Price: $19.99
Rating: 
Website: Clear Skin Guidebook
FINALLY an acne treatment guide that I actually agree with. Although the author of the Clear Skin Guidebook has written in an ‘I’m talking to adult women with acne’ conversational tone, the 30 day ‘clear skin plan’ outlined in the guide will work for everyone (boys, girls, teenagers, adults …if you’ve got acne then you will benefit from this guidebook). It may not work-work, as in completely clear your severe acne, but it will very possibly completely clear mild to moderate acne, or at the very least reduce the amount of active inflammations you’re getting, and quieten down the redness and irritation of your skin.
I’m usually very wary when I purchase a new product like this because I know for a fact that the Internet is chocked full of crappy eBooks that you literally have to hunt through to find the ‘gold’. Well, with this download I did find a good one. Perhaps not quite gold but close enough to it.
What I love the most about this guide is how it’s written by somebody that has suffered from acne over a long period of time, and by somebody who knows what they’re talking about. Actually, she’s just like me …although she’s also a Beauty Editor (which I’m not) and a naturopath (which I’m not either). Okay, we’re kinda similar.
The beginning of the guide goes into great detail about what acne actually is, how it’s formed and why we get it. I thought I knew all of this stuff already and would find it incredibly boring, but she’s written in such a friendly conversational tone that it actually made the sciencey stuff a little interesting. I also learnt quite a few new things when I thought I knew just about everything acne-related already. I even found myself jotting down notes not only for inspiration for my blog, but also things that I could apply to my own skin care routine and acne treatment.
The 30 day clear skin plan
The guidebook recommends a 30 day ‘clear skin plan’ which is basically a combination of a skin care routine, diet modification and supplements. I love a guide that follows my line of thinking 
If you balked at the severity of the Acne Free in 3 Days plan then you’ll love this one. I’m happy to say that you will not be required to starve yourself half to death or perform colonic irrigation to follow the clear skin plan. What you will need to do is:
- Follow a strict daily skin care routine (each step is outlined in detail)
- Take selected vitamins and herbal supplements (exact supplements and recommended dosages are provided)
- Modify your diet to eliminate acne causing foods (one of the more lenient acne diets I’ve seen and one I actually agree with)
- Practice relaxation and fitness
It’s recommended that you follow this plan for a full 30 days before you ‘ease off a little’. So it doesn’t mean that you can take a half-arsed effort when doing the plan. If you’re lazy and are unlikely to be able to follow a plan for a full 30 days, then you probably shouldn’t download the guide. If on the other hand you’re motivated to fully commit yourself then go for it. At the end of the month the easing off period is a great way to reward yourself, and while you monitor your own skins progress you can decide if you want to maintain some of the recommendations in the book, or if you want to go back to your old ways.
Why this 30 day period is so important
I’m guilty of being lazy and not following 30 day plans properly myself. But trust me, it’s really important and I’ll tell you why.
Last week my skin was looking better than it had in months. For the first time in over a year I didn’t even have one single active pimple on my face! I was so damn happy, and felt like a ‘normal human being’. During my clear skin celebrations I somehow forgot that I had acne prone skin. Oops. So of course I started indulging in a little more sweet food than usual and skipping some of my skin care treatments. What was the result? Blotchy oily skin on my T-zone as soon as the weather started to get humid. If I’d kept up with my acne prevention regime for another month, my skin would not have responded so drastically to the change in weather and I’d still be blowing my party whistle ~sigh~
I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep up with a treatment for at least a month after you’ve seen improvement. The Clear Skin Guidebook outlines why really well by going through the blemish life cycle. Apparently our skin has a natural regenerative pace, which is a whole 28 day cycle. Pimples can form under the skin for a whole 14 days and then take a further 14 days to completely heal. So there’s a lot going on under the skin that we can’t actually see. See, I told you I learnt new things!
The clear skin plan diet
Although I think the diet section is far too brief, at least it’s finally a diet that I agree with AND it’s not going to starve you half to death or make you eat horribly bland foods for the whole 30 days. I love how she talks about refined sugars and how they can aggravate acne, and I especially love how she includes 20 acne free desserts and the end of the book so you can clear your skin while still eating yummy sweet tasting food (and not worrying about a breakout).
What I don’t like about the diet section are the references to calories and portion sizes. I guess the author imagined adult women reading the guide who are usually concerned about weight as well. But I personally think bollocks to calories and portion sizes, each as much as you want of the recommended and healthy foods and your body and skin will still love it.
Even though it’s brief, the diet section does include enough information to get you going for the 30 days. And hey, if you want a more extensive guide on acne and diet there’s always my own acne and diet guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
Added bonuses
No guide or eBook comes without bonuses. The ‘free’ bonuses that come with the Clear Skin Guidebook aren’t really worth mentioning because I don’t think they’re that great. But I do love the bonus goodies scattered throughout the actual guide. Some of the bonuses include:
- Actual listings of recommended products that are safe to use on acne inflamed or acne prone skin (you still should look any new products you’re using up on www.makeupalley.com before you use it)
- A lot of detail on how to get rid of pigmentation acne scars, and why we get them in the first place (I learnt something again!)
- A sample yoga practice along with pictures to follow (although I strongly recommend that you go to an actual yoga class)
- Recipes for do-it-yourself home made skin care
- And the best part of all - 20 ‘anti acne’ desserts. Awesome, I can eat dessert and clear my acne
I think for $19.99, which is HALF the price of Acne Free in 3 Days, this guide is very good value. Especially considering I find this guide a lot easier to read, I know for a fact that it will work well for the majority of acne sufferers, and the treatments are easy to implement and non-invasive.
If you’d like to download your own copy of the Clear Skin Guidebook and get onto the 30 day road to clear skin recovery, then just follow this link:
Download your copy of the Clear Skin Guidebook
If you’d like to ask me more questions about the guide, then please post a message in the box below or in the High on Health forum.
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.
9 responses ↓
Well this sounds rather promising even though I’m very bad at keep a diet, since I have only time to eat in the evening (except some snacks).
Though you’re right for this price it’s worth to read through it and maybe giving it a try. I just hope the diet is not that complex (cooking is not my hobby ^_-).
Fran i over exfoliated my skin i lost my stratum corneum and Im sooo dried up now. my skin is horrible and it hurts when under heat or sun.. huhuhuhu do i still have a chance to clear acne now that i have no more Ph. from my stratum corneum?
Nico- the diet section is really just a list of foods that you should avoid and a list of foods that you should eat, so you’ll be okay with it
Erika- Our skin does a pretty good job at looking after itself. So stop exfoliating your skin and just be gentle with it for the next month. It may take a full 30 day cycle but it will heal
And you’d better stay out of the sun or wear a big hat for that 30 days!
i noticed that you wrote that the book talks about acnescarrs, does it also say how you can get rid of them and stuff like that? How about the skin routine in the book? do you have to buy some products or can you use the one you have at home? One more question, if you eat really well, do your skin routine, meditate, is it worth buying the book?
Hi Jay,
- It actually has a very large section on acne scars, it explains why we get them, and different treatments we can try to get rid of them.
- Most of the skin care treatments you actually make at home, so it’s really cheap
As for cleansers and moisturizers, there are a list of recommended products but you can stick with what you’re using if it’s working for you.
- If you still have acne then I think it’s definitely worth it. You’re likely to learn a few things that you’re missing from your holistic routine, and I highly value good information products because it takes a lot of the guess work out. The list of products and recipes also make it worthwhile. Hey, I actually purchased this myself and for once didn’t regret it!
What supplements / dosage does she recommend?
Hi Gary, Oh there’re way too many to list, she goes into great detail. I’m also am worried I’d get in trouble if I published chunks of her guide!
I purchased the book too and think it’s a good investment - it’s informative, well-written and a lot of it is just common sense. What I found a bit confusing was the 7 day plan and the 30 day plan. Did you do the herbs and vitamins for just 7 days or the entire 30 days? Did you religiously follow the skin-care regime or just the internal regime? I had a break-out about a month ago that I’m seeing real improvement with now using a topical regime, controlling my diet and taking a vitamin supplement, and I’m thinking of adding the herbs to my regime, but nothing else. Do you think they could react with what I’m already doing?
Hi,
I’ve purchased the guide and I’m enjoying it so far. It’s easy to understand and I’m learning a lot! However, I’ve got up to the herbs and vitamins section and the author seems to recommend a frighteningly large amount of supplements! I was wondering, is it necessary to take all of them and if so is it safe to take such a large concoction?
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