I’ve had a lot of questions from readers of my blog and my YouTube subscribers about what I did to treat my acne. So I thought I’d write a detailed summary about what I did to help my skin. This information, or ‘clear skin plan’ is also what I believe to be the best way to start treating acne and problem skin for everyone - irrelevant of age, gender or where the acne is on your body.
Step 1: Stop trying to be perfect
There’s a lot of pressure from the media, from beauty and acne forums, from society …just from everywhere to be perfect and to have perfect skin. In reality only a very small population of people have ‘perfect’ skin, and those who do are most likely blessed with great skin genes so just never get pimples and blackheads in the first place. You can achieve clear skin, but it’s unlikely you will be able to achieve perfect skin. And you know what? It doesn’t matter.
I think my skin is great at the moment. I doubt anybody on the street that walks past me or meets me for the first time would ever think I’ve had a chronic acne problem, even though I have damaged large looking pores in patches on my face from recurring acne, a lot of freckles, a couple of moles, a scattering of blackheads on my cheeks and nose, a few patches of whiteheads and some small pimples on both cheeks and my neck. Did you notice in the last few videos that I’ve recorded? I wasn’t even wearing makeup. Of course you didn’t, because you need to be either in bad lighting or standing close to me to see it. Your biggest critic is yourself so the number 1 step to clear skin is dropping this idea of being perfect and instead just being happy with healthy skin that feels great and looks good enough to keep you confident.
I took that photo (above) of myself yesterday. Can you see any of this bad stuff on my skin that I just mentioned? I’m not wearing any makeup except mascara. My description of my skin is how I see it two inches away from my bathroom mirror. If I was striving to be perfect I’d be depressed and miserable right now, but instead I choose to be happy with what I’ve got.
Also realise that when your skin starts to heal you will forget what it was like when you skin was really, really bad and you may become even more critical of your skin and expect bigger and better things of it. The first part of the healing process is the easy bit. Going from mild acne to completely clear is the most difficult part. I’m still not there myself! You know what I do? If I ever look in the mirror and find myself becoming critical of my skin, I think to myself …if I was a severe acne sufferer I would be so happy to have the skin I’ve got now.
Step 2: Stop picking at it
I’m going to sound like a broken record with this one, and I realise that you’ve heard it a million times from other information sources, but I can’t stress how true this actually is. I only discovered this information the other day - it’s scientifically proven that if you pick a pimple, whitehead, blackhead, whatever spot you’ve got, then it is likely to cause ten more. How? Because you’re spreading the bacteria underneath the skin. It may not happen immediately but you’ll get a patch of pimples around that pimple, or another pimple in the exactly the same spot once it’s healed.
This is one of the very reasons why chronic acne sufferers have a lot of trouble getting their pimples to go away without the use of harsh oral medications or topical creams. Let your skin do it’s job, let it heal in its own way and leave it alone. The redness around a pimple is there for a reason, it’s extra blood your body has sent the pimple to try and heal it. It may look awful to you but it’s actually a good thing! When a pimple forms a head, its your skins way of pushing all the gunk and bacteria out, let it do it in its own time. If you squeeze and pop it, then you’re only putting that gunk and bacteria back into the skin.
Step 3: Be gentle with your skin care routine
99% of the time acne is caused by something in your body that isn’t working as well as it should be, and not by dirt, grime or using the wrong skin care routine. The first thing acne sufferers attack when they get a breakout is their skin, cursing it and punishing it by lathering on harsh chemicals and damaging ‘quick fixes’. Guess what? This is most likely doing more harm than good. Left alone, you skin does a pretty damn good job at taking care of itself. As I explained in step 2, the formation of a pimple - including the redness and the head - is the skin purging or removing toxins. The best thing we can do is to help the skin by using very gentle and natural skin can products that include ingredients that encourage the skin to heal. I’m talking about natural ingredients too, not harsh chemicals like benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid that only dry out the skin and destroy the natural pH balance.
You can read Bel’s article ‘Interview With A Beauty Therapist About Acne & Natural Skin Care‘ for more detailed information on what ingredient to look for in skin care products.
Step 4: Be mindful of your diet
Diet doesn’t cause acne, but it can aggravate it. The food you eat can increase your stress, cause your hormones to go out of whack or even give you a blood sugar spike. Each of these factors can easily lead to pimples if you have a predisposition to getting acne.
I realise this is the hardest step to take, so do it gradually if you can, and don’t be ridiculous about it. Eat well as much as you can then enjoy yourself on occasions too. You don’t want to go from a skin disorder to an eating disorder. I like to live by the 90/10 rule - I eat healthy food for 90% of the time then indulge for the other 10%.
There is a reason why eBooks like ‘Acne Free in 3 Days’ can sometimes work. It’s because they are a fast detox of all the stored up yuck food in your system. I’m too much of a chicken to try a detox so I prefer to do it gradually. You also need to continue to eat well after a detox to maintain that healthy skin. I’ll be talking more about detoxing and diets in a later post. I’ll also be doing a review of Acne Free in 3 Days for those of you that are interested.
If you want to take care of your diet for now, the easiest way is to just follow a typically low glycemic index (GI) diet.
Step 5: Relax!
I have had one case of moderate and one case of severe acne in my life. Both times were a direct result of increased stress in my life. Don’t overlook how important keeping a relaxed and stress free lifestyle is. In some ways, this step can be just as difficult as maintaining a healthy diet.
Everybody has different ways of relaxing, so try to find the one that’s best for you. Whether it be listening to music, going for a walk, exercising, yoga, meditation or spending time with your family …just make sure you do something relaxing every single day. A healthy mind means a healthy body. This has never been more true.
So that’s it, my 5 steps to healthy skin. I go into more detail in my min-course so if you haven’t done so already, you can sign up by putting your details into the box in the menu on the right hand side of the screen.
If you have any questions or anything to add to this post, make sure you write in the box below or send me an email 
Fran
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
19 responses ↓
Nicely thought-out ideas. I love your wholistic approach. Gentleness, relaxation, an intelligent diet. I really believe that mind and body affect each other, and you have given a practical way to work with that.
the ‘redness around the zit’ explanation was really good. never heard of that before. good article overall.
Ugh, the one about picking it so right but so difficult to follow. Walking around with a scab covered in foundation is, at the time, much easier than having a red and white mountain like a spolight..
Some great advice there Fran. I should print it out and stick it next to my mirror, especially Step 2.
L - I know what you mean about a white mountain like a spotlight, I’m still struggling with this one. The last couple I had I “accidentally” knocked the top off. But you know what, they healed a lot slower. So next time I”m going to try SO hard to be brave and sit through it. Well, I’ll try anyway. Important thing is DO NOT SQUEEZE. Knocking the top off it is heaps better than squeezing. Remember, you just don’t want that bacteria to spread under the skin.
Becky - I think I need to print it out too, sometimes I need to follow my own advice!!
I totally agree with you. The more you stress….the more pimples…im sure.
BTW: I should also try to stick to the rule of not self-purging the pimples, but sometimes i got so many cystic ones…that the only way they heal is if i remove all whats inside…and apply a strong antiseptic
N.
Oh BTW: started reading the book about picking. I am a compulsive picker or whatever is named. My face sometimes ressembles a butchery. You see…i get soo pissed off that i say to hell everything and i pick for hrs until…well…my face is swolen LOL.
I always knew it was an obssesive thingie lol.
N.
Hi Nora. Please, please try not to pick your cystic acne. This is the absolute worst type of acne to pick. Because it’s all under the surface, once you pick and squeeze it, the bacteria in the cyst will spread underneath the skin and create more acne.
I know it’s really annoying that the cysts stay around for AGES, but it’s better that it doesn’t spread. My only bad acne scar has also been caused by picking at a cyst too much. Sit it out and wait and wait ..and the cysts will go away on their own.
If you ever find yourself in the mirror and wanting to pick, be very stern with yourself. Use your will power and do not let yourself get sucked back into the habit.
I’m also hearing more and more stories about skin picking, especially from women. It makes me really sad and I’ve realised that it’s a habit that’s so difficult to break. I’ve also noticed that every time I get sad or down, I start to see my skin as being worse and want to pick it. It’s so strange, if I’m happy, my skin looks great. Then I can get a bit down a few hours later then all of a sudden my skin looks terrible. Obviously for me it’s all psychological.
I’m glad you’re reading the course. Hopefully you’ll get a lot out of it like I did. Hopefully soon I’ll set up a small discussion board on High on Health so we can support each other in there with this kind of stuff.
take care …
Ive had clear skin, All my life. I’m now 16yrs and Just early of Last year, Ive Notice Myself getting alot Of breakouts. I used Proactive and that dried out my skin And I Herd Benzoil Peroxide which is in MANY acne products Is Very harmful To The Skin. So I stopped using them And Just started using a dove soap and warm water to wash my face. Then applied a light moisturizer after. I notice a big change, but i need something Natural, Fast & Easy like your products. I wish you can help me. I really like Your Clay Mask. Idea But I dont have any Clay. Got any Ideas On how i can replace that.? Or Any other Natural At Home things I can Use.
Thanks For Your Time,
Ps. You Should Sell Your Products And Books
You Have A Great People Person Attitude.
So Helpful And Loving.
Hi Phillip,
Sounds like your hormones have kicked in and that’s why you’re breaking out. I’m glad the dove soap and moisturizer have helped
You can buy clays from most health food stores. It can be expensive to buy a tub but they last AGES so you get a lot of use out of them. There are also heaps of sites that sell the clays online.
There’s not really anything else that can replace the clay that’s as good. There are a lot of home remedies for masks and stuff but I haven’t tried them. Typical ingredients are manuka honey, lemon, ACV, egg whites, avocado, baking soda etc
Sometimes I think these home remedies are good but often they can be overkill. You don’t want to confuse your skin by putting too much onto it. You’ve definitely done the right thing by making your skin care routine very natural and gentle. And I think you should stick to what you’re using, especially because it’s working.
Thanks for the PS! I have an eBook coming out within the next few weeks about diet and acne so look out for that.
Take care …
Thanks for the information Fran. I love the Hollistic Approach ever since changing my regimen and using the hollistic products my skin is thanking me and my skin is clearing up.
Wow Jon, that’s GREAT your skin is clearing up
That makes me so happy when I hear that someones skin is getting better, especially with a holistic approach.
[...] and just followed a very natural holistic system, like I’ve written in this article 5 Steps To Healthy Clear Skin, then my acne would have cleared up completely by now. Trust me on this one - it’s the [...]
Picking is my obsession.
I have found that with the really deep ones, if I don’t pick and get the stuff out, then I end up with dark scars. I’d almost rather have a gross scabby thing for a while than have a dark scar. I’ve also found that if I don’t pick the really deep ones, they come back. So frustrating.
I have struggled with acne on and off for a few years. Lately I have begun to suspect that stimulant medication I take for my ADD (dexedrine), may play a role. Although acne is not listed as a side effect of the medication, through forums I’ve found others who have had the same problem with acne being linked to their stimulant medications (adderal, dexedrine, etc).
Hi Jen, yeah ..sometimes picking does make them go away faster, but the problem is then the bacteria can spread under the skin and produce a lot more pimples!!! It’s hard though, and I’m certainly guilty of picking too. I’ve improved a lot but I’ve still got a little way to go.
Wow, that’s not good that acne is a possible side effect of that drug!
Hi Fran. I think your approach is the most honest, realistic and holistic approach I have come across in my 10 years of suffering from acne and practising as a natural health practitioner. You are dead right; diet certainly can aggravate the condition by increasing levels of testosterone however some of us are already genetically predisposed to bad skin. I also completely agree with you about the stress factor. I spent 6 weeks in an almost bliss-state overseas and my skin completely cleared up for that time. The challenge is to try and remain stress-free in often stressful environments and to try to eliminate foods that we are constantly surrounded by. So many women are on the pill for their skin and it is only a temporary solution that can often make the situation worse afterwards. I find it frustrating when practitioners and products often try to make the solution sound simple when it clearly isn’t, leading to feelings of dissapointment and self-blame among acne sufferers.
Thank you for sharing your wise words.
Thank you so much for your comment Kat, it means a lot to me to get positive feedback from a natural health practitioner like yourself
I have occasional acne and blemishes from sun and previous acne. I tried Microembrassion n peals and nothing worked better than just rubbing lemon on my face for a minute or 2 then rinsing with cool water every day. I sometimes follow with jojoba oil and viatamin a. I have also changed my diet to more fruits and veggies although sometimes I really love to eat chocolate chip cookies : - ).
Thank you for putting up this site and the videos. You have helped me out a lot. Your advice is much appreciated.
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