to go away and your skin to fully heal. I know this for well.
Although my acne used to be awful, it’s more of a minor annoyance now.
If I do get a pimple I spot treat it with Neutrogena On the Spot acne creme you can buy anywhere (It works great by drying up pimples. But don’t get it on your clothes because it will bleach them.)
Whenever I see someone with a face full of acne, I feel for them.
That’s why I’m writing this post. To help people treat acne when they feel hopeless.
Hope this helps!
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