If your face is red or inflamed, it could be due to adult acne, one of the most embarrassing and least well-understood skin problems out there. Adult acne can be caused by lots of different things, but it’s rarely treated by addressing the root causes. One of those root causes can be low thyroid — and there is something you can do about it!
If you’ve ever noticed that your acne comes and goes with your menstrual cycle, or been told you have “hormonal” acne, you may have been treating it by focusing on the wrong hormones! Lots of women believe that if their acne is linked to their cycles, it must be the estrogen or progesterone that are to blame — but not so.
Since your thyroid is basically the boss of your endocrine system, it’s also in charge of your metabolism. When you are deficient in thyroid hormone, the body can’t turn cholesterol into the steroids pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. Progesterone is the one of this group involved with healing your acne — and only thyroid hormone plus vitamin A will make sure your body is making enough.
So why not just take progesterone? Well, you can, but that’s just going to make your overall hormone balance even more out of whack. It’s better to treat the underlying causes.
If you’re treating your hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s with dietary and lifestyle changes, you’re already on the right track to improving your acne, but there are other treatments you can use to help combat the symptoms while your overall health improves.
Homemade Acne Treatments
You don’t need a bunch of harsh chemical washes and creams to treat your acne. In fact, those chemicals can do more harm than good when they build up in your system over time. Instead, why not make your own acne treatments with these three super simple recipes? They’re good enough to eat (though they might not be so tasty…) with natural ingredients including:
-
olive oil — a powerful antioxidant, antibacterial agent, and anti-inflammatory
-
honey — another strong antibacterial agent with lots of soothing anti-inflammatory properties
-
cucumber — cucumbers have the same pH as your skin, so they can help you stay balanced
-
baking soda — a mild exfoliant
-
apple cider vinegar — kills bacteria and restores the proper pH to your skin
-
parsley — speeds up skin’s healing and reduces redness
Sulfur Soap
Sulfur has been used to treat acne for thousands of years, because it kills acne bacteria on contact. It also moisturizes your skin. The only drawback is the smell — but if, like me, if you’ve tried just about everything, you may not mind!
I recently went to Orr Hot Springs and after putting the hot springs water on my face and watching my acne disappear, I decided to look into how sulfur could help. Now, I wash daily with a sulfur soap.
Sulfur is most effective on Asian skin types, but even if you’re not Asian, you may see benefit. Fair-skinned people may find that sulfur helps acne come to a head so that they drain more quickly, and those with dark, oily skin may see sulfur help shrink the size of acne and treat blackheads.
I have the fairest skin of all and sulfur definitely works on me.
Sulfur can cause redness in some skin tones, so test a patch of skin on your forearm first before trying it on your face. You may notice some slight itchiness in the first week, but that should go away quickly.
Diindolylmethane (DIM)
DIM is a substance found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and is thought to be one of the reasons they are so good for us. There’s some early research showing DIM can act as an anti-androgen. Androgen is the hormone most often responsible for acne problems.
I contacted BioResponse to find out if there were any negative thyroid effects associated with DIM — because cruciferous vegetables also contain goitrogens, which are damaging to the thyroid — and the CEO wrote back and assured me that DIM is an entirely different compound and safe for patients with thyroid problems.
He also sent me a link to a study showing a promising link between DIM and healthy estrogen metabolism, which could also be beneficial in treating acne. Of course, as with any supplements, you should consult with your doctor or health practitioner before starting a new supplement regimen.
By treating the root cause of your acne (thyroid problems) and addressing the symptoms with these natural remedies, you could be spot-free for summer!
Have you tried a natural acne remedy that worked for you? Come share it over in the Facebook community!
Whether you’re dealing with acne or other hormone-related symptoms, I provide a ton of resources on healing your thyroid naturally, including:
- Our totally free Thyroid Healing Type Assessment, Report and Coaching Sessions
- Right here on my blog, where I talk about what’s worked best for me and my clients, as well as the latest research and resources I come across. You can subscribe to get new blog posts delivered right to your email by signing up on the righthand side of the page.
- My book, Healing Hashimoto’s Naturally — part memoir, part instruction manual for how I personally healed my Hashimoto’s disease.
- My exclusive free 6 Thyroid Myths That Can Keep You From Healing workshop — with info on the comprehensive Thyroid Fix in 6 program, which walks you through, step-by-step, the exact actions you need to take to heal your thyroid and get your life back! We’ve seen hundreds of participants in the Thyroid Fix in 6 avoid, decrease, or even eliminate the need for thyroid medications.
- The incredible Your Best Thyroid Life Video Bundle, in which I personally invited 27 of the world’s top health experts to share their best tips for living with and healing thyroid disease.
Remember, no matter what symptoms you’re facing, there is something you can do about it! Keep your chin up and take small daily action and you can heal and have a normal life again.
Jen Wittman is a Certified Holistic Health Expert, Chef, Author & Vitality Coach, who teaches women how to reverse thyroid and autoimmune conditions naturally. She’s helped hundreds of women decrease (or even eliminate) their thyroid medications and has helped others stay off thyroid medication entirely.
Through her free Thyroid Healing Type Assessment, Jen teaches easy and simple steps to thyroid healing that can fit into your busy day. She also provides print outs to bring to your next doctor’s appointment so you can get the support and respect you deserve.
