Acne went away while traveling?

[CarllraC]

I was traveling for a month overseas, and the acne I have about my eyebrows nearly completely went away. There were still some reddish bumps, but I imagine those would take some time to heal. The bad stuff was completely gone, only to come back within 2 days of my return, and I'm trying like hell to figure out why. I mean, we were backpacking so I didn't even shower or wash every day. A few times I went 3 days without showering.

Could it have been my diet? I ate a lot more vegetables and cured meats, and probably a ton less hydrogenated oils and saturated fats.

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Jl24]

Do you usually eat fast food? What's your usual diet like?

 

[coatandthai]

I've often wondered whether showering and washing too frequently actually stimulates sebum secretion. Also, warm weather keeps pores open (and unclogged) and sunshine seems to help too.

 

[Toiletduck]

where exactly did you go?

When I was a teenager, I found that my skin improved when I moved to cooler drier areas. (from Hong Kong to London, UK)...

 

[King Francis]

How warm do you keep the temperature in your house or apartment? Too warm and it will worsen acne problems. And like the others said, diet can also play a role.

Without knowing more specifics, I would recommend that you wash your face once or twice a day with a good cleanser (derma e products are great), keep the temperature in your place not more than two or three degrees above 70, and stay away from fast food. If you've already got those bases covered, then maybe you can give us more details to help pinpoint the cause of the problem.

 

[tiecollector]

Originally Posted by CarllraC

I was traveling for a month overseas, and the acne I have about my eyebrows nearly completely went away. There were still some reddish bumps, but I imagine those would take some time to heal. The bad stuff was completely gone, only to come back within 2 days of my return, and I'm trying like hell to figure out why. I mean, we were backpacking so I didn't even shower or wash every day. A few times I went 3 days without showering.

Could it have been my diet? I ate a lot more vegetables and cured meats, and probably a ton less hydrogenated oils and saturated fats.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Saturated fats aren't necessarily bad, the hydrogenated oils are though. Also, was this a place where they don't put sugar in everything? Sugar will contribute to breakouts. Diet certainly plays a crucial role too. Balancing essential ***** acids and stuff should certainly cut down on the oiliness of your skin.

I've heard that seabuckthorn soap works quite well too. I am going to try some here shortly.

Originally Posted by coatandthai

I've often wondered whether showering and washing too frequently actually stimulates sebum secretion. Also, warm weather keeps pores open (and unclogged) and sunshine seems to help too.

This was disproven over 50 years ago by dermatologists, even though hair stylists still try to push this idea.

 

[CarllraC]

I visited places about the same temperature as here. Drier though.

Temp is 72 degrees.

I normally eat a fair bit of processed food, some fast food, and few vegetables. You might say my diet isn't real clean. On the trip I ate a lot of cured meats, many more vegetables, and a lot of bread.

Oh yeah, I also drank a butt load of water...could that be it? Because I know when I got to Italy from Algeria, my acne started up again...and I wasn't drinking nearly as much water. Actually it's kind of interesting why I wasn't, you see, Italy has no ******* drinking fountains, and bottled water is expensive, and when you get it, it's cold and therefore prevents chugging. Whereas in Algeria you can get luke warm 1.5L bottles for like 10 cents (but you can't drink the tap water)

 

[tiger02]

Originally Posted by CarllraC

you see, Italy has no ******* drinking fountains,

Rome is famous for having drinking fountains with the best water in the world on every corner. Naples has them at a fair rate as well. I don't remember about Florence, but there were at least a few in each of the small towns on the Amalfi Coast. Didn't look in Milan. Palermo might not have had as many as the cities farther north, which makes sense because I don't think the Roman acqueducts ever reached Sicily.

Sure, none of the drinking fountains are made of aluminum with plastic push-bar dispensers molded with little fingers to tell you to "push here," but those usually have chemicals that make the water taste like crap anyway.

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Tom

 

[Bandwagonesque]

The best natural cure for acne, diet aside, I believe is to sweat it out... I'm talking cardio, saunas, tantric sex, whatever...

 

[Stazy]

water intake plays a major role in how clear my skin is. The more i drink, the better my skin gets.

 

[dusty]

The same thing happens to me when I go home for extended periods of time, like holiday breaks. I think it may have to do with how much sleep I get.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Originally Posted by tiecollector

This was disproven over 50 years ago by dermatologists, even though hair stylists still try to push this idea.

What was disproven? At least one part of his assertion is true.

 

[streetfighter]

I really think it has to do with showering and not washing your face. I noticed that when I stopped washing my face with cleansers, my face cleared up. So essentially all those anti-acne cleaners were actually causing me to have acne go fig.