Does Dairy Free Help Acne?

It’s been over two months since I committed to a full dairy-free diet. For the most part, sticking to the dairy free diet has been really easy. I’ve become obsessed with plant milk and coconut yoghurt, and I haven’t had a bit of my beloved Whittakers Creamy Milk in over two months. I sort of missed chocolate at the start, and now I don’t think about it at all, as there are so many other delicious treats (dairy free of course) that I’ve been enjoying instead. Probably the hardest thing to cut out has been cheese, and I’ll admit that over the last few months I have had, on occasion, some of the lasagne or cheesy pasta that the boyfriend has whipped up. Parmesan cheese, tomato and pasta is just SO GOOD!

So does dairy free help acne? Yes, definitely. I’d say I’ve noticed about a 70% improvement in the skin around my chin and jawline which is where hormonal acne appears. Most of the little bumps (or closed comedones) that were lurking under the skin have gone, and I only notice that they reappear if I do happen to have the delicious cheesy pasta. I do still get a few little spots around that time of the month, which is totally expected due to changes in hormones. But for the most part, the skin around my jawline and chin is a lot better.

I’m still having issues trying to clear up the skin on my forehead, and if Ayurvedic medicine is to be believed, skin issues here are caused by poor digestion and toxin build up in the body. I still get quite bloated some days and I think this probably goes hand in hand with the skin issues I’m having.  Basically, if your gut isn’t working probably and can’t get rid of toxins, those toxins can then only escape through the skin, causing acne.

I started taking a probiotic supplement and it has helped quite a bit. I’m also now taking a liver supplement to help cleanse and detoxify the liver. I know I do have poor liver function (as it always comes up in blood tests), and this is one of the reasons I don’t drink often. My liver struggles to remove the alcohol from the body, and even after one glass of wine, I’ll often feel not 100% the next day. I’ll also generally get breakouts on my forehead in the days following. Same thing goes with refined sugars – too much of them often results in breakouts on my forehead in the days after.

It’s a bit of a process trying to work out what’s causing it, and it’s rather frustrating too. I make a point of eating really clean, drinking lots of water, and getting lots of exercise, and it’s a bit frustrating when your body still isn’t working quite how you’d like it to! I’m working on trying to eat as much raw and unprocessed food as possible, limiting my refined sugar, and also not eating too much bread as I’m still trying to determine if that is having an effect. It’s all a bit of trial and error, working out what does and doesn’t work. I’m determined to find a a diet that means I have clear skin and a healthy gut, and I’m willing to cut out whatever it takes! Of course, I’ll be blogging about this along the way!

Back to dairy though, and I really would recommend going dairy free if you are having issues with hormonal acne around your chin and jawline. It’s something that is very easy to cut out, and there are so many dairy free and vegan options available. I do have a post planned soon that outlines exactly what I have cut out of my diet and what I am replacing each thing with, so I will have that up on the blog soon. Hopefully this might help people who are looking  to do the same, and especially those in New Zealand. There aren’t many dairy free bloggers out there, and many of the substitutes are only available overseas.

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