Acne can be one of the most aggravating facial problems, and with so many products and methods available, it’s easy to become confused, and the wrong type of acne detox can exacerbate rather than solve the problem. I’d like to make it simple and clear by providing you with the best natural detox to treat acne thoroughly, speaking from personal experience. From the foods you eat, the beverages you drink, and the lotions you apply.
Keep reading because I’ll go over everything!
Proper Cleaning
Maintain a clean face. Dirt, oils, makeup, and other debris will clog your pores, irritate your skin, and aggravate your acne, blackheads, and pimples. Because your skin is the largest organ in your body, it deserves some extra attention from time to time. A skin detox is an excellent way to improve your skin’s health and address issues such as dull, dry, irritated, or acne-prone skin.
Suggested Advice
Do Not Eat This
Even though acne appears when acne bacteria becomes trapped at the bottom of a pore, every skin pore also allows dead skin cells to pass through to the skin’s surface. These skin cells can clump together at times.
When they become lodged in the pore, the acne bacteria beneath them run out of food and die.
But even with a fully clear skin your body produces acne, as shown in this paper. So let me show you what you can do to improve your immune system to keep that skin clean!
Detox your diet, and clean out your fridge to soothe your skin from the inside out.
- Reduce or eliminate the use of refined grains and sugar.
- Reduce your alcohol consumption.
- Dairy elimination.
- High-glycemic carbohydrates (Bread, Rice, Cereals, Potatoes, Crackers, Soda)
- Saturated Fats (Red Meat, Cheese, Butter)
While we all love milk or cheese from time to time, dairy products are proven to be a cause of acne, as shown in the American Academy of Dermatology Association, so better turn to an alternative. “Women who drank 2 or more glasses of skim milk a day were 44% more likely to have acne than others.” – AAD
On the other hand, Yogurt is said to be a good supplement to actually fight acne. Despite the fact that it is made from milk, yogurt has not been linked to acne. In fact, certain types of yogurt may aid in the treatment of acne. These yogurts contain probiotics, which can help treat bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine.
Definitely Eat This
Now that we have successfully eliminated your biggest enemies, let’s take a look at what you definitely should eat to help fight your acne breakouts. Follow me:
Consuming low-glycemic foods high in complex carbohydrates may lower your chances of developing acne. Such as follows:
- Whole Grains (Barley, Farro, Millet, Quinoa, Black Rice, Brown Rice, Red Rice)
- Legumes (Beans, Peas, Lentils)
- Fresh fruits (Apples, Bananas)
- Fresh Vegetables (Carrots, Corn, Beets, Kohlrabi, Brussels Sprouts)
While these are a good start, you should definitely look into foods that are full of zinc, Vitamin A, and antioxidants.
Zinc-Rich Foods
- Avocados (High in zinc, as shown here.)
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Guavas
- Cantaloupes
- Apricots
- Peaches
- Kiwi
Vitamin A Powerfoods
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Fish oils
- Eggs
- Red Bell peppers
Antioxidant Heroes
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Carrots
- Artichokes
- Cabbage
- Beetroot
- Radish
- Lettuce
As you can see, there are plenty of healthy options to add to your diet to fight acne; you don’t have to change your diet all that much, unless it’s a really unhealthy one, which is a win-win situation!
What You Shouldn’t Drink
Well, as you probably know by now, foods that are high in sugar can really have a bad impact on your skin, so its clear as the sky that drinking high sugar drinks will have the same effect, we all know how tempting a coca cola is from time to time, but its not really necessary as it has little to no health benefits.
So, make sure to avoid:
- High Sugar Soda
- Energy Drinks
- Coffee or Tea with added sugar
- Sweetened water
Your Lifestyle
We made every effort to improve our diet, beginning with eating fresh, unprocessed foods and avoiding foods high in sugar or high-glycemic carbohydrates. But that’s not all; let me explain how changing your lifestyle can actually help with acne.
It is widely known that acne and other skin related problems do have an impact on our mood and mental health, as shown in the research of the Medical Clinics of North America. Our lifestyle doesn’t help with that, where less sleep is becoming more popular due to more stress at work or uni.
So what you need to do is the following:
- Try to get more sleep: Your brain and body will thank you. There’s nothing worse than the lack of sleep, not only for our mood but our overall health. Don’t play around with it.
- Exercise: You don’t need to be a bodybuilder, but regular exercise (2 to 5 hours per week) will do its job. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services the recommendation for regular exercise improves your life.
- Stay hydrated: Drinking lots of water is only good for you, as it cleans your body from the inside out. If you don’t like the “nothing” taste of water, try tea (with no sugar of course!).
- Go outside, Socialize: While Having people around doesn’t magically fix your acne, enjoying the sun and the wind does indeed help to clean the skin.
Detoxifying
We’ve discussed everything you can do to combat acne, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey. But don’t go just yet; I have some more advice for you, including a stricter approach in some cases.
- Fasting: I don’t mean to eliminate all nutritional intake, but a study found that extreme calorie restriction reduced certain health risks. “Compared to participants in the control group, those in the calorie-restriction group had reduced risk factors (lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol) for age-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.” – National Institute on Aging, August 14, 2018. Note: This is not a starvation diet type of approach. Talk to a healthcare or nutrition specialist for more information.
- Massages: According to the Acupuncture Massage College, patients have reported improvements of their acne after massage therapy within or in less than 72 hours. So, why not try it out!
- Sauna: This sounds like wellness right? But indeed, heating up your body has lots of benefits for your skin, as the circulation gets boosted. So take a day off, get a massage, and then go into the sauna!
Conclusion
I hope I was able to guide you through these simple steps of improving your acne, some of these tips actually helped me fighting it, such as visiting the sauna frequently, eating very healthy and regular, mild exercise. I wish you the best in your approach and hope it helps!
