Finally Clear Skin- How To Treat Acne At Home

Surprisingly, adult acne is still a big problem today despite the world wide boom in cosmetics and the skincare industry, not to mention advances in modern medicine. Part of the problem is that there is so much information out there that it can be overwhelming.

It’s also typical for someone suffering from acne to not have a good support system from immediate family or friends not because they’re malicious in any way but normally they can’t relate, and depending on the severity or duration of acne the experience can be somewhat debilitating.

The reality is that acne can cause anxiety and depression. I know what it’s like to wake up every morning and the first thing you want to do is look in the mirror and painfully assess the acne on your face.

However, after ten years I finally found a strategy that did the trick.

That strategy was developing an effective acne treatment plan that helped to address the issue internally and externally at the same time.

And because the results are significant, naturally I’ve been getting a lot of requests to share what I did, which truthfully isn’t anything novel because others have taken similar measures. But their exact steps and routine didn’t work that well in my case and probably won’t for you either.

So with my own routine that I’ve tested out for several months, I now feel confident to share it with everyone, and I hope it inspires you to do the same.

If this resonates with you in any way or perhaps you want to help someone else that’s affected by acne, this information may prove useful.

What is Acne?

It’s typical for people with acne to try and fix the problem without first understanding what it is and the root cause. But with that knowledge, you’ll know what to treat and can be more pro-active in addressing the issue in a more targeted way.

So essentially, acne or acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the skin.

So that means any persistent redness, swelling, and pain just to name a few, on visible areas of the skin are inflammatory responses that are typical symptoms of acne.

There are a host of factors that generally occur before you even get to that level of inflammation. So it makes sense to look at what some of these things.

1. Excess oil/ sebum production– Overactive sebaceous glands results in oily skin.
2. Higher skin cohesiveness– This is believed to be the second phase in the formation of acne that occurs when the the skin’s cells don’t shed normally and leads to the accumulation of dead skin cells.
3. Overgrowth of bacteria (c. acnes)- This is yet another progression from having excess sebum production and dead skin cells on the surface of the skin that leads to inflammation and eventually acne.

But there is yet another factor that can trigger acne in many people that we should talk about and that I think deserves dedicated focus.

And that is hormones.

Hormonal Acne

There are numerous studies that support the view that hormonal imbalance is one of the leading culprits of acne especially in women and without a diagnosis, you can normally identify hormonal acne from the prolonged and severe nature of outbreaks or pimples. This is how inflammation on the skin becomes evident.

• Whiteheads- closed comedones
• Blackheads- open comedones
• Papules- tender, small pink bumps
• Pustules- pus- filled bumps
• Nodules- large bumps deep in the skin
• Cysts- large pus- filled bumps deep in the skin

It’s not absolutely crucial to know every single type of pimple by name but getting more familiar with how they look can save time and further damage to your skin from trying unsuitable treatments. For instance, nodules and cysts are the worst among the lot that are more inflamed and typically point to significant hormonal fluctuations. So in this case, simply using topical products to try and treat these forms of acne would not work.

So how exactly does hormones relate to the acne development pathway?

The hormones mainly responsible for the regulation of sebum production, are androgens. These male hormones present in men and women are prone to fluctuation. When androgen levels increase abnormally, there is a direct correlation with oil production in the sebaceous glands, which if not controlled can lead to inflammation and acne.

There is another hormone called cortisol that can also fluctuate and when it does disrupts androgens and has a similar effect on the development of acne.

Persons with acne may be affected by one or both of these hormones. Thankfully, conditions such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) that is linked to such hormonal shifts in women is gaining popularity and with that are more options available to treat it.

The various conventional methods used to treat PCOS have been helpful for some women. Unfortunately, I was not one of them and many of these treatments such as metformin and oral contraceptives, have there own challenges and health risks that I took at some point but wasn’t willing to continue.

On the other hand, many women still live with the disease without diagnosis which is also a dangerous situation to be in so the more you know and can do for yourself the better.

What is an acne treatment plan?

So now you understand why it’s important to identify the causes of acne and what you should focus on in an effort to treat the condition. The question at this point is how?

An acne treatment plan that is holistic is the method I recommend using to treat the symptoms of acne.

We went through the acne development pathway that includes hormonal imbalance. So any plan can’t rely on topical treatments, but also needs to tackle acne from the inside out.

The step by step guide

Step 1: Determine the plan objective

Remember that not everyone with acne has the same concerns due to differences in hormones and severity of symptoms. You have to think about what is the most important issue for you.

After suffering from acne for so long, I wanted to finally balance my hormones that I believed was causing my acne—I was diagnosed with PCOS, and treat the breakouts that were already visible. So that was my main objective.

Step 2: Identify Treatment Options  

The research you’ve done up to this point will help you match the types of ingredients or therapeutic products to your specific needs. This is an example of the different options available.

This is an important first step. Your next move should be narrow the list and make selections that you can use in a routine consistently.

Step 3: Develop the Individualized Plan

The sample plan set out below is a guide that you can use.

But remember that your acne plan is an individual process so you should use this as a base and tweak as needed for your specific skin concerns.

Issues To Address	My Treatment of Choice	My Recommendations
Hormonal Balance	Supplements: Diindolylmethane-DIM; Vitex Agnus-Castus (Chasteberry); Probiotics	Take Vitex and probiotics first thing in the morning so that it is better absorbed by the body. Also do not take Vitex longer than six months consecutively.
Oil Production	Supplements: Pantothenic Acid (B5); Vitamin A; Zinc. Actives: Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHAs): BHA of choice is Salicylic Acid	If your breakouts are severe and persistent, I would suggest mega dosing with B5 and Vitamin A for up to 3 months then reduce dosage to recommended dosage. You can use a cleanser that includes BHA, preferably in the morning.
Skin Cohesiveness	Actives: Retinoid: Retin-A or Adapalene	To help with consistent use, apply a retinoid at night after moisturizing the skin (avoiding areas such as the under eye, eye lids, and corners of the nose).
Bacterial Overgrowth	Actives: Benzoyl Peroxide	Alternate between treatment of benzoyl peroxide and retinoid at night all over the face (avoiding areas such as under eye, eye lids, and corners of the nose). You can also use benzoyl peroxide as a spot treatment.

Details of My Personal Supplement Protocol

1. Vitex Agnus-Castus (Chasteberry) 300-400mg. Take two, 1x per day or as directed on the product.
2. Probiotic 30 billion CFU’s min. Take one, 1x a day;
3. Pantothenic Acid 500 mg. Take four, 2x a day;
4. Diindolylmethane-DIM 350-400mg. Take one, 2x a day;
5. Vitamin A 50,000-100,000iu. Take daily short term (1-3 months)
6. Zinc 50mg. Take one, 1x a day.
7. Bonus* Omega 3 1000mg. Take two, 1x a day. This was not listed above, however Omega 3 was and remains a staple in my regimen for helping to reduce inflammation in the body.

Details of My Personal Skincare Routine Using Active ingredients

To complete any acne treatment plan, you need a solid skincare routine that includes certain active ingredients.

But you must learn what types of treatments work best for your skin and how to use them.

This is a good place to start.

Daytime:

1. Facial cleanser with salicylic acid 1-2%

Nighttime:

1. Benzoyl Peroxide 10% maximum strength;
2. Retin-A 0.05% or Adapalene 0.3% on alternate nights

A year ago, this is the basic plan that I used to successfully treat my breakouts in about three months. Then after my skin cleared up, I continued taking these supplements for a few more months.

1. Vitex Agnus-Castus (Chasteberry) 300-400mg: One capsule first thing in the morning
2. Pantothenic Acid 500 mg: Reduced to one, 1x a day
3. Diindolylmethane-DIM 350-400mg: Reduced to one, 1x a day
4. Vitamin A 50,000-100,000iu
5. Zinc 50mg

These were my results.

Step 4: Revise Your Plan As Needed

As part of the evaluation you should be routinely doing to determine whether to stick to your current plan or make revisions, ask yourself these questions:

• Are you still experiencing severe breakouts after three months?
• Are you having bad irritation?
• Does your acne seem to clear for a few weeks then return periodically?
• Is your plan too expensive to maintain?
• Are you unable to find replacements when supplies run out?
• Is the plan helping with scars and hyperpigmentation?

Depending on your answer to each question, then it will be clearer what you need to adjust in your acne treatment plan.

Conclusion

That’s really all there is to it.

But to be clear, if you have acne, particularly severe acne then you should visit a dermatologist—even once.

View this as part of your research because it’s useful to get the opinions of a trained professional especially during the early stages of acne when you really have no idea what to do. It’s also helpful to get a formal diagnosis of any underlying condition if it exists like PCOS, and go from there. That’s what I had to do.

But also understand that a dermatologist simply may not be able to help you. Worst case scenario, they may even put you on treatments that make the situation worse or pose other health risks with long-term use. A few of these treatments were mentioned before.

Eventually you’ll realize that gaining insight and developing your own individualized acne treatment plan may be your best bet to kickstart a clear skin journey. Things as simple as vitamins and herbal supplements played a huge role in my plan that I was never recommended to use by any dermatologist. I simply combined those with some conventional products that are actually clinically proven to help with acne and created the perfect package for my skin.

So, do you have acne and still haven’t developed your acne treatment plan yet? Perhaps now you should try.

Caution: The active ingredients mentioned should be used less frequently depending on your skin’s tolerance, and a sunscreen must always be used. Also, if you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or nursing do NOT use a retinoid.