1. Change your pillowcases every few days and flip it on a nightly basis!
2. Avoid Dairy, Soy, Peanut Butter and Sports Drinks!
3. Before adding any new vitamins or supplements read each and ingredient on the label, even the inactive ingredients. Ingredients to avoid are Iodine, Potassium iodine or iodide, Biotin (or find low dose), kelp, chlorella, blue-green algae, red algae, algae, and spirulina. Also make sure to check the side effects of any new supplement. Do they alter hormone levels? If so, avoid!
4. Before making or buying a Smoothie or Protein Shake! Ask yourself, does it contain the “greens” listed above? If its green its probably bad for your acne! Safe greens to add to your smoothie would be vegetable greens like Kale, Spinach and Collard greens. Protein Shakes should contain No Whey! Pea, Pumpkin, almond, and egg protein are acceptable substitutes.
5. Reduce Stress and get enough sleep.
6. Moderate exercise.
7. Reduce Iodine in your diet. Culprits are the “greens” listed above, table salt, sushi, algae, junk food, processed and packaged foods.
8. Before adding any new hair, skin, toothpaste, or body product that touches or rinses down acne prone areas read the ingredients. Get to know the comedogenic ingredients such as sodium Laurel sulfate, algae extract, and sodium chloride. There are many others!
9. Picking and friction are acne trouble makers. This includes extracting lesions, friction from hats, straps, helmets, and face masks. Reduce exposure to these, loosen straps and keep pads clean. (I will have tips on my next blog on how to handle these problems.)
10. Acne is an inflammatory disease of the pores; aggravated by stress, diet, and hormones. Any stress on the body can exacerbate it! Work to manage your condition as best as possible to prevent acne flares. Good Luck!