I've had some of the most troublesome skin since I was 9 years old. We've had a lot of ups and downs over the years, but I've finally figured out just what my skin needs to be on my side. If you struggle with persistent acne, please read this article! I'm going to break it down into 2 categories: diet and skincare.
DIET
Growing up, I had no idea what a healthy diet was and lived off sugary foods like candy and baked goods as well as microwave foods like pizza and hot pockets. My acne was so bad growing up, and my face was always greasy.
My skin was the worst in college, when I had unlimited access to sugary drinks with alcohol, fries, cookies, cake, and everything else bad that I had cravings for. While some people will tell you that diet doesn't affect your skin, I can tell you that diet REALLY affects my skin. Maybe it doesn't affect other people's skin so much, but I've actually watched my skin clear up on healthy diets and break out after eating a pizza.
While I have to say my skin completely cleared up when I was juicing twice a day, I just don't have time to juice like I used to.
I gave up wine.
I'm so sorry to tell you this. White wine was 100% making me break out (and giving me cavities). I was drinking it every other night, and I'll just say it wasn't just one glass! I've never been a big red wine drinker, so I can't tell you if it makes you break out. White wine is much sweeter. Giving it up made a HUGE difference in my life.
I stopped eating fake sugar.
Sugary foods like cookies, candy, frosting, etc. is what I call "fake sugar" because it's not natural sugar found in things like fruit. I still eat plenty of fruit and don't think about the sugar in it. Taking flavor out of my coffee was a small change that made a huge difference. Some of the other things I changed was unsweetened cashew milk, absolutely no candy or chocolate, no ice cream, no fruity alcohol drinks, and extremely limited amounts of cereal.
I started eating more veggies.
I LOVE veggies, and I don't think I even tasted asparagus, brussell sprouts, or squash until I was in my 20s. I just didn't grow up with them, but now I'm incorporating them into every single meal -- even breakfast! They are so delicious, and by switching up which veggies we eat every day I never get sick of one type! Sweet potatoes in particular are fantastic for skin, as are spinach and kale.
I significantly cut down on bread.
You're talking to a girl who literally used to buy a loaf of bread for dinner and just eat it plain. I was addicted to bread. We used to order pizza at least once a week, and I can't tell you how many sandwiches I used to eat in a week. Now, I keep my gluten very limited, usually just a half of a whole wheat english muffin a day! I will never be able to give up pizza, so we still order it once or twice a month. Since I've given up so many other sources of gluten, I don't feel bad AT ALL ordering a small veggie pizza.
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