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Veganism and clear skin

Veganism and clear skin

Started by Ragdolly on February 25, 2011

49 Comments

Ragdolly said #11 Feb 27, 2011 at 2:21pm

TY kat... i've had this since i was around 11 or 12. right now i only have 2 blemishes. one will not dry up (on my nose) and the other just appeared this morning on my chin. this is typical. i pop them all the time btw, which is supposedly a no no (mostly bc of scarring, but i have no facial scars, my back is another story unfortunately).

i noticed that it got much worse during long distance travel. i must've got stressed out from driving on the freeways and through extremely large cities. i guess that would be hormones, a stress hormone.

but as far as these everyday 1 or 2 that i get, i can't say i'm particularly stressed, especially since i'm in the comfort of my own home and relaxing.

i was on the depo shot for 2 years and quit taking it in Dec of '09. as i understand it, it takes 1 yr for this to get out of your system. well it's been 1 yr and 3 months so can't blame that...

i am 26 yrs old, the age your acne quit, so maybe this is the last of it. ages 12 - 26 does seem hormone-filled maybe.

i have been able to go days without washing my hair lately which is a sign that oils have seized. this could be a good sign, i feel.

kylie grethen said #12 Feb 28, 2011 at 8:47am

ragdolly-

i have to tell you, whenever i have coffee, i breakout. whenever i have a lot of refined sugar, i break out. i love coffee, but i love having clear skin more. well, i think it's more the caff than the coffee because if i have a coke to drink (i know, i know...super naughty) same results.

even decaf does it to me bc it contains traces of caffeine...and whenever i get the caff out of my system and i have a cup of decaff, i shake like a leaf. i have a very sensitive system obviously.

every time i give up it, my skin goes haywire for about 3 weeks and then, once everything mellows down, is flawless. i have found that it's about replacing the stuff that doesn't work for you body with stuff that does. so if you like that routinue of hot coffee in the morning, what about herbal tea instead? you still get your hot bev, but one that's better for the bod. or instead of a vegan sweet every day, what about a nice crispy apple? i know it sounds boring but it's what you get used to.

also? soy makes me break out. lol. i honestly think that if you listen to your body and notice when your skin gets worse, you can begin to see what does and doesn't work for you. you are smart and your body is smart...listen and you will know what to do!! just because something does or doesn't work for someone else doesn't mean you will have the same results! :) good luck girl! you are beautiful, breakouts or not.

catconsrv said #13 Feb 28, 2011 at 9:06am

I have been vegan for 3 1/2 years and my skin never cleared up either. I am 31 and still dealing with this crap. And I'm not talking little pimples, I'm talking big breakouts. Not cystic acne or so bad that it is totally intolerable, but I thought I would be done with this by 30. Apparently not. I can not atrribute it to anything. I rarely eat soy and when I do occasionally I don't notice a change. I eat mostly unprocessed foods all cooked at home. I do not eat fried foods a lot and never at home. I have cut out sugar other than a few snacks every once in awhile and when I do have sugar I don't notice a difference. For instance, I was away this week and ate more processed and sugary foods than normal and I have had no breakouts. I don't know, it is frustrating. I do break out more during the week before my period, but I usually have something going on otherwise. I think a lot of it is genetic and hormonal and no diet is going to fix that. I wish it would though!

Ashley H said #14 Feb 28, 2011 at 9:59am

catconsrv- that is EXACTLY how my skin is. it's actually gotten worse the older i get. it's not awful, just bad enough that i am not comfortable going without makeup. i'm at a point in my life where i should start worrying about little wrinkles not acne!

Ragdolly said #15 Feb 28, 2011 at 2:30pm

TY Ashley, I was just thinking about you. I was going to say that I think a healthy, routine sleep schedule is supposed to help too. IDK about you but my sleep is sporadic. Good luck to you too, you are beautiful as well :)

I am going to put a processed food into my vegetable stew I am making right now. I really don't feel like putting beans in there as a meat substitute. I bought these vegan beef stew cuts that I like once in awhile. I am doubting it will make much difference if I do or don't eat this. What I really need to do is set a date where I cut out all processed foods and or go superhero. Set dates always help.

catconsrv,

I'm sorry about your situation as well. I don't know what to tell you, but everybody here has excellent advice, I think. It's just a matter of when to start experimenting.

I have not had sugar in what I consider to be a very long time (at least for me) now and have no craving for it.

1 cup of coffee for lunch :(

yah yah i know, but I was celebrating a little something about my art being accepted. all day i was feeling kinda spacey but after the 1 cup I feel better actually. Moderation might be the key, breakouts or not. In some cases and some bodies, completely cutting out something, however might be the only way.

Ashley H said #16 Mar 1, 2011 at 8:08am

i know it is a rare thing this day and age but i make sleep a priority for myself. i sleep a full 9 hours a night otherwise i am a total grump. : ) i don't have any kids and i have a super regular work schedule so i get away with it. : ) so i know that's not really the problem. my dad always has had bad skin. he is in his mid 50s and still breaks out. it is what it is. my mom had fantastic skin and so mine is not horrible but genetics is evident.

oh wells. we are all beautiful!! : )

TK said #17 Mar 1, 2011 at 9:26am

Hey Ragdolly, I'm in the same boat with you but recently I searched this site for advice on how to clear up acne, and someone (can't remember who) said her skin cleared up after she started taking certain vitamin supplements. I have been doing so for a few weeks and it's working! The big cystic acne bumps have gone down and now I just have to get rid of the scars.

I am taking a B vitamin complex everyday (it comes in liquid or pill form, not very expensive) plus a multivitamin that has more B vitamins, zinc, and iron. I also apply a homemade toner to my face after washing, which consists of apple cider vinegar and water (mix 1 part vinegar to 8 parts water).

If you want to read up on vitamins and foods and how they affect women, check out this book from your library: The Living Beauty Detox Program by Anne Louise Gittleman (http://www.annlouise.com/23/diet-detox/16/).

The three baddies that get to me are sugar, soy, and stress. But at least now I know how to deal with the resulting acne. Hope this helps you too. Good luck!

catconsrv said #18 Mar 1, 2011 at 9:38am

Ashley, I hear ya! Oh how I wish I was one of those girls that could leave the house without makeup! Yep, no wrinkles here yet but the acne keeps on coming!

Ashley H said #19 Mar 1, 2011 at 11:17am

the apple cider vinegar trick works for me too, it doesn't prevent acne but it will clear up a bad breakout very quickly, but i have to do it every 15 minutes or so for a few hours. it's just not practical for all the time, it did clear up my skin nicely for my wedding last fall!

the sugar, soy, etc, etc thing has no affect on my skin. i will go without for weeks and then eat some with no difference.

I already take a vitamin B complex daily.

Ragdolly said #20 Mar 31, 2011 at 6:06pm

I can't remember the last time I had a cup of coffee, maybe a little over a week ago? The zits that were on my face are drying up and my face looks clear.

I also continue to eat processed foods every single day. Could it be coffee that's causing the problem for me and not processed foods?

Almost two weeks ago I had 5 or 6 cups of coffee in one afternoon and early evening. A couple days later my face was a sore mess. Not a cup since. My face started to dry up about 3 days ago.

I can't forget to mention my daily intake of 1 vegan multi-vitamin along with an extra Zinc tablet. I have been taking the extra zinc tablet for about 10 days now.

I have been drinking hot green tea like it's water. Could be the antioxidants curing the acne?

It's obviously a combination of no coffee, Zinc, and green tea. Maybe it is only 1 or 2 of those things, but I'm not wanting to experiment by eliminating one of them (to see which one(s) they are) if my face is clear.

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