How to Heal Acne
what causes acne?
The primary causes of acne are an excess of bad bacteria, parasites and toxins, diet and nutrition, digestion and assimilation, hormonal balance, medications, and stress and stored emotions.
What to explore first when you have acne
Diet
Whether you have clear skin or are dealing with acne or any other skin condition, choose an organic whole foods diet tailored to your own needs. Eliminate any and all processed foods from your diet and replace with simple health-promoting real foods.
Here are some general recommendations for foods to avoid if you are in the process of clearing acne and encouraging outstanding health:
foods to avoid
Processed and chemical "foods" of all types (these are not food!)
Refined grains and gluten containing grains. Definitely remove all gluten forever. Ideally, remove all grains at least temporarily.
All refined sugars, and natural sugars (including all starches and fruits). Low doses of glyphosate-free certified organic honey and low-glycemic fruits are okay after your cleanse period. Do not eat any sugars, including fruits during your cleanse period, ideally. Sugars feed the “bad guys” (parasites, bacteria, etc.)
Alcohol and caffeinated beverages. Remove all alcohol ideally forever, it is very bad for health and especially triggering for skin conditions.
Refined oils and seed oils.
Pasteurized conventional dairy products. Even raw, organic, pastured dairy can be a trigger for acne, though.
And here are some ideas for foods and superfoods you can incorporate in to your diet for health promotion:
foods To enjoy
Organic fresh colorful veggies, consumed raw or cooked depending on personal constitution, digestion, and preference. If eating raw, make sure your gut health is superb and you throughly clean and disinfect the produce first.
Nutrient dense wild foods, such as greens, herbs, and berries. Fresh Green Juices with no fruit can be an incredible way to nourish and cleanse the body.
Warm healing broths. Bone broth is amazing for health and digestion. If you are vegan, try broths and soups with lots of veggies, roots, herbs, and medicinal mushrooms.
Health promoting algaes, such as Marine Phytoplankton and Chlorella.
Raw fermented foods, like sauerkraut and coconut water kefir. Do NOT eat fermented foods if you have MCAS or Histamine Intolerance.
Healthy fats such as Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (do not cook with it), Organic Coconut Oil from Fresh Coconuts only, Organic grass-fed ghee or butter, Organic avocado, Organic pastured animal fats, and sun dried olives.
Stress
Stress destabilizes the body systemically, and can in-turn, cause acne. Stress can weaken the immune system, allow microbes to take over, and create endocrine imbalances. Learn how to be with emotions and move stuck emotions through your body and regulate your nervous system (Irene Lyon’s programs are superior), slow down, nourish yourself with self-care, nature, and connection.
Hormones
Hormonal imbalance can trigger acne. The body can release too many androgenic hormones, which caused by increased insulin production or metabolic syndrome. This can cause a cascade of excess sebum production, congested follicles, and therefore, acne. Another scenario can be a sudden change in hormonal balance, such as that created by pregnancy or certain illnesses. Also, an imbalanced estrogen to progesterone ratio in the body can cause acne. The key thing to consider here, is what is upstream of the hormonal imbalance? Hormones are downstream of other issues always. It often is stress or trauma, microbes, and toxicity.
Medications
Some medications that can trigger acne due to the imbalances that they create in the body. Contraceptive pills are a commonly used medication that create major long-term health problems and can also bring on acne. While antibiotics are important in some in cases of serious medical need or life-threatening infections, using them casually for any reason, especially for acne is highly detrimental. Chronic antibiotic use as a child absolutely destroyed my health into adulthood. By using antibiotics in hopes of improving acne, you are actually setting up a cycle of poor overall health and worsening the root causes of acne in the first place.
How to Treat Acne at it’s root cause
1. Open Drainage Pathways
Drainage
This image illustrates the order in which fluids move through the body to remove toxins. When this drainage funnel gets clogged and stagnation occurs in the colon or liver, toxins get dumped into the the bloodstream. The toxins then move through the blood and are picked up by the skin, lungs, and kidneys.
If you have acne, or any chronic skin condition, this means that your cells, organs, tissues, lymphatic system, liver, bile ducts, and colon are all clogged and are showing you on your skin that you need detoxification
So, how do we unclog our drainage pathways? We need to address each area.
Skin -
If you have skin eruptions, it can mean that your other drainage pathways below are backed up and the toxins are forced to exit the skin. Here are some ways to intentionally draw toxins out through the skin.
Skincare - Explore Elaa’s masks and ozonated products to cleanse and detox the skin.
Sauna - I also use an infrared sauna at least once a week, to remove toxins through the skin via sweat. Start low and slow and work your way up to higher temperatures and longer times in the sauna as tolerated.
This is one the best sauna and red light set ups.
This is a wonderful, more affordable option.
Baths - Epsom Salt baths help draw toxins from the skin.
Kidneys - Hydrate with half your body weight of Distilled or Reverse Osmosis water to support the kidneys to lessen exposure to radioactive elements and dissolved solids. Take KL Support (Enter LxgHzGOs as the Patient Direct Code) or Urinary & Renal Support Tonic to support Kidney drainage.
Lungs - Breath Work (closed mouth for inhalation always) can help to clear and detox the lungs, as well as help to regulate the nervous system. Do not do any stimulating, intense, or open mouth breath work, as it activates the sympathetic nervous system and unprocessed trauma. This is not what we want to do when detoxing.
Colon & Liver/Bile Ducts - Coffee enemas or enemas using Advanced Tudca ( Enter LxgHzGOs as the Patient Direct Code) are very powerful for opening up colon and liver drainage. These can easily be done at home. In fact, I love doing them and once you experience how you feel afterwards, will too. 1-2 times per week during detox is ideal. This is my favorite enema kit. My favorite enema coffee is from Purelife or S.A. Wilson’s.
Liver/Bile Ducts - A gentle, yet effective way to detoxify the liver that be done daily are using castor oil packs. Use liver supporting herbs regularly, such as Liver Detox & Support Tonic and KL Support (Enter LxgHzGOs as the Patient Direct Code).
Lymphatics - This is an often overlooked, but essential part of detoxification. You want to continuously be moving the lymph. I use this Vibration Plate, this body gua sha, and an ionic body brush for lymphatic drainage. You can also user a rebounder instead of the vibration plate. Another option is getting regular lymphatic massages.
Binders are critical throughout the detoxification process. Use all of these binders (Biotoxin, ViRadChem, Carboxy, HM-ET) in order as you go through the protocols. (Enter LxgHzGOs as the Patient Direct Code)
2. Nourish
These are some valuable supplements that you might consider incorporating into your process as you heal your acne and your body for overall support.
Probiotics and digestive enzymes to support the digestive system.
Plant-derived MSM. taken with high quality, food-based, Liposomal Vitamin C (vitamin C increases absorption of MSM, in addition to being great for the skin and immunity)
Herbs like Horsetail and Nettle (rich in silica: a beauty mineral)
Tonic herbs such as schizandra, reishi mushroom, and pearl powder, traditionally used to beautify the skin and bring balance to the entire body
3. Go after the Root Cause
For acne, I highly recommend going through the entire Foundational Protocol. First, do all the steps mentioned above to set yourself up for the best possible results. Once you have those in place, You will need to treat the toxins and microbes that are causing the acne. (Enter LxgHzGOs as the Patient Direct Code)
4. Treat Topically
Adopting a healthy skin care routine will make a significant difference in your skin and overall health. Start by immediately eliminating all chemical acne treatments, like benzoyl peroxide, or any other “medicated” products from your life. These not only have a drying effect on the skin that is damaging, but the chemicals themselves are placing a heavier load of your body's ability to detoxify.
The best topical treatment for Acne
A miraculously powerful and effective fully ozonated treatment balm for face and body. Highly concentrated, it regenerates skin and tissues with fully ozonated oil and generous concentrations of the most highly therapeutic oils to create healing and renewal for any skin troubles. We use medical oxygen, only glass, and no heat to produce the highest quality ozonated oils. Full ozonation means there are no waxes and no fillers. It is a thick gel at room temperature and cooler… all due to the ozonation process. It takes long periods of time to achieve this full ozonation. The oils work synergistically to soothe, reduce signs of aging, reduce inflammation, rejuvenate, calm all kinds of skin conditions, improve circulation, clear toxins, ease pain, revitalize cells, reduce scar tissue, and stimulate the growth of new, healthy, properly structured collagen.
A little goes a very long way! Just a tiny dab is enough to cover the entire face.
Strength - Choose Full Strength for most cases and for the best results. Full Strength is the original After the Rain formula. If you have been using After the Rain, this is the option to choose. Choose Ultra Sensitive for babies, pets, or for skin conditions that are highly active and reactive to everything. This is not the original version of After the Rain. The difference in the two versions is that Ultra Sensitive contains no essential oils. We use the same box for both with the Full Strength ingredients listed on it, but your Ultra Sensitive will have a sticker on it indicating it is that version and meaning there are no essential oils in it.
Scent - Ozone has a unique and distinctive scent - expect the scent of medical ozone when experiencing your ozonated products. That unique ozone scent means you have a powerfully healing product completely saturated with ozone. It can take some getting used to for some people.
Heat Sensitive - This product will become liquid if warm. If it is over 65 degrees F where you live, place it in the refrigerator for a few hours prior to opening the jar so it can return to its solid form. Keep it in the refrigerator during warm weather to keep it solid and also to maintain the best potency over the long-term.
Use - Please note that this is a highly concentrated balm. It works best as a spot treatment or you can dilute it with Moonlight Mist or water if you wish to cover your entire face. Always, patch test first and gradually get your skin used to it if you are sensitive. Ozone is a powerful detoxifier, and if you are very sensitive or dealing with health or skin conditions, a detox response is possible. See The Elaa Ritual below for more details on how to use it.
