The 5 Reasons Why
Oh, acne.
It can be a tricky one for so many women. It’s frustrating, irritating, often painful and it can take a huge hit to your confidence.
Acne, whether you are a teenager or an adult just SUCKS.
If you feel like you’ve done just about everything to treat your acne and have seen little to no improvement, please continue reading.
As a Naturopathic Doctor who focuses on Hormonal & Gut health, here are the top 5 reasons why your acne is not clearing up...
One
You are ONLY treating your acne topically
Have you tried almost every topical product at Sephora or Shoppers to address your acne? You’ve tried everything from salicylic acid to niacinamide and other acne spot treatments but nothing seems to resolve your concerns. Do not get me wrong, your skincare routine can help improve your acne, but the reality is, NO topical product will solve your acne for good. However, when coupled with a whole body approach it can make a world of improvement and get you closer to your skin goals. Let's get you that #GLOW
Two
You are suffering from hormone imbalances
You have probably heard of hormonal acne. This type of acne tends to worsen just before or after menses, it’s typically cystic and located around the jaw, cheeks and sometimes the mouth. You might experience 1-2 weeks where your acne is healing or even completely clear.
Does this sound familiar?
If it does, you may be suffering from a hormone imbalance. Your hormones can either give you glorious, radiant skin or be a leading culprit for your acne1. If you are not addressing these hormone imbalances you will have a difficult time achieving those #skingoals.
Make sure to check out my other blog where I break down the top 6 most common symptoms that likely indicate a hormone imbalance.
Three
You're not addressing your gut health
Your skin glows from the inside out!
Your gut health has a huge impact on acne. This is probably the one area that many women miss when trying to improve their skin.
Have you heard of the gut-skin connection?
This relationship describes how the digestive system and skin influence one another. You may have heard of the microbiome, it is a collection of bacteria. Both the skin and the digestive system foster their own microbiome.
The gut microbiome is incredibly large and diverse and is known to be a major regulator of the gut-skin axis2. It also plays an important role in regulating the immune system, digestion, metabolism and neurotransmitter modulation.
When an imbalance exists in the microbiome, we refer to this as dysbiosis2,3. A dysbiosis occurs when there are too many “bad” bacteria or not enough “good” bacteria or a combination of the two! Having a dysbiosis in the gut can promote the development of many skin diseases by disrupting the skin barrier, and altering the skin’s microbiome.
If you are experiencing gas, bloating, irregular bowel movements, or issues with appetite regulation, your gut health may be contributing to your acne!
Four
Your diet is off
You are what you eat! You have probably heard of that one before and to be honest, there is a lot of truth to it! The foods you eat to nourish your body can heavily influence your skin health.
Foods that tend to raise your blood sugar and promote inflammation are the biggest culprits here4. These include sugar, breads, pastas, other processed and packaged foods. These items raise your blood sugar and cause the release of insulin and something called insulin-like growth factor, also known as IGF-14. When these hormones rise it contributes to increased oil production, hyperkeratinization and inflammation of the skin, which ultimately results in acne4.
No skincare routine can outrun a poor diet when it comes to acne!
Five
You are Stressed
Believe it or not but your stress has a huge impact on your skin health! You might be thinking, “ Well, I don’t feel too stressed,” but that doesn’t mean your body feels the same way.
Cortisol is our main stress hormone and it loves to influence your skin and even digestive health in a negative way5! If you live a busy lifestyle, lack sleep or experience emotional stress, it’s undeniable that it is an influencing factor for your acne!
As you can see, your skin health goes SKIN DEEP! Focusing on the surface will never provide long term relief for your acne.
Want to get to the bottom of your skin concerns? Apply to work with me! I'd love to chat.
Dr. Michelle Webb
Your Hormone & Gut Health Naturopathic Doctor
Bagatin E, Freitas THP, Rivitti-Machado MC, Machado MCR, Ribeiro BM, Nunes S, Rocha MADD. Adult female acne: a guide to clinical practice. An Bras Dermatol. 2019 Jan-Feb;94(1):62-75. doi: 10.1590/abd1806-4841.20198203. Erratum in: An Bras Dermatol. 2019 Mar-Apr;94(2):255. Machado MCR [corrected to Rivitti-Machado MC]. PMID: 30726466; PMCID: PMC6360964. De Pessemier B, Grine L, Debaere M, Maes A, Paetzold B, Callewaert C. Gut-Skin Axis: Current Knowledge of the Interrelationship between Microbial Dysbiosis and Skin Conditions. Microorganisms. 2021 Feb 11;9(2):353. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9020353. PMID: 33670115; PMCID: PMC7916842. Belizário JE, Faintuch J. Microbiome and Gut Dysbiosis. Exp Suppl. 2018;109:459-476. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-74932-7_13. PMID: 30535609. Emiroğlu N, Cengiz FP, Kemeriz F. Insulin resistance in severe acne vulgaris. Postepy Dermatol Alergol. 2015 Aug;32(4):281-5. doi: 10.5114/pdia.2015.53047. Epub 2015 Aug 12. PMID: 26366152; PMCID: PMC4565837. Zari S, Alrahmani D. The association between stress and acne among female medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2017 Dec 5;10:503-506. doi: 10.2147/CCID.S148499. PMID: 29255370; PMCID: PMC5722010.
