Stupid Face

March 13, 2006 6:27 AM

I have constant skin outbreaks and I don't know why. Sometimes I will be clear for a week and sometimes I break out. I know it must have to do with what I'm eating but I usually keep fairly consistant on how I eat.

What are the types of foods that might be doing this? I have a weakish stomach and I was thinking maybe I'm eating food that is too acidic, does this have merit? I'm 20ish but I still think this shouldn't be so bad.

Also what might the winter have to do with it? In Canada it's cold like crazy so I don't really leave the house much. I'm reasonably active though.

posted by Napierzaza to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (20 answers total)

I noticed in earlier years that when it's winter, my skin dried out and I would break out regardless of all other factors such as what I ate. During the summer when I would sweat a lot and my skin would stay slightly damp, I didn't break out as much.

Try using some kind of moisturizer; I used Lubriderm to great success.
posted by Ziggy Zaga at 6:33 AM on March 13, 2006

Response by poster: I use moisturizer almost religiously, my apartment is hella dry and within minutes of bathing I feel it.
posted by Napierzaza at 6:40 AM on March 13, 2006

From your question title, is it correct to infer that it's just your face that breaks out? And by "break out," do you mean acne? If so, can you describe it? Are the lesions inflamed and painful? Do they have a lot of pus? How often do you wash your face? Do you use any over-the-counter treatments?

The "eating foods that are too acid/basic" business is just pseudoscience. Unless you've got bad heartburn or other stomach issues, you aren't eating too much acid.
posted by rxrfrx at 6:42 AM on March 13, 2006

Your skin problems sound a lot like mine - dry with a tendency towrds breakouts. This book has helped me a lot. It's like one of those womens magazine quizzes but a lot longer and more in depth.
Some of the things I've been doing since I bought it: using a humidifier in my room while I sleep, moisturizing twice a day, becoming much more consistent about using sunblock, and throwing out all of my very foamy face washes, as well as completely eschewing toners. After two weeks my skin sems to be slowly calming itself down, to my profound relief. As someone with dry sensitive skin, I'd highly reccommend this book to you.
posted by Sara Anne at 6:50 AM on March 13, 2006

I wonder if it's possible to humidify your apartment cheaply--simmering a pot of water, or if you have a gas stove, placing a pan of water above the pilot light, or even growing *lots* of indoor plants...
posted by craniac at 7:10 AM on March 13, 2006

Response by poster: Well the type has gone from pussy big ones to very small red ones, white-heads or no heads at all, deep under the skin. I get these sorts around my neck as well, a little on my chest recently.

They are not painful usually, just unsightly and usually itchy.

I try to find moiturizing body wash with little/no perfume in it. If I shouldn't use body wash what else?
posted by Napierzaza at 7:59 AM on March 13, 2006

Switch from foamy (high detergent) cleansers to a non-foaming cleanser like cetaphil. This will help your skin in the moisture-loss department.
posted by Sara Anne at 8:06 AM on March 13, 2006

I never ever had problem skin until my early-mid 30s. Suddenly I had awful breakouts and nothing I could do would solve them. I eat a healthy diet and drink tons of water, so I couldn't figure out why this had changed.

Then I read an online article, I think the sitename is something like 'Ask Paula'. Among a bunch of other advise, she mentioned that a lot of people have adverse reactions to the herbals / botanicals in the 'organic / natural' cosmetic products. I guess in the last 5 years the fad has been towards 'natural' ingredients. Well the truth is, poison ivy is organic too, but most people wouldn't eat it or rub it on their face.

Some of the main offenders for breakouts: peppermint, citrus oils (grapefruit extracts, etc) and tea tree oil. They are all irritants and can cause a lot of trouble especially if your skin develops a sensitivity to them (as it will with overexposure).

I stopped using ALL botanical / herbal based products and per Paula's advise switched to a cheap moisturiser that contains alpha hydroxy. Bingo, no more breakouts regardless of time of year / weather / activity level. My skin is back to its trouble free state.
posted by lonefrontranger at 8:08 AM on March 13, 2006

Acne is not caused by food. See a dermatologist.

You don't have to live with it - there are good drugs now that will clear up the typical person's acne -- permanently -- in less than six months. I had pretty annoying acne for a long time, and I wish I had just gone to a dermatologist about it, because once I did, it was trivially easy to fix the issue. Four months on isotretinoin (Accutane/Amnesteem/etc.) and I am cured.
posted by acridrabbit at 8:18 AM on March 13, 2006

oh and by stopping all, I mean I also quit using herbal based body washes, etcetera, too. I now use a very basic cheap (Suave) shower gel, because the waxes used to hold bar soaps together tend to clog my pores. for what it's worth I used to use a variety of Bath and Body works shower gels and they seem to have caused a similar breakout pattern to yours (particularly itchy red bumps on my back and shoulders).

My skin cleared up within a couple weeks of switching products, and the stuff I'm using now is also way less expensive. Hope this is helpful.
posted by lonefrontranger at 8:21 AM on March 13, 2006

Moisturizer, moisturizer, moisturizer. Especially for the stuff that's not on your face, deep under the skin...it sounds like what my brother and I get during the winter. Well, it's there all year 'round, but it's easier to control in the summer because the stuff subsides with exposure to the sun and moisturizer. Using Dove Unscented (soap), Jason's 80% Aloe Lotion (body) and Neutrogena Combination Skin (face) have worked wonders for my complexion.
posted by Vervain at 8:23 AM on March 13, 2006

acridrabbit, acne is an inflammatory disease. Foods that stimulate the inflammatory response will aggravate (though not "cause") acne. Accutane will blast most acne right off the map, but in many cases, I don't believe it's worth the risk of adverse effects.

Things I'd recommend before investigating prescription medicine with a dermatologist:

1. Avoid irritating products on the face. Wash once a day with something like Cetaphil and moisturize only with oil-free moisturizer that's specifically designed for acne, like this. Try to get your house more moist.

2. Avoid foods that stimulate skin inflammation. Try cutting out peanuts and organ meats for a few weeks and see if that makes any difference. Cutting out simple sugar will probably help, if you're up for that sort of thing.
posted by rxrfrx at 8:27 AM on March 13, 2006

go to a dermatologist. they study at university for years to help people like you.

and it sounds like you dont need anything severe (such as a brutal prescription), but maybe you can start with a low-grade antibacterial face wash, or some other topical cream you can use on your face/body.

you will not find the solution in your diet, pillowcases, or OTC moisterizer. get thee to a dermatologist asap. they rawk.
posted by naxosaxur at 8:28 AM on March 13, 2006

My acne's caused by eating wheat, concentrated sugar, and chocolate. Not saying diet causes everyone's acne, but it causes mine. And my husband's (in his case, chocolate and nuts). Accutane worked while I was on it (4 courses of the stuff), and when I went off of it (can't stay on it long-term because of liver damage) the acne came back worse than ever. After two years of resisting the idea of cutting wheat out of my diet, I finally tried it, and the godawful acne I'd had constantly from age 13 to 25 cleared up in a month. When I ate wheat-based bread, pasta or whatever, I broke out the next day like clockwork. My face remains clear otherwise. It's not psychosomatic. If it was, my face would have cleared up every time one of those complacent know-it-all dermatologists told me diet had nothing to do with my acne, because I believed them with touching faith for twelve horrible years.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that the general conclusion indicated by the phrase "studies show" is this: "xxxx happened" for the majority of subjects in the study, not every single freakin' person in the study. So people with atypical reactions get discounted. Also, have you got citations for the original studies that "prove" there's no link between diet and acne? I tried looking them up before but found nothing. Just endless iterations of the same mantra.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 8:52 AM on March 13, 2006

It can also be caused as a response to stress.
posted by madman at 10:19 AM on March 13, 2006

I switched from non-organic milk to organic milk (and now to soy milk, as it's cheaper than organic milk), since I heard the hormones give to milk cows can mess you up with acne. This seems to have helped marginally.

What has helped much more is washing my face and body with a gentle cleanser (like Cetaphil), using body wash instead of bar soap, and staying away from washclothes and back scrubbers. Seriously. I thought I needed to scrub the oil away, but the minute I started treating my skin more gently things cleared up a good deal.

My skin is far from perfect, but it's a lot better than it used to be (especially on my body).
posted by Anonymous at 10:38 AM on March 13, 2006

My personal experience is, if I overeat sugar/candy, milk, or ice cream I can expect to get some zits a few days later.

I know that food does not cause acne. However I have been observing this effect for years and I can't dismiss it. One explanation could be that I have oily skin and these foods seem to exacerbate that. Also I have read that sugar suppresses immune system function so that could also be a factor.

But thanks to watching my diet I am mostly zit free and about to turn forty. I also have to make sure I wash my face morning and night with a gentle cleanser, and apply benzoil peroxide every few days.
posted by jockc at 11:14 AM on March 13, 2006

Washing your face once a day with Head and Shoulders shampoo has had near miraculous reuslts for a lot of people I know. I have no idea where this idea came from but it works really well.

Ditto on getting rid of the fancy products. I wash my face with water and wipe with a mild toner (something like Burts Bees) and apply plain moisturiser and it stays fine. Occasionally I use a mild scrub, but more normally I use a pure clay mask once a week or so for cleansing.

And keep a food diary- peanut butter makes me break out. Which is sad, because I love it.
posted by fshgrl at 1:13 PM on March 13, 2006

People sometimes use head and shoulders to get rid of acne because it contains Pyrithione zinc. You can find the same ingredient in some face washes and creams.
posted by stray at 5:31 PM on March 13, 2006

Just endless iterations of the same mantra.
I agree with cybercoitus interruptus: How can something you put in your body not affect your body? I think the medical establishment says things like this so they can sell more pharmaceuticals. Also, two additional methods I have found useful:
1. Change pillowcase more frequently
2. Wash hair every more frequently
posted by azuma at 4:19 PM on March 14, 2006