A Naturopath's Acne Memoir: My Skin Story
This 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.
👉🏼 The Pill masked what I was doing to my blood sugar levels & hormones by suppressing ovulation and halting the production of adult levels of sex hormones. In hindsight I was probably also dealing with a bit of anxiety too.
I was effectively back in a pre-pubescent state on a hormonal level and the result? My skin was as soft & clear as a baby’s behind 😍 I look back at photos from the Pill years and think how I took that flawless alien looking skin for granted! Oh to be young and blissfully ignorant 😅
👉🏼 Then I started studying Naturopathy and learned the truth about hormonal contraception & decided to stop taking the Pill (no preparation & no clue as to the chaos that would ensue…)
🌞🌈✨ At first it was all sunshine & rainbows - my mood was better and my energy was more stable. About 6 months later, I got the beginnings of a pimple. Then another one. And then 20 or so more. Big, painful, red cysts.
This is really common after stopping the pill - you get a few months of grace and then BAM Post-Pill Acne 😵💫
🌶 Your body is now producing adult levels of sex hormones, hormones like testosterone can surge and your skin starts pumping out adult levels of sebum & keratin.
🥲 No more silky baby skin - you’re back in puberty and there are no survivors (sorry to be so grim but ifykyk…)
I would have used a photo of myself from this time… only that I refused to take any!
Then the acne anxiety kicked in. Oh yes, it’s a real thing:
❌ I avoided being in photos whenever possible
❌ I avoided bright lights / natural lighting that might show my skin more
❌ Tip-toeing around in the dark at my boyfriend’s house to remove my make-up so he wouldn’t see (lol even though he of course knew I had acne & didn’t care)
❌ That drop in the pit of your stomach / heavy heart feeling when you see a new breakout
❌ Feeling constantly on the verge of tears on a bad day
❌ Feeling like it was all anybody would see (even though friends & family don’t even remember me having acne... )
👉🏼 The next few years were a slow piecing together of my acne drivers & resolving them one by one. Every little thing helped and BOY do I WISH I knew then what I know now about Post-Pill Acne (and acne in general actually)
💸 It would have saved me a ton of time, money, tears and energy expended opening supplement bottles (I swear I developed RSI from opening and closing my tubs of fish oil)
But we got there in the end, this skin and I ~ and now all I have to worry about is laughter-induced smile lines & too much time spent in the sun.
I went from cystic acne to clear healthy skin.
Low self-esteem to feeling confident (even when I still occasionally break-out!)
Not feeling the need to wear make-up whenever I leave the house (tinted sunscreen is life)
Being friends with my skin instead of mortal enemies (hint: your skin isn’t out to get you…)
Accepting my skin even when it didn’t look the way I thought it should.
And I wouldn’t have figured any of this out if I hadn’t gone through the acne part first.
So that’s a bit of my story. If you’re thinking “hang on you totally skipped over the bit where you tell us exactly what you took/ate/did/didn’t do to clear your skin!!?!@!”
Well, that essay is neatly packaged up in my Post-Pill Acne Recovery Guide which you can find here: www.lexiemcphee.com/shop
🦋 It’s a skin-saving resource - this is what’s inside:
• Getting to know what’s actually going on with your skin after the pill (everything you hoped your doctor would explain to you)
• Finding the key drivers behind your acne so you don’t have to guess
• Easy to digest info about how blood sugar, inflammation, diet and stress impacts post-pill acne
• Nutritional gold nuggets and how to support your hormones and skin after the pill
• Free recipes and meal inspiration
• Beyond diet ~ learn about skin loving nutrients, how they help and what to look for in a supplement
• Rituals that you can do at home for free to take better care of your skin, support lymphatic drainage and fade scars!
• How to work on accepting and loving your skin even with break outs
BONUS ~ Seed cycling guide for hormonal balance
This e-Book is for you if you are:
Wanting to come off the pill:
If you are wanting to come off the pill but are terrified of your acne returning with a vengeance... This Recovery Guide includes all the things you can do to minimise Post-Pill Acne. I made sure to include everything I wish I had known!
Suffering from Post-Pill Acne:
I've been there - Post-Pill acne can be horrific, demoralising, detrimental to your self-confidence and the way you engage with your life. This guide is designed to help you understand and address the drivers or Post-Pill Acne and give you the tools to support your emotional and mental health too.
Needing expert nutritional tips & practical ways to support your skin’s healing:
The information in this guide is applicable to all types and causes of acne! I guarantee that you will learn something new. I treat acne all day long and have had my own journey too. I've done the research, had the experience and now I've written this guide for you!
Want to learn even more of my clear skin secrets?
