Hi,

I recently became a Vegan about 3 weeks ago - prior to that I had flirted and been a vegetarian for about 5 years. I am feeling healthier and happier and I am making a lot of effort to eat lots of healthy food - I try to get my vegetables whole grains and beans etc. I drink loads of water and I exercise. I also take an iron supplement and a multivitamin.Usually if I was to get a spot on my face I would get one or two max at any time. In the past week I've kept getting more and more spots and right now I have 6 or 7.

I was just wondering if anybody else has had this experience and if it clears up after a while or if veganism does equal more skin problems?

x

This is part of your body detoxing and should clear up after a while.  Most vegans have fabulous skin!

Thanks very much "french_momma" - I hope you're right and that it clears up soon ! :)

I'm no expert but I have to agree with French Momma.

My experience is that if I start eating healthy after a prolonged period of "not so healty" eating, it's when I go back to eating healthy that I have a noticable break out. I've always attributed this to my body just getting rid of some of the "junk" that's been floating around my body.

So glad you went vegan! Good luck!

Consume more salad that includes fresh vegetables and drink lods of water every thing will settle down safely.

I was just about to postthe same question. Many doctors (Dr. Mercola, Dr Perricone) say that it is sugar that causes breakouts- sugar as sugar, or sugar in the form of carbs/grain. Things like beans and rice, bread and lots of fruit are supposed to cause an increase in insuline and therefore an increase in acne. I am crossing my fingers that this isnt true, but I would love to hear from more people whose skin cleared up after going vegan. Thanks!

In my case, I also noticed my skin got worse (I had a couple spots here and there before I was vegan, nothing major) after becoming vegan. I'm almost 2 years down the road, and my skin is atrocious now (to my standars anways). I have persistant acne now, and have recently had to go to the doctor to get prescribed medications to help it go away. Not ideal for someone who tries to keep everything in my body as natural as possible. I also keep away from junk, so I know its not a poor diet.

Hopefully this is not the case for you, but definitly keep your eye on it. I find a lot of people chalk bad skin experiences with "detoxing", but I find this a term that gets thrown around a lot (no offense ladies!).

Kirene, I'm sorry you are going thru the frustrations of skin problems. Like many others on this site, I too experienced acne when I went vegan. Prior to going vegan over a year ago I rarely got any spots and I was an omnivore. I went vegan cold turkey and never looked back!. After the first few weeks my skin reacted and delivered an onslaught of acne to my face, concentrated on my forehead area. The acne was cystic and really hurt. I recall reading all over this site about detoxing and keeping my food clean and very superhero. I went superhero and cut out sugar completely after 2 months of going vegan and my skin got a bit better but i still had a long ways to go. I would say my entire detox phase lasted around 8 months. My skin calmed down and now I can indulge every now and then in sugar or a vegan treat and my skin wont react badly. If I overdo it though, my skin will definitely show it!. I also drink a lot of dandelion tea which is cleansing for the liver. I use Aubrey organics blue green algea cleanser and moistirizer and then at night I use pangea organics balancing oil. Their balancing oil rocks my world! Oh and I find that when I drink green juice consistently meaning every day or every other day, my skin responds glowingly and I can really see how rosy and happy my skin gets. I hope all, some or any of this info helps a bit.

Thanks. And Tali when you say sugar do you mean carbs or sweeteners?

Hi Katie! When I say sugar I mean sweeteners. Maybe a bit of brown rice syrup or maple syrup from time to time but for the most part....no sweeteners really helped my acne clear up. For me personally, I do not think the sugar CAUSES the acne but it can in some and definitely does for me overwhelm the liver and therefore proper detoxification cannot take place. Don't forget,our liver is detoxing our body every day for us. When I eat a lot of sugar, I feel like my liver gets an overload and a few spots will show up as a result. As far as carbs go, I love my carbs! I eat brown rice or wild rice and quinoa as my staples and will also have some brown rice pasta maybe once a week. I stay away from gluten as much as I can but I am not too strict about it. I do feel that when I stay away from gluten, my skin looks brighter and I feel better in general but again, I definitely enjoy a slice of whole grain bread every now and then. Much love

Katie, I just read your post above about grains causing acne. I have not found this to be true as far as the grains that I eat and love on a daily basis. But perhaps the grains that contain gluten, like barley for example, are ones that may cause insulin to rise? The way I understand it, whole grains do have sugars yes but they do not spike our blood sugar levels. The sugars from whole grains enter the blood stream at a very leveled pace due to the longer digestion period and therefore don't affect insulin levels in an unnatural way. have you tried going gluten free for a few weeks to see if that helps? I did this as an experiment and it was fun! As I mentioned above, I saw a nice improvement but for the most part, I think gluten and I can be friends as long as I don't over do it. :)

Hi Kelly, I suffered from cyctic acne from the age of 16. I went vegetarian when I was about 25. Over the years the only real improvement I noticed was during the summer when I could get more sunlight on my face. I'm now 45 and went vegan 18 months ago and still no change in the painful cystic lumps mainly around my neck, jawline and T zone. Then 2 weeks ago I cut out refined white sugar i.e. cookies, cakes, ice cream and so on and my skin is clear! I still eat plenty of carbs such as whole wheat, brown rice, oats etc. I hope that this continues and the acne stays away. I can live happily without sugar and acne! Everyone has different levels of tolerance to certain substances so keep trying to find yours

Hello all,

This is really helpful discussion, thanks everyone.  I just started eating vegan again a week ago and started getting pimples all around my nose... and typically I never get any acne at all!  Hoping it will clear up, but it's a small thing compared to how much better I feel already.

Here's a study on links between cow's milk (and all of the hormones in it) and acne: http://truthinaging.com/face/the-link-between-dairy-and-acne

Hi Kelly,

That's great you've gone vegan!  I hear you, I've been there, now much better!

You might try visiting an accupuncturist, or something of this nature,

as from my experience, and you could be different, 

you may have to much cold internally/ in the lower body

which can cause the heat to go upward and cause breakouts

(everyone is different- yet a vegan diet can be cooling)

to much heat can also cause that- like spicy foods

yet see if this at all resonates/feels like it could be

try drinking some ginger tea, or adding ginger, cumin, tumeric, fennel

to your diet, 

check your supplements too for any additives,

Mega Foods is pretty good and Health Force Nutritionals,

and probiotics can't hurt

You might try doing some yoga, even also deep breathing and meditation

to assist the body in cleansing,

so also watch your hormones, over all health

you might need to adjust your fat intake or fats

hemp oil is good, (omega 3 and 6s are important)

its easier to digest than flax oil, more neutral I believe, (flax is cold)

borage oil is great for the skin, walnuts can have that (if not rancid of course!)

sprouted flax seeds (which also have DHA I believe it is- brain, few vegan sources)

maybe keep journal and see,

depending on what you are eating exactly can trigger

to much salad fruit etc can creat too much cold,

whereas sometimes raw is what really helps others!

or me often times its seasonal, 

detoxing is good, but if its causing a lot of problems sometimes you need to take a step back and see if its detoxing or affecting your health,

if there is to much cold digestion doesn't work as optimally and toxins can get stuck (to put it one way, very overarching)  to much heat too can cause trouble- skin...

balance

talk to a trusted advisor, professional,

maybe read a book by Maya Tawari (Ayurveda)  like Ayurveda: A Life of Balance

I don't know as much on macrobiotics as to authors, yet she uses brown rice....

she takes a more whole food, wider range approach to it, not just Indian food....

 a whole change in diet is a big thing for some bodies,

imbalances can occur that do clear up too- 

so finding what will assist you in the process to balance will be beneficial

so you can glow within and without!

(benonite clay mask can help, just add a little water to a little handful)

:)

oh, the visiting someone was/is for a assessment,

confirmation

the ayurvedic books have self tests as to constitution that can help determine thermal nature of foods best for you

(its not all about the list though!) a helfpul tool

Just be here now!

Peace