Severe acne from last 16 years

[Mits]

Hi All,

Am vegetarian asian girl having severe acne issue from last 16 years. I had tried all great dermatologists till now but no solution for acne. I had taken Acnestar and Diane 35 tablets 3 years back for a year which had cleared my skin for a while but scars were still there. After that i stopped and i started getting severe acne all over my face again. I have read all sever side effects of this tablets so decided not to go back on it. From last 2 years i have moved to Chicago and my acne has got more worst. Majorly its around Chin area which is full of pimples everytime. I was on Proactiv+ for entire winter almost for a year. But it didnot help much.

Once i tried Neutrogena Grapefruit scrub and it was a bad decision ever. It got many pimples in cheek area where i hardly use to get from last 2 years.

After going through internet i came across Wai sample diet and decided to give a shot. Today i am on my 4th week on to this diet. But am getting more breakouts day by day.

I have gone through Free acne book pdf and following as instructed. But there are no results.

I am pure vegetarian so can't eat raw eggs and fish.

My everyday diet comprises of#

1) 2 Bananas
2) 2 medium sized avocados
3) 2 navel oranges
4) 4 medium sized tomatoes
5) 2 large cucmber
6) 2 medium sized apples
7) 1 full cup cut papaya/ grapes
2 strawberries
9) 1 cup lettuce
10) 2 spoon extra virgin olive oil

I eat this stuff in my entire day. I dont feel hungry to have more than this and get a sound sleep. I haven't loose weight in last 3 weeks. Please note that i had tried organic tofu in my salad for first two weeks but then thought it can be the reason so stopped from last 9 days.

I have totally stopped using soap or tap water on my face. Apart from while washing hair water gets sprinkled over my face chin area or forehead area.

This is my last hope and shot towards getting rid of acne.

I am getting new breakouts over chin area which are like huge lymph nodes type which are not getting disappeared on its own from last 2 weeks and new are coming. I dont know if those are acne or lymph nodes but they are pussy and with bood when squeezed. My face is full of small acne zysts. My forehead was full of sandy bumps but now its bit calm down in last 2 weeks around 50%.

I am skeptical whether this diet is working for me or not

Please guide/ Suggest and help.

[Oscar]

Hello, welcome to the forum
First off, since you are only 9 days off the tofu, you have only been 9 days on the diet so far. With each "transgression" the counter starts anew. Lettuce is not on the diet either (see http://www.waiworld.com/waicure/acnesamplediet.html), but the adverse effects are not as severe as tofu. Nevertheless I would take out the lettuce just to be sure and replace it with something else. Keep going and see if there is a significant improvement after 2 weeks or not.
It is normal that during those two weeks your acne will become worse (or stay the same).
Personally I would shift the carbs:fat energy ratio a bit more towards carbs (more 3:1 than 2:1), as that'll give you more active energy, but it's not a necessity.
In the end you'd need some animal protein for a complete diet (did you know that eggs in general are not fertilized, so you're not killing any animals?), for vitamin B12 and certain omega-3 fatty acids.
Good luck and keep us posted

[Mits]

Hey Oscar,

Felt bit relieved today after seeing your reply. I thought that no one is active over here.

Regarding eggs its just bit religious reason and i can not have it. Is there any other alternative to that i can add on?

I have completed 16 days without organic tofu and strictly on samplet diet.

But i got more breakouts all over my face. My entire face is full of new acne apart from my nose. Forehead is almost 50% clear of sandy bumps like acne which i got in second week.

i am really really getting worried now ...i have family event in Boston during july long weekend and i was looking ahead to get all clear by then. But now am loosing hope.

Also one more thing its getting tougher to be with no salt and sugar at all from last 1 month. I have read that salt and sugar are essential for brain functioning. Shall i add spoonful of sugar and salt in my diet?

This diet has worked for many and shown drastic improvement in 2 weeks. But in my case there is breakout all over my face in these 4 weeks (2 weeks without tofu to be precise). When this diet will work for me :'(???

With hope
Mits

[doventin]

You can't really say that you are on this diet when you barely consume any protein. We don't always get everything we want. In your case - religion/morals vs no acne. Make your choice, but you do have to choose. Protein is crucial.

[Aytundra]

I have totally stopped using soap or tap water on my face. Apart from while washing hair water gets sprinkled over my face chin area or forehead area.

So you have totally stopped washing your face?
Washing hair water. I think that would contain shampoo and or conditioner. What shampoo and or conditioner do you use?

[Mits]

I agree to you Oscar and i have decided to start eating eggs now.

Can anyone guide me how to consume eggs in this diet. Since i have never ate it before.

Aytundra, i do wash my hairs else its difficult. I use loreal shampoo n conditioner.

[Aytundra]

Aytundra, i do wash my hairs else its difficult.

I was not promoting no washing of your hair.
I was thinking "washing hair water" aggrevated your skin, as you said you have "pimples on your chin", and the..."washing hair water" landed on your face chin area and forehead area.
Try washing the hair without the washing hair water touching the face.

Shampoo may dry the skin, and dry skin is flaky, then skin reacts by becoming oilier; And if the skin is a terrain of pimples, the fluctuation of flaky and oily skin does not help the pimples clear out, it just makes the skin climate more dramatic, and more variable, and your skin probably has less control over what it can do to help itself.

I have totally stopped using soap or tap water on my face. Apart from while washing hair water gets sprinkled over my face chin area or forehead area.

I was also thinking that you should wash your face.
But if you are using washing hair water in replacement of the face scrub.
I will say your skin does not need detergent.
Soap you can skip. I think skin can live without soap.

To clean face don't scrub. Only blot, and wipe lightly, with a wet cloth, a damp tissue paper might work to remove excess oil, but don't put pressure or friction on the skin. It should not feel pressured. It should not feel dried by skin cleaning. Use plain water to rinse. Skin should feel like breathing air if it is clean.

Skin breathes, by the way, a band-aid or a piece of tape on your skin for a few days will tell you that, and it takes some time before it returns to normal, and left over sticky band-aid tape stuff irritates the skin.

I am skeptical whether this diet is working for me or not

Theoretically, I don't think this diet causes breakouts of pimples. It is leftover residue of stuff you had from the old diet that are likely causing your pimples, or residue from make-up, cleaners, toners, dust, oils, creams, conditioners... basically I think big molecules left-over sitting on the skin messes with the cell structure. Until those residues are gone, I think you may have breakouts.
And by my band-aid analogy, those sticky left over stuff is equivalent to residuals from your diet or your facial products: make-up, cosmetics, cleaners, topical chemicals, dust and stuff; you just have to wait it out.
Oscar is probably right, each "transgression" restarts the counter. Because molecules seldom forgives.

Think of a bubbling pot of water. Bubbles have to die down, even after heat is removed.
Removing and consuming less bad proteins, might help, but you will have to wait for the residuals to fade away.

You'll get there! Skin can change.

Post Note:
I am curious what was your diet like before this Wai diet. What is a vegetarian diet like(list food items)? and what was your diet before being a vegetarian? assuming you switched to becoming a vegetarian (list food items). I thought a vegetarian diet was cleaner than an omnivore's diet and less susceptible to acne.

[Mits]

Thanks Aytundra for detailed explanation. It really gave me some confidence. I will try as instructed by you.

I am vegetarian by birth from asian origin. There weather is normally hot and humid. It is never too cold there if compared with chicago winters its nothing.

My diet definitely comprised of - Wheat, rice, vegetable oil, potatoes, leafy vegetables all cooked one nothing raw. All raw fruits, dry fruit nuts specially almonds, raisins, cashews. All junk and oily spicy food. Curries made using indian spicies and oil and lemon. Canned juices like tropicana for instance. Fermented food also included on rare occassions. Sweets, chocolates

All these was part of my diet earlier.

I am just wondering if this food habbit was the reason or its hormonal. Even if its hormonal can this strict diet will able to fight acne?

Best Regards,
Mita

[Mits]

Guys,

Finally i started having egg yolk. Today was first day with 2 egg yolks.

Can anyone please confirm if its fine if i have 1/4th spoon of salt and sugar per day. Its been almost a month without salt and sugar which is driving me more crazy.

Hoping my face which is full of bumpy acne calms down soon.

Please guide

Best Regards,
Mits

[Oscar]

Salt: no
Sugar: yes

If the 2 egg yolks are fine for you, then continue. If not, then reduce it to 1 per day for a week.
Egg yolks will help regulate your hormones. In most cases this diet (when followed correctly) will be sufficient to cure acne. Only in some rare cases it will not.

What is your height, weight and activity level?

[Mits]

age - 32 yrs
height - 160cm
weight - 120 pounds

Activity level - 30 mins walk to and fro to office everyday. Rest is like i work on computer so no physical stress as such.

Best Regards,
Mita

[Maia]

Hi Mita! I am so happy for you that you found the Wai, welcome!
In the beginning it is important to keep away from everything salty and other un-wai foods.
Also, it seems to me that for many people 2 weeks is not enough to get rid of the acne, especially if there is a lot of it. For me it took several months.
But you just have to keep doing it, and not give up. You will see results slowly but steadily!

RRM usually does not recommend drinking water, but in my personal experience drinking water helps to "speed things up" a little bit when it comes to cleaning your body from redundant water (and we know that redundant water=acne). It is true like Oscar says that in the beginning the acne might become worse because of the cleaning up process, which you can read about in the free acne book. Try to not worry about this and keep doing the diet.
Something that also helped me is to take naps when you can, and make sure to get good sleep as often as possible. The skin uses the sleeping time to repair itself, and always looks better after a nap/a night of sleep.
Also, if you are not doing this already: try to eat as often as you can and as small meals as possible, and fat with every sugary meal.
Good luck and keep us updated, it is always interesting to read about other people experiences, and we want to help you!

[Mits]

Thanks a lot Maia, for your insights.

You wont believe i was about to give up thinking that this diet is not helping me. Its been a month and am with so many big pimples through out my face and small zits as well. I had internally started believing that i have to go back to dermatologists and take recommended medicines.

But after getting feedback from you guys i have firmly decided to continue on this diet longer. I dont want to go back on those harsh antibiotics which will have its side effects in future.

I will start having water as suggested by you.

You are so very right about sleep. I get very sound sleep at night with this diet. Today i was about to post about my findings regarding this and you posted.

Astonishing part is morning when i get up my skin looks like its healing and acne also looks small. BUT as day pass by it becomes illusionary and by late afternoon all big pimples over face starts appearing and face looks pale with big pimples all around and small zits with white heads.

Then i am disappointed that i will never get clear :'( :'(

Best Regards,
Mita

[RRM]

Even if its hormonal can this strict diet will able to fight acne?

There is always a hormonal factor at play; its the hormonal factor that makes you susceptible to acne from cooked foods.
Without that hormonal factor (increasing sebum production and/or water retention), you can eat lots of junk food without ever breaking out.
Unfortunately, if the hormonal factor is very powerful, the diet may make your acne less bad, but may not be able to totally eliminate your acne.
That is because elevated levels of testosterone or progesterone, for example, may cause both water retention and increased sebum production.

[panacea]

If you really want to speed things up you should try exercising by nose breathing and walking quickly for an hour or as long as you can each day. While diet is important, health is a way of life, your surroundings and your movements, not just a diet. The exercise is not just to build muscles, actually it's aerobic exercise anyway, and the purpose is to help with digestion, blood flow, every organ in your body benefits from it, and then things like acne healing speeds up as well. Of course, you can do it with diet only, but it can be slow.