Do you know there's a possible way to cure acne?

There are 4 groups of people when it comes to acne.

There’s the people who never had them. There’s the people who have some of them during the puberty years. Then there’s the people who suffered from them throughout their teen years.

I happen to fall into the fourth group. Acne grew on my face when I hit puberty and continued to flourish right into my late 20s. They were huge (to say the least), often contain cysts and grow not only on my face, but also on my chest and back (it actually made me quit swimming). To top it off, they leave scars whether I squeezed them or not!

Needless to say, I did everything I could and followed every so called “rules” you can find in popular magazines, books and blogs. I even consulted 7 independent dermatologists about my condition.

Nothing worked. I’ve used all the popular “anti-acne” face wash, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, alpha hydroxy acids, Proactiv and even oral medication that requires prescription (because it came with potential fatal side effects), such as Roaccutane and anti-biotics. I’ve stopped touching my face, I’ve washed my face at least twice a day, I’ve had facials done on me in 5 different spas over the course of 2 years, I used one of those excess oil absorber and I even bought the very expensive Zeno acne clearing device.

You name it, I probably tried it. To illustrate how desperate I was, let’s just say I wouldn’t have done some of those things as a man if I weren’t cornered.

It wasn’t until I was fed up with all the false advice that I started doing my own research. What I found changed my life.

My Acne Treatment Paradigm Shift (Why You Should Give Up Traditional “Solutions”)

To treat acne, you have to know what causes acne. The traditional view as to the cause of acne is a species of bacteria called “Propionobacterium acnes“. They feed on sebum and releases chemicals, that will in turn attracts your anti-body to attack it, thus causing an inflammation.

But the acne bacteria is a regular resident of your face (they keep harmful bacterias from invading your face) and for them to release enough chemicals to cause acne, your oil gland would first have to enlarge and produce too much sebum – thus blocking your skin pores and allowing them to settle there.

If you see that way, then you’ll realize some of the most popular treatments is not only utterly useless, they might even be harmful.

Let’s take benzoyl peroxide, one of the most popular ingredients in anti-acne products. Just like antibiotics, the purpose of the peroxide is simple: To kill the acne bacteria (most solutions focus on killing the bacteria). But remember, the bacteria is a resident of your face! They protect your face from other harmful bacterias. Killing them is not only doing a dis-service to your face, just as most traditional solution to common problems, it also fail to address the underlying cause: the enlarged oil gland.

Salicylic acid, another extremely popular ingredient of anti-acne products, works by peeling the skin and unplugging the clogged pores. It has to be continually applied, even after your acne has recovered or you’ll revert to your original condition. Another mindless solution, don’t you think? That’s like disassembling road just because it’s always jammed with cars!

Roaccutane may cause depression and even suicidal thoughts

In fact, most people who apply salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide also experience dry skin and require moisturizer.

Now let’s take a look at the big guns. Roaccutane. The so-called “only cure” for acne. It works by reducing the amount of sebum your oil glands produce. Sounds like a good idea? According to Tiscali, here’s a short list of its side effects:

- Dry skin (causing inflammation, scaling, itching, increased skin fragility)
- Dryness of the mucous membranes, eg lips, eyes (causing irritation, conjunctivitis), nose (causing nosebleeds) and throat (causing hoarseness)
- Headache
- Increased liver enzymes
- Disturbances in the composition of the blood (eg increased cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar; decreased red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets)
- Pain in the muscles and joints
- Mood changes, strange or abnormal thoughts
- Hair loss (alopecia)
- Visual disturbances (eg blurred vision, cataracts, colour blindness, decreased night vision)
- Inflammation of the surface of the eye (keratitis)
- Breathing difficulties due to a narrowing of the airways (bronchospasm)
- Nausea
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Abnormal reaction of the skin to light, usually a rash (photosensitivity)
- Bone disorders

There’s even a link between consumption of Roaccutane to depression and even suicide. Yikes! Acne sounds like good news compared to the side effects! So can a guy do to be acne-free? I’m glad you asked.

Here’s What You Need To Do To Treat Your Acne – Once and For All

The enlarged oil gland and the failure to regulate the excess sebum has been attributed to a number of causes. Some say it’s genetics. Some say hormones. Some others – stress.

I think all play a part. Yet some people who are under a great deal stress never saw an acne problem – such as the various celebrities. Some whose parents are plagued with acne never had one themselves. Other, as I mentioned before, never had acne even during puberty, when hormone is supposedly in constant state of change.

Why is that? Why some people never had to deal with acne despite breaking all the “rules”?

I began interviewing people I know who are acne-free for their whole life (everyone knows one of these lucky bastards) and I noticed on constant: That is a healthy lifestyle (Caution: “Healthy” may not be what you think it is). So I dug deeper into the acne puzzle. Here’s what I discovered.

Failure to regulate sebum production is also the result of accumulated toxins in your body and the fact that your body is out of balance. So I looked into Holistic Healing as a solution to acne and gave it a try. What have I got to lose right? Here are the things I did.

1. I bought a water filter for both bathing and drinking purposes to get rid of chlorine and fluoride. In addition to being a potential carcinogen (cancer causing), chlorine has also been linked to heart disease and stroke.
2. I also bought several house plants to filter harmful pollutions out of the air. Did you know that there are more pollution indoor than outdoor? Check out this video on growing fresh air.
3. I began eating fresh organic food only to avoid ingesting pesticides associated with traditional food. Organic food has also been shown to contain more more vitamins and nutrients than its traditional counterparts.
4. Even as I consume organic, I also minimize the consumption of sugar, including rice, fruits and candy bars. Sugar has not only been linked to acne development, it also causes a variety of health problems.
5. I quintupled the amount of vegetables I consume by blending. Blending your vegetables also help to increase its absorbility. I detail more about my vegetable blend in my eczema treatment post.
6. Believe it or not, I stopped washing my face with cleansers – even organic ones. Here’s why. According to Dina Falconi, best selling author of “Earthly Bodies and Heavenly Hair“, there’s a reason why your oil gland produces sebum – to create a protective mantle against harmful bacterias and keep in moisture. By cleansing you not only remove dead skin cells and dirt, you also remove sebum and that could stimulate over production of sebum. Instead, I wash my face with filtered water only and then apply a combination of moisturizer and pure aloe vera.
7. If you’re experiencing a bad break-out, you might want to use tea tree oil, a natural essential oil extracted from the tea tree in Australia. It has strong antibacterial properties and it works like benzoyl peroxide, only with less side effects. Remember, just like benzoyl peroxide, it’s not a permanent fix.
8. Last but not least, I expose myself to gentle sunlight at least 20 minutes a day to get optimum vitamin D. Optimizing your vitamin D levels is not only crucial for optimum health, it might also be the answer to your acne woes, according to a study done by Dr Maynard.

So what’s the result? I was acne free in 4 months later. Coincidence? No cure for acne? You be the judge.

Photo of lady by Compugeek7ss/ Kristina Cox

Photo of depressed lady by Nicole Thomas