When I had cystic acne continuously it was hard to get any clues about
what made it worse and what made it better, but as I got older the
problem became more intermittent and I started to see some patterns.
Here, for example, is a good way to cause an outbreak of cystic acne:
Eat one really bad lunch -- you know, the kind with lots of
carbohydrate and salt but no nutritional value -- and drink two
cans of your favorite high-caffeine, high-sugar cola beverage. Wait
one hour, then consume one chocolate bar. Wait one more hour,
then sit on an uncomfortable chair and think about (pick as many as
apply): the big presentation you have to give tomorrow / the really
embarassing thing you said last week / what your family says about you
when you're not around / what kind of nursing home you will be able to
afford after you have a stroke at age 50 and the stock market crash
wipes out all your savings / what people think about the way you look
with all that acne.
Two days later, you will have an attack of Cystic Acne.
In my opinion, it's not the salt/sugar/caffeine/chocolate that causes
the acne, it's the mental state (or the mind-body state, if you
prefer). I just gave the above as an example of how to get into that
state -- there are plenty of other ways. I don't know what's going on
at the biochemical level, but I assume there are a bunch of "worry
hormones" that get released and do something to the sebaceous glands
in the skin.
If you can avoid this mental state as much as possible (easier said
than done!), it's possible that your acne will improve. I'll leave it
to the more experienced herbalists to suggest herbs that might help
with this.
One other suggestion: try to reduce physical irritation in places
where you usually get acne. For example, if you get it at the base of
the back of your neck, carefully trim all the labels off the insides
of the collars on your shirts so that they won't rub. Also, powdering
the skin with cornstarch seems to do a really nice job of reducing
abrasion from clothing.
You might also talk to a doctor about prescription medications. But
you've probably tried this already.
Wash the skin
Avoid oily substances
Shampoo the hair daily
Don`t "pop" pimples
Exercise regularly
Don't stop the acne medicine
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