Acne and Lavender Oil

PinkPeach

Hi, I'm 27 and still suffering with acne (I also have polycystic ovaries so this probably doesn't help) and am getting married in Sept so want to try and clear my skin up as much as poss beforehand.

Have any of you tried lavender oil on spots to try and calm them down? I was wondering if you are supposed to use it diluted or if you can put a small bit on a cotton bud and dab it on.

Also, has anyone had any luck with cutting out cows milk from their diet to help control acne? Not a day goes by where I dont' have a spot so I'm wondering if the hormones in cows milk aren't helping either. I don't drink glasses of milk but do have it in tea and on cereal.

I cleanse tone and moisturise every day and have just started getting facials every 2 weeks to try and improve things. Any help appreciated as I don't want to be a spotty bride! :eek:

mustangsal

I have pcos too, and the acne i get is ridiculous! I cut out cows milk and it really does help. If you try goats milk, that really helped me. Cleared my skin up brilliantly. Apparently there's been a study recently linking cows milk to the excess hair growth that goes along with pcos a lot of the time. So it's worth giving it up if only for a few months to see if it makes a difference. But like i said, goats milk worked wonders for me. It doesn't taste much different to cows milk, just make sure you get the semi skimmed or skimmed. Full fat is very creamy!

mrcow

If you have PCOS, do you know that it is also linked with insulin resistance which can also cause acne?

Mayflower10cat

I'm sure you'll be radiant on The Day!! Good luck and enjoy yourself!

Just to say - yes, lavender oil is safe to use undiluted straight onto the skin. I've used it on spots and spotty prone areas, can't honestly say I noticed a miraculous difference but it smells so much better than the dreaded TCP! There are many other essential oils that are suggested for acne, including tea tree, palmarosa, lemon grass and myrrh. I think choose one you like the smell of and isn't too expensive.

PinkPeach

No I had no idea. I did once have a thyroid gland check in regard to my PCOS and I think that may have been linked to insulin production (?) but the results that came back were normal. Perhaps I ought to ask the doctor about that.

beautyscientist

Acne is a miserable thing to suffer from and is very very hard to shift.

I have heard anecdotes about lavender oil helping with acne. I have looked and couldn't find any formal studies but it seems worth a try.

I have seen some evidence that some people benefit from cutting dairy out of their diets too. It is obviously worth a try. It does seem that it only works for some people though, so don't get disheartened if you are not one of them.

Another thing that might be worth trying is cutting out all processed sugars and starches. This includes bread and potatoes - and remember processing includes cooking. The idea here is to really reduce your blood sugar level. I would stock up on bananas, apples and raw carrots. Raw cabbage is surprisingly tasty too. If you can keep it up for three days you may see some improvement. Obviously that is one heck of a diet to keep up but if it works you might be able to use it to get through your wedding.

Despite having worked on them, I wouldn't recommend pharmaceutical products until you have tried all the alternatives. But if nothing else works, I suggest Brevoxyl (or it might be Solugel - I can't remember which trade name they use in the UK) works as well as any of them but is a bit less irritating.