I have been battling with acne for the last 6 years and I have had enough. I've scrawled the internet day after day trying to find a new spot cream or face wash which could fix the mess I see every morning. I needed to find a way to tackle the pulsating spots which looked awful and quite frankly embarrassing. I have been debating for three years now whether or not to go on the controversial drug 'Roacctune' to clear my skin completely. But due to being at University for those three years it was not realistic. Instead going dairy free was one diet change that was easy enough to help keep my angry skin at bay.
Huffington Post claims in an article titled, 'Milk and acne' that if you are an acne sufferer, "dairy is one of the worst triggers out there and could easily be disrupting your own hormone balance and making your acne worse". I did a lot of research before going dairy free and I was willing to give it a go. As a 21 year old at University I found it extremely difficult living with acne. I was constantly surrounded by people with glowing skin and I remember saying to myself "no one has skin like me!". This being said my friends never judged and completely understood what I was going through but it was still frustrating and a hard concept for me to come to terms with that my skin was not clear.
Having no one close to me going through the same battle, I turned to social media, especially Instagram. This played a massive part of changing my perspective on my skin and making me realise that I am not alone. One person that I found very inspiring and helpful is an American girl named Kali, who goes by the username of 'myfacestory'. She has previously taken Roaccutane but her cystic spots slowly came back after a year. She is now on a anti-inflammatory and dairy free diet, which basically means only healthy and natural foods. Her Instagram is filled with photos of foods she eats and comparison photos (which I find the most important) of her skin and how it has improved. One post that really hit me was one that she wrote on the 19th June. She states that "I used to let my skin control my life [...] but your skin doesn't define you, it definitely doesn't make you who you are as an individual". This is so so important! I still complain and cry over my skin more than I should but with the help of people like Kali it helps you realise that your skin isn't everything. The drastic changes in Kali's skin since going dairy free have been incredible and I wanted to follow in her footsteps, I have now been dairy free for 5 months!
Many think that going dairy free would be their worst nightmare and I understand why. No cheese, no milk and no chocolate. But no one ever thinks of the alternatives, there are a dozen milk substitutes from soya to almond, rice and coconut milk. The first time I decided to go dairy free I was walking round Tesco thinking, "literally EVERYTHING has milk in" which stressed me out and inevitably probably made me break out. However I have grown to love being dairy free, even though I do get tempted by birthday cake and chocolate buttons. My favourite dairy free foods at the moment have to be the Alpro chocolate milk, the Naked bars and Tesco's garlic and herb spread. All these foods taste exactly the same if not better than the dairy versions. I am still trying new things and I really want to get my hands on the Alpro chocolate and vanilla ice cream!
Since being dairy free I have seen an amazing difference in my skin. I no longer break out unless I am on my period, eat dairy or if I am very stressed. The comparison is incredible and I am so so glad I did it, I just wish I did it sooner! I still have a lot of redness and scarring which I would ideally like to get rid of. I am currently testing going gluten free and eating less sugar meat. I have only been doing this on and off for about two weeks and so far so good (I will update on this).
Going dairy free has majorly improved my skin but I know this will not clear it completely and I may have to go on Roaccutane at some point this year or next. The one piece of advice I would give to those suffering with acne or anyone that is going through a change in their diet is PATIENCE. It is so important to remember that things do not happen over night. I am still very much coming to terms with this and I need to stop being so hard on my self. Acne is a battle and I know that in the end I WILL have clear skin but for now I just have to keep doing what I'm doing and stay positive.
Sian. X
Huffington Post claims in an article titled, 'Milk and acne' that if you are an acne sufferer, "dairy is one of the worst triggers out there and could easily be disrupting your own hormone balance and making your acne worse". I did a lot of research before going dairy free and I was willing to give it a go. As a 21 year old at University I found it extremely difficult living with acne. I was constantly surrounded by people with glowing skin and I remember saying to myself "no one has skin like me!". This being said my friends never judged and completely understood what I was going through but it was still frustrating and a hard concept for me to come to terms with that my skin was not clear.
Having no one close to me going through the same battle, I turned to social media, especially Instagram. This played a massive part of changing my perspective on my skin and making me realise that I am not alone. One person that I found very inspiring and helpful is an American girl named Kali, who goes by the username of 'myfacestory'. She has previously taken Roaccutane but her cystic spots slowly came back after a year. She is now on a anti-inflammatory and dairy free diet, which basically means only healthy and natural foods. Her Instagram is filled with photos of foods she eats and comparison photos (which I find the most important) of her skin and how it has improved. One post that really hit me was one that she wrote on the 19th June. She states that "I used to let my skin control my life [...] but your skin doesn't define you, it definitely doesn't make you who you are as an individual". This is so so important! I still complain and cry over my skin more than I should but with the help of people like Kali it helps you realise that your skin isn't everything. The drastic changes in Kali's skin since going dairy free have been incredible and I wanted to follow in her footsteps, I have now been dairy free for 5 months!
Many think that going dairy free would be their worst nightmare and I understand why. No cheese, no milk and no chocolate. But no one ever thinks of the alternatives, there are a dozen milk substitutes from soya to almond, rice and coconut milk. The first time I decided to go dairy free I was walking round Tesco thinking, "literally EVERYTHING has milk in" which stressed me out and inevitably probably made me break out. However I have grown to love being dairy free, even though I do get tempted by birthday cake and chocolate buttons. My favourite dairy free foods at the moment have to be the Alpro chocolate milk, the Naked bars and Tesco's garlic and herb spread. All these foods taste exactly the same if not better than the dairy versions. I am still trying new things and I really want to get my hands on the Alpro chocolate and vanilla ice cream!
Since being dairy free I have seen an amazing difference in my skin. I no longer break out unless I am on my period, eat dairy or if I am very stressed. The comparison is incredible and I am so so glad I did it, I just wish I did it sooner! I still have a lot of redness and scarring which I would ideally like to get rid of. I am currently testing going gluten free and eating less sugar meat. I have only been doing this on and off for about two weeks and so far so good (I will update on this).
Going dairy free has majorly improved my skin but I know this will not clear it completely and I may have to go on Roaccutane at some point this year or next. The one piece of advice I would give to those suffering with acne or anyone that is going through a change in their diet is PATIENCE. It is so important to remember that things do not happen over night. I am still very much coming to terms with this and I need to stop being so hard on my self. Acne is a battle and I know that in the end I WILL have clear skin but for now I just have to keep doing what I'm doing and stay positive.
Sian. X
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