Do what scares you.

As it turns out, I may not have to go dairy free after all. I'm with my sister for the week, and she's letting me try her acne medication to see if it works. I've been using it for two days and my skin is already a LOT clearer.

Basically, it's a combination of two things. The first is this cleansing lotion called Stiefel Impruv Cleansing Lotion. I wash my face with it in the morning and at night. I love it because it cleans my face, but isn't harsh at all. It doesn't have any active ingredients or even soap, so it's perfect for washing my sensitive skin. http://www.skinstore.com/p-9202-stiefel-impruv-cleansing-lotion.aspx

The second is Duac Topical Lotion. You're supposed to apply it all over your face, but all I've been doing is putting it on each individual spot. You just take a little, rub it in, and don't wash it off (wash your hands thoroughly afterwards because it can bleach towels). I think you have to have a prescription for duac, but it shouldn't be that hard to get. http://www.duac.com/

Like I said, after two days and two nights my zits are drying up really quickly (I get the type of acne that hurts a lot coming in, then comes to a white head, then I usually pop it and it gets really red, and then takes forever to go away). The only other thing I would recommend (because the duac can be a little drying) is a moisturizer and scrub (I use neutrogena oil free moisturizer and that pink grapefruit face scrub).

My routine: Morning: Wash my face with impruv in the shower, moisturize when I get out. Night: Wash my face with impruv, put the duac on any spots, put on a little moisturizer.  Every few days or so, depending: Use the scrub anywhere where my skin is flaky from being too dry.

So yesterday I was watching this documentary on netflix called Forks Over Knives (it's about how animal by products have been shown to cause/be associated with more cancers and degenerative diseases, like heart disease. It convinced me, someone who never even considered a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle), and it really made me think. In my typical me fashion, I started googling vegan diets and somehow made my way to a forum about how going dairy free had helped people get rid of their acne.

I've recently had some big acne flare ups, and have been searching for a solution for my acne for years. A birth control pill has been keeping my acne at bay, but I recently switched brands and I think that that's what's to blame for my flare ups.

The theory with dairy is that many people have allergies to the things in dairy such as casein, whey, hormones, etc, and that these minor allergic reactions cause inflammation and acne. There's another theory that the hormones clog pores.

In any event, I've decided to try the 10 day challenge on godairyfree.com to see what happens to my acne. I also have a few other health problems, like headaches and fatigue, that supposedly can be caused by allergic reactions, so I guess I'll see what happens with those as well.