I have been converting to RAW VEGAN for the last week. I usually use an all natural shampoo and conditioner by burts bees BUT I have what doctors would call Seborriac Dermatitis and adult acne with sistic acne as well. I can't seem to figure out how to get rid of either one. Anyone have any suggestions? I could really use the help. Thanks.

Hi. I have had problems with acne and dry skin. Although I don't know all the details about your condition (i looked it up online), I do have some opinions that are based on my experience. The first thing I did was check ALL my personal care products meaning ANYTHING that your hair and skin come in contact with. Make sure there are NO irritating agents in them and NO chemicals whatsoever. Even the ones you buy at health food store will still have these things and you need to make sure all the ingredients are basically food grade, or something you could eat. In my experience, the less amount of ingredients, the better. If any of your products have these ingredients your body will see it as a toxin that it needs to get rid of- and possibly it's detox route is through acne. I used this site to start my investigation: [www.cosmeticsdatabase.com]
There is also some good info. on this site:
[www.terressentials.com]
I got rid of all my household products that were not entirely safe and natural (most of which I bought at a healthfood store and were LABELED "all natural" even though they were not!!). And I plan to use things like lemon juice and baking soda for cleansing. As far as dry skin and acne, I can already see an improvement in the way my skin responds to natural ingredients vs. unnatural. Now that I have been using them for awhile, as soon as I put one drop on my face of one of my "old" products, it turns red in that spot. I used to have a big problem on my hands from washing too much with "antibacterial" soap. They would get very red and scaly and sometimes bleed. Now I just use the natural soap made of oils and castile and it is the biggest difference. My face has calmed down completely. And I started using the natural shampoo on the site above- which takes all the unnatural coating and deposits off the hair that are left from conventional shampoos/conditioners. I don't wash too often (my face, hands, OR hair) because this irritates more every time. Washing too much would cause MORE sebum-gland secretion on your face and hair rather than less, and the overproduction of it is what leads to acne and scalp oils/itching for me.
Also, as I have been transitioning to Raw I can already see the difference in my acne. I used to have cystic EVERY month!! And this month I only got a very small one that cleared up much faster than normal (i only put tea tree oil on it)... I hope that this diet will make the cystic acne stop appearing once everything has been detoxed.
The idea is to get alllll toxins away from and out of your system so that it doesn't have the need to react to them in these negative ways!
Just some things I hope will help you! =)

Another thing I am looking into is the possibility of eliminating the "nightshades" variety of plant- which includes tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, etc. It has been found that tomatoes and others contribute to inflammation. So since I usually eat tomatoes every day I am planing to experiment by cutting them out for a while and see if it helps the acne.
I know it has helped people with arthritis pains and inflammation of the joints but don't know the direct correlation. I was thinking it might help external (acne) inflammation too... but I have to learn more about it. Anyone know about this?

Ive struggled with acne for a long time. These days I control it pretty well topically, and none of my diet changes so far have made a major impact.

I just came across this Dr. McDougall ( [drmcdougall.com] )... seems to make a lot of sense with his articles on diet and various diseases. He talks a little about acne here: [drmcdougall.com]

I tried a low-fat raw diet where most of my calories came from sweet fruits, and I felt like crap, teeth became sensitive, and I was just very uncomfortable. Then I went on high fat raw diet with lots of nuts and seeds, still did not feel very good.

In the last couple days, Ive switched back to a low fat raw diet but with much (50% or more) of my calories coming from soaked oats and oat sprouts. This allows me to eat lots of carbohydrates without getting disgusted by all the sweet fruits. I still eat a lot of berries like wild blueberries and strawberries and also oranges.

One tip for caring for your skin topically is to wash nightly with freshly ground flax seed. Just grind a tablespoon of flaxseed and mix with some water until creamy but not watery. Then massage it into your skin for about 5 minutes. Then remove with a wet washcloth. This will soften and hydrate your skin so the sebum flows more easily out of the pores. In the morning a quick splash is all you need to freshen up your face. I avoid soaps like the plague, way too drying and irratating.

You may be interested in reading about detergents vs. soaps.

[www.solveeczema.org]

The site is about eczema BUT There is a section on dandruff, among other health issues. I was thoroughly disgusted with most products on the market after I realized the difference between real soaps and detergent. Inside that site too is a list of 'safe soaps'; shampoos, cleansers, etc. (I use calben shampoo only now, as most shampoos are detergnet based.)

I cant stress this point enough, because it solved my life long skin and scalp issues. The detergent products are poisoning us and it takes a bit of studying to really understand the issue. (yes, even those earth friendly, biodegradeable ones from the health food stores)

I wish someone had shown this to me 30 years ago, so Im passing it on.

OMG this is so interesting. I have been trying to avoid sls for awhile cuz I heard some vague bad things about it awhile ago... but I thought my seventh generation unscented detergent was fine, even though I'm still getting occasional eczema outbreaks. I figured it was just the weather or something... I recently started using Dr Bronners in my laundry cuz I ran out of detergent, and it worked great, even in my superhard water and with line drying in the basement. I also found using my infrared sauna every day helped clear up my last eczema outbreak quite a bit, but I moisturize like crazy afterward to avoid drying my skin out.Thank you for that website! Great info!!!

Bacteria from the daily grind, cosmetics/lotions, etc..can cause those skin problems. Keeping your skin clean with something like hydrogen peroxide will help, making sure you get all the B vitamins from foods, brewers yeast, or supplements also helps.

Might try a light application of tea tree oil at nighttime. Or mix a drop or two in some coconut oil and apply to troubled areas.

Love,
Prism

i dont know a whole lot about skincare, but whenever i have a breakout i use pressed garlic (let it sit for a few mintues then rememove, not good for sensative skin) or citris fruit ie lemon, lime, grapefruit and just slice a piece and rubb it on my face (smells better than garlic!) ....im 17 but i hope this can help you!
peace
alex

hi, i have recently switched to an organic shampoo...

and also changed my washing habits... to washing with shampooevery other day instead of every day ( and sometimes every third day)

but now, i am getting sore spots on my head like maybe a little pimple is there.... i am not using any type of conditioner, and i have gotten these in the past, but never as much as this, never more than one at a time...

i can't figure out what is causisng them, i did some google reading nad didn't get any answers... argh....

anyone else have this? and what do yu do for it? is it just transitional as my body tried to re adjust howmuch ebium to produce? HELP

Love and Light

Tiffntwins

`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸.´¯`•...¸><((((º>

SWIM FREE FISHES!

I switched to an organic plant-based shampoo and conditioner 2 years ago
called Max Green Alchemy Scalp Rescue and it really works for me.
I also noticed before I became vegan (8 years ago) my scalp was even worse
I think due to dairy. It was also causing a rash on my face.
Now I sometimes have skin problems from too much sugar (especially
fruit preserves for some reason) and/or alcohol.
Making sure you're getting enough good fats/oil in your diet might help too.
I think people have different food/chemical sensitivities. The trick is to identify
them...maybe just be aware of trigger patterns and try an elimination trial.
Sometimes stress and hormones exacerbate the problem.