The curse of Acne

     Acne!!! Ugh. As a mom of teenage boys, I know how horrible of a plague acne can be. Out of all the skin issues we have dealt with, this one was our toughest battle and hardest burden to carry. It is a self esteem destroyer. It is scarring. It hurts, physically and emotionally. My oldest had acne beginning in the 8th grade. We tried every topical treatment we could. We went to dermatologist and naturopathic doctors. Each one told us to use a topical treatment or antibiotics. And we tried many, but nothing worked. We were 100% against Accutane. Horrible, horrible stuff. My anguished mommy heart wanted to fix him so desperately and I firmly believed that it could be done with work and determination. Some kids have more hormones than others and most will get some acne. You actually want those hormones to surge! It's important for the rest of their life. But, there are things that antagonize the hormones and create a perfect storm for bad skin. It's no secret that teens don't have the best of diets. It's usually around this age that they get more freedom to go out and buy junk food. Combine that with hormones and BAM!! Skin issues galore. Finally, after much prodding, being desperate enough, my son decided to trust my gut and go off dairy and sugar. I knew that those had to be key. Dairy creates sebum production and sebum causes acne. It's that yucky white junk coming out of your pours. Sugar causes the reactions as well. Now add in some Biotin and guess what? Darn it if his skin didn't clear right up. After 4 years of suffering, it was gone. Now that he is older and the hormones have calmed down, he can have dairy without any effect. You just have to get through the rough years first. Acne can happen to anyone and I have seen this treatment work over and over. Many women experience it when they get a little older and the hormones change. There are other things to add if the initial treatment doesn't work like doing a liver cleanse or treating for yeast but, ALWAYS start with dairy and sugar. Sure seems to be a protocol for about everything.