Acne is never fun, no matter what age you are. The allopathic perspective is typically that there is no known cause and to treat serious cases with antibiotics, and/or prescription acne medications. What is interesting is that there is a holistic view on acne, and in my humble opinion it holds a lot of merit.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM), Acne represents too much heat in the body, and I am not referring to actual body temperature. I am actually referencing an internal temperature, and an excess of anything, too much cold, too much heat, too much dampness, or dryness, for an example, create an internal imbalance. There are a lot of things that affect this internal heat, such as food, stress and hormones.
So we know that diet plays a role in our skin, or do we? Did you know that the your skin is a direct reflection of your microbiome, or the internal happenings within your colon? If you are eating things that create too much internal heat, like fried, processed, sugary foods, your microbiome is going to take a hit. This will in turn affect the inner workings of the colon, which in may bring about more acne. So why can some kids eat junk food and not have any issues with their skin? The answer to that is simple, because we aren’t all the same. Our bodies don’t process everything the same, and where one kid might live on processed foods, but have a relatively low stress levels at home, and the other one does not, or perhaps one kid has had loads of antibiotics (antibiotics affect the microbiome) in their life, all of these things matter and add up over time. However the individual expression of these imbalances are different per person.
Another thing to consider is the bacteria strep. Strep can live on the skin, and some people with dormant (not active) strep virus in their system struggle with cystic acne, or really bad acne that creates serious scaring. This is something that is very rarely discussed in the world of dermatology. It is therefore wise to consider this when a holistic treatment of cystic acne isn’t working.
So why is acne typically worse during puberty and the teen years? The reason for this is because hormones are very active during this time, and excess hormones creates excess heat in the body. Throw in poor diet of processed foods, poor sleep (teens are often nocturnal), and perhaps not the best hygiene and we have a recipe for some serious acne. The important thing to remember is that your skin has a very delicate PH, and when you cleanse your face with soap you are removing the delicate oils that your skin naturally produces to protect the face from the elements, which the face are always exposed to. This, along with too much internal heat, and you might find that the skin is over producing oil, or it is so dry that it cannot maintain its natural PH at all, and therefore produces more acne. It can be a vicious cycle.
What you put on your skin is key, but what goes into your body is just as equally as important. I highly suggest switching from soap to an oil based cleanser. This sounds counter intuitive doesn’t it? I promise it works. Finding an oil based cleanser with natural ingredients is key, with anti microbial and anti bacterial essential oils and herbs is also helpful. When using cleansing oils you will be protecting the natural oil that the skin produces, as well as replenishing it and actually nurturing the skin instead of stripping it. Following that up with non harsh, zero chemical toners (use toners that balance the PH) and moisturizers that offer natural protection from the sun, and moisturize where needed.
Internally I can’t stress diet enough. Whole, real foods, but that isn’t always going to happen with teenagers, so do the best that you can. Encourage real foods, solid sleep, and proper nutrients when they aren’t getting it from foods, like water with minerals, a whole food vitamin, and my personal favorite Bioplasm Cell Salts, which contain all of the homeopathic minerals for our cells. One cell salt in particular is phenomenal for the skin, which is Silica.
If you do all that is listed above, or most of it, your skin, or the skin of your child should improve over time. For more information on where to find quality skincare products that nourish the skin you can contact me to discuss my own skincare line Moon Hill, or I can share some of the other products that I love. For further homeopathic support please contact me to schedule an appointment.