Mark's Daily Apple on how cutting out grains can help clear your skin

I wanted to pass along this post from Mark's Daily Apple (the site that I often reference when talking about my low glycemic index food intake and the Primal Blueprint). It talks about the correlation of grain intake (which causes inflammation), how grains can help cause acne and how changing what you put into your body can change what it puts out (but we already know this, right?). 

I followed the change that the Primal Blueprint suggests and I saw a dramatic improvement not only in my waistline but on my face once I started eliminating grains from my diet. It is not the exclusive way I got my skin to clear up (the acne.org regimen did most of the work), but was and still is an important part of it. And if you look like what I used to look like, you might want to consider giving it a try too!

Give it a read!

I Don't Like Proactiv and Here's Why [Part 2]

[04/30/10 - with makeup]

Continued from Part 1:

In a span of 3 months my skin problem went from moderately bad to severe. And the severe result is not something I’d experienced even in puberty. Yes, I had always had bad skin (and I know “bad” is a relative term, but you see what I mean now by bad) but this time it was WORSE! To be 25 years old battling severe cystic acne was probably among the worse and most painful, -emotionally and physically- experiences of my life. And for those who think that this could have been brought on by stress? Again, I say bullshit. Yes, hormonal changes (i.e.: menstrual periods) had an affect on my skin, but the breakouts I’d get were minimal and were easily manageable. I could wait 4 days or, just use the Proactiv sulfur mask as a spot treatment, and boom! Problem solved. Not to mention another devastating and stressful event I had been through a few years prior to my Proactiv fall-out that took a further emotional toll on me, and my skin remained intact and unaffected. 

I Don't Like Proactiv and Here's Why [Part 1]

As I type this, I am watching an infomercial on QVC rolling my eyes and getting, unreasonably upset. Now I shouldn’t be so upset, but I have my reasons. Listening to the callers-in and QVC “hype-ers” talk about this product like its a miracle is, well, frustrating for me...

I’ll explain.
I was a faithful customer of Proactiv for 4 years. I grew up with terrible skin and battled it from ages 10 to, well, currently. Now when I say bad skin, I don’t mean typical pubescent breakouts, I had a face regularly littered with pimples (not zits) and it’s remaining dark acne scars for most of my teenage life and into my early 20’s, which is well, now (OK, fine, I’m in my mid 20’s now but whatev). I had seen the infomercials for Proactiv since I was 16 and always wanted to try it out, but didn’t have the means. I had tried everything I could think of at the time to try and get rid of my breakouts: from washing with this gentle cleanser to that harsh cleanser and using a home remedy instead to expensive over-the-counter products and they were always unsuccessful. But then I got older, and I got a job, moved away and was issued a credit card, so I decided to finally try Proactiv because everyone I knew had great things to say about it, family included and they all had great skin. So I with all the hope and prayers I could think of, I tried it and... it worked! I was so happy! It didn’t take too long for me to notice a change in my skin. My breakouts receded, and after a while (a long while; how long, I don’t remember) the scarring started to go away, tho it wasn’t permanent.

SPF (Part I)

I was hoping to get this post about SPF out sooner, but the truth is, doing a lot of research on the topic has made it difficult and time consuming for me to review, but here it is!

I love any product with SPF, but the truth is, shopping for sun block can be daunting, and believe me, I know. Have you been down the sun block aisle? SPF 50, 70, 90+, Ultra Defense, Sensitive Skin, Ultra Sheer Finish, Oil-Free… it’s enough to make anyone give up! I try to always buy products that have a high SPF and I try to avoid the sun, which is not easy living in South Florida. The higher the SPF, the more likely it is that I'll buy the product. I stock up on that stuff the way that most beauty addicts always leave the beauty aisle with a lip-gloss or eyeliner pencil. I'm always looking for the perfect sunscreen, but I have yet to find my favorite kind.