Adult Acne and Breakouts: How to Naturally Clear Your Skin

Jan 10, 2024
A young woman with adult acne on her cheeks.

I cannot stress enough how important this distinction is: acne has little to do with hygiene!

Adult women and men who struggle with acne are some of the most hypervigilant when it comes to self-care and cleanliness. Let’s please put this antiquated stigma to rest once and for all. 

If you are a mom with a teen experiencing their first breakout, this point is also helpful for you to know. Dealing with acne can be emotionally taxing enough without the false judgments marketing campaigns use to sell their products.

Consider this: many adult women can go to sleep, forgetting to wash off their makeup, and not break out the following day. There are also many men and women with acne that do not have hormonal imbalances.

Adult Acne Truths – Antibiotics, Topicals, Long-Term Solutions

Here’s the truth. Acne is bacterial. This is why the first response from medical professionals is to prescribe antibiotics. If you consult your physician or a dermatologist, it is extremely common to be given topicals and internal antibiotics. We know from Anthony that strep is what causes acne. More specifically, those with acne also have an accumulation of antibiotic-resistant strains of strep. Antibiotics can worsen the issue over time. (We have included a helpful post from Anthony, Medical Medium, at the bottom of the post.)

Here’s the other truth. You can manage acne well with topical products such as Tretinoin (a popular topical Retinol treatment that is having a moment) and other acne-treating serums, but this will only mask the issue. You might experience relief from inflamed acne spots, but as soon as you take out the products and follow a diligent skincare routine, the acne will still be there. Furthermore, these same harsh products directly contribute to your liver load, which feeds the very symptom you are trying to solve. They can also stop being effective over time.

Fruit and vegetable diet for clearing adult acne.

How to Get Rid of Acne

Adopt a Cleansing Diet

The keyword is cleansing. For acne specifically, you can see improvement immediately as you remove eggs, soy, and dairy products from your diet. Most dermatologists instruct their clients to do the same. Keeping out the “no foods” is the first step towards lowering your strep load. Bringing in abundant fruits and vegetables cleanses the liver and lymphatic system (where strep resides).

Lower Your Fat Intake or Go Completely Fat-Free for a While

If you are already on a cleansing diet and feel your skin is not improving, and you are in a position to lower your fat intake or go completely fat-free, try this tool. Up your calories when you remove fats from clean carbohydrates like potatoes, squash, raw honey, and fruits to compensate for lost calories. This is helpful as it gives your liver a break, helps with thick blood, and allows the lymphatic system to catch up.

Remove Grains and or Legumes

You might benefit significantly from removing grains and legumes as you work on healing acne. Why? It takes more work for the liver to break down, and if your liver is already sluggish with producing bile, these foods can be more problematic for you to digest. This can improve over time with daily celery juice. This step isn’t needed for everyone, and we recommend doing one thing at a time. Start with bringing in more fruits and vegetables, then remove the no-foods, and so on.

Rebounding

Rebounding moves the lymphatic system, which is critical. We know that acne is caused by strep in the lymphatic system. If you are new to rebounding, try 5 minutes and work up to 20 minutes per day.

Strawberries help with clearing acne.

Foods That Help Get Rid Of Acne

Strawberries (top of the list!), leafy greens, lemon water, celery juice, papaya, wild blueberries, garlic, and turmeric are all amazing acne-fighting powerhouses.

To start moving that lymph, consume 1 cup of strawberries and at least 1/2 pound of leafy greens daily. Consider making a smoothie with strawberries, spinach, bananas, and coconut water, or any blend you prefer.

Need Guidance on Your Acne Healing Journey?

If you struggle with skin issues and confidence, join me in the Empowered Reset!  Let’s work on providing you with the skin healing tools you need to eliminate this symptom. You can heal from acne at any age!

Medical Medium Acne Guide

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