Targeting acne where it starts

Your skin is not just the shell to your body, it’s actually an organ, and whilst topical creams, lotions and balms all have their place, if the issue is due to the relationship between your skin and other organs, the topical treatment will likely fall short.

Whilst hormones are usually the first place most people look, I actually find looking to the liver can be most helpful. The relationship between the liver and the skin is strong as the major role of the liver is in detoxification, and if the liver is unable to preform this task well, it’s often the skin that suffers as the body attempts to detoxify via the skin.

But detoxification is not the only role of the liver, it also metabolises hormones. This means that there are 2 pathways by which the liver is involved: detoxification and hormones. Usually minor liver dysfunction is evident before puberty, however the change in hormones brought about by the onset of puberty can make this more obvious through symptoms like headaches, fatigue and sluggish digestion. Since the liver is primarily a digestive organ, working closely with the bowels, if constipation or food allergies are present, the toxic load of the liver can increase.

As expected, hormones also play a large part in acne, as high androgens (oestrogen and testosterone) can cause the skin to become more oily which can block the skin pores.

Stress is also involved, due to increased production the hormone cortisol with high stress. This is helpful in the short-term, but long-term high cortisol leads to inflammation. If acne is already a problem for you, stress will likely exacerbate it with increased inflammation of the skin.

Sugar also plays an important role in the inflammatory process, as the energy high, followed by the low will also increase cortisol and lead to inflammation, along with further inflammation when the sugar is metabolised by the liver.

So, as you can see, there are a lot of factors at play, but here are some recommendations to improve acne:

• Reduce sugar intake, and include whole foods (such as fruit and vegetables)
• Reduce alcohol and processed foods
• Increase water intake to assist your body in detoxification
• Eat bitter leafy greens (rocket, dandelion greens) and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts)
• Reduce life stressors that you are able to.

If you need further support, natural medicines can help with improving liver function, regulating the nervous system response to stress and balancing hormones.