Acne treatment can be confusing. When you’re dealing with this chronic skin issue, there are so many remedies and services out there, but few road signs on which way to turn. You may wonder if you should go see a dermatologist, esthetician, natural health provider, general doctor, or someone else. And for products, do you turn to prescriptions right off the bat or start with skin care products off the shelf? As a naturopathic doctor, these are the questions I figure my patients have been wading through. Many patients have already traveled down these different paths and if they’re seeing me, they found limited results, none at all, or maybe even worsening of symptoms.
When there are too many options and you’re pouring time and money into them, strangely, you may feel like just giving up. I’ve been there before, not knowing what to do next with my skin and feeling so overwhelmed that I just wanted to throw my hands up and surrender, “Oh well…what’s the use? My skin’s against me.” I’m telling you that the first (and best) step in healing acne is practicing this mindset: Don’t turn against your skin and don’t give up on it.
I can’t tell you exactly what turn to take at exactly what point for improving acne. In fact, I don’t believe a perfect recommendation exists because I don’t think you’re getting acne because you’re doing it all “wrong.” Acne gets us hypersensitive to watching every little thing we do, making us believe our every action might be feeding into an emerging pimple. Here, I want to help dispel the philosophy that there is a perfect quick fix for acne, either in products or a specific lifestyle. Often, advertised quick fixes can become the longest routes of all if they disrupt your overall health or make you think it’s less important to take care of your health than use the so-called instant answer.
You don’t have to transform into a different person in order to move toward clearer skin.
In this blog, I’ll offer education (especially on the mind-body connection underlying acne), information on natural therapies, simple at-home tips, foundations for skin health, and acne care and inspiration to keep moving toward healthier skin. The main goal of this blog is to show you that it’s very possible to stand up to acne without endlessly searching for a “miracle cure,” and by instead focusing on getting back in your skin and taking care of yourself, your way.
I love writing, and what I write about always ends up being what I talk about in-person with my patients. For me, my blogs and books have always been a dress rehearsal for the active doctor-patient teaching that goes on during an office visit. I look forward to keeping in touch with you readers to present an approach that you can practice at home to relieve symptoms of acne and support the innate strength and resilience of your skin. You can reclaim your skin and your life from acne.
Thanks for visiting my blog, and stay tuned!