Acne is a common condition in woman. A woman suffering from acne needs to think about the risks vs. benefit of conventional vs. alternative therapy. If she chooses to try alternative therapies, she benefits from gaining knowledge about the causes of acne, nutritional support, and additional therapies.

Personal Story

I remember being disappointed when pimples showed their ugly heads at the most inopportune times when I was a teenager. I wish I had known about how to deal with acne.

Causes of Acne

Causes of acne that may need to address include:

• Menstruation or pre-menstrual flare ups
• emotional stresses
• hyperandrogenic conditions like 21-hydroxylase deficiency, adrenal androgen excess, or PCOS
• some medications
• hyperinsulinemia conditions

Knowledgeable practitioners could be sought to help with some of the above issues.

Nutritional Considerations

Nutritional considerations include:

• diet
• getting optimal nutrients from food and supplements
• avoiding chocolate or other foods that cause outbreaks

Diet tips for acne:

• limit fried foods
• check for food allergies
• add anti-acne foods like sunflower seeds, pumpkin, butternut, Brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, avocados, chickpea, black beans, lettuce, kale, and strawberries
• eat cold water fish, like salmon, several times a week or consider pharmaceutical fish oil supplements

Nutritional supplements to consider for acne:

• The B-6 in a B-complex vitamin
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin C
• Zinc (as picolinate)
• Selenium
• Brewer’s yeast

A woman might choose one of these herbal supplements:

• vitex is supported by clinical trials for acne
• herbal support 1 part each of echinacea, blue flag, burdock, and cleavers
• topical application tea tree oil topically in a 5-15% dilution 3 or 4 times a day
• topical application of hawthorn extract
• topical wash application of marigold mixed with distilled witch hazel
• topical application of tea tree oil a 5-15% dilution
• topical application of hawthorn extract

Additional Therapies to Consider

• stress reduction techniques
• counseling to deal with stressful situations

Stress is often a reason for ache. Seek to reduce stress in your life.

Action Step

Decide to act on one of these tips this week.

May God bless your healthful endeavors!

Joni

P.S. What do you do when you have a break out? Please write about it in the comment section.