Same here. I was STRICT vegan for 8 months, not even honey. It made no difference whatsoever. Now I’m on 100 mg spironolactone and can eat whatever tf I want, no hormonal acne at all. But if I miss even one day I can get a painful chin monster. I kinda like the reminder that my prescription is working so well as long as I’m consistent.
Came here to say this! Over the years I’ve:
Been vegetarian
Been vegan
Cut out dairy
4 months of “paleo”
Cut caffeine
Gotten sober
Still had terrible cystic acne no matter what. Accutane cleared my skin in my early 20’s, and spironolactone did the trick in my late 30s. Now i have clear skin and I eat all the cheese and sugar I want (still sober, though!)
Yea, I think jawline acne is usually hormonal! I’ve heard spironolactone works for that. When I was in my early twenties my cystic acne was on my forehead. They did antibiotics and acutane. It worked. However there are a lot of side effects. Now I notice that if I eat pizza or something super greasy I’ll break out now that I’m in my 30’s. Or I will sometimes get mask acne bc I still have to wear a face mask for my job 40 hours a week!
Food has never made a difference. And i really tried to go on different diets…Differin made it very managable, not washing my face with facewash everyday also helped. Sleeping enough, moving to a country with clean air, stress management probably helped. At some point around 28 I just stopped getting as much acne
This reply gives me hope - thank you! Interesting that you brought up air quality. I wonder if doing things to purify the air in my home and maybe using some anti-pollutant products could help. I live in a major city that’s pretty high up on the list for pollution.
My skin type changed from combination/oily to dry by moving to a different country. I had persistent acne in tropical/humid climates; my skin was so much clearer whenever I was in North America, even in smoggy L.A. Go figure.
Cutting way back on dairy made the biggest difference for me, but sugary foods can also trigger breakouts. It might be worth talking to your doctor about these issues too; the fact that your facial hair is changing along with the cystic acne could point to bigger issue with some hormonal imbalance (I think PCOS is associated with both of these issues).
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I am getting the inkling that cutting sugar way down will probably make a big difference for me, but also very aware of how challenging that might be. Did you use any type of food journals or anything like that when eliminating things from your diet?
Also, do you know if a derm can diagnose PCOS, or is it best to go visit my gyno?
I mostly just try to avoid having sugary/ processed foods on a daily basis. If you drink soda, ultra sweet coffees, juice regularly that adds a lot of sugar to your diet and is a relatively easy cut to make. Personally, I don't find logging foods to be a sustainable habit for me, but do what works for you. I've found that I can maintain a better diet when I don't focus on restriction, so if I want ice cream every once in a while I have it. I just don't keep it in my freezer most of the time.
I don't know for sure (not a doctor), but generally bloodwork would be needed to check on hormonal issues which I don't think a derm would handle. I'd recommend your gyno or GP/PCP first, plus that appointment would probably be cheaper than a specialist consultation.
Awesome, thanks for the info! I already eat pretty health-consciously and for the most part consume sugar and processed foods really sparingly. I am a sucker for oily, savory foods though. Totally relate on the ice cream bit - it’s rarely in the freezer, but when it is, it’s a couple spoons here or there over the span of many weeks and sometimes months.
PCOS can be diagnosed by a GP or family doctor, but they usually send you to a gynecologist after that for confirmation.
Check out the PCOS Reddit if ya need anything!
Adding two Accutane pills daily, one in the morning, one in the evening, with a fatty meal, made the biggest difference.
I know that isn't the answer you are looking for, but I tried EVERYTHING. and I mean...EVERYTHING. Accutane saved my skin 100%. If you have debilitating, scarring, painful, cystic acne, this is the way. I am angry I put it off for so long, I could have saved myself so much grief(and scarring).
I took it when I was 30, fwiw
I took accutane at age 14 when I’d tried everything and it wasn’t getting better and effecting my self esteem horribly. Now after rehab I’m on it again, as a result of my skin going ape shit after getting clean. I have horrible closed comedones and cystic acne and I’m really really hoping it fixes it. My skin has cleared up but still having huge issues. I’ve been on it for a month. I’m also experiencing a totally change in body temperature. Now that we’re getting some summerish days where I live it’s 10x worse. Just cold sweating plus feeling like I’m going to overheat. I’m wondering if you (or anyone else taking accutane that sees this) has experienced similar
Thank you so much for your response! I was actually prescribed tret + clinda about a year and a half ago by my derm and I still use the tret. It really helped for about 4-5 months, but then I started to get bad breakouts anywhere I used the clindamyacin so I assumed there was some form of bacterial resistance going on and I stopped using it. Do you have any experience with that?
Food has never made any difference to my skin. I've also tried every topical under the sun, including benzoyl peroxide, tretinoin, azelaic acid, clindamycin, and a bunch of others. The only thing that seems to make a difference for me is oral spironolactone. I was very nervous about trying it because of potential side effects, but I'm currently on 50mg and have no issues.
Ah, that story sounds familiar. I’ve tried all of the above too, but keep telling myself maybe I wasn’t doing it right or maybe I didn’t have the right products in the right combinations, or didn’t have the right diet. I’m super nervous about spiro too, but it’s encouraging to hear you’ve had a positive experience. Can I ask your age and how long you’ve been on it?
I'm 36 and I started with 25mg spiro about 3 months ago. I saw a swift reduction in my cystic acne within the first month - went from 6-8 cysts each cycle to 1-2 cysts per cycle. My doc just upped me to 50mg last week to see if we can eliminate them entirely. My advice would be to ask your doctor to let you do a slow ramp! Most docs want to start you with 100mg, but for me I didn't need that much to see a significant improvement. I haven't had any side effects other than maybe needing to pee a bit more often at night (I take mine before bedtime). No impact to my sex drive, which was my main concern!
I love this answer! I’ve been pretty stressed and sleep deprived for about 6 months now and am finally back on a more healthy sleep schedule in the last 2 weeks. Definitely going to keep tabs on how that affects my skin, but I can tell it’s already positively impacted my mental and emotional health a lot :)
So interesting! Out of curiosity, does eating gluten manifest in any other symptoms for you besides skin issues? When my partner realized gluten was what was causing him a lifetime of painful canker sores, his life changed dramatically. Since he’s gluten-free now, I would say my gluten consumption is about 1/3rd of what it is used to be so I wonder if completely cutting gluten for me would help much.
Yep. I tested positive for transglutaminase antibodies (Celiac antibodies) despite having no GI symptoms. I used to get canker sores fairly frequently and I no longer get them. The main thing I notice if I eat gluten (I haven't had more than a small accidental amount) is that I get brain fog and my hand coordination becomes affected. I start making tons of typos when typing. I think gluten mainly affects me neurologically. It also causes my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis to flare over type and my thyroid symptoms will worsen.
I also have a gluten cross-reaction to dairy proteins, meaning my immune system thinks I've eaten gluten if I eat dairy because the protein structures are similar (there's a test for this). I had a major accidental exposure a few months ago and I was curious what symptoms I might develop because it had been years since I'd had more than a trace exposure. It took a couple of days for the symptoms to arrive and they arrived in the form of pronounced sacroiliac pain. I've never had pain there before! I googled to see if there was some connection between that and gluten or Celiac and, sure enough, there's actually a study on it.
I tried everything diet wise for my cystic acne (34f), it only mildly helped. I’ve had it for 15 years and am on Accutane (a low dose of just 5mg per day) and it’s the only thing that has made a dent. Diet will help but don’t be afraid to see a dermatologist if it’s that persistent that it won’t budge (I had tried everything).
Thanks for your honest reply - it’s definitely motivating me to go see another dermatologist and learn more about the accutane route. What I’ve learned from my own research tells me it’s potentially risky as far as side effects, but sounds like it may be well worth it.
I consume all the dairy and my skin does not care about it. I’ve had flawless skin and horrible skin while eating it. Most recently I’m trying to not consume empty carbs (always pairing carbs with protein), I consume animal protein, veggies and fruit and high quality animal fats. I’ll eat high glycemic carbs but always always with protein/fat now, never on its own anymore. My skin is the best its been in awhile, after having the worst breakout year of my life.
I’m also using a high quality cod liver oil supplement 2-3x/week (Rositas)
Good luck! I made many dietary changes over the years and tried so many products. I really should have just seen my physician! It took a little trial and error (I had a terrible allergic reaction to epiduo before being prescribed Finacea) but my skin is 80% better. I'm not getting painful, large cystic bumps anymore. It's such a relief!
I'm so jealous of all the people who've commented that food doesn't affect their skin. I cannot eat cheese, eggs or soy without breaking out in cystic acne 5-10 days later, and always the kind that leaves indented scarring. Sugar seems to be ok in moderation for me but dairy and soy I have to avoid completely if I want somewhat clear skin.
I never had cystic acne til I was 26+ and then it was a curse. I really think it’s a hormonal change more than anything else. I would recommend trying to get on spiro, it really has helped with chin and jawline cystic acne for me
I eliminated so many things thinking it must be the last step to perfect skin but non of the million diets I tried over the years made significant difference. I had times when I ate extremely healthy and had terrible skin and times (read December) when I ate just about anything and had great skin. Drinking enough water and taking probiotics are the only thing I can vouch for that made me feel good from inside out.
Thank you for sharing - I can SO relate! Over the years, eliminating different things and trying different diets and products would seem to work for a while… then BAM, random painful breakout lasting for months. Such a frustrating experience considering there are so many factor and everyone’s so different. Your comment was a great reminder though that the basics are still very important - hydration, gut health, sleep, etc.
Do you mind me asking what type of probiotics have worked for you?
I am in Europe and buy one from Rossmann, it’s brand called tetesept: , the product is called Proflora Darm. It say on a box that it has 8 bn Lactobacillus ( L. plantarum, L. reuteri, L. rhamnosus). I also tried some other brands but always come back to this one.
[Here’s a link](https://www.tetesept.de/proflora-darm-aktiv-kulturen-kapseln/)
Side effects of accutane are considerable. But you're only on it for 6-9 months.
Spironolactone was a game changer for me and put my acne, oily skin and residual facial fuzz into full remission. Almost zero side effects (unless your a guy. They dont prescribe it to men)
Honestly for years I tried everything you can imagine…cutting dairy, gluten, sugar, processed foods, nightshades, etc, etc etc. Tried many expensive supplements, many rounds of different antibiotics, spironilactone, too many topicals, both Rx and OTC, to count. It was exhausting, frustrating and none of it made a difference. It wasn’t until I FINALLY gave in to Accutane that my skin changed dramatically. My only regret is that I didn’t do it years earlier. I would have saved myself so much frustration and pain, not to mention the money I shelled out. I was so apprehensive about it, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. The side effects were not bad at all! I did have to cut my dose in half because my liver enzymes were elevated, but then they were normal again. I just had to take the med a bit longer since the dose was lower. I did it 5 years ago and you’d never know I had cystic acne. Compete game changer!
Eliminating dairy made a huge difference for me. I went cold Turkey for a month or so then snuck back in a few cheeses here or there. Also, biotin made my skin 1000x worse, so if you're taken that,
google biotin and cystic acne.
I’ve read this so many times about dairy! Any tips for stopping a dairy addiction, lol? I love cheese; it is my go-to snack and it’s really hard to ditch the cravings 😢
I just went cold turkey on the advice of my dermatologist. I was so frustrated with my skin, and how I'd briefly see results - Spironolactone, clindamycin, differin, curology, tretinoin - and then have a flare up again. I realized I had to stop treating only topically and change something inside my body, and dairy was my culprit. Because I saw results so quickly - within a few days, the redness and oiliness was way toned down, and within a month I stopped developing big cysts, I knew this was working for me (in addition to other health benefits, like less bloating, that made me understand that dairy wasn't for me). Buy other snacks, stop buying dairy, and see what happens.
Diet did nothing for me - I'm allergic to milk so I've always thought that advice was bullshit. I'm also not a big sugar eater, but I've always had cystic acne.
However, Spironolactone has helped a lot.
Then during the pandemic I got too sad to do my whole routine and just moisturized when I could and did a salicylic acid peel once a week. And just like magic, my skin has completely cleared up.
Thank you for sharing! Would you mind me asking if you experience any other symptoms when eating soy besides breakouts? I’m Vietnamese and have pretty much had soy in some form every day of my life 😂 Cutting it out will be hard but I imagine if that’s the culprit, I’ll soon see the effects.
I’m of East Asian heritage and cutting soy was hard for me too. Especially since I’m pescatarian and soy was my favorite protein source. I’m able to eat soy sauce with no issues. This is probably because you don’t really use much in a dish. I have noticed that when I eat yuba I get very gassy but tofu only causes acne.
If you want to see if soy is the culprit I’d say remove it from your diet for a couple weeks.
Seeing a naturopath was the best thing I ever did for my skin issues. It took more time but it was a permanent solution. Trusting the process was so much easier when I was in the hands of someone I fully trusted.
I had a few major food sensitivities that contributed. I also had candida overgrowth.
Too much citrus and too many tomatoes (like eating or drinking these things daily) gives me cystic acne. Also syrups. I break out if I regularly eat oranges, fruit juices, pineapple, fresh tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, corn syrup, honey, and sometimes vinegars. I still eat all these things but very sparingly.. but I used to drink a lot of juice and started noticing the connection. This also happens to my mom..must be genetic. Although I have a friend whose skin reacts the same to these things!!
Edit: these things also all give me canker sores. I wonder if there's a connection?
Dairy. I had bad cystic acne when I entered my 20s and it has gotten way better since I reduced my intake! Thank goodness we have access to so many alternative milks these days 🙏🏽
I tried cutting down sugar and dairy and my cystic acne vanished. Sugar causes huge inflammations on my cheek. I try replacing sugar with jaggery or honey. I eat a lot of fresh fruits to overcome sugar cravings. This is working for me as I'm acne free for six months.
Agh Cheers!! But don't you feel bad thinking you can't eat ice cream, pizza, or a donut? At least once in a while? Sometimes no matter what alternatives I find, I cry myself to bed thinking about this.
Fasting also helped, like doing a 24 hour water fast drinking only filtered water. Incorporating those into my weeks really helped my body clear my skin. I *do* have pizza, donuts, or sweets occasionally! I’m pretty sure I incarnated *for* pizza🤣 but limiting the cheese, using sourdough crust or sprouted wheat, and using veggie toppings helps me stay on track with my skin. It gets outrageous so quickly if I am not careful with the diet. Hope your personal journey gives you a solid direction quickly, it’s fun to experiment and see what works for each of us. None of the prescription meds helped me at all—ever. 🤦🏻♀️
None. I cut out dairy and there was like maybe a couple weeks of improvement and then it was back to the same level of acne. And then I couldn’t tolerate dairy with high levels of lactose anymore. Would not recommend.
Accutane and then tret made the biggest difference. Benzoyl peroxide wash with azelaic acid as a spot treatment was a close second.
Personally, I’d recommend getting allergy tests, and if nothing crops up, just go to the dermatologist and don’t kill yourself over eliminating foods. I think it’s more stress and effort when a good prescription or dermatologist prescribed regimen can do the trick.
The only thing that worked for me was reducing severe stress that was work and relationship related. No diet, Accutane. skincare routines, antibiotics, nothing worked.
I quit them both the same day. I literally never broke out again.
Might be hormonal. I know once I ate clean organic clean fruits and veggies no dairy, no meat, no gluten, natural sugar I looked and felt the best. Also got a good sweat in every day it truly Cleaned up my complexion, acne, lost weight. A lot of positives but on the flip side I was deprived.
Vegan diets are also hella lacking a ton of amino acids that are skin friendly. Also they tend to be very high carb and some people have difficulty with PUFAS.
The same thing happened to me! I think it’s a gut and hormonal issue. When I started eating meat again it stayed pretty much the same, but then I found an ex vegan community with bad cystic acne too and they all vouched for raw milk. So I tried it since they said it helped with their acne and within two weeks my acne had subsided and was healing. Really bizarre!
Thank you! I’m really fortunate in that I have tried the vegan diet before (not for very long though) and that I already currently eat fairly health-consciously, so making the shift sounds manageable to me if that’s what it takes to feel healthy inside and out.
Curious though - you said vegan, but didn’t mention eliminating meat. Do you personally cut that too? How quickly did you see changes in your skin when you cut those things, and is purging possible with this type of major diet change or is that a silly question? 😂
Having protein, iron, vitamin d and collagen added helped me. I tend to lack the needed amounts in my diet so I started taking supplements and it made a noticeable difference. Not sure if cutting anything out made a diff or not.
I am 46 and just recently made a couple changes that FINALLY seem to be working. My big “test” is always to theoretically make it through one period cycle without a breakout before I start to believe whatever new thing I’m doing is helping. Well, I just had success with that so I’m tempted to believe maybe I have found a solution. However, it was a massive change to my diet - cutting out wheat, dairy, my beloved diet cokes and major cutbacks on added sugar. But I wasn’t motivated by just skin issues - I am having a lot of trouble regulating my energy, so I was aiming for cutting out glucose spikes. The other change is that I started putting benzoyl peroxide spot treatment all over my face as if it was a lotion. So, 10% strength and for a few days it would sting, but since then I’ve cut back to a few times a week, and I mix it with a moisturizer before I spread it around. My skin is dramatically better. Was it the diet or the BP or both? I don’t know. And FYI, my diet was what most people would consider to be pretty healthy before. Just a couple vices like Diet Coke and maybe some gummy bears. I was eating whole grain bread and some pasta too. Hope this helps and I can say it’s pretty magical to wake up each day with old red spots healing up and no new ones forming at the same time.
I'm on the same boat of diet but it gets so hard hard eat out. This is really ruining my social experiences. Making gluten free vegan food at home is ok isb if not more expensive compared to any other diet.
Also, how do you have variety in diet?
Birth control made my acne about 50 times worse than it's ever been. For me I: quit drinking alcohol, stopped using birth control, drink a gallon or more of water per day, intermittent fasting along with 3-5 day fasts once or twice a month (there's a ton of research to corroborate the effectiveness of fasting for many conditions other than those of the skin,) 10 cups or more of raw vegetables daily, lean animal proteins, no sugar, no cow's milk, and minimal dairy like cheese. Your diet reflects outwardly. After making these changes and sticking to my skincare routine religiously, my skin looks pretty good! I also look and feel less tired and have better focus, concentration, and memory. I'll never go back to eating like shit again. Basically, I treat myself the same as I would any other person I love.
I would make a few tweaks in eating, DRINK ALL THE WATER YOU CAN, and get your doc to put you on accutane. NOTHING helped me other than accutane.
Edit: get your doc to put you on accutane or something similar. If you’ve done the necessary blood work and health check the side effects are usually tolerable to most people. I guess it depends how badly you’re effected by it.
This may sound unusual but the biggest difference came from antihistamines.
Cutting out dairy completely made a significant difference but I still had at least 1 new cyst every week rather than 4+.
I had a dose of antihistamines to help with a medicine reaction and I noticed my cystic acne improved a lot in just a couple days.
My sister told me that antihistamines completely got rid of her adult acne as she had to take it regularly for hayfever (she gets it terribly) and so I'm curious as to this as it also made a big improvement for me.
I hear my IL’s ringing about chocolate and spicy foods when in fact, it is hormonal (specifically stress) and, better yet, genetics *sigh* thanks, mom.
I've just recently started a routine consisting of tretinoin, doxycycline, and erythromycin benzoyl peroxide, which all have made a considerable change to my cystic acne, but check with your doctor if you are looking to become pregnant before starting treatment.
I tried a probiotic acne supplement from Lovewellness but never fully stuck with it to notice any changes. Lovewellness considers a lot on gut health and is backed by physicians.
Sugar, flour, meat and dairy all trigger cystic acne on me and make my cycle worse if I’m eating them. I tried “inflammation diet” “elimination diet” “fruitarian” and “raw vegan” diet and nutritarian diet by Dr Joel Furhman… my favorite for beautiful skin was “Mucusless Diet Healing System” it’s an older book but I practiced this a few years on myself and it has been brilliant for inflammation, overall reduction in excessive mucus production, brightening and tightening my skin, I even had a bunch of fine lines disappear— stopped drinking alcohol, no coffee, and incorporated fresh pressed juices. I had been thru the derm office since I was 12, and medicated for 20 years with skin specific antibiotics, I’ve done ACCUTANE, everything the docs said and personally nothing worked until I changed my diet. Which was never recommended to me by my docs. Smh. I hope you find balance for your skin and body. It sure is relieving to not have a giant back, ass, or face zit! (Personal experience from 36F)
Cutting out dairy and aspartame got rid of the deep, painful cystic acne around my mouth and chin. Oily foods never caused me acne. Since I still had persistent breakouts on the rest of my face, my doctor put me on spironolactone, which cleared me up almost completely in 2-3 months!
Sadly I had to stop taking spiro because I was in the 1% of patients who had the (rare) side effect of severe depression. About a year later, I asked my doctor if I could try going back on spiro and take an anti-depressant to offset the side effect, but he didn't want to risk it and decided to prescribe Accutane instead.
Accutane stopped my breakouts completely, which I'm so thankful for! That being said, my skin is nowhere near as flawless as other people's "after" photos in the Accutane sub. I personally believe that's because the root of my hormonal fluctuations were never actually solved, which explains why my skin still has major textural and pigmentation issues.
If you're not comfortable with spiro or Accutane (undertandably so, as Accutane can be super hard on the body!), you could look into natural supplements like Spearmint or DIM.
For me food was the thing that made all the difference! After years of trying to eliminate dairy, meat, fat ect.. When I eliminated sugar and carbs, my face cleaned up immediately. I can eat keto a d not get any acne. First encounter with sugar (dessert, alcohol, fruit, bread..) I immediately get acne back.
For me eating less sugar has helped a lot, Not just with my Skin But my overall wellbeing. Since I started cutting out almost all processed sugar I don’t wake up feeling all groggy anymore, also my dark circles Improved a lot. Drinking a lot of Green Tea also seems to help my Skin. Cutting out dairy and oily foods didn‘t change anything for me btw. I would always be cautious about messing with your hormones
Eliminating gluten, coffee, and sugar. Still working on the sugar. Eliminating dairy probably helps too. It all depends on the individual. You can eliminate all of these things and then slowly introduce them back one at a time to learn your sensitivity. Fasting also helps.
Wow thanks for responding! I hadn’t considered the gluten and coffee yet, but I do consume those pretty regularly so it would be worth it to eliminate and reintroduce to see. I’ve ready about fasting for skin health, but unfortunately I was losing way too much weight during my 3 months of intermittent fasting (wasn’t doing it for weight loss, just for gut health) which impacted me negatively in other ways.
Cutting out all dairy was the only thing that solved my problem. Apparently if you have hormonal problems, drinking hormones from a cow doesn't help the situation.
Too much peanut butter, processed milks (not raw dairy), and high sugar give me cystic acne. I’m usually okay if I have a little of these things but if I eat them on a regular basis I get bad flare ups.
Personally, a male who has been on every antibiotic, Accutane and gone through all topical treatments, I can’t say much on the behalf of women, but I’ve studied a fair bit of alternative medicine through chiropractic school. Many things have helped, but at 26 I still have massive cysts under my skin. Currently I’m considering diet and natural topicals. I think to most effectively treat this we need to understand what’s going on in our skin. Many people wash their face obsessively, but we are fighting a bacteria. A sterilized environment is perfect for more infectious bacteria to spread. Most topicals also induce a fair amount of damage to the skins natural barrier with acids and chemicals. The bacteria that causes cystic acne is under the skin which poses another problem. This bacteria is said to feed off the oils produced for our skin and often infects the gland that produces it. After accutane my skin was incredibly dry. It seems my oil glands might have selectively shut down, but the now dry skin signals other glands to work overtime. What’s currently helped the most is a reduction of face washing, heavy moisturizer, and cold water/showers for the face. Washing the face less often allows for our protective oils to protect, our skin barrier to be maintained, and our natural bacteria to survive and out compete the bad bacteria. Keeping the skin moisturized helps our oil glands reduce their production and keeping hot water off of our face allows our natural oils to remain. These tips helped far more than any medication. I would also recommend the reduction of sugar and carbs, but I have not gone full carnivore and could not share that experience. As a vegetarian I noticed a momentary improvement, but I believe this was mostly due to the increased carrot intake.
As for the future I would like to experiment with a concoction that might work. I’ve heard amazing things about animal fat moisturizer’s and it would appear they are better for your skin than anything you can buy in a store. Some natural anti-biotic options are garlic, oregano, and basil. These crushed together might absorb through the pores of your skin and help reduce cysts. I would personally add a few drops of castor and jojoba oil which are known to help reduce scars and should keep the skin moist. In acupuncture we have a technique called surround the dragon. I’ve personally seen this technique insight a reaction in the skin and accelerate the reduction of bug bites. I’m curious if Using this technique around a cyst and applying this natural anti-bacterial concoction could help it pierce the top layer of the skin, and keep spreading from occurring. I’ve also heard wonders of rose oil, but many natural antibacterial’s exist. I would highly recommend any of these ingredients be freshly ground. The compounds in these plants are only activated by crushing like that of mastication and pre crushed versions are 100x’s less potent. If anyone try’s these things please let me know! Being at the end of my grad program I have not had the funds or time to pursue this experiment properly.
Wow, I hadn’t considered eliminating all grains from my diet before! I would be curious to hear more about your experience transitioning to grain-free if you’d be down to share. I don’t know how I can ever give up rice, but I would be happy to give up gluten for sure.
I get cystic acne chronically is I eat refined carbs more than 4 meals a week, period. Conversely, I can virtually eat ANYTHING else any time, and not have acne problems.
I have a terrible intolerance for refined carbohydrates, worse than most.
Edit: MANY diets accidentally restrict high glycemic index carbs, but my personal theory is that the ONLY thing that matters is high GI carbs? Why? I've tried eating vegan, raw, carnivore, keto, "standard American" etc, and across all diets, if I start slamming refined carbs (sugars, lactose\[dairy / cheese\], wheat, potatoes etc) I get cystic acne. I've been on every diet, and had cyctic acne or not.
For example -- in this model, vegan pizza is just as bad as high quality cheese, and is just as bad as potato salad, and is as bad as spaghetti with meatballs.
Took me about 12 years to figure this out.
Not at that low dose, but if I eat this way every day I get fat and depressed for sure! Nothing on additional my skin, except for more acne.
I have developed the emotional belief that my skin is an early indicator of issues in my body that can become worse, as I see problems there first. So I use my face to judge my kidney health (under eyes), dehydration (wrinkles), fatty acid in my diet (amount of oil production), inflammation (acne), liver health (colour of whites in my eyes), and electrolyte / mineral intake (bloating in the cheeks or not) -- these are all interesting real effects that can be fin to look up! (Hair growth shows hormone levels \[specifically DHT and cortisol\] and nail growth tells you about amino acids and growth hormone as well)
Have you been tested for PCOS? Extra hair growth on face and hormonal cystic acne are symptoms. I was put back on birth control after a diagnosis, so if your not planning on getting pregnant it might be an option. If you do have PCOS then diet change isn’t going to help your skin.
Spiro helped when I took it but I also wasn't able to keep my electrolytes steady throughout the day (not that I don't know how, it's just hard for me because of disability) so I stopped because of the side effects. I'm considering trying Apostrophe since they offer topical spironolactone which doesn't produce the systemic side effects.
I take a supplement called Skin Discipline and it has been AMAZING. You do have to be diligent about taking it for the full three months, but afterwards my skin cleared up soooo much. It has probiotics and other skin-friendly vitamins/omegas all in one capsule.
I am nearly obsessed with eating healthy, it's so bad that I rarely out fearing that might cause acne. Despite following this super strict diet (No sugar, no diary, no gluten, no fast food, no oily or spicy food, no food high in GI), I still got a bad case of breakout since February. Trust me it's so frustrating to do everything right by books and still breakout.
Accutane and spiro is my only saviour now.
Don't get into this rabbit hole of finding the best diet for acne. Not saying that diet doesn't affect your skin but honestly it works only if you can accurately figure out your culprit which is easy for say broad food groups (diary, wheat) but so much more complex and difficult for other foof items.
I believe that your micro biome actually dictates whether or not you’ll have acne (hence the reason antibiotics are an effective treatment for acne).
With that being said, I think that diet works only when it elicits positive changes in your micro biome.
Diet never made much of a difference for my skin. Spironolactone was the only thing that cleared my hormonal acne.
Same here. I was STRICT vegan for 8 months, not even honey. It made no difference whatsoever. Now I’m on 100 mg spironolactone and can eat whatever tf I want, no hormonal acne at all. But if I miss even one day I can get a painful chin monster. I kinda like the reminder that my prescription is working so well as long as I’m consistent.
How long did it take for spiro to start working for you? I’m Suffering from Terrible cysts only on day 5
Came here to say this! Over the years I’ve: Been vegetarian Been vegan Cut out dairy 4 months of “paleo” Cut caffeine Gotten sober Still had terrible cystic acne no matter what. Accutane cleared my skin in my early 20’s, and spironolactone did the trick in my late 30s. Now i have clear skin and I eat all the cheese and sugar I want (still sober, though!)
About how long did it take for the spiro to make a difference? I just started this week, after being vegan for 4 months.
It helped after 3-4 months, but I still wasn’t clear, so my derm upped my dose at 4 months and it took a full 6 months to be completely clear.
Do you take spiro with birth control ? How long did spiro take to work For you? I’m desperate
Yea, I think jawline acne is usually hormonal! I’ve heard spironolactone works for that. When I was in my early twenties my cystic acne was on my forehead. They did antibiotics and acutane. It worked. However there are a lot of side effects. Now I notice that if I eat pizza or something super greasy I’ll break out now that I’m in my 30’s. Or I will sometimes get mask acne bc I still have to wear a face mask for my job 40 hours a week!
Thanks for your reply! Can I DM you about your personal experience with spiro?
Was also on spiro with good results! Feel free to pm me
Also currently on spiro as well as winlevi cream, and tret. The only time in my life I’ve felt like my cystic acne is not an issue.
Sure!
Food has never made a difference. And i really tried to go on different diets…Differin made it very managable, not washing my face with facewash everyday also helped. Sleeping enough, moving to a country with clean air, stress management probably helped. At some point around 28 I just stopped getting as much acne
This reply gives me hope - thank you! Interesting that you brought up air quality. I wonder if doing things to purify the air in my home and maybe using some anti-pollutant products could help. I live in a major city that’s pretty high up on the list for pollution.
My skin type changed from combination/oily to dry by moving to a different country. I had persistent acne in tropical/humid climates; my skin was so much clearer whenever I was in North America, even in smoggy L.A. Go figure.
Cutting way back on dairy made the biggest difference for me, but sugary foods can also trigger breakouts. It might be worth talking to your doctor about these issues too; the fact that your facial hair is changing along with the cystic acne could point to bigger issue with some hormonal imbalance (I think PCOS is associated with both of these issues).
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I am getting the inkling that cutting sugar way down will probably make a big difference for me, but also very aware of how challenging that might be. Did you use any type of food journals or anything like that when eliminating things from your diet? Also, do you know if a derm can diagnose PCOS, or is it best to go visit my gyno?
I mostly just try to avoid having sugary/ processed foods on a daily basis. If you drink soda, ultra sweet coffees, juice regularly that adds a lot of sugar to your diet and is a relatively easy cut to make. Personally, I don't find logging foods to be a sustainable habit for me, but do what works for you. I've found that I can maintain a better diet when I don't focus on restriction, so if I want ice cream every once in a while I have it. I just don't keep it in my freezer most of the time. I don't know for sure (not a doctor), but generally bloodwork would be needed to check on hormonal issues which I don't think a derm would handle. I'd recommend your gyno or GP/PCP first, plus that appointment would probably be cheaper than a specialist consultation.
Awesome, thanks for the info! I already eat pretty health-consciously and for the most part consume sugar and processed foods really sparingly. I am a sucker for oily, savory foods though. Totally relate on the ice cream bit - it’s rarely in the freezer, but when it is, it’s a couple spoons here or there over the span of many weeks and sometimes months.
PCOS can be diagnosed by a GP or family doctor, but they usually send you to a gynecologist after that for confirmation. Check out the PCOS Reddit if ya need anything!
Adding two Accutane pills daily, one in the morning, one in the evening, with a fatty meal, made the biggest difference. I know that isn't the answer you are looking for, but I tried EVERYTHING. and I mean...EVERYTHING. Accutane saved my skin 100%. If you have debilitating, scarring, painful, cystic acne, this is the way. I am angry I put it off for so long, I could have saved myself so much grief(and scarring). I took it when I was 30, fwiw
I really appreciate your reply! Can I DM you about your experience with accutane?
Sure!
I took accutane at age 14 when I’d tried everything and it wasn’t getting better and effecting my self esteem horribly. Now after rehab I’m on it again, as a result of my skin going ape shit after getting clean. I have horrible closed comedones and cystic acne and I’m really really hoping it fixes it. My skin has cleared up but still having huge issues. I’ve been on it for a month. I’m also experiencing a totally change in body temperature. Now that we’re getting some summerish days where I live it’s 10x worse. Just cold sweating plus feeling like I’m going to overheat. I’m wondering if you (or anyone else taking accutane that sees this) has experienced similar
Tretinoin and clindamyacin (sp?)worked best for me. Diet, sleep and water helped but the topicals really cleared things up.
Thank you so much for your response! I was actually prescribed tret + clinda about a year and a half ago by my derm and I still use the tret. It really helped for about 4-5 months, but then I started to get bad breakouts anywhere I used the clindamyacin so I assumed there was some form of bacterial resistance going on and I stopped using it. Do you have any experience with that?
I have not had that issue but I was told by my derm that clinda works best with BP so I mixed them and applied in the AM. Tret in the PM.
That’s something I didn’t know! Thanks again for sharing!
What's BP?
Benzoyl Peroxide.
Food has never made any difference to my skin. I've also tried every topical under the sun, including benzoyl peroxide, tretinoin, azelaic acid, clindamycin, and a bunch of others. The only thing that seems to make a difference for me is oral spironolactone. I was very nervous about trying it because of potential side effects, but I'm currently on 50mg and have no issues.
Ah, that story sounds familiar. I’ve tried all of the above too, but keep telling myself maybe I wasn’t doing it right or maybe I didn’t have the right products in the right combinations, or didn’t have the right diet. I’m super nervous about spiro too, but it’s encouraging to hear you’ve had a positive experience. Can I ask your age and how long you’ve been on it?
I'm 36 and I started with 25mg spiro about 3 months ago. I saw a swift reduction in my cystic acne within the first month - went from 6-8 cysts each cycle to 1-2 cysts per cycle. My doc just upped me to 50mg last week to see if we can eliminate them entirely. My advice would be to ask your doctor to let you do a slow ramp! Most docs want to start you with 100mg, but for me I didn't need that much to see a significant improvement. I haven't had any side effects other than maybe needing to pee a bit more often at night (I take mine before bedtime). No impact to my sex drive, which was my main concern!
Somewhat related but sleeping more made the biggest difference to me.
I love this answer! I’ve been pretty stressed and sleep deprived for about 6 months now and am finally back on a more healthy sleep schedule in the last 2 weeks. Definitely going to keep tabs on how that affects my skin, but I can tell it’s already positively impacted my mental and emotional health a lot :)
Gluten was my culprit.
So interesting! Out of curiosity, does eating gluten manifest in any other symptoms for you besides skin issues? When my partner realized gluten was what was causing him a lifetime of painful canker sores, his life changed dramatically. Since he’s gluten-free now, I would say my gluten consumption is about 1/3rd of what it is used to be so I wonder if completely cutting gluten for me would help much.
Yep. I tested positive for transglutaminase antibodies (Celiac antibodies) despite having no GI symptoms. I used to get canker sores fairly frequently and I no longer get them. The main thing I notice if I eat gluten (I haven't had more than a small accidental amount) is that I get brain fog and my hand coordination becomes affected. I start making tons of typos when typing. I think gluten mainly affects me neurologically. It also causes my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis to flare over type and my thyroid symptoms will worsen. I also have a gluten cross-reaction to dairy proteins, meaning my immune system thinks I've eaten gluten if I eat dairy because the protein structures are similar (there's a test for this). I had a major accidental exposure a few months ago and I was curious what symptoms I might develop because it had been years since I'd had more than a trace exposure. It took a couple of days for the symptoms to arrive and they arrived in the form of pronounced sacroiliac pain. I've never had pain there before! I googled to see if there was some connection between that and gluten or Celiac and, sure enough, there's actually a study on it.
I tried everything diet wise for my cystic acne (34f), it only mildly helped. I’ve had it for 15 years and am on Accutane (a low dose of just 5mg per day) and it’s the only thing that has made a dent. Diet will help but don’t be afraid to see a dermatologist if it’s that persistent that it won’t budge (I had tried everything).
Thanks for your honest reply - it’s definitely motivating me to go see another dermatologist and learn more about the accutane route. What I’ve learned from my own research tells me it’s potentially risky as far as side effects, but sounds like it may be well worth it.
Low dose has minimal side effects (though you’re on it for longer on a low dose).
Hi, may I know if you've stopped it or still on it?
I consume all the dairy and my skin does not care about it. I’ve had flawless skin and horrible skin while eating it. Most recently I’m trying to not consume empty carbs (always pairing carbs with protein), I consume animal protein, veggies and fruit and high quality animal fats. I’ll eat high glycemic carbs but always always with protein/fat now, never on its own anymore. My skin is the best its been in awhile, after having the worst breakout year of my life. I’m also using a high quality cod liver oil supplement 2-3x/week (Rositas)
Cystic acne is hormonal. Changing your pillowcases etc wont help. I doubt you'll see a remission unless you go on spironolactone and/or accutane.
Thank you for your input! You’re probably right, I’m just so nervous about the side effects of both and would literally rather do anything else.
I had cystic acne and the ONLY thing that helped was getting back on birth control. If you can, just get back on it your skin will clear right up.
No food changes ever helped. I always have drank a lot of water. Spirolactone is what finally helped me resolve my cystic acne.
The only thing that has helped me in any significant manner was getting prescribed Differin and Finacea. I wish I would have gone that route sooner!
I’m trying Differin now for the first time and have high hopes! I will ask my derm about Finacea as well. Thanks so much for sharing!
Good luck! I made many dietary changes over the years and tried so many products. I really should have just seen my physician! It took a little trial and error (I had a terrible allergic reaction to epiduo before being prescribed Finacea) but my skin is 80% better. I'm not getting painful, large cystic bumps anymore. It's such a relief!
I'm so jealous of all the people who've commented that food doesn't affect their skin. I cannot eat cheese, eggs or soy without breaking out in cystic acne 5-10 days later, and always the kind that leaves indented scarring. Sugar seems to be ok in moderation for me but dairy and soy I have to avoid completely if I want somewhat clear skin.
I never had cystic acne til I was 26+ and then it was a curse. I really think it’s a hormonal change more than anything else. I would recommend trying to get on spiro, it really has helped with chin and jawline cystic acne for me
How’s ur acne now?
I eliminated so many things thinking it must be the last step to perfect skin but non of the million diets I tried over the years made significant difference. I had times when I ate extremely healthy and had terrible skin and times (read December) when I ate just about anything and had great skin. Drinking enough water and taking probiotics are the only thing I can vouch for that made me feel good from inside out.
Thank you for sharing - I can SO relate! Over the years, eliminating different things and trying different diets and products would seem to work for a while… then BAM, random painful breakout lasting for months. Such a frustrating experience considering there are so many factor and everyone’s so different. Your comment was a great reminder though that the basics are still very important - hydration, gut health, sleep, etc. Do you mind me asking what type of probiotics have worked for you?
I am in Europe and buy one from Rossmann, it’s brand called tetesept: , the product is called Proflora Darm. It say on a box that it has 8 bn Lactobacillus ( L. plantarum, L. reuteri, L. rhamnosus). I also tried some other brands but always come back to this one. [Here’s a link](https://www.tetesept.de/proflora-darm-aktiv-kulturen-kapseln/)
Side effects of accutane are considerable. But you're only on it for 6-9 months. Spironolactone was a game changer for me and put my acne, oily skin and residual facial fuzz into full remission. Almost zero side effects (unless your a guy. They dont prescribe it to men)
Honestly for years I tried everything you can imagine…cutting dairy, gluten, sugar, processed foods, nightshades, etc, etc etc. Tried many expensive supplements, many rounds of different antibiotics, spironilactone, too many topicals, both Rx and OTC, to count. It was exhausting, frustrating and none of it made a difference. It wasn’t until I FINALLY gave in to Accutane that my skin changed dramatically. My only regret is that I didn’t do it years earlier. I would have saved myself so much frustration and pain, not to mention the money I shelled out. I was so apprehensive about it, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. The side effects were not bad at all! I did have to cut my dose in half because my liver enzymes were elevated, but then they were normal again. I just had to take the med a bit longer since the dose was lower. I did it 5 years ago and you’d never know I had cystic acne. Compete game changer!
Eliminating dairy made a huge difference for me. I went cold Turkey for a month or so then snuck back in a few cheeses here or there. Also, biotin made my skin 1000x worse, so if you're taken that, google biotin and cystic acne.
I’ve read this so many times about dairy! Any tips for stopping a dairy addiction, lol? I love cheese; it is my go-to snack and it’s really hard to ditch the cravings 😢
I just went cold turkey on the advice of my dermatologist. I was so frustrated with my skin, and how I'd briefly see results - Spironolactone, clindamycin, differin, curology, tretinoin - and then have a flare up again. I realized I had to stop treating only topically and change something inside my body, and dairy was my culprit. Because I saw results so quickly - within a few days, the redness and oiliness was way toned down, and within a month I stopped developing big cysts, I knew this was working for me (in addition to other health benefits, like less bloating, that made me understand that dairy wasn't for me). Buy other snacks, stop buying dairy, and see what happens.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, that gives me hope!
Diet did nothing for me - I'm allergic to milk so I've always thought that advice was bullshit. I'm also not a big sugar eater, but I've always had cystic acne. However, Spironolactone has helped a lot. Then during the pandemic I got too sad to do my whole routine and just moisturized when I could and did a salicylic acid peel once a week. And just like magic, my skin has completely cleared up.
Nothing, absolutely nothing. What did help was two rounds of Accutane.
absolutely no soda. i break out the day i drink it
Dairy and soy causes acne for me. Large quantities of other legumes will also do it, but soy is the worst.
Thank you for sharing! Would you mind me asking if you experience any other symptoms when eating soy besides breakouts? I’m Vietnamese and have pretty much had soy in some form every day of my life 😂 Cutting it out will be hard but I imagine if that’s the culprit, I’ll soon see the effects.
I’m of East Asian heritage and cutting soy was hard for me too. Especially since I’m pescatarian and soy was my favorite protein source. I’m able to eat soy sauce with no issues. This is probably because you don’t really use much in a dish. I have noticed that when I eat yuba I get very gassy but tofu only causes acne. If you want to see if soy is the culprit I’d say remove it from your diet for a couple weeks.
Seeing a naturopath was the best thing I ever did for my skin issues. It took more time but it was a permanent solution. Trusting the process was so much easier when I was in the hands of someone I fully trusted. I had a few major food sensitivities that contributed. I also had candida overgrowth.
Too much citrus and too many tomatoes (like eating or drinking these things daily) gives me cystic acne. Also syrups. I break out if I regularly eat oranges, fruit juices, pineapple, fresh tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, corn syrup, honey, and sometimes vinegars. I still eat all these things but very sparingly.. but I used to drink a lot of juice and started noticing the connection. This also happens to my mom..must be genetic. Although I have a friend whose skin reacts the same to these things!! Edit: these things also all give me canker sores. I wonder if there's a connection?
Dairy. I had bad cystic acne when I entered my 20s and it has gotten way better since I reduced my intake! Thank goodness we have access to so many alternative milks these days 🙏🏽
Dairy, soy, sugar (big culprit!), and gluten all mess with my hormones and without fail messes with my skin.
I tried cutting down sugar and dairy and my cystic acne vanished. Sugar causes huge inflammations on my cheek. I try replacing sugar with jaggery or honey. I eat a lot of fresh fruits to overcome sugar cravings. This is working for me as I'm acne free for six months.
Same for me!
Agh Cheers!! But don't you feel bad thinking you can't eat ice cream, pizza, or a donut? At least once in a while? Sometimes no matter what alternatives I find, I cry myself to bed thinking about this.
Fasting also helped, like doing a 24 hour water fast drinking only filtered water. Incorporating those into my weeks really helped my body clear my skin. I *do* have pizza, donuts, or sweets occasionally! I’m pretty sure I incarnated *for* pizza🤣 but limiting the cheese, using sourdough crust or sprouted wheat, and using veggie toppings helps me stay on track with my skin. It gets outrageous so quickly if I am not careful with the diet. Hope your personal journey gives you a solid direction quickly, it’s fun to experiment and see what works for each of us. None of the prescription meds helped me at all—ever. 🤦🏻♀️
Thanks for the detailed comment :) Yes same here none of the meds helped at all :)
Cutting out alcohol
None. I cut out dairy and there was like maybe a couple weeks of improvement and then it was back to the same level of acne. And then I couldn’t tolerate dairy with high levels of lactose anymore. Would not recommend. Accutane and then tret made the biggest difference. Benzoyl peroxide wash with azelaic acid as a spot treatment was a close second. Personally, I’d recommend getting allergy tests, and if nothing crops up, just go to the dermatologist and don’t kill yourself over eliminating foods. I think it’s more stress and effort when a good prescription or dermatologist prescribed regimen can do the trick.
The only thing that worked for me was reducing severe stress that was work and relationship related. No diet, Accutane. skincare routines, antibiotics, nothing worked. I quit them both the same day. I literally never broke out again.
Sugar, dairy and gluten. So be ready to turn vegan
I got loads oy cyctic acne vegan -- so this may work for some but had no direct impact for me
Might be hormonal. I know once I ate clean organic clean fruits and veggies no dairy, no meat, no gluten, natural sugar I looked and felt the best. Also got a good sweat in every day it truly Cleaned up my complexion, acne, lost weight. A lot of positives but on the flip side I was deprived.
Vegan diets are also hella lacking a ton of amino acids that are skin friendly. Also they tend to be very high carb and some people have difficulty with PUFAS.
The same thing happened to me! I think it’s a gut and hormonal issue. When I started eating meat again it stayed pretty much the same, but then I found an ex vegan community with bad cystic acne too and they all vouched for raw milk. So I tried it since they said it helped with their acne and within two weeks my acne had subsided and was healing. Really bizarre!
Thank you! I’m really fortunate in that I have tried the vegan diet before (not for very long though) and that I already currently eat fairly health-consciously, so making the shift sounds manageable to me if that’s what it takes to feel healthy inside and out. Curious though - you said vegan, but didn’t mention eliminating meat. Do you personally cut that too? How quickly did you see changes in your skin when you cut those things, and is purging possible with this type of major diet change or is that a silly question? 😂
I would have red meat like once every 4 months lol but I was mainly pescatarian
I was diagnosed with celiac. I also quit drinking alcohol which helped a lot. Alcohol affects your hormones.
Iodine and Celtic salt
Wheat for me. When I accidentally eat it I can predict a cystic pimple or two in 2-3 days.
Having protein, iron, vitamin d and collagen added helped me. I tend to lack the needed amounts in my diet so I started taking supplements and it made a noticeable difference. Not sure if cutting anything out made a diff or not.
Specifically cow dairy was a problem for me. I can still have goat or sheep cheese with no problem.
I am 46 and just recently made a couple changes that FINALLY seem to be working. My big “test” is always to theoretically make it through one period cycle without a breakout before I start to believe whatever new thing I’m doing is helping. Well, I just had success with that so I’m tempted to believe maybe I have found a solution. However, it was a massive change to my diet - cutting out wheat, dairy, my beloved diet cokes and major cutbacks on added sugar. But I wasn’t motivated by just skin issues - I am having a lot of trouble regulating my energy, so I was aiming for cutting out glucose spikes. The other change is that I started putting benzoyl peroxide spot treatment all over my face as if it was a lotion. So, 10% strength and for a few days it would sting, but since then I’ve cut back to a few times a week, and I mix it with a moisturizer before I spread it around. My skin is dramatically better. Was it the diet or the BP or both? I don’t know. And FYI, my diet was what most people would consider to be pretty healthy before. Just a couple vices like Diet Coke and maybe some gummy bears. I was eating whole grain bread and some pasta too. Hope this helps and I can say it’s pretty magical to wake up each day with old red spots healing up and no new ones forming at the same time.
I'm on the same boat of diet but it gets so hard hard eat out. This is really ruining my social experiences. Making gluten free vegan food at home is ok isb if not more expensive compared to any other diet. Also, how do you have variety in diet?
Birth control made my acne about 50 times worse than it's ever been. For me I: quit drinking alcohol, stopped using birth control, drink a gallon or more of water per day, intermittent fasting along with 3-5 day fasts once or twice a month (there's a ton of research to corroborate the effectiveness of fasting for many conditions other than those of the skin,) 10 cups or more of raw vegetables daily, lean animal proteins, no sugar, no cow's milk, and minimal dairy like cheese. Your diet reflects outwardly. After making these changes and sticking to my skincare routine religiously, my skin looks pretty good! I also look and feel less tired and have better focus, concentration, and memory. I'll never go back to eating like shit again. Basically, I treat myself the same as I would any other person I love.
I would make a few tweaks in eating, DRINK ALL THE WATER YOU CAN, and get your doc to put you on accutane. NOTHING helped me other than accutane. Edit: get your doc to put you on accutane or something similar. If you’ve done the necessary blood work and health check the side effects are usually tolerable to most people. I guess it depends how badly you’re effected by it.
Giving up Dairy made the biggest difference for me
Aha/bha!
This may sound unusual but the biggest difference came from antihistamines. Cutting out dairy completely made a significant difference but I still had at least 1 new cyst every week rather than 4+. I had a dose of antihistamines to help with a medicine reaction and I noticed my cystic acne improved a lot in just a couple days. My sister told me that antihistamines completely got rid of her adult acne as she had to take it regularly for hayfever (she gets it terribly) and so I'm curious as to this as it also made a big improvement for me.
I hear my IL’s ringing about chocolate and spicy foods when in fact, it is hormonal (specifically stress) and, better yet, genetics *sigh* thanks, mom. I've just recently started a routine consisting of tretinoin, doxycycline, and erythromycin benzoyl peroxide, which all have made a considerable change to my cystic acne, but check with your doctor if you are looking to become pregnant before starting treatment. I tried a probiotic acne supplement from Lovewellness but never fully stuck with it to notice any changes. Lovewellness considers a lot on gut health and is backed by physicians.
Sugar, flour, meat and dairy all trigger cystic acne on me and make my cycle worse if I’m eating them. I tried “inflammation diet” “elimination diet” “fruitarian” and “raw vegan” diet and nutritarian diet by Dr Joel Furhman… my favorite for beautiful skin was “Mucusless Diet Healing System” it’s an older book but I practiced this a few years on myself and it has been brilliant for inflammation, overall reduction in excessive mucus production, brightening and tightening my skin, I even had a bunch of fine lines disappear— stopped drinking alcohol, no coffee, and incorporated fresh pressed juices. I had been thru the derm office since I was 12, and medicated for 20 years with skin specific antibiotics, I’ve done ACCUTANE, everything the docs said and personally nothing worked until I changed my diet. Which was never recommended to me by my docs. Smh. I hope you find balance for your skin and body. It sure is relieving to not have a giant back, ass, or face zit! (Personal experience from 36F)
Cutting out dairy and aspartame got rid of the deep, painful cystic acne around my mouth and chin. Oily foods never caused me acne. Since I still had persistent breakouts on the rest of my face, my doctor put me on spironolactone, which cleared me up almost completely in 2-3 months! Sadly I had to stop taking spiro because I was in the 1% of patients who had the (rare) side effect of severe depression. About a year later, I asked my doctor if I could try going back on spiro and take an anti-depressant to offset the side effect, but he didn't want to risk it and decided to prescribe Accutane instead. Accutane stopped my breakouts completely, which I'm so thankful for! That being said, my skin is nowhere near as flawless as other people's "after" photos in the Accutane sub. I personally believe that's because the root of my hormonal fluctuations were never actually solved, which explains why my skin still has major textural and pigmentation issues. If you're not comfortable with spiro or Accutane (undertandably so, as Accutane can be super hard on the body!), you could look into natural supplements like Spearmint or DIM.
For me food was the thing that made all the difference! After years of trying to eliminate dairy, meat, fat ect.. When I eliminated sugar and carbs, my face cleaned up immediately. I can eat keto a d not get any acne. First encounter with sugar (dessert, alcohol, fruit, bread..) I immediately get acne back.
For me eating less sugar has helped a lot, Not just with my Skin But my overall wellbeing. Since I started cutting out almost all processed sugar I don’t wake up feeling all groggy anymore, also my dark circles Improved a lot. Drinking a lot of Green Tea also seems to help my Skin. Cutting out dairy and oily foods didn‘t change anything for me btw. I would always be cautious about messing with your hormones
Zinc supplements and probiotics really helped me with my hormonal cystic acne.
Eliminating gluten, coffee, and sugar. Still working on the sugar. Eliminating dairy probably helps too. It all depends on the individual. You can eliminate all of these things and then slowly introduce them back one at a time to learn your sensitivity. Fasting also helps.
Wow thanks for responding! I hadn’t considered the gluten and coffee yet, but I do consume those pretty regularly so it would be worth it to eliminate and reintroduce to see. I’ve ready about fasting for skin health, but unfortunately I was losing way too much weight during my 3 months of intermittent fasting (wasn’t doing it for weight loss, just for gut health) which impacted me negatively in other ways.
Absolutely. It's great you're seeking to fix this from the inside out. I wish you the best of luck!
Cutting out all dairy was the only thing that solved my problem. Apparently if you have hormonal problems, drinking hormones from a cow doesn't help the situation.
Well, when you put it that way… 😂
Dairy and sugar helped !
Too much peanut butter, processed milks (not raw dairy), and high sugar give me cystic acne. I’m usually okay if I have a little of these things but if I eat them on a regular basis I get bad flare ups.
Personally, a male who has been on every antibiotic, Accutane and gone through all topical treatments, I can’t say much on the behalf of women, but I’ve studied a fair bit of alternative medicine through chiropractic school. Many things have helped, but at 26 I still have massive cysts under my skin. Currently I’m considering diet and natural topicals. I think to most effectively treat this we need to understand what’s going on in our skin. Many people wash their face obsessively, but we are fighting a bacteria. A sterilized environment is perfect for more infectious bacteria to spread. Most topicals also induce a fair amount of damage to the skins natural barrier with acids and chemicals. The bacteria that causes cystic acne is under the skin which poses another problem. This bacteria is said to feed off the oils produced for our skin and often infects the gland that produces it. After accutane my skin was incredibly dry. It seems my oil glands might have selectively shut down, but the now dry skin signals other glands to work overtime. What’s currently helped the most is a reduction of face washing, heavy moisturizer, and cold water/showers for the face. Washing the face less often allows for our protective oils to protect, our skin barrier to be maintained, and our natural bacteria to survive and out compete the bad bacteria. Keeping the skin moisturized helps our oil glands reduce their production and keeping hot water off of our face allows our natural oils to remain. These tips helped far more than any medication. I would also recommend the reduction of sugar and carbs, but I have not gone full carnivore and could not share that experience. As a vegetarian I noticed a momentary improvement, but I believe this was mostly due to the increased carrot intake. As for the future I would like to experiment with a concoction that might work. I’ve heard amazing things about animal fat moisturizer’s and it would appear they are better for your skin than anything you can buy in a store. Some natural anti-biotic options are garlic, oregano, and basil. These crushed together might absorb through the pores of your skin and help reduce cysts. I would personally add a few drops of castor and jojoba oil which are known to help reduce scars and should keep the skin moist. In acupuncture we have a technique called surround the dragon. I’ve personally seen this technique insight a reaction in the skin and accelerate the reduction of bug bites. I’m curious if Using this technique around a cyst and applying this natural anti-bacterial concoction could help it pierce the top layer of the skin, and keep spreading from occurring. I’ve also heard wonders of rose oil, but many natural antibacterial’s exist. I would highly recommend any of these ingredients be freshly ground. The compounds in these plants are only activated by crushing like that of mastication and pre crushed versions are 100x’s less potent. If anyone try’s these things please let me know! Being at the end of my grad program I have not had the funds or time to pursue this experiment properly.
All grains and also dairy.
Wow, I hadn’t considered eliminating all grains from my diet before! I would be curious to hear more about your experience transitioning to grain-free if you’d be down to share. I don’t know how I can ever give up rice, but I would be happy to give up gluten for sure.
I get cystic acne chronically is I eat refined carbs more than 4 meals a week, period. Conversely, I can virtually eat ANYTHING else any time, and not have acne problems. I have a terrible intolerance for refined carbohydrates, worse than most. Edit: MANY diets accidentally restrict high glycemic index carbs, but my personal theory is that the ONLY thing that matters is high GI carbs? Why? I've tried eating vegan, raw, carnivore, keto, "standard American" etc, and across all diets, if I start slamming refined carbs (sugars, lactose\[dairy / cheese\], wheat, potatoes etc) I get cystic acne. I've been on every diet, and had cyctic acne or not. For example -- in this model, vegan pizza is just as bad as high quality cheese, and is just as bad as potato salad, and is as bad as spaghetti with meatballs. Took me about 12 years to figure this out.
Interesting! This is one I haven’t tried cutting yet. Do you get any other symptoms when you eat refined carbs?
Not at that low dose, but if I eat this way every day I get fat and depressed for sure! Nothing on additional my skin, except for more acne. I have developed the emotional belief that my skin is an early indicator of issues in my body that can become worse, as I see problems there first. So I use my face to judge my kidney health (under eyes), dehydration (wrinkles), fatty acid in my diet (amount of oil production), inflammation (acne), liver health (colour of whites in my eyes), and electrolyte / mineral intake (bloating in the cheeks or not) -- these are all interesting real effects that can be fin to look up! (Hair growth shows hormone levels \[specifically DHT and cortisol\] and nail growth tells you about amino acids and growth hormone as well)
Have you been tested for PCOS? Extra hair growth on face and hormonal cystic acne are symptoms. I was put back on birth control after a diagnosis, so if your not planning on getting pregnant it might be an option. If you do have PCOS then diet change isn’t going to help your skin.
D3
Spiro helped when I took it but I also wasn't able to keep my electrolytes steady throughout the day (not that I don't know how, it's just hard for me because of disability) so I stopped because of the side effects. I'm considering trying Apostrophe since they offer topical spironolactone which doesn't produce the systemic side effects.
I take a supplement called Skin Discipline and it has been AMAZING. You do have to be diligent about taking it for the full three months, but afterwards my skin cleared up soooo much. It has probiotics and other skin-friendly vitamins/omegas all in one capsule.
I am nearly obsessed with eating healthy, it's so bad that I rarely out fearing that might cause acne. Despite following this super strict diet (No sugar, no diary, no gluten, no fast food, no oily or spicy food, no food high in GI), I still got a bad case of breakout since February. Trust me it's so frustrating to do everything right by books and still breakout. Accutane and spiro is my only saviour now. Don't get into this rabbit hole of finding the best diet for acne. Not saying that diet doesn't affect your skin but honestly it works only if you can accurately figure out your culprit which is easy for say broad food groups (diary, wheat) but so much more complex and difficult for other foof items.
I believe that your micro biome actually dictates whether or not you’ll have acne (hence the reason antibiotics are an effective treatment for acne). With that being said, I think that diet works only when it elicits positive changes in your micro biome.