PCOS and Acne

I speak for myself when I say PCOS is a B*tch.

I was diagnosed as a young teenager and struggled with the symptoms into mid adulthood. With diet and Face Reality I was able to clear my own acne. In an effort to help other women struggling with PCOS I wanted to share some information. 

Affecting about 10 million women in the world PCOS is not to be taken lightly. The exact reason why women develop PCOS is unknown, but it is considered a hormonal problem. It is the leading cause of female infertility and responsible for many more symptoms that affect the body physically and emotionally.

Hormonally speaking women with PCOS have higher levels of androgens in their bodies. The excess androgens are responsible for many of the PCOS symptoms including acne.

Women with PCOS are insulin resistant. Insulin allows the body to absorb glucose into your cells to use as energy. When you’re insulin resistant this can lead to increased blood glucose levels and cause the body to make even more insulin. Too much insulin can force your body to make more androgens.

It’s important to limit sugar and carbs in your diet when you have PCOS so your insulin levels don’t increase. With a diet geared towards low sugar and carbs, as well as avoiding foods known to aggravate acne, the breakouts that occur with PCOS are just as responsive and treatable as every other kind.

As we know there is no cure for PCOS but not having to worry about acne and wearing a symptom right on your face is a small victory. My programs are perfect for anybody ready to taking control of life with PCOS.

Foods that make acne worse

There’s a TON of information on the internet when it comes to your diet and acne. Don’t eat sugar, eat lots of fruit, don’t eat fatty foods, drink matcha powder. It can be confusing when there’s so much information. Even more frustrating is when the information you’re following isn’t true and makes your acne worse.

So here it is plain and simple. This is what you should avoid when you have acne.

Iodine (found in salt). This is the number one food you should be avoiding. Things like seafood, iodized salt, taco seasoning with tons of salt, anything with high amounts of iodine will aggravate acne. In fact I have a map of the United States in my office where I pin little flags where all my clients live. Most of these flags are in coastal states where people have diets with more seafood, seafood containing iodine.

We talk about your diet and how to best avoid iodine in your diet when you enroll in one of my acne programs. Removing iodine from your diet is actually really easy, and you won’t be giving up your favorite foods! I’ll teach you all of this and help you along the way.

Dairy, the one you always hear about. This one is true, dairy is a big acne aggravator. Not only does it contain iodine, but also added hormones. Whey protein is also dairy, so make sure to avoid protein drinks and protein bars containing dairy.

Soy is another culprit. Foods like edamame, soy sauce, soy protein are all foods that should be avoided.

BIOTIN also known as B7, this one seems to come up a lot. Commonly in “hair, skin, and nails” vitamins, it can be confusing why this is so bad. Remember from past posts, acne exists because of a predisposition for your skin’s pores to shed too many layers of skin, then accumulating and causing a pimple, pustule, or papule. Biotin speeds up cellular turnover, which is why you might notice your hair growing faster when you take it. Unfortunately when you have acne biotin just adds fuel to the fire. Watch out for biotin in supplements, health drinks, and especially avoid egg yolks which have a high amount. B12 also acts like Biotin, so be careful.

Androgenic foods like peanut butter, peanut oil, canola oil, and vegetable oil should be avoided too.

We go over this extensively in your consultation when you decide to make the choice to clear your acne. I will teach you how to change your diet to help your acne, and teach you how to introduce foods back into your diet when you graduate your acne clearing program.

***Food is not the cause of acne. Diet can have an impact on acne, but it takes hitting acne at every angle to get it clear. Diet combined with, herbs, supplements, and most importantly products used in the right way will clear your skin.***

Birth Control and Acne

Birth control pills, IUDs, implants and shots are widely used today and prescribed often as a means to control acne. Most forms of birth control can have the potential to cause acne and weight gain in those susceptible.

Typically birth control is divided up as estrogen or progestin dominant and have varying degrees of androgenic (testosterone like) effects. As a general rule of thumb, those with the potential for higher androgenic symptoms should be avoided for people prone to acne because they promote breakouts. As an acne sufferer it is important to **speak with your doctor about selecting a form of birth control that is higher in estrogen and lower in androgen potency.**

The most commonly prescribed in this category are:

Brevicon

Necon

Tri-Nessa

Demulan

Ortho Tricyclen

Tri-Previferm

Femcon

Ortho-Novum

Tri-Sprintec

Kelnor

Ovcon

Zovia

Modicon

Previferm

MonoNessa

Sprintec

It is best to AVOID the following that are high in androgen activity and low in estrogen:

Alesse

Kariva

Nexplanon

Amethyst

Lessina

Nordette

Apri

Levora/Levonest

Norplant

Azurette

Linessa

NuvaRing

Caziant

Loestrin

Ogestrel

Cryselle

Lo-Feminol

Ortho Tricyclen Lo

Cyclessa

Lo-Ogestrel

Ovral

Depo-Provera

Lo-Ovral

Paragard/Copper IUD*

Desogen

Lutera

Portia

Emoquette

Marvelon

Reclipsen

Estrostep Fe

Microgestin

Seasonale/Seasonique

Implanon

Mircette

Sronyx

Jolessa

Mirena or Skylar IUD

Triphasil/Trivora

Only you and your doctor can determine what form of birth control is right for you. The above is just a basic guideline that should be used to initiate a conversation between you and your physician. If you are considering using birth control, it is important to know that it can be associated with a high risk of blood clots, weight gain, nausea, mood changes, depression and breast tenderness. Serious side effects include strokes, digestive issues and embolism.

Finally, it is entirely possible to treat acne without using birth control. If you have no underlying health issues that require you to be on birth control and are considering using birth control only to control your acne, please feel free to talk with me to get some additional perspective on how I can help you without the use of birth control. 

*Although the Paragard/Copper IUD does not contain any hormones, it has been observed that it has aggravated acne.

Coconut Oil. One of social media’s favorite ways to ruin your skin.

You’re told over and over again on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, and other platforms that this miracle oil is a cure all. We cook with it, clean with it, moisturize with it, remove makeup with it, whiten teeth with it, all kinds of stuff that the internet says to do.

But what is coconut oil? Why is this oil being shoved down our throats? Is it really all that beneficial? What’s it really doing?

In recent years coconut oil has grown vastly in popularity. There’s been claims that it can do everything from clearing skin, supporting weight loss, and even slowing the progressions of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s beneficial to use as a hair treatment because the small molecules better penetrate your hair follicles. The antioxidant properties can be beneficial in a multitude of ways. It even reversed hepatosteatosis, a type of fatty liver disease in rodents.

Coconut oil can be great! But it can also be bad....

A survey published in July 2016 shows that 72% of people think coconut oil is healthy. Only 37% of nutritionist agree. Why is that? Because coconut oil has a saturated fat content of 90%. Saturated fats have been found to increase cardiovascular and other diseases.

But Mackenzie, what does this have to do with my skin?

Well! A coconut oil molecule is very small, this means that it easily passes through your skin’s pores. Coconut oil is extremely pore clogging, or comedogenic. So all these sources that say to use it as a moisturizer, makeup remover, cleanser, etc, are basically encouraging you to clog your pores!

But remember, only someone with the pre-existing hereditary condition of acne would be victim to coconut oil. So when you see somebody with perfect skin slathering it on, the acne has either not yet shown itself (since it takes 90 days to form and show), or they just don’t have the hereditary condition of acne.

***To clear your acne you need a healthy body, and a program of the right products used in the right way. Kempz programs are designed to fit exactly what your body and skin needs. The amount of education you receive through your clear skin journey will stay with you for life.***

Accutane. Your worst decision ever.

You may have heard about this drug in your own research when trying to treat your acne? Maybe your doctor even mentioned it? You’ve probably heard that there can be some side effects but dismissed these warnings with eyes laser focused on clear skin. Well.... maybe you should read this first.

First of all what is Accutane?

Isotretinoin is a drug used to treat severe acne that dermatologists have decided can’t benefit from other treatments.

This drug is a vitamin A derivative (retinoid), so your body reacts to it in a similar way that it does to vitamin A. Vitamin A quickly builds up in your tissue which can quickly lead to bigger problems.

Accutane does not fix the issue!

Acne is a hereditary condition of your skin’s pore where it sheds too many skin cells in a day. These accumulate inside your pore creating acne. Someone with this hereditary condition may never see acne on their face, that is because there has to be something that triggers it. Commonly that would be diet, poor gut health, external factors like makeup, or medications. If you never find and fix the trigger or supplement your skincare regimen elsewhere acne will always come back. Accutane does NOT address triggers, you are essentially putting a bandaid over the problem, that WILL create BIGGER problems later!

Isotretinoin will dry your body out for life.

Chronic dry eyes, bleeding nose, chapped lips, thinning and breaking hair, just to name a few. Your skin will be so fragile that sun exposure can scar your skin. Not only that but people have often experienced the palms of their hands, and soles of their feet peeling, cracking, and bleeding. It is even recommended that you do not wax your skin for 6 months AFTER taking it because your skin is so prone to irreparable damage.

Is temporary clear skin worth central nervous system damage?

For some clear skin meant permanent hearing loss. Ringing in the ears, and temporary hearing loss are not uncommon. Isotretinoin will increase pressure in your brain. Common side effects of pressure in your brain include:

• severe headache
• blurred vision
• dizziness
• nausea
• vomiting
• seizures
• Stroke

More serious mental health problems including depression, psychosis, and suicidal thoughts. Warning signs include emotional outbursts, withdrawal, and seeing or hearing things that aren’t real.

Say goodbye to a healthy digestive tract.

Problems along your digestive tract would include:

• bleeding gums
• a lack of appetite
• heartburn
• stomach pain
• bowel pain
• dark urine
• nausea
• vomiting
• diarrhea
• rectal bleeding

These symptoms could be warning you of severe problems to your:

• esophagus
• pancreas
• liver
• intestines

You are in big trouble if you get pregnant.

If you become pregnant during the time you’re taking this drug, or 4 weeks after (in my opinion not long enough), you are putting your baby at SERIOUS risk. Taking isotretinoin during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, death of the fetus, or premature birth. It can also lead to severe birth defects such as:

• small or missing ears
• hearing loss
• small eyes, which is called microphthalmia
• missing eyes
• a small or missing thymus gland, which is responsible for making white blood cells
• a cleft palate
• congenital heart defects

If that’s not enough It can also cause a buildup of fluid and pressure on the brain called hydrocephalus. This can lead to intellectual disabilities.

Babies may be born with an underdeveloped brain and small head, which is called microcephaly. This can lead to intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In fact pregnancy is taken so seriously with the use of this drug that you are required to enroll in a risk management program designed to prevent fetal exposure to isotretinoin called iPledge. This requires that you must use two forms of contraception and submit a negative pregnancy test to your physician each month while you’re taking isotretinoin.

Why would you take such a harmful drug if it doesn’t even work?

I have treated MANY clients who have come to me after Accutane doesn’t work. Can you imagine doing so much irreversible damage to your body only to continue experiencing breakouts? I have created programs with Face Reality that have a 95% success rate, naturally, without the use of drugs. That other 5% that don’t clear is because they don’t follow instructions, are not dedicated to the program, or are taking a medication that isn’t acne safe that they can’t go without (they usually still clear to about 85%). My programs are cheaper, work better, address the issue to not only get your skin clear quickly but KEEP your skin clear for life. Your health will not decline, your body will feel better as we address issues in your diet, and internal health. Educating you on your body, teaching you the tools to maintain your health, and of course giving you completely clear skin that doesn’t come back (unlike Accutane)

***Isotretinoin is an extremely harmful drug that is completely unnecessary in the fight against acne. I urge you, even BEG you, do NOT take this drug. It may be your biggest regret in life.***