Liver supplements are doing the rounds at the moment as the latest functional food hack, but does anyone actually know why they are taking them?
Does liver do anything to help acne?
Is liver worth the hype and the freeze dried price tag?
Let’s explore 👇🏼
Read More…I am at the point where I can tell someone’s acne root cause just from looking at a photo of their skin. I’ve spoken to hundreds of women about their acne and although your skin might seem like an impenetrable maze of potential cause and effect, trust me when I say that there will be a pattern.
You just need a little help in identifying the clues that your skin is giving you. Your skin is always communicating with you and trying to heal for you. It just doesn’t speak english!
Read MoreWHICH PROBIOTIC SHOULD I TAKE FOR ACNE? This would be on my FAQ page if I had one.
Probiotic specificity matters. Like all supplements, the one that works is the one that most targets your acne underlying root cause!
To keep it super simple, let's assume that you have identified your gut as your acne root cause. I know the first place you'll go is the probiotic fridge at your local health food store or pharmacy, so if you insist on DIYing it, read on!
Read MoreYou’ve probably heard all about the gut-brain connection, right? But did you know that there is also a pretty strong connection that exists between your gut and your skin?
In fact, you could consider the skin as a mirror for your digestive system - if it’s not functioning at its prime it is likely going to show up, in some way or another, on your skin. T
Read MoreAcne anxiety is real! You aren’t imagining it! It really does exist and it can be incredibly debilitating and confidence zapping. It can make you feel miserable and question your self worth - but I’m here to tell you that you are not alone and that you don’t have to continue to deal with it.
I should know because I personally suffered with it for way too long.
Read MoreThis skin and I have been on quite a trip together over the last 15 years or so and maybe its one that is familiar to you…
✨ I’ve had acne on and off since I was about 14 years old. A few stray pimples in high school that could have been swiftly dealt with if I’d seen a Naturopath and been educated about sugar, dairy and stress.
Instead I went on the pill at age 16 👉🏼 about the same time I was downing cans of coke, mint slice biscuits, chocolate by the block, vanilla slices & ice coffee from the school canteen & an unhealthy volume of Smirnoff Double Blacks at parties on the weekend.
Most of us were sold the magic pill at the tender age of fourteen or fifteen. Whether it was THE pill (you know the one) or antibiotic pills or roaccutane, we have all been offered the cure-all.
🚫 If you’re reading this, chances are that it really wasn’t a cure-all in the end.
Read MorePerhaps your facialist has recommended you get on the Omega-3 fatty acids… stat!
So you get your grubby little mitts on the fish oil they recommend, or you have heeded the online advice of the professional skin industry to start taking omega-3 and selected a fish oil from the supermarket (I really hope it is the former)
What is with the hype around fish oil for skin and are you wasting your money on rancid oil!?
The long and short of it is… healthy fats help inflamed skin to calm the f*ck DOWN!
Read MoreSo you’ve been good ALL YEAR and all you want for Christmas is clear skin.
I hear you. Mariah Carey needs to get with the program and release a new single (All I Want for Christmas is You Slightly Less Acne THNX)
Unfortunately this time of year presents many challenges for those of us with a tendency towards acne & breakouts. You’ve got the trifecta: sugar, alcohol & the stress of rushing around, meeting family expectations, driving long distances to cram in festivities & let’s not forget Christmas shopping.
It’s enough to make anyone breakout.
Read MoreIf you are one of the 80% of women who currently experience some type of acne (so no, you are not the only one!) then you likely have had your fair share of pre-menstrual flare ups.
What do I mean by PMS acne?
I’m talking about acne or breakouts that occur in the two weeks or so before you get your period. If you have a relatively regular period every 4 weeks or so, then the pre-menstrual phase is the two weeks between ovulation and your period. This is known as the luteal phase and it is a whole other ball game when it comes to hormonal acne.
Testosterone driven acne gets a lot of attention but what about when testosterone is in normal levels, you haven’t got PCOS and yet you still get to experience the joy of random breakouts?
Read MorePOV: You’re you.
![The 3 Most Common Causes of Acne [that I see in my clinic]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b7e439e3c3a532735496dcd/1678122042289-TDBNFMT0C1G2546W90BM/unsplash-image-fRQQu2dW3G4.jpg)
“I feel like I’ve tried EVERYTHING and nothing works!”Now my turn:
If I had to choose one statement that I hear over and over again from my clients, it is THIS!
It is so common to feel this way because acne has a way of stripping all hope, optimism and faith out of you. It can sneak up on you and have you feeling completely frustrating, disheartened and demoralised.
When somebody tells me that they have tried everything, my follow up questions go something like this:
Read MoreAlmost everyone with acne has, at some point, tried antibiotics for their skin! It is a first line treatment for acne in conventional medicine and so it’s not surprising that the majority of my acne clients have experience with doxycycline - the good, the bad and the ugly!
The antibiotics used for acne are usually tetracycline antibiotics like doxycycline and minocycline. Interestingly, doxycycline seems to improve acne not by reducing acne causing bacteria, but by reducing inflammation in the skin.
We know that acne is an inflammatory condition - pimples are red, angry, swollen, hot, painful and produce pus. These are all the classic signs of inflammation!
Read MoreYou’ve probably noticed that your skin breaks out worse when you are under stress. Every chronic health issue is worse for stress. Stress does have acute benefits - cortisol is actually anti-inflammatory in the right circumstances- however modern day life has us under higher levels of stress, for longer.
Read MoreIf you are suffering with stubborn cystic acne, your hormones probably have something to do with it. You may have even googled ‘hormonal acne’, in an effor to understand wtf your hormones are doing and why are they torturing you like this, when all your friends get to eat pizza AND have clear skin!? First of all, you’re not alone. Welcome to the club - we have T-shirts. Androgenic acne is the term given to pimples and breakouts that are caused by hormones like testosterone. Testosterone falls under the category of androgen hormones - for the purpose of this article I’m using them interchangeably.
Read MoreAside from the pill, antibiotics like doxycycline are a first line treatment for acne and pimples in medicine. This perpetuates the misconception that acne and skin problems are solely caused by a bacterial infection and can be solved by taking oral antibiotics. But bacteria isn’t the only factor in acne.
Read MoreSpironolactone is a drug that is used primarily as a diuretic however it is also prescribed for the treatment of acne, despite acne not being one of the FDA-approved clinical indications for use. In Australia spironolactone is the ingredient in a medication called Aldactone.
Read MoreIs the sky blue? Are raw bliss balls delicious? The answer to all of these questions is (usually) yes. Zinc is a natural mineral found in many different foods and supplements. Zinc is a first line treatment when it comes to skin conditions like acne vulgaris, breakouts of pimples and oily skin.
Read MoreVeganism certainly seems to have a lot to offer when it comes to improving the health of your skin. Some clients come to me having already adopted a vegan diet, usually either for ethical reasons or because they want to ‘clean up’ their diet to help heal their skin.
Read MoreOne benefit frequently associated with doing a detox is clearer, glowing skin. The dream, right!? The premise behind this is a fairly old-school one. The idea that chronic skin conditions are borne from “dirty blood”. Essentially, the skin is a pathway of elimination that the body will use to rid itself of toxins and metabolic waste products that can’t efficiently be removed via other routes.
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Naturopath approved rituals to start your journey to clearer skin. Commit to 6 weeks of these easy and simple tricks and monitor the improvements to your skin! Before and after photos are the best way to measure changes.
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