I’ve had 2 cycles of inexplicable breakouts in the past few months that stunned me primarily because I had gotten my skin to a level where I was very happy with how it looked, and it had been relatively breakout free for a while. I also was not trialing any new products, relatively speaking and hormones had been ruled out. So suddenly experiencing crazy bouts of acne on the lower half of my face that would not subside despite all ministrations, was bugging me. I’d changed my skincare, started using anti-acne skincare, changed my sheets, gone for facials to no avail.
Naturally, when you get stressed, things get worse. So one day, I sat back and thought about things. Perhaps it was not product related. Perhaps it was internal. The weather had been very hot, perhaps I had not been drinking sufficient water to flush out toxins. Perhaps I had not been eating enough fruits and vegetables. Perhaps it was constipation and a digestive problem. So I took stock of the situation and did a bit of a lifestyle change.
Surprisingly, it helped!
What prompted this thought was when I decided to look up possible causes of acne around the chin, mouth and jawline area. It turned up information on various websites that said it might be either hormonal or linked to the digestive tract. Poor digestion might result in chin and jaw acne, as well as possibly constipation.
I latched onto that thought, because I was having a bit of a problem there. Also, eating out a lot means not eating enough fruits and vegetables so I wasn’t getting a lot of fibre. To solve this problem, I started eating out less, and when I did, made sure that I had a healthy amount of vegetables included in every meal. I also made sure my house was stocked with fruits.
I’d go to the local market once a week and stock up on both fruits and vegetables, where they are cheaper and fresher than buying in the supermarkets. I’d make sure to eat them too. I also made sure I had enough water throughout the day. More than the regulation 8 glasses because the weather here has been baking hot.
Another thing I did was to cut out dairy almost totally from my diet, as well as go on a low gluten diet. I realised that dairy products gave me digestive problems which led me to believe that in my dotage, I’ve developed lactose intolerancy. No more cheesecake, cheesy pizza and ice-cream! 😛 I also cut back on foods like breads and cakes and started a diet of breakfast oats in the morning.
The results were two-fold. Firstly, I became more regular (whew!) and secondly, I started seeing benefits for my skin. It took a little while for the acne spots to go away, but new ones stopped sprouting. Over the course of about 2 weeks, my chin and jawline area cleared up from the worst of the breakouts. Going on a purely hydrating skincare regiment helped clear up the rest and deal with the marks.
This little experience taught me that while sometimes, I might break out from using a new product, not every breakout may be caused by topical contact. Sometimes, it is a sign that something is wrong internally and that you should check your internal plumbing for blockages. Sometimes, it might be certain foods that cause you problems or a health problem.
If you are suffering from breakouts along your jawline or chin area, do consider if you have been having digestive problems, slow digestion or poor digestion or constipation. A small lifestyle change may help more than all the topical acne creams or antibiotics in the world 🙂
Have you thought about this before? Have you had a similar experience as I did, and did a lifestyle change help you clear up your acne and breakouts?
Paris B
My breakouts are usually hormonal and caused by the food I eat (McDonald’s, fried food!). I have stayed away from all the junks and notice my skin is better. I still have a pimple or two occasionally, blame the hormones!
Oh yes! I strongly believe that fast food is really bad. Nice to indulge in once in a while, but definitely not too often 😉 A pimple or two isn’t too bad, Amanda! Glad you’ve solved the worst of the problem! 😉
No more cheese? Butter? Aaaannnd ICE CREAM??? OMG!!!
Yup! They give me indigestion anyway so I am quite happy to cut them out of my diet. I have never really liked ice cream and cheese so I don’t miss that. I do still use butter in my cooking sometimes. It has less of an effect than other dairy products, maybe because I don’t use so much 😀
It’s all about the hormonesssss! Darn those womanly things!
Sigh! You said it! I haven’t had hormonal acne for a while, thank goodness and since I cleared things up, nothing too serious during the monthly woes either! 😉
Oh I did get acne on my chin too, but I’m pretty sure it’s hormone-related! It was annoying because there was nothing I could do about that! Ever since I started using La Roche Posay Effaclar K however, it hasn’t really come back for months. I’m super pleased with the result! I’m glad summer is here too, because there is a lot of yummy fruit around and I’ll just eat more of that! It’s always good to eat healthy 🙂
Oh yes, hormonal acne usually happens on the chin but with a good skincare regiment, I’m not getting that much anymore, which is great of course 😉 it’s good to know that you’ve found a product that helps you. I’ve heard a lot of good things about La Roche Posay skincare. I love their sunscreen but we can’t get the brand here 🙁
I hate breakouts, they always come back when you don’t need them! But I think I have fugured out why they somtimes appear on my skin. It is due to lack of sleep… especially when I had to study a lot for my final exams and went to sleep very late my skin looked impure… But I agree that changing your eating habits can also influence your skin condition!
Oh yes, sleep can cure a lot of ills! So I try to get as much sleep as I can when I can. Sometimes it can’t be helped, like as you say, exam time. I used to get the worst breakouts then, but they’d go away once the stress is over. Make sure you drink a lot of water if you don’t get enough sleep. Somehow the body gets very dehydrated 🙂
loads of water works too 🙂 i started taking at least 2L of water everyday or more, and you can see all my pimples goes whoooshh*. washed away. heheh
I have to agree with you there! Dehydrated skin can break out more too. I wish mine would wash away 😛
Dear Paris, I heard about this soap called wonderbarusa which can clear up acne but FO you know where I can buy it in KL?
Hi Chin, I’ve never heard of it so I can’t help, sorry!
for me, usually PMS is main culprit of acne. But as get older, fewer eruptions. Now just the odd pimple or two. This is how i keep track of my erm… monthly lunar cycle. By the pimple(s). ^^
Same here. That dreaded time of the month brings us loads of woe eh? It’s a lot better for me now too and when I’m really lucky I don’t get any spots at all! Yay!
because I drank too much green tea it gave me the zits and flaky skin, and I had thought it was the cleansing oil which was breaking me out.
and i need to stay away from junk oily fried food!
Wow didn’t realize green tea would do that to skin. Must be too dehydrating. Thank goodness I’m not a tea drinker 🙂
i was replacing it with water that time… so maybe i went overboard, as long as i limit my green tea intake, it’s actually pretty good for my skin and overall inner health 🙂
i can’t drink coffee first thing in the morning without having some water first, i feel so dry/ dehydrated inside out!
That’s a great post…. eating lots of fruits and vegetables and drinking water also not only keeps you away from acne and breakouts but also give a new charm and glow on your skin.
I agree! Good skin does come from within after all 🙂
I’ve had a really unhealthy two weeks of eating out a lot and not enough fruit and veg. As a result, yes, you guessed it, I have a cluster of pimples on my chin! Now that the past two hectic weeks are over, I’m trying to eat healthier so hopefully they will subside. Great post to remind us that it may not matter what you put on your face and body but what you put IN your body that counts.
Indeed! You can always tell when we’ve not been watching our diet or not sleeping enough or just very stressed. It shows on our skin. I hope your spots go away. Build up on the fibre intake and lots of water. I find that helps a lot
Yeah, my skin is sensitive to my ‘internal state’. Currently I’m stressed out and eating badly because of it, as well as sleeping badly, and it shows clearly in the state of my skin. Skin is dull, broken out and dehydrated. I do my best to reduce the amount of diary and wheat I consume, and make sure I get enough fruit & veg and stop myelf from binging on sugary snacks but alas stress. Hopefully will be able to get back to it soon as it really helps. Though I miss cheese and other diary dearly 🙁
Oh dear, stress coupled with poor quality sleep is a recipe for disaster for the skin! I hope you get through this period. The problem is that most comfort food will be high in sugar or salt or oil … sigh…
I went through this phrase couple of years back. Battled with the sudden adult acne that developed near my lower cheek and chin area. Nothing worked
(seeing a skin doctor, changing skincare to those suited for breakout skin types, doing facials, etc) til i changed my skincare to a very simple routine cum organic range, changing lifestyle habits and diet habits helped my problem clear up. Basically, i cut off sugary treats, fried food, dairy stuff and white rice etc. Took about half a year to see actual results and stabilize the condition. After a year or so, i will indulge once a while in unhealthy food choices. It has been almost three years. So far so good. And now that my skin has stabilized, i’m back to using my estee lauder ANR etc without much problem.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Lisa! Hard as it is to give up the foods we enjoy, ultimately it is probably better for our health too, if it shows on the skin 🙂 I have found that the occasional indulgence does make it taste so much better too, don’t you agree? 😉
I am horribly falling back on unheathy food with no fiber and no veggies or fruits!!! and. my health is suffering consequently!!! going home next week so hopefully should be back to the normal routine 🙂
Ahh are you on holiday then? I find that when I’m away from home for any reason, my skin will suffer. Usually because of insufficient water and fresh fruits and veges. Hope you get better soon!
I definitely experienced this during my first yr in uni when all I ate was junk! Not only I put on weight but my face and digestion were horrid! Since then I’ve always made a conscious effort to eat well and learnt to cook well 🙂 nowadays I know to expect it when I go home to kl where I try and eat as much of my beloved hawker food and within 3 days I see the telltale signs. This was also when I discovered i had a mild case of lactose intolerance and pro biotics really helped! Pro biotics ( the good bacteria) supplements work way better than drinking sugary Vitegen.
“Cook well” I like that! 😀 It does help to eat healthy if you cook at home. Eating out, no matter how convenient or yummy is never as good an option. I can’t do probiotics 🙁 My skin hates the bacteria!
This is an excellent post. I too fell victim to thinking trying every different ‘spots be gone!’ product under the sun would get rid of my spots, and experienced frustration when nothing work. I then gave up drinking coke and other fizzy drinks for lent, and lo and behold, my skin started to clear up!
I’ve read a lot about cutting out dairy clearing up your skin recently. I rely heavily on dairy products so giving them up would be so difficult for me, but posts like this are starting to convince me that maybe I should!
Its great to know you made the same connection too, Emily Jane 🙂 I gave up on dairy products mostly because of my digestion but the side effect of better skin was a pleasant surprise 🙂 If it doesn’t bother you then there’s no real need to give it up, but maybe cut back?
I experience breakouts along the jawline a lot! Actually the cheeks too. I’ve had a weaker body constitution since young and recently have been seeking TCM treatment and downing eeky yucky Chinese brewed medicine. I guess it has helped… But when the time of month arrives, the breakout is just unstoppable. BOOM BOOM BOOM.
I don’t know what it is about Chinese traditional medicine that’s disgusting but can ultimately be so good for you 🙂 I hope it does help and I’m actually getting very minimal hormonal acne anymore so I’m not sure if its age 😛 or diet or just being happy with life as it is now but either way, I’m not complaining! 😀
I’m glad you brought this up. I got a breakout recently and I’m still not sure what the cause is, but you’ve got me thinking.
I did start eating ice cream again this past week or so, but I also tried a new cleanser.
I definitely need to drink more water and probably more fruits/veggies… Ugh.
I love eating bread tho. x3
What drives me nuts is that I don’t know my skin well enough to know what it is sensitive to or will break out from. I know I won’t learn every single ingredient that I will break out from, but I’d like to get an idea of some.
Hi Lumi, have you managed to work out if its your cleanser that’s breaking you out? Its usually a lot easier if its topical because you can stop it and it’ll go away quickly. Internal problems are usually harder to clear 🙁 But either way, a diet of more fruits and veggies will be ultimately healthier overall so the bread and ice cream may balance themselves out 🙂 I don’t know how my skin tolerates ingredients either but what I’ve done is try to pay a little bit of attention and see how the skin reacts to changes in routine, food or products and you should be able to start narrowing down whats troubling you, if not the exact ingredient, an approximate 🙂 Good luck!
I’m not sure… I only tried that cleanser once. I still have lingering spots so I sorta feel like it wasn’t the cause.
Thanks for the advice. 🙂
Wow Paris, you’re a mind-reader or what ? ^^ I’ve been frenzy because of the annoying jawline acnes that strikes me since in school age (and suddenly get VERY worse recently !). My question is, since its main cause was hormones, why it didn’t vanished after the “monthly period” passed ? It stays there and inviting new friends ! :((
Oh and can anyone tell the difference between acne, pimple, and zits ? I’m a bit confused with these three.
p.s : May I know your blood-type ? It is said that certain blood-type do react badly with dairy products.. I’m B and (within that book) said no problem. I want to know if that theory is true, because I eat LOTS of dairy by daily :((
Thank you for your (always) inspiring & in-depth posts ! :)))
Dian
Hi Dian! Yes I have been said to be a mind reader lol! 😉 I believe I’m B but I can’t recall off hand 😛 I don’t take dairy because it gives me indigestion. The skin clearing up was a bonus 🙂 As for your question, pimples usually refer to those spots that appear occasionally from blackheads and have pus sometimes. Zits is just slang. Acne refers to the condition of a chronic skin problem. In general, I believe it’s all used interchangeably and refer mostly to the same thing – spots.
I’ve considered this many times, but I am constantly breaking out… Less or more, I still haven’t found something that works for me. Either if I eat right or get lazy, I still have pimples! :\