Radiance starts from within and as our skin is our largest organ, it’s a fabulous messenger for what is – and isn’t – working for our insides. My skin will always let me know (with a jolly big breakout), when I haven’t had enough sleep or I’ve eaten too much sugar. Most of the time however, my skin is perfect. And that sentence still brings a smile to my face!
Alright, so you’ve got perfect skin. What do you know about adult acne then?
You see, I battled with acne for over 13 years. That’s nearly half my lifetime. Ouch. So believe me when I say, I understand the frustration, obsession and negative self image that acne – mild, moderate or severe – brings about.
From my early teens and right into my mid-twenties, I’d taken every pill under the sun and tried every topical cream you can buy. I’d seen dermatologists, filled piles of prescriptions and ingested a myriad of chemical concoctions in the hope of waking up with clear skin.
So, did it work?
Some of it worked, temporarily. Most of it did nothing. Some of it caused my hair to fall out, my nose to bleed, skin to burn, joints to ache (to the point of being unable to exercise) and put me in hospital with severe liver inflammation at the age of 17.
And I still had pimples.
I was told by a Doctor at the age of 21 that the only thing that would control my acne, would be staying on the contraceptive pill indefinitely. And it seemed he was right; every time I tried to come off the pill, my skin would flare up with a vengeance. Afraid of causing even more damage to my skin (in the form of ugly scars) and suffering from full-blown adult acne, I stayed on the contraceptive pill for years, until finally I’d had enough.
I hear you, sister. So what did you do?
I came off the pill, cleaned up my diet, made some key lifestyle changes and got to work balancing my hormones. And today, my skin is clear – even with a PCOS diagnosis (one of the most common symptoms of PCOS is acne), which I think is pretty amazing. Not a day goes by that I don’t look in the mirror and feel grateful to wake up with smooth, glowing skin.
Our skin doesn’t just communicate to us with sore, angry red blemishes though; dry and dull skin, rashes and reactions, patchy pigmentation and dark under-eye circles are all key indicators that our radiance levels need some love.
If we can learn to listen to our body, make peace with our complexion, step away from the toxic chemicals and gently nourish our skin from the inside out, we’re truly on the path to real radiance.
MY TOP 6 SKIN-CLEARING TIPS
1. Fruits and veggies are your friend, girlfriend. Pile your plate HIGH.
2. Cut the crap. Mostly. Observe and limit your refined sugar, alcohol, gluten, soy and processed food intake, but don’t stress over it, because…
3. You’ve got to stress less. Stress is linked to the production of the hormone cortisol which increases oil production and can create an inflammatory environment in the body. Any increase in inflammation or excess oil production can cause acne as well as impact upon the length and severity of a breakout. This is where relaxation, meditation and yoga can really help to clear your complexion too.
4. Sleep, sleep and more sleep. Hormones are balanced between the hours of 10pm-12am, so make you’re snoozing well before then and get between 7-8 hours a night, every night.
5. Ditch the chemicals. This means harsh and toxic topical creams as well as most commercial makeup. Experimenting with organic, natural skincare and cosmetics has done wonders for my skin. It might for you too.
6. Get your gut right. Send some love to your internal flora by investing in a quality probiotic and including lots of fermented foods in your diet, like sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha. A healthy gut equals glowing skin.
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This post is an excerpt from my much-loved eBook She is Radiant: Your 6-Week Wellness Adventure To Get Glowy & Feel Rad.
Think nourishing lessons, how-to’s, myth-busting food education, meditations, step-by-step experiments for you to try and an abundance of recipes, tips and never-shared-on-the-blog personal stories that will guide you gently down the wellness path to ‘get the glow’ and feel damn amazing while you’re at it. There is truly nothing out there like it that combines food with creativity with exploration with self care with affirmations with education with mindfulness with…. You get the picture.
You’re going to love it. Click here to find out more or visit the shop.
And tell me in the comments – have you battled with adult acne before?
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I am so damn excited for you darling girl! xo
Thank you sweetpea! Me too 😀 x
This is going to be special, much-needed and super duper awesomely rad. I can’t wait for this baby to be unleashed on the world. XXX
Ahhh thank you beautiful, your support means the world! x
Aw so rad! Loving the look of the book! And so funny – the word ‘radiant’ came up for me this week in my brainstorm for a new project and to see it here – amazing! x
Me too, my designer has done one well of a job on it – cannot wait to see the finished product! And woweeee synchronicity or what?! Radiant is one of my core desired feelings, I just love the word so much. xx
Hi Claire, have recently stumbled upon your blog and loving it! I also have suffered with PCOS related acne in the past and I’m wondering if you have any tips for treating acne scars naturally? I use rosehip oil and I’m not really one for the beautician but I’d be up for going if there was a natural and safe treatment to try out, I’m just not aware of any – any tips?? xx
Thanks Katie! I use rosehip oil too, but haven’t stumbled upon much else. I have heard wonderful things about light therapy, it might be something I look into down the track, but mine are fading gradually, so will see how we go! x
Omnilux is the specific one I have heard good things about Katie. x
Thanks Claire, I may just check this out. Thanks for the continued inspiration 🙂 loving your blog x
I cant wait for your eBook to come out Claire! I keep checking your blog and social media daily to see if it has been released yet!
Oh, aren’t you the sweetest? Thank you! Never worry, I’ll be giving you loads of notice for the early bird special! x
Hi Claire – thanks for these tips! I too, have been combating adult acne for many years. I found that reducing sugar, milk, hot and spicy foods definitely helps! So does drinking water, sleep and a stress free lifestyle! It’s still an ongoing challenge for me but one day I hope to get skin that is acne free! Looking forward to seeing your new baby come to life! Jo
Hot and spicy foods? Interesting Jo! Thanks so much for sharing, can’t wait to share my baby with you! x
this is such a needed topic. who doesn’t struggles with acne? I do….for years and it Is quite a journey.I can’t wait to learn more from you and your precious e-book. val
Totally, so common and so destructive – physically, emotionally, mentally… Thanks for your support lovely x
Ah-mazing! The layout for your ebook is downright stunning. SO keen for this. Rock on with your bad self! xo
I’m so keen for it too, it looks so RAD. Thanks for stopping by babe! x
Looks beautiful, Claire! Great tips as well x
Cheers Katherine! I can’t wait to see the finished product xxx
Looks wonderful! So important to focus on stress, gut health, sleep, etc. for skin health (and just general health). A lot of people forget about these crucial things.
They’ve been a revelation for me – definitely not something I would have even dreamt would help in the past!
Claire, you do have beautiful glowing skin. I understand the struggle with acne, I went through the same thing coming off the pill and it has only recently cleared up. I’ve always had “problematic” skin (oily, prone to breakouts) it’s nice when you find your sweet spot, what works for your skin (not someone else’s)
The E-book looks beautiful! congratulations!
Beaming you love xx
Oh my goodness, I would never have thought that, you have THE most incredible skin. But thank you! I’ll always lap up a skin compliment now – hope you do too 😉 x
What an excellent post Claire! I needed to hear this because I struggle with adult acne and it’s not fun. I am going to put your tips to the test because I don’t want to be on the pill all the time. I’d rather clean it up holistically X
Oh holy shitballs. This looks AMAZING.
I went through exactly the same thing after coming off the pill! I went on the pill in the first place to take control of my acne (which worked brilliantly) but as soon as I came off the pill my skin reverted to it’s acne ridden state. Love all of your tips on glowing skin – lack of sleep + stress are the big ones for me and the ones I know make the most difference to my skin. Looking forward to your book, sounds amazing lady! xx
LOVE this post. Feel your past acne pain – mine has been here 15 yrs and still here. Only I do everything you mention and still no luck. Still, a wonderful post that a lot of people will benefit from reading. AND your new e-book looks AWESOME!! x
Hey Claire, wondering if you are still on your Chinese herbs etc from post pill recovery and whether they have helped your skin?
🙂
Hey Jess! Currently, no I’m not. I probably will again though and YEP they definitely, definitely helped my skin. My cycles have balanced out miraculously over the last couple of months, which is such a blessing. xo
Review: Omnilux Light Therapy - Part 1 - This is Lifeblood | Claire Baker
[…] or have been following along here for awhile, you have probably heard me speak about my looooooong battle with acne. Thankfully, those days are long behind me! I do however have quite prevalent scars that are […]
Created the greatest aricltes, you have.
Hey Claire, love the post! Thanks for the wonderful tips and the e-book looks GREAT!!! xo
Great post lady – simple and actionable and potent tips 🙂 Hope you’re well xo
Hi Claire,
I’m so proud of your victory! Fighting acne can be very stressful and expensive. I should know, I’ve had acne for a long time and relied upon birth control pills which only gave me too many health-related issues. I’m off the pill now and I follow a very natural and organic beauty regimen. Cheers!
I’m so happy to read your blog since I’ve suffered with adult acne for years. Are there specific vegetables that will help clear up your skin? Also, you mentioned using natural cosmetics – should I avoid oil based beauty products?
Hi,
Thank you for sharing these tips. I find it very useful when overcoming the acne. I never thought that eating food and diet affects acne because I always think acne is about genes. I also eat a lot of sweets most especially chocolates and I believe that this could also be the reason why I have several acne. So far, I am using natural products when treating my acne.