Anyone found cutting dairy to help acne?

[Fab90]

My skin has been terrible since lockdown started last April. Prior to that, it had been clear for years. I’ve just given silver serum a try and it didn’t work. Would cutting out dairy help? I’ve had 2 rounds of roaccutane in the past.

Thanks.

It might do, it might not. Ive cut out dairy for a few months now and as a result my scalp is MUCH less oily than it used to be so it can help with reducing oil production.
You probably need to try it and see.
(btw oatley barista milk is the best dairy substitute ive found for making great coffees etc - its so creamy!).

You could also try spearmint tea as some people find that very helpful for balancing hormonal oil production:

www.byrdie.com/spearmint-tea-acne-remedy

My husband swears it helps his skin. He had acne on his chin. He is now dairy free most the time. But he actually had 2 different lots of acne medication as well - about 2 years apart. I don't know if that's roaccutane - it was a discreet course of tablets (antibiotics perhaps?).

Oddly enough it unexpectedly helped my mood but not my skin. I wonder if my mood was hormonal.

YES, when I cut down on it to about 10% of my normal intake my acne goes, over Christmas when I was eating cheese and yogurt with abandon, the acne returns. Not a scientific study but that happens every time, I think some people are just more sensitive.

And agree with previous post, since I’ve been drinking 1 very strong cup of spearmint tea a day my hormonal acne (painful spot once a month, either side of chin) is significantly reduced. I microwave the tea after making it with boiling water as apparently that releases more of the catchecins (sp?) or something :)

Thank you so much for your responses. I really appreciate them all. I think I will give it a go, and thanks for the non dairy milk recommendation- I like cereal in the morning. I’ll try spearmint tea too. Any recommended brand? My acne is primarily on my chin and round and underneath my nostrils. It looks terrible at the moment.

I also had acne in exactly the places you mention (chin, jaw and around my nostrils). Giving up milk (I still ate a bit of yoghurt and cheese, but gave up the two or three lattes each day, plus milk on cereal) cleared my skin within a month. It also got rid of the bumps on my forehead and on the back of my arm.
Another thought, are your spots really acne? I think I did have some hormonal acne, but I also had very persistent red bumps, which looked like acne but never came to a head, with flaky skin around my nose and mouth. When these started to appear around my eyes (and inside my eye-lids - ouch!) I saw a dermatologist who said it was perioraldermititus and prescribed an antibiotic which cleared it. Too harsh a cleansing routine, too abrasive products, or too rich moisturizing can cause this, so the skin care I was following for what I thought was acne was actually making my skin worse.

Thanks Ruthie, thats a really interesting post. I don’t actually eat that much dairy. I don’t drink dairy at all and rarely eat yogurt and have cheese once a week. I just have a small amount of milk in my cereal most days. Sounds like cutting out dairy is worth trying though.

I do have some huge bumps which don’t come to a head and stay for ages. Ok d say at least part, if not all, is acne. I really really thought I was over all this. I’d had 8 years of good skin.

I’m allergic to it and it never helped me. You can do roaccutane again, one of my derm nurses had done 3 courses.

After I took roaccutane the consultant said to request a referral back to them if it came back & not to bother with gp treatments.

I think it’s hormonal. Dairy probably doesn’t help . I hate to say it but since I stopped wearing foundation my skin has improved. I’ve had pretty bad acne on chin, jaws & cheeks. I’m using a prescription but not wearing makeup has definitely helped. Oh and CeraVe SA cleanser - definitely helps too.

For me it was 100% dairy. I just cut out the daily excess, oat milk on cereal, soya milk in coffee, no cheese, dairy free options but not totally dairy free - I eat butter on toast or in a biscuit now and then. This solved my skin issue, if I eat dairy, like cheese and cream at Christmas then I break out. I now cut dairy out before holidays (remember those) or special occasions and my skin is great!

My rosacea and hormonal acne both disappeared when I stopped eating meat and dairy. I wish I had tried it years ago. I have now reintroduced small amounts of cheese, but no butter cow's milk.

Thank you everyone! It’s so hard isn’t it- what works for one doesn’t work for someone else and so on. I was told when I was prescribed Roaccutane for the second time that they wouldn’t prescribe it again due to diminishing returns. But that was 8 years ago and I’m in a different area now so I could try my luck... ideally I’d rather not go on it due to the side effects, but if I can’t get my skin sorted any other way, then I’ll have to see if I can get it prescribed.

I’ll look into the Cerave cleaner, thanks. I’ve actually not been wearing make up much at all due to working from home and not going anywhere ‘nice’ but it hasn’t helped, sadly.

I will try cutting out dairy. I’d rather solve this without taking pills. Unfortunately the BCP never worked for me or I’d go back on that. It dealt with oiliness but did nothing for the acne.

Palanquins spearmint tea on Amazon is what I’ve been using.

Omg, yes to the same spearmint tea, it helps with my PCOS ( hair on my chin and sideburns)
I've stopped diary in the past as was suffering from post-pregnancy cystic acne ( on my chin, huge deep cysts, they took literally months to heal ) and I could definitely see an improvement. And I swear by La Roche Posey Effaclar

I think this is just one of things that either works for your it doesn't, if you know what I mean! It didn't seem to make may diff for me but I do rate DIM herbal supplements.

I read someone say that logically it will cause hormonal break outs because of the hormones it due to it being breast milk .. I have great skin and don't eat dairy so maybe it's that or maybe luck !

I used to have great skin until I was about 33 and then I started getting quite bad hormonal acne. On a prescription for it now. I used to eat much more dairy when I was younger than I do now.... but it might be worth a shot anyhow! The thoughts of giving up cheese!!

Nope. I am very lactose intolerant so I don't eat it anyway. Made no difference. What has helped is La Roche Posay Effaclar! Also hardly ever wearing any make-up over the last ten months...

LRP Effaclar is the greatest of all time ❤️

Quitting dairy Made a massive difference to me - I've gone back to because I missed it too much and my skin isn't great again so its definitely related

Yes 100%. I had skin problems from the time I was a teenager until I was in my 30s. I really wish I'd known earlier. I haven't had a single pimple since I gave up dairy.

I read Woody Harrelson of all people talking about how giving up dairy resolved his acne too.

Definitely.

However, in the toss up between clear skin and cheese, cheese won. But at least I know how to clear it up if ever I feel the need to.

Dairy is a really good source of vitamin d and protein though, cutting out a whole food group V a course of antibiotics?.

We should all be taking vitamin d regardless though in this country.

Plenish is a good brand for non-dairy milks. They’re not enriched though.