enchanted_elixir
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Introduction
Unfortunately, most of my looksmaxing efforts have been dedicated to the extirpation of comedones. Despite being past my puberty years, comedone formation would persist, and it seemed like no matter what I did, I would never find full relief from it.
Over the course of a little more than a year, and only a few of them have granted me salvation from comedonal acne. Within the past four months, I have accidentally stumbled on a solution which has granted me a pretty solid salvation from comedonal acne. Before I explain the solution I stumbled on, I need to go into the cell and molecular biology of how comedones form.
Comedonal Formation
Androgens are a class of hormones ( play a significant role in hormonal comedonal acne formation, and hormonal acne begins with androgens binding to the androgen receptor of sebocytes. Once the androgen binds to the androgen receptor on a sebocyte, it tells the sebocyte to produce sebum, if you have an excess of free testosterone, your sebocytes can produce an excess amount of sebum.
High levels of free testosterone can be caused by high insulin spikes (diet issue and/or insulin resistance), puberty, anabolic steroids, selective androgen receptor modulators, low levels of sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and/or genetics, among others.
If there is an excess amount of sebum inside of a hair follicle, a harmless bacteria called cutibacterium acnes begins metabolizing the excess sebum, rapidly reproduces, and becomes a problem. Once your white blood cells take note of this, they begin to flood the area and fight the excess bacteria. All of this mess creates pus, and a comedone.
Non-Hormonal Comedone Formation
The probability that you have non-hormonal acne is slim. If you do have non-hormonal acne, chances are, you are applying comedone forming substances on your skin (hair products, skin products, coconut oil, etc.). I recommend that you type every single ingredient you apply on your skin into ChatGPT and ask for comedogenic ratings.
Things That Do Not Work
In my experience, skincare will not defeat acne. At best, it can reduce acne significantly by preventing new breakouts. Omega-3 fatty acids have not helped me, they help reduce inflammation and decrease sebum production, thereby reducing (but not defeating) acne. Same goes for multivitamins, salicylic acid (helps get rid of acne quickly though), cleansers, moisturizers and spot treatments.
Things That Do Work/Help Significantly
A good diet that does not cause a massive insulin spike (does not cause your skin to become greasy or oily 5 minutes after taking a bite) or increases free testosterone levels to excessive levels definitely helps in my experience (I don't know the amount which constitutes excessive free testosterone sadly).
In my case, my acne formation primarily consisted of...
Eat something I should not have eaten -> aggressive insulin spike -> spike in free testosterone -> spike in sebum, often too much -> comedone formation.
Ketogenic diets are what helped me keep relatively clear skin last summer, due to their low carbohydrate content and thus, does not really trigger heavy insulin spikes. The foods I have on my "suspicious" list are: pasta, cheese, bread, rice (especially white) and anything with any form of starch. Those foods consistently give me the greasy face effect indicative of an aggressive insulin spike. Being healthy and eating in such a manner that counteracts metabolic issues like insulin resistance certainly helps.
Retinoids are a class of substances (retinol, tretinoin, isotretinoin, adapalene, retinaldehyde) that increase skin cell turnover (rate of acne healing) and decrease sebum production. Using retinoids are definitely key in defeating acne. I have had good experiences with tretinoin last summer, Vitamin A megadosing (retinyl palmitate, 200,00 IU/day, closest thing to isotretinoin for brokies) and isotretinoin currently. Isotretinoin is by far the strongest sebum production inhibitor I have tried but they all work, and work well.
Spearmint is truly impressive! It increases sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which reduces the amount of free testosterone by binding to testosterone, therefore making it inactive. Think of it like a police officer (SHBG) putting a criminal (testosterone) in a cop car, making the criminal "inactive". With higher SHBG levels, the amount of androgens binding to androgen receptors at sebocytes are reduced significantly. I have taken at least 1000 mg daily for the past 2 weeks now (in supplement form, although spearmint tea works just as well). This has enabled me to eat foods that would have left me looking like a comedone chipped cookie the next day with negligible issues. Yesterday, I ate macaroni and cheese (Chick-fil-A), Little Caesar's Crazy Puffs, and a Chick-fil-A sandwich, with only 1 small acne and 8-10 ultra-small pimples, all which will resolve themselves in 3 days maximum and were barely noticeable. Spearmint is truly a weapon. I'm considering buying spearmint oil and adding a drop into my skincare products. I think the reason I am acne-prone in the first place is a combination of insulin issues and low SHBG.
Being in peak health & having hormone balance is certainly beneficial. Not getting deep, refreshing sleep every night is a health risk in it of itself and it also lowers your SHBG, makes your insulin spikes more intense, and in general, increases your risk for acne by a fair amount due the body's ability to regulate itself being impaired. Master your sleep, nutrition, and fitness habits.
And finally, once you've defeated acne, use Matrixyl, Copper Peptides, Vitamin C Serum, or any other collagen-boosting item and use it for a few months. This will increase your skin's collagen and elastin to glass skin levels! I'm using Matrixyl right now, and used Vitamin C in the past, and they helped so much so quickly!
Dear pubertycels: this could inhibit your development.
P.S. I do not really have a skincare routine. I just take Isotretinoin (will swap for retinyl palmitate supplements when I'm done with it) and Spearmint everyday and avoid the suspicious foods listed above, on top of using sunscreen, moisturizer and Matrixyl.
Unfortunately, most of my looksmaxing efforts have been dedicated to the extirpation of comedones. Despite being past my puberty years, comedone formation would persist, and it seemed like no matter what I did, I would never find full relief from it.
- I have tried the stereotypical skincare routine, which consist of; cleansers, moisturizers, and spot treatments.
- I have tried megadosing retinyl palmitate (200,000 IUs/day).
- I have tried using salicylic acid.
- I have tried using Accutane.
- I have tried using spearmint supplements.
- I have tried taking Omega-3 supplements.
- I have tried taking Multivitamins.
- I have tried drinking plenty of water.
- I have tried changing my diet (keto, cutting out certain foods).
Over the course of a little more than a year, and only a few of them have granted me salvation from comedonal acne. Within the past four months, I have accidentally stumbled on a solution which has granted me a pretty solid salvation from comedonal acne. Before I explain the solution I stumbled on, I need to go into the cell and molecular biology of how comedones form.
Comedonal Formation
Androgens are a class of hormones ( play a significant role in hormonal comedonal acne formation, and hormonal acne begins with androgens binding to the androgen receptor of sebocytes. Once the androgen binds to the androgen receptor on a sebocyte, it tells the sebocyte to produce sebum, if you have an excess of free testosterone, your sebocytes can produce an excess amount of sebum.
High levels of free testosterone can be caused by high insulin spikes (diet issue and/or insulin resistance), puberty, anabolic steroids, selective androgen receptor modulators, low levels of sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and/or genetics, among others.
If there is an excess amount of sebum inside of a hair follicle, a harmless bacteria called cutibacterium acnes begins metabolizing the excess sebum, rapidly reproduces, and becomes a problem. Once your white blood cells take note of this, they begin to flood the area and fight the excess bacteria. All of this mess creates pus, and a comedone.
Non-Hormonal Comedone Formation
The probability that you have non-hormonal acne is slim. If you do have non-hormonal acne, chances are, you are applying comedone forming substances on your skin (hair products, skin products, coconut oil, etc.). I recommend that you type every single ingredient you apply on your skin into ChatGPT and ask for comedogenic ratings.
Things That Do Not Work
In my experience, skincare will not defeat acne. At best, it can reduce acne significantly by preventing new breakouts. Omega-3 fatty acids have not helped me, they help reduce inflammation and decrease sebum production, thereby reducing (but not defeating) acne. Same goes for multivitamins, salicylic acid (helps get rid of acne quickly though), cleansers, moisturizers and spot treatments.
Things That Do Work/Help Significantly
A good diet that does not cause a massive insulin spike (does not cause your skin to become greasy or oily 5 minutes after taking a bite) or increases free testosterone levels to excessive levels definitely helps in my experience (I don't know the amount which constitutes excessive free testosterone sadly).
In my case, my acne formation primarily consisted of...
Eat something I should not have eaten -> aggressive insulin spike -> spike in free testosterone -> spike in sebum, often too much -> comedone formation.
Ketogenic diets are what helped me keep relatively clear skin last summer, due to their low carbohydrate content and thus, does not really trigger heavy insulin spikes. The foods I have on my "suspicious" list are: pasta, cheese, bread, rice (especially white) and anything with any form of starch. Those foods consistently give me the greasy face effect indicative of an aggressive insulin spike. Being healthy and eating in such a manner that counteracts metabolic issues like insulin resistance certainly helps.
Retinoids are a class of substances (retinol, tretinoin, isotretinoin, adapalene, retinaldehyde) that increase skin cell turnover (rate of acne healing) and decrease sebum production. Using retinoids are definitely key in defeating acne. I have had good experiences with tretinoin last summer, Vitamin A megadosing (retinyl palmitate, 200,00 IU/day, closest thing to isotretinoin for brokies) and isotretinoin currently. Isotretinoin is by far the strongest sebum production inhibitor I have tried but they all work, and work well.
Spearmint is truly impressive! It increases sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which reduces the amount of free testosterone by binding to testosterone, therefore making it inactive. Think of it like a police officer (SHBG) putting a criminal (testosterone) in a cop car, making the criminal "inactive". With higher SHBG levels, the amount of androgens binding to androgen receptors at sebocytes are reduced significantly. I have taken at least 1000 mg daily for the past 2 weeks now (in supplement form, although spearmint tea works just as well). This has enabled me to eat foods that would have left me looking like a comedone chipped cookie the next day with negligible issues. Yesterday, I ate macaroni and cheese (Chick-fil-A), Little Caesar's Crazy Puffs, and a Chick-fil-A sandwich, with only 1 small acne and 8-10 ultra-small pimples, all which will resolve themselves in 3 days maximum and were barely noticeable. Spearmint is truly a weapon. I'm considering buying spearmint oil and adding a drop into my skincare products. I think the reason I am acne-prone in the first place is a combination of insulin issues and low SHBG.
Being in peak health & having hormone balance is certainly beneficial. Not getting deep, refreshing sleep every night is a health risk in it of itself and it also lowers your SHBG, makes your insulin spikes more intense, and in general, increases your risk for acne by a fair amount due the body's ability to regulate itself being impaired. Master your sleep, nutrition, and fitness habits.
And finally, once you've defeated acne, use Matrixyl, Copper Peptides, Vitamin C Serum, or any other collagen-boosting item and use it for a few months. This will increase your skin's collagen and elastin to glass skin levels! I'm using Matrixyl right now, and used Vitamin C in the past, and they helped so much so quickly!
Dear pubertycels: this could inhibit your development.
P.S. I do not really have a skincare routine. I just take Isotretinoin (will swap for retinyl palmitate supplements when I'm done with it) and Spearmint everyday and avoid the suspicious foods listed above, on top of using sunscreen, moisturizer and Matrixyl.
Last edited:
. it’s all diet and gut health
