omgggg my FACE!

So I've been vegan for about a week and a half now. I used to be a fairly healthy vegetarian, I had a lot of salad, a lot of eggs, cheese, good variety of fruits, etc. I also work at starbucks so a LOT of nonfat milk lattes!

Now, I eat a lot of tortillas with beans and a lot of fresh herb and fresh veggies. I cut out all sugar completely, seeing as white sugar is not REALLY vegan. I drink a lot of soy milk instead of nonfat (I have probably two tall soy lattes a day). I do drink a decent amount of coffee (about 150mg a day) and a LOTTT of green tea (like, maybe four or five cups a day.)

My problem? My ACNE. I'm a teenager who just naturally has acne issues, but I've managed to keep it at bay for about three years now. All of a sudden, my face is just ERUPTING! I have three giant boils on my chin, and one pretty big zit on my left cheek. I have a little 'rash' of small whiteheads on my forehead.

What is going on? Could it be that toxins are being flushed out of my system through my face or something? That's what someone at work told me....or could it be that this lifestyle is just not healthy for me?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Sorry I am not able to tell you if it has to do with your eating/drinking. Although, you should drink more water. What I can tell you is how I got through my teenage acne and manage to rarely have acne to this day.... I'm 36.

I never use anything that will dry out my face. That means no alcohols (no stridex, etc). I use products that are as natural as possible and/or gentle on skin (Like Oil of Olay). I moisturize regularly. A light moisturizer in the summer and a thicker one for winter months. I also don't wear any makeup, except for very special occasions. That one is usually harder for people that like makeup, but it blocks your pores. You should try to avoid makeup if you are breaking out.  And the biggest tip of all... exfoliate! Find a "good" gentle one. I exfoliate about every other day. You would be amazed! Make sure not to rub it too hard though because it can irritate your skin.

I have very sensitive skin so I need to treat it very well. It's taken years to learn how to care for it. :) Hopefully, this will help!

I'm not vegan anymore, but I do have extremely sensitive skin, I've found since going pescatarian it's been better, which could be from the extra Omega-3 I get from the occasional serving of fish and eggs (I'm still not eating alot of it, but it seems to help). You could always take a supplement for this.

Also... do you get much sun? Believe it or not but it actually helps clear up and prevent acne. (But make sure you use sunscreen!)

You may want to try cutting down on the soy too, it can mess up your estrogen levels if you drink too much. It used irritate my acne.

It also could just be a detox, but if that's the case you should see some improvement within 2 weeks of the dietary change.

Also, on a side note, be sure that you take extra care to get enough B12. It can be hard to do with a vegan diet, but can cause dementia if you are defficient for a prolonged period of time.

Make sure that all the makeup and products that you are using on your skin are marked "NON-COMEDOGENIC" it means that they won't block your pores and cause breakouts.

Avoid make-up if at all possible. Especially when you're in a situation where you're sweating a lot. And although it may sound counter-intuitive.. moisturize!! Always after you wash your face.

Avoid sunscreens that aren't meant for your face. They tend to be really bad for your skin.

As for the diet... maybe more water?

I'm not sure but it sounds like maybe you are getting too much soy.  See if you can cut down (switch to almond or rice milk instead?) and see what happens.

Referencing the previous poster who mentioned Omega 3 and B12 - you don't need to eat fish or eggs to get these nutrients.  You can get Omega 3 from flax seeds (ground), flax oil, and walnuts.  Also you can get B12 from nutritional yeast or supplements.

Are you making your own tortillas?  If not are you reading the package to find out what kind of fat they use to make them?  Traditional Tortilla's are made with Lard.  The flour ones I buy are made with soybean oil based shortening.  But, that stuff is bad for you even when made from soybean oil.   Its one of the things you should never eat in foods if its one of the first five Ingredients.

If Tortilla's and beans are new to your diet then I would suggest that the fats in them are what is causing your skin to break out.  You didn't say what kind of bean you were eating.   If its refried the thats definatly your problem.  

Hi, hopefully this helps...

I have cystic acne (those 'boils' you're talking about) and am allergic to tetracycline (what the docs normally prescribe) and your story sounds extremely familiar! I tried EVERYTHING!

Finally I supplemented my diet with Vitamin A and Beta Carotene. Your new diet may have lowered your natural intake of these two. Don't over do it though, anything in great doses can be hard on your liver etc.

Try an extra 1 or 2 Vitamin A and 1 Beta Carotene every day and you'll see a difference, it might take a week or so but I've been doing so for about 5 years and have had control of my skin ever since. Girls should be careful if they get pregnant though, too much Vitamin A is dangerous to a developing fetus and causes birth defects.

Take care!

I won't advise you on diet, because it seems like you're doing fairly well with that. I will tell you though that you want to look for a face wash that contains:

a)glycolic acid (must be 10% or its pretty useless) a fruit acid (think citrus) is a natual skin exfoliant  and moisturizer. Citrus acid also lightens, brightens and tightens the skin. This acid goes slightly beneath the initial layer of skin and  cleans out pores. (May make you more sensitive to sun so wear a facial sunscreen) Perhapes sunscreen/moisturizer.

b)salicilic acid (2%)is a key ingredient for the treatment of acne, psorisis ect. It makes the top layer of skin come off readily, prevents pore cloggin and new cell growth.

c)lactic acid- a very gentle exfoliant that will help shed the skins surface, it is know as  a milk acid- however- it is also what our muscles excrete during intense exercise that tires us out) This does not mean that it's an animal product, it can be isolated from other sources. If you are lactose intolerante though it might not be so good in higher concentrations.

Tea tree oil is another good one it is a natural bacterialcide

And of course plenty of water, and don't use cheap drugstore skin care brands. they all suck and make you're face worse then before you started. These ingredients are proven to be effective.

MD skin care, Peter Thomas Roth, Juice Beauty (wonderful if you are vegan/vegetarian), and DDF (The one I use).

Foundation I swear is the root to all skin care evil (at least for me) I stopped wearing it and my acne cleared up in a couple of weeks.

Hope you find this helpful, check Sephora for the products.

My daughter, who is now 21, had a very difficult time with acne throughout her adolescent years -- back and forth to the derm, etc., trying every recommended solution.  What finally worked for her is the ProActive line of products -- totally cleared up her face.  I used to be very skeptical of their advertisements, but it worked her my daughter -- her face is clear and smooth now.  Worth a try -

I wasted a lot of money, time and heartache on my acne; don't be like me, see a dermatologist first.

yes! definitely go and see a dermatologist! they'll give you creams that will help.

my doctor also prescribed this topical solution called clindamycin phosphate, and it's supposed to reduce inflammation. it's helped a lot.

meanwhile have you tried using olive oil as a cleanser to wash your face? i tried it and my acne went away pretty quickly.

i used proactiv for about 6months and my face completely cleared up :) tho when i binge on junk a few will appear on and then but definatley its worth trying out :)

it didnt work instantly, but about 2mths after first starting to use it, i could sense that the effects were finally kicking in .

 

I agree with the above posters that ProActiv is a great product. I would also suggest talking with a dermatologist about birth control pills. Some of them are extremely effective for clearing about acne, especially when it is hormonally driven (my derm told me that acne on the chin is often due to hormonal issues). Worked for me. Good luck!

I'm not sure if it's medically possible that toxins are flushed out of the face - I think that is psuedoscience.

Maybe you will adjust to your new diet, but if you don't you can try eliminating things - like abstain from soy for one week, etc.  Or it could be caused by other things, like humidity (that always makes me break out) or hormones?

Hi,

Acne around the chin area is hormonal and not caused by food.  There are birth control pills available that will stop this problem (you will need to be on them a couple of months before you will probably notice a difference).  Anyway, I suggest you talk to your doctor about this.  I had the same problem and my acne has completely cleared.

 

hmm my mom raised me as a ovo-vegetarian, but when i hit my teens i kinda drifted tried certain foods but always came back to being a vegetarian.me nor my brothers never had any acne problems so i dont think its the food.

though this one time i did get a pimple and i used the contact lenses cleaning stuff on my face and it went a way really really quickly.

..i dont know maybe im just weird

Do you have any vitamin deficiencies?  I'm thinking maybe B2.

Original Post by clairelaine:

Do you have any vitamin deficiencies?  I'm thinking maybe B2.

Or B12. I have a B12 deficiency and since I've been getting shots my face is starting to clear up.

I know this may be totally off subject, but i work at starbucks too!! But i don't drink coffee or tea! I just usually limit myself to 1 soy chai latte whenever i work!! But i started having more facial issues once i started to restaurant business....so i just make sure that wash my face with some face wash i get at my local natural health food store and its been working great! Wish u the best of luck!!

this is a thread that has been around for a while.  Have you come across it yet?

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/9348 2.html

braillepassion,

I have very sensitive skin, with persistent acne/cystic breakouts. I'm sure we are in the same boat when it comes to frustration and desperation about our skin (am I right??)

A few years ago, I went to my GYN about a lump in my breast; I was so scared I had been cursed with the breast cancer beast that runs in my family.

To my relief, he told me it was just a cyst and informed me that some people are ultra-sensitive to caffeine, causing breakouts or lumps to appear elsewhere in the body.

Just a few weeks ago, I finally made the connection between my breast lump scare and the painful cystic acne I get so often on my face. I completely cut caffeine--it was so hard because I am a coffee addict!!--but I noticed right away my skin started clearing up.

I can tell by your original post that you take in A LOT of caffeine through coffee drinks and green tea. That may be the source of your problem.

I suggest cutting caffeine for a few weeks to see if that helps your skin; it's worth a try!!

Good luck! Let us all know any updates!