Coffee and adult acne (long post)

Hi everyone,

I saw a post a little while ago about quitting drinking coffee having helped someone's acne. Well, the same thing has really benefitted me and I'd recommend it to anyone.

I'm 23 and Roaccutane worked wonders for the Acne I suffered from as a teenager. However, for the past few years I'd had lots of very deep, painful, red spots appearing on my face and chest, which almost didn't feel like conventional Acne at all. They also didn't seem to be helped at all by Retin-A, erythromycin lotion etc. I started to get more and more of these and in desperation and frustration about 6 months ago I tried giving up wheat products, dairy, tea and coffee. Hard work but it really helped, and my skin was finally clear! I gradually started eating bread and dairy products again, and that was OK. Last month I went on holiday and drank cups of coffee all week, and bingo, the spots reappeared...

Back off the coffee and my skin is clear again (fingers and toes crossed). I do miss espresso, but it's worth it. It seems like you have to give up all kinds of coffee, even decaffeinated. I drink hot water with lemon juice instead, which is nice once you get used to it!

There are other theories about Sugar being a cause of adult acne, and I've noticed that if I eat sweets my skin feels very itchy. However, I didn't have the self-discipline to cut out Sugar altogether, and so far coffee seems to be doing the trick.

While I'm here I'd also say that (in the UK) Lush's 'Herbalism' cleanser is fantastic for very oily skin. Also, if you use Retin-A cream I'd recommend switching to Retin-A gel, as the cream (bizarrely) contains a chemical which is comedogenic (isopropyl myristate). A useful list of chemicals which may contribute to Acne is here: http://www.zerozits.com/Articles/article6.htm.

Finally, a link to some info on new treatments: http://acne-rx-skincare.com/best-acne-treatment-1.html.

The sooner we find a complete cure for acne the better, people don't realise how difficult and painful a disease it can be. I'd like to wish the best of luck to everyone here.

Take care,

Anna