The Truth About My Adult Acne & My Top 6 Skin Clearing Tips

Radiance starts from within and as our skin is our largest organ, it’s a fabulous messenger for what is - and isn’t - working for our insides. My skin will always let me know (with a jolly big breakout), when I haven’t had enough sleep or I’ve eaten too much sugar. Most of the time however, my skin is perfect. And that sentence still brings a smile to my face!

Alright, so you’ve got perfect skin. What do you know about adult acne then?

You see, I battled with acne for over 13 years. That’s nearly half my lifetime. Ouch. So believe me when I say, I understand the frustration, obsession and negative self image that acne - mild, moderate or severe - brings about. 

From my early teens and right into my mid-twenties, I’d taken every pill under the sun and tried every topical cream you can buy. I’d seen dermatologists, filled piles of prescriptions and ingested a myriad of chemical concoctions in the hope of waking up with clear skin. 

So, did it work? 

Some of it worked, temporarily. Most of it did nothing. Some of it caused my hair to fall out, my nose to bleed, skin to burn, joints to ache (to the point of being unable to exercise) and put me in hospital with severe liver inflammation at the age of 17. 

And I still had pimples.

I was told by a Doctor at the age of 21 that the only thing that would control my acne, would be staying on the contraceptive pill indefinitely. And it seemed he was right; every time I tried to come off the pill, my skin would flare up with a vengeance. Afraid of causing even more damage to my skin (in the form of ugly scars) and suffering from full-blown adult acne, I stayed on the contraceptive pill for years, until finally I’d had enough.

I hear you, sister. So what did you do?

I came off the pill, cleaned up my diet, made some key lifestyle changes and got to work balancing my hormones. And today, my skin is clear - even with a PCOS diagnosis (one of the most common symptoms of PCOS is acne), which I think is pretty amazing. Not a day goes by that I don’t look in the mirror and feel grateful to wake up with smooth, glowing skin. 

Our skin doesn’t just communicate to us with sore, angry red blemishes though; dry and dull skin, rashes and reactions, patchy pigmentation and dark under-eye circles are all key indicators that our radiance levels need some love. 

If we can learn to listen to our body, make peace with our complexion, step away from the toxic chemicals and gently nourish our skin from the inside out, we’re truly on the path to real radiance. 

MY TOP 6 SKIN-CLEARING TIPS 

1. Fruits and veggies are your friend, girlfriend. Pile your plate HIGH.

2. Cut the crap. Mostly. Observe and limit your refined sugar, alcohol, gluten, soy and processed food intake, but don’t stress over it, because…

3. You’ve got to stress less. Stress is linked to the production of the hormone cortisol which increases oil production and can create an inflammatory environment in the body. Any increase in inflammation or excess oil production can cause acne as well as impact upon the length and severity of a breakout. This is where relaxation, meditation and yoga can really help to clear your complexion too.

4. Sleep, sleep and more sleep. Hormones are balanced between the hours of 10pm-12am, so make you’re snoozing well before then and get between 7-8 hours a night, every night.

5. Ditch the chemicals. This means harsh and toxic topical creams as well as most commercial makeup. Experimenting with organic, natural skincare and cosmetics has done wonders for my skin. It might for you too.

6. Get your gut right. Send some love to your internal flora by investing in a quality probiotic and including lots of fermented foods in your diet, like sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha. A healthy gut equals glowing skin. 

This post is an excerpt from my much-loved eBook She is Radiant: Your 6-Week Wellness Adventure To Get Glowy & Feel Rad. 

Think nourishing lessons, how-to's, myth-busting food education, meditations, step-by-step experiments for you to try and an abundance of recipes, tips and never-shared-on-the-blog personal stories that will guide you gently down the wellness path to 'get the glow' and feel damn amazing while you're at it. There is truly nothing out there like it that combines food with creativity with exploration with self care with affirmations with education with mindfulness with.... You get the picture.

You're going to love it. Click here to find out more or visit the shop.

And tell me in the comments - have you battled with adult acne before?