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Boneless Pork Short Rib Breakfast Tacos
PIN THIS RECIPE!I want to talk about acne. Mostly because it’s pissing me off and if I complain to my friends, they just get mad. So I write in my diary instead. Aka, my blog.
Acne is stupid. And no, nothing has worked. I thought long and hard about going to a naturopath, but I just can’t afford that. I spent my money on more fun things, like trips to exotic places. Instead, I choose to try to ignore the acne since there seems to be nothing I can do about. The acne is all on my jaw line now, meaning it mostly has to do with my hormones. And since I stopped lifting heavy and CrossFitting multiple times a day, my hormones have started to calm down. I’ve lost weight, my body is remembering it’s feminine, and my cystic acne has calmed A BIT. I emphasize a bit, because it’s not much. I posted this picture below the other day and people thought my face looked great. Little do they know, I have makeup on that smudges off on EVERYTHING. Like, seriously, everything. It’s disgusting. I’m astonished I have a boyfriend that will put up with that. Poor man. But I wanted to show you that I still do have plenty of acne. I’ve obviously just good at makeup, good lighting, and well, contorting my face to look like I have none. Meaning, make myself look like an idiot.
It’s like a fun house up in here.
So in conclusion, my acne is not really getting better. I just wanted this to be clear since I haven’t talked about it as much anymore. I’m trying to put my energy of hatred for my skin into other things. Like, oh I don’t know, just being happy. And loving other people. And supporting my friends.
Speaking of supporting my friends, I need your help in supporting one of my blogging friends. If you haven’t read Nom Nom Paleo, I don’t know what you’ve been doing with your extra time. Michelle is awesome, has delicious recipes, and amazing pictures to boot. She also part of a contest for Cook Taste Eat. She is in 1st place right now, but her 2nd place contender is right behind her. So do me a favor and support this amazing paleo blogger. Please vote for her Mexican Pot de Crème recipe by March 8th! The steps are kinda weird, but you can’t fail if you follow these simple directions:
1) Click this link: http://bit.ly/14bhNU2
2) Click “Like” on the top right of Page (you can unlike after the whole process is done)
3) Click “Vote”
4) Install “Offerpop App” (you can easily uninstall after if you choose)
5) Click “Vote” again
6) Share this post with your pals
If you do this, you are getting the name of an amazing paleo blogger out there and supporting all of us. And then I’ll love you.
I think I’m going to make a dessert for tomorrow’s post. Michelle inspired me. And being that it’s Friday, that means it’s chocolate and wine day.
PS- my boyfriend thought these tortillas tasted like pancakes. Relationships are hard. Sometimes you just must agree to disagree. And that’s that.
PrintBoneless Pork Short Rib Breakfast Tacos
- Yield: 2-4 1x
Ingredients
For the “tortillas”
- 3 eggs, whisked
- ½ cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoonscoconut flour
- pinch of salt
For the shredded pork
- 2 pounds boneless pork short ribs
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- salt, to taste
For the toppings
- 5–6 strips of bacon
- 1 (6-8 ounce) can of green chiles
- 2–3 tablespoons hot sauce (or your choice)
- chopped green onions
Instructions
- First, this recipe will start in the crockpot.
- Add short ribs to the crockpot. Pour maple syrup on top of them, along with garlic powder and salt. (I didn’t put any liquid in the crockpot because the fat will leak out and protect it from burning)
- Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- When you wake up the next day, remove the pork ribs from the crockpot, shred them and pour some of the excess liquid from the crockpot over the shredded pork for extra flavor.
- Now make the tortillas. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tortilla ingredients until smooth.
- Place a large skilletover medium-high heat, pour ingredients into the pan to create a pancake size tortilla. I would pour on the liquid, pick up the skillet to roll it around and flatten out the tortilla even more. Cook on both sides for just about a minute per side.
- Once all your tortillas are done (this made about 8-10 tortillas for me), place bacon on the skillet or oven to cook on both sides, cool then roughly chop.
- Then mix together the green chiles and hot sauce in a bowl, place in microwave for 1:30-2:00 minutes or until hot. And then chop the green chiles.
- Now load up each tortilla. Shredded pork, green chiles, bacon, then green onions. Then eat it.
- Happy times.
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It’s always Taco Tuesday:
Slow Cooker Al Pastor Loaded Tacos
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318 thoughts on “Boneless Pork Short Rib Breakfast Tacos”
Julie-LOVE your blog. Quick tip about acne. I had acne around my jawline too and it got worse when I started Crossfit. I changed to Alba Bontanica natural Acnedote face scrub and I now use Naked Bee face lotion. NO MORE acne at all. Try it.
I second the Acnedote. That stuff is amazing. I used to think the only thing that would help my acne was this soap that Stridex made, but then stopped making for some stupid reason and I had to hoard it. When my stash finally ran out, the Alba Botanicals was the closest thing I could find, and I almost think it works even better. Plus it’s brown, from the walnut exfoliant in it, and for some reason that amuses me. Rubbing brown goo on my face. Yeah.
Acne can be eradicated and quite simply. I have great results and would love to help you. A few tips that will go against the grain but work very quickly.
Dont dry your skin out, Dont scrub or peel your skin,no face washes that soap up.
Jawline acne is the liver and hormones which is generally related to dairy intake.
Are the short ribs very sweet from the maple syrup? I’m asking because I want to make just the short ribs as a main dish for dinner (and leftovers for breakfast, of course).
not very sweet at all, just a slight hint to it
I had adult cystic acne. Hormanal imbalance I personally believe. I also suffer from dermatillomania (skin picking). I started taking a herbal supplement for hormonal imbalance of women called Vitex. Its inexpensive and i order from amazon. It has done wonders for my acne. I hope you might try it and that it helps you.
Do you notice any side effects of the Vitex? I have adult acne around the jaw line. I have heard that acne in this area is caused by gynecological issues. What brand of Vitex would you recommend?
Hi there,
not sure if anyone is still reading the posts here as the last one is dated 2013. If you are though I may have some suggestions for combating the dreaded cystic acne. I went through a similar issue. Saw several dermatoligists who perscribed several different anti-biotics that were not only expensive, but seemed to desroy everything, but my acne. I finaly broke down and saw a natureopath who deals specifically with hormonal issues. In additon to eliminating dairy from my diet she suggested PCO Px (2 a day) and Margarita Complexion Formula (2 a day). It didn’t take long to start to notice a difference and I finally have a solution that is dealing with the problem causing the symptoms. Bottom line is you won’t be able to clear up the acne until you get your hormones in check 🙂 My advise pay the bucks get your blood work done and see a naturopath that won’t perscribe something that isn’t dealing with the actual problem.
Good Luck!
Ok, Juli, as a guy with small kids who are constantly dinging the walls and chipping the paint, I have a hard time not focusing on it all the time. I re-touch and they chip it again, never ending cycle. Here’s the thing, I don’t let it bother me anymore (for the most part) I know when someone walks into the house, it’s not the first thing they see, I see it because I know they are there.
Now I can guarantee that when someone meets you, they are either focused on your personality, sense of humour, or drawn to your hot body. No one notices a few minor blemishes when you have all the other stuff going on and more. You notice them like I notice the freakin paint chips. Make sense??
Wow, that was really nicely put. Nice comparison.
Just wanted to comment on that it was nice of you to say what you said 🙂
– Emma-Lisa
This looks amazing! And thank you for venting here about your acne. I have been fighting the same hormonal battles for the past 8 months despite my awesome eating/exercise/sleep habits. It’s such a headache! One week you think it’s all better, the next week you are convinced it will never end. Now I know it’s not just me, so thanks for the encouragement 🙂
My daughter had severe acne, until we took her off ALL dairy, everything not a trace. On top of her acne she would also wake up every night worrying about things that didn’t deserve her attention. We tried everything including Accutane, that was a nightmare, do some research before you try that! Her severe acne cleared up in less than two weeks with dairy elimination. You need to check for alias names for dairy like….hydrolyzed whey protein…casein…I have told many people about this and it always seems to work. They think I’m the acne Goddess lol. As you know doing Paleo there are lots of substitutes for dairy. Good Luck!!
I know Accutane is so not paleo but my father is a dermatologist and he prescribes it a lot to patients with acne with great results! Combined with your already clean diet it might work for you. Just something to think about. 🙂 Your recipe looks great too. xo
I would also be extremely wary of Accutane, I went on it when I was 15 and my insides have been jacked-up ever since. Accutane is basically toxically high doses of Vitamin A….not only was I required to go on birth control (because if I got pregnant on Accutane the baby would have had 6 eyes and arms coming out of its head, etc.) Also they made me get my blood drawn and tested every month. A guy I dated in high school also went on Accutane, he now has epilepsy, my younger sister’s friend has mental problems, and I have been left with a non working digestive system and worse acne than when I started (Accutane cleared me up for a few months but it’s been about 8 years and my acne is back with a vengence). I will say that my sister’s who are close in age who never went on Accutane do not have the same chronic inflammation or the 1,000,000 food allergies I now have… Not to mention Accutane is expensive….I think some of us were just born to have horrible skin. I have tried literally everything under the sun—diet, oil cleansing, organic brand face washes, etc. etc. I’m doomed to a pimply and scarred face (especially since my body is NO GOOD at healing my wounds). :/
Sorry, I wouldn’t attribute those things to accutane. Development of epilepsy because of Accutane? That seems inaccurate.
Amber – sounds like you should check out Dr. Natasha Cambell-McBride’s GAPS diet. Very similar to Paleo, but more focused on healing gut flora, which is likely the root of your problems.
Accutane is taken long enough to wreak havoc on the good bacteria in the gut. When you wreck those, your immune system goes haywire and things get to your brain that shouldn’t (which sometimes means epilepsy). Dr. Natasha has helped cure people of epilepsy and autoimmune problems, autism, allergies, etc.
I have to say, Accutane worked wonders for me about 15 yrs ago and I had no issues on it at all. The benefits were long term as well-I still get white heads and small zits sometimes but not the cystic acne.
Juli, I cannot wait to try this recipe!
I started getting acne out of nowhere and after the dermatologist suggested seeing an edocrinologist, who gave me Metformin, the acne completely went away. He told me insulin-resistance can mess up hormones and cause acne. Also – as a teen, the only time I got pimples was if I wore makeup. You’re a beautiful woman! Try skipping the makeup and see if it helps. Fish oil, vitamin E, and Biotin help too. 🙂
Oh, and yummy! These tacos look fantastic!!! I’m definitely making them this weekend!
I’ve dealt with acne for almost 15 years now and I finally found something that works. My derm prescribed be an oral antibiotic-50mg Minocycline twice a day, and a topical cream-Tazorac that I put on my face after I wash it at night. Just wanted to throw an idea out there in case you hadn’t taken this route already. By the way, the tacos look amazing!!
Ditto. I’ve had acne since I was 10 (I’m now 40) and it got worse when I turned 30.
Minocin (or its much cheaper generic, Minocycline) works great. 50mg twice a day. Been on this for 4 years.
Breakfast looks delish! I follow an Asian skincare routine and saw huge improvements from my acne. Are you on reddit? If so, check our r/asianbeauty. There are great product suggestions to help with acne!
I used to have horrible skin. I mean horrible. Your skin looks clear compared to how mine used to be. I went on accutane (I know, I know. There’s a lot of controversy over it) and it cleared my skin up. Luckily the only side effects I had were dry skin and lips (aquaphor was a lifesaver for my lips). It was 100% worth it to me. I think if you’ve tried everything else out and nothing has worked, maybe have a talk with your dermatologist and see what they have to say.
I can completely sympathize with you though. I had skin problems for 6-7 years before accutane finally cleared my skin.
Hey Juli! So, I clicked on the blog because I want to try the tacos, but I actually have legit info for you on the acne.
So, I was totally in the same boat. I was getting cystic acne on my jaw line and around my mouth, which is indicative of hormone-related acne. I tried EVERYTHING. And I model on the side, so obviously this was becoming a problem.
I ended up going to the dermatologist and I figured she’d give me that shit that makes your face super dry and kills your unborn children or something. Instead, she prescribed a drug called “Spironolactone”. It is a hormone blocker and as an added bonus, a mild diuretic; no more bloat!! haha. Then my gyno prescribed an antibiotic that really heals the cystic acne quickly. I don’t take it anymore, but it’s useful if I have any major breakouts. My Derm also said that a primary care physician can prescribe the Spironolactone and it’s like a $10 RX if you have insurance. It seriously works like a BAMF…. just like you!
Hope this helps 🙂
i’m actually already on spironolactone and nothing has really changed 🙁 but i’m sticking with it hoping someday it will kick in, but it’s been 3 months on it and it’s stayed the same. so many people have recommended it and my doc prescribed it for me. what the hell. do you know what your gyno prescribed you?
Yeah, it was called Doxycycline. I took it twice a day. And how much of the Spiro are you taking? I was taking one 50mg twice a day, and she bumped me up to two in the AM, and one at night. I also had a topical for awhile that worked to kill that shit fast before the meds kicked in, but I don’t remember what it’s called…. I know it’s sulfur based, so it doesn’t dry you out nearly as badly.
Juli, I also used the Spironolactone. I used it in conjunction with the Doxicycline. The Doxicycline was the key for me. Go see a good dermatologist. I ended up stopping the Spironolactone due to the diuretic effect dropping my blood pressure. I used the Doxicycline for about 3 months along with an ointment called Ziana. It’s an antibiotic and acne cream combo. I put that on before bed. Also a wash that a wash my face with. I can’t recall the name at this time (I’m on the road right now). Any dermatologist will get you hooked up. My acne was cystic too. You have to treat them from both the inside and out. Best of luck to you. Love your recipes!
I suffered with the hormonal jaw line acne and it got worse in my thirties… I would almost cry! Finally went to the dermatologist and I was prescribed oral antibiotcs along with retin-a at night. To my amazement, after the 2nd month, it began to kick in and I’m at the end of the 3rd month of treatment, and my skin looks amazing. I even received a complement on it!! Don’t lose hope. I know it’s frustrating and embarrasing, but may if you try the doxycylin/Retin-A combo it will work for you too. I will soon get off oral antibiotic, so I have begun to transition into a topical one.
Spironolactone worked wonders for me. I had done Accutane as a teen, and it was all fine until I started Crossfit. At first I thought it was all the sweat and dirt, but nothing helped. My dermatologist says it is common in athletic women, and caused by testosterone in balance. He recommended a combination of the Spironolactone and birth control. He also gave me Epiduo which is super expensive but sort of magic.
I hope you find something that works for you!
Hi Julie– Absolutely LOVE your blog, kind of a stalker but not a scary stalker. But I’ve had the same issues with acne my whole life, tried everything- proactive, medication, oil cleansing and it NEVER went away…hate.hate.hate.
Ironically, I use the same as Nicole above and my skin has never been better. I use Alba pineapple cleanser and the jasmine moisturizer and seriously, it’s amaze-balls.
I’ve become an expert at BareMinerals to cover up all my acne, but it’s so nice now to be able to not have to wear a mask of makeup that comes off everywhere (still wear some of course ;).
I hope that helps, and as a fellow Coloradoan (I swear I must live by you ‘cuz you frequent the same bars/restaurants I do) this stuff is perfect for this climate.
Just to specify on the medication, I used Metformin, Spiro, Accutane and Minocycline with no luck (plus I have PCOS so that makes my acne even more awesome *sarcasm*) and like I said Alba is the only thing that has worked for me and it’s clean.
I struggle with skin issues too and end up wearing a lot of make up to cover it up. One product I would suggest to help prevent it from rubbing off on everything even when you are sweaty is Urban Decay’s Makeup Setting Spray. I use the All Nighter. If you haven’t tried it I highly recommend it. I buy it at Sephora.
BTW… love your blog and the recipes! Thank you for posting!
that’s awesome! totally going to get that!
So glad someone mentioned this spray–I use the UD setting spray as well, for oil control. I live in the tropics so it’s great keeping my makeup from smudging or running in the humidity.
These look delicious! I have some beef shortribs in the freezer and might make a quick substitute because I’m impatient and they sound fantastic. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
You can actually get the setting spray under it’s original name — Skindinavia setting spray. If you look at Urban Decay they actually “white label” the Skindinavia brand stuff and mark up the price a little bit. Check Amazon for it. HOWEVER, with that being said, it has some pretty intense chemicals. One of them is the activation chemical in perms (yeah like for the hair) so it may mess up your skin even worse. I use plain old rosewater spray to set my makeup and it has been working pretty great. Also, for acne, I like Aztec Clay mixed with Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar.
I know this post isn’t asking for advice, but I would totally try accutane. I spent 13 years doing every other medication under the sun, manipulating my diet, going to different types of doctors and nothing worked. I really resisted accutane because of it seeming unhealthy and too invasive. I had ridiculous severe nodular acne plus mini pimples that broke out everywhere and now my face is entirely clear. I did have to lower my dosage at one point because of achiness and a little insomnia, but from then on it was smooth sailing. Do I still feel comfortable with the pill itself? No, but the stress relief of having clear skin is entirely worth it.
anddd now im going to go make breakfast tacos. for lunch.
Question… Do you take whey protein powders on a regular basis? That can cause some of the cystic acne breakouts in some people. My dad was a body builder back in the day and was taking massive amounts of protein powders, once he stopped, he stopped getting the acne.
no, on rare occasion
OMG you must must must read Liz Wolfe’s Skintervention Guide. I am following her suggestions and my skin is very slowly but surely clearing up. I have had hormonal, cystic acne since my teens, and now my skin is finally normalizing and my scars are fading, FAST. I had been dependent on stupid prescription meds forever and for the first time I’m not using ANY. Also, fermented cod liver oil, kombucha, homemade, gelatinous bone broth are seriously working their magic. If I don’t drink bone broth for a few days my skin will look less pretty. AND Jane Iredale makeup is the bomb dot com…it’s as natural as you can buy, and my skin is loving it so far.
I just wanted you to know I feel your pain! You are still gorgeous though, in all honesty, inside and out.
+1 on Liz’s Skintervention guide! I was just going to recommend that!
Also, I just saw this yesterday and thought it looked really interesting: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/03/03/why-some-people-get-zits-and-others-dont/#ixzz2MmBAt1cK
Maybe face-probiotics will be the next big thing! Kinda makes sense that it relates to bacteria, because a lot of people have success with antibiotics.
Also, those tacos look amazing. I’m so hungry right now.
I also ditto Liz’s Skintervention.
Ive had acne since early on. My whole life..I try to forget it but I am thinking I started breaking out around age 11…I am now 31 and I have tried everything under the sun. Over the counter products galore, rx meds, paleo and clean eating. NOTHING helped. I started doing the Oil Cleaning Method and Liz’s suggestions for eating and healing the gut. *I also have autoimmune and hormone imbalance* Anywho…the OCM is AMAZING. Its the only thing that has ever helped me. Try it! Its all natural and you have nothing to lose! Good luck! And the recipe looks amazing as usual!
I must have missed a few posts (So sorry Juli)….boyfriend???
Hey Juli! You are SO HOT. Don’t forget that. Your recipes are SO INSPIRING. Don’t forget that either.
My hubby had HORRENDOUS cystic acne that destroyed his face. He tried everything under the sun including accutane which caused all his hair to fall out – 10 years after he went off the med it never grew back. It’s pretty tragic because he has suuuuper nice hair… but would be so much worse for a girl.
He completely cured his acne at age 28 by doing something pretty counter-intuitive (but maybe not so much for the paleo community)… he stopped washing his face. Okay, I know, gross, but he rinses it very well in the shower with water twice a day and obviously wears no makeup…. maybe going back to the “original” way of doing things like our ancestors did will help you? I realize its a vicious cycle of zit-makeup-more zits-more makeup but I hope you can find some relief! Seeing him suffer for so many years was very sad!!!
All the love and support!!
I, too, came here for the tacos and then I read Robyn’s reply. I second her husbands notion. I had horrible jaw line acne… I tried everything including retin-a, super strong hydroquinone peels, gentler lactic acid ones… Changing my diet, skin care lines including both Murad lines and proactiv (lol not good since I’m benzoyl peroxide) anyways long story. It devastated my face and I’m a black girl who suffers really badly from hyperpigmentation. It doesn’t even matter if I don’t touch the thing. I get scarred.
To get to my point (sorry!) I stopped washing my face and haven’t looked back. My skin is as perfect as it’s ever going to get. It took about two weeks to neutralize and balance out. I do rinse it multiple times with warm water and if I feel sticky or gross then I’ll even use a washcloth. It also saves me tons of money because now I use nothing on my face besides a little blush and eyebrow pencil, because no matter how great my skin is I don’t relish the idea of having Whoopi Goldbergs eyebrows.
Juli,
You are hilarious and I know you hear that every post…but just saying.
I don’t have acne, but in following Paleo circles Liz from Cave Girl Eats talks about oil cleansing for skin and also has her Skintervention guide. I know it sounds weird, but so did Paleo at one point. Cheers and good luck!
Accutane. The dryness sucks a big wiener but it works. It won’t scramble your unborn babies if you don’t get knocked up. The program you go through does a pretty good job to make sure you don’t. It is expensive, but something you can budget for over time before starting it. I’m poor and I was able to do it AND take righteous vacations when needed. Food for thought!
P.S. you, your food, and your blog are amazing.
Hi!
I’ve a friend that also had the same kind of acne and she went to a naturopath that took a lot of tests and so on and so on. It turned out that she was not allergic to almonds but her body couldn’t handle it at all. Now my friend are a vegetarian/vegan (she it’s mostly vegan food) and cook a lot with almond flour/milk/coconut – you know typical paleo food (minus animals of course).
Maybe you should try a month without almonds and if that doesn’t work try a month without coconut – i’ve realize that if I eat too much coconut milk i get this lovely good looking pores around my chin – not nice at all. Just a tip 😀
i actually don’t eat almonds for that exact reason! when i cut those out, my skin improved a bit with regular acne. now it just seems to be hormonal
Juli- I love your blog and recipes & appreciate your authenticity. Acne is a b!+@#. I wanted to tell you about Vitex (chaste berry). My hippy-nurse friend recommended it to me to settle my hormones after coming off bc and not getting anywhere near straightened out on my own (on for 13 yrs!). I’m just at the beginning of trying it, and think it might be helping. Do you follow Liz Wolfe aka Cave Girl Eats? She has a new thing: the “skintervention guide”. I’m going to get it. There is a possibility of needing more omega-6s for you… Also, if you have a birth & women’s center near you, I’d visit them & glean from their wisdom.
Anyway, I can’t wait to nosh on these spare-rib tacos. They look amazing! Plus, I’ve been really into tacos. If that’s the worst thing the weird hormone stuff brings is taco cravings, I can totally deal with it.
Hi Julie – I totally feel your pain with the acne. I’m almost 30 and still struggle with it, which is so frustrating! Anyways, I found a few things that have worked well for me recently and thought I would share because, hey, if you feel like I did, I would try anything.
1.) Dr. Brandt Pores No More Cleanser
2.) My mom got me a Clarisonic brush for Christmas. I know it’s spendy, but totally worth it. It has completely changed the way my skin looks and feels. My new best friend!
3.) Proactiv at night. If I use it more than once a day it dries me out.
Love your blog and recipes! You can definitely cheer me up when I’m having a bad day and the food is amazing. Has kept me paleo for 8 months now!
I totally understand about the acne and I’m SO sorry you’re having to deal with it. Not that you want to hear my sob story, but back in September I switched over to the oil cleansing method and was met with severe cystic acne unlike anything I had ever experienced (and I’ve had acne since I was nine). I kept thinking “This is natural! This IS going to work for me!” but finally in December I just had to stop. Within a week the cysts were better. For about two to three weeks I basically used all manner of unnatural products and stripped my skin. Sucky but I guess it helped. The past month I’ve been able to get back into a 90% all natural skin routine, but I definitely won’t be going back to the oil method. It was an incredibly traumatic experience! I hope yours clears ASAP!
Get a hormone blood panel done!! Could be that you have high testosterone levels and that the heavy lifting is making it worse!!! See an endocrinologist and find an OB/gyn that does bio-identical hormone replacement!!! Good luck and thanks for all the great recipes!! Keep em coming!!!
Watch your vitamins and shampoo too. Too much zinc can worsen acne. Need to avoid shampoos with too much crap like Johoba (sp?) and D/C conditioners altogether. I sympathize. I went from acne to wrinkles and still have occasional acne at 38! Talk about annoying.
Proactiv really works, its a bit harsh, but it works.
Hey, just discovered your website and love your blog! These tacos look yummy too! I normally don’t do this and don’t wish to spam you but I wanted to interject about your acne. I sell adult skincare developed by the dermatologists who invented Proactiv (Rodan + Fields). Sometimes Proactiv stops working on adult skin (I have seen this many times) plus Proactiv can be somewhat drying to adult skin. Their Unblemish line is developed specifically to address adult acne and is not drying. I have seen it work for several people who discovered that Proactiv was no longer working. I know it is not exactly Paleo but I have seen great results from it. Here is my website if you want more information: https://heatherallen.myrandf.com/Shop/Unblemish. Sorry don’t mean to spam but I hope it might help someone out there who struggles with adult acne. Thanks!
ESTRIUM by Metagenics. I’m not sure if you’re on the pill, but I used Estrium after I went off of it (1.5 scoops/day) and my acne has cleared by miles! (Mine was on my jawline, too!)
P.S. recipe looks awesome!
P.P.S. There are a ton of not-so-paleo ingredients in the Estrium but neither are antibiotics, right? I figure if it works….
It’s prolly not the most ideal treatment for many, but I finally broke down after many many years of adult acne (the kind with painful cysts), and took accutane for 7 months. After the first month ALL of my acne was gone and it stopped permanently. The horrible side effects are ultra dry skin, cracked lips, and possible bleeding (minimal) from scratching the surface of the skin. Now I treat occasional cysts (once every other month and it may be just one or 2), with prescription Retina .1%. I know this is not organic, but I can’t fathom having to deal with one more day of acne. It’s not natural! The problem with adult acne is that no matter how one treats it, everyone’s cure is different. I’ve tried everything from Oxy clean, to rubbing potatoes, dotting the cysts with lemon juice or toothpaste to try up. But they kept coming back. The problem is bad oils are created in the liver which causes the cysts to produce. Accutane works from the inside out. It’s a sucky process but it WORKS! Good luck Juli! I love your website and your recipes kick ass! you’re beautiful inside and out. We all adore you!!!!
Hi Juli,
I really can relate to what you are going through. I’m now 41 and a half, but from the time I turned 13 to until I was 40, I struggled with cystic acne particularly on my back and on my jawline.
I tried EVERYTHING- oral antibotics (tetracycline, monocin, etc.), topical antibiotics, differin, retin-A, facials, scrubs, AHAs, acid peels, microdermabrasion, two rounds of Accutane. And it would ALWAYS get better for a little while and then came back. The only thing that worked for a while was birth control pills, and then I had to stop taking them when I found out I was one of the select group of women who get blood clots from the Pill. And then when I went off the pill at age 39 so that I wouldn’t get blood clots anymore, my skin freaked out AGAIN, and was bumpy all over my face, chest and back for about nine months.
And then, about a year ago, everything seemed to calm down slowly to the point that I would have only one or two zits at a time. Then, about six months, I went Paleo and my skin almost completely cleared up – and I’m eating very little dairy and not adding any sugar (no honey, no maple sugar, only fruit.)
I really don’t have much wisdom here, except to say, I had to wait until I was 40 to have the skin I wanted when I was 25!! But it’s interesting that I have better skin now, very few deep wrinkles and smooth, then many of my peers at my same age who didn’t suffer from acne when they were younger. I’m considering that a silver lining.
My own two cents is that stress and diet has to be a big part of it – my intuition tells me that cortisol plays a part in an interaction with female hormones. But that’s all I got.
Have faith that it will get better!! And you are awesome no matter what’s going on with your skin!
A) Boyfriend, what? Where have I been?!
B) I fail to see how tortillas that taste like pancakes is a bad thing.
C) If you go 100% Paleo, does your acne disappear?
haha yes ma’am, boyfriend. pancakes, tortillas…aren’t they the same thing 😉 and no it does not sadly.
Well, congrats on the boytoy, I hope he knows how lucky he is!
And that’s crapsticks on the Paleo/still acne. One trigger that helped me pinpoint was that a food causing digestive issues typically also led to acne. Not always, but often enough to become a symptom FASTER than acne that I could look for.
I have been able to eliminate mine at ~90-95% Paleo and any time I do have a reaction (usually when eating out, as fucking soy is fucking EVERYWHERE) it quickly destroys my mental place. Acne sucks balls.
I wish you luck. You’re certainly gorgeous either way, but as someone who used to lay on concealer before joining buds for a weekend run, I absolutely know how you feel. Did I mention acne sucks balls?
i wonder if you have tried the autoimmune protocol for paleo before? i don’t have acne so i’m not sure if it helps with that, but maybe there’s a trigger food you’ve been eating that is contributing to your acne. also, food allergy/sensitivy testing could help. it is expensive, but you could save up for it. IGG testing would be the most appropriate for you since delayed responses usually cause chronic conditions.
i used to work for a naturopath’s office and have seen plenty of them. it’s so costly and i really didn’t get a lot out of my appointments- well, a $55,000 hospital bill because i got really sick from these herbs one of the naturopaths gave me. you just have to be careful who you see- i think you can find more information on the internet to be honest.
I have had acne all my life, I attributed it to wearing make up but after a severe brain injury – and more than two years of not wearing make up – I still had acne. My husband as a last ditch effort bought me Pro-Activ. I no longer have acne. Occasionally I get ONE pimple but that is the extent of it. Twenty years of acne cured in less than a month.
Juli, am I missing the ingredient list on here? Also, look for BioElements(or a salon that uses it)their acne line is AHmazing…used it on a girl who was 13 who had BAD cystic acne, it’s like night & day & nothing to be scoffed at because it’s some powerful stuff but ooooh man does it work.
PS- you rock! 🙂
I can not wait to try this!! I’ve been following your blog for a while now, and have tried most of your recipes. But I must say, I’m probably the most excited about this one! Nomms!
The doctors who created Proactive Solution came out with a new skin care line called Rodan + Fields – I’ve been using is for a month now and love it! Their products cover four main skin types: aging, sun damage, sensitive and adult acne. All products come with a 60 day satisfaction guarantee or your money back, so you may want to check it out. Here’s a link to the “anti-blemish” line: https://msteffen.myrandf.com/Shop/Unblemish
Feel free to contact me if you’re interest in more information.
Baking soda is great for acne…and CHEAP! Mix in a little with some water to make a watery paste and a cotton pad to rub it in. I have tried EVERYTHING on the market and this works way better than anything else I have tried.
Yum, I made your pork and apple crockpot dish last night, which was delicious, now I have breakfast tomorrow.
Get a retinol prescription. Modern medicine has its place in the modern world whether naturopaths like it or not.
I am in the same boat as you but for 4 years longer (28 argh). I find whenever I eat sugar I breakout. I am super sensitive but it is too sad not to have a few drinks every now and then.
I even had massive breakouts on my whole 30.
I am taking collagen from Great Lakes now and hoping this might help. I am also cleaning up all the toxins in my house – cleaning products, soapnuts for laundry, not drinking out of plastic.
I think it may be helping but it is early days. I need to swap all my makeup now for natural stuff but I havent found anything.
I hope you can work it. I hope I do too. 🙂 Too much time spent in tears and in front of the mirror inspecting.
Cant wait to try this recipe!
x
★★★★★
The brand I use is called Sterling minerals and is they seem very natural. I actually get compliments on my skin now, which was totally unheard of before. They are pretty spendy (at least in my opinion), but the products last a really long time. I didn’t buy their fancy brushes either, I just used my own synthetic brushes. But some people are allergic to brushes made with animal hairs, so that’s a possible source of irritation, too. And my mom has problems with eyeliner pencils depending on the type of wood that is used!
Thanks for the tip. I will l
Thanks for the tip. I will look into that brand. I tried a few natural liquid foundations and really didn’t like them.
I know I would get acne along my jawline. And makeup just made things worse. What worked really well for me was switching to a mineral makeup that does not contain Bismuth oxychloride which can be very irritating to skin and is in most makeup. There are several mineral makeup companies that don’t put it in their products. And it doesn’t rub off on pillows or clothes which is nice, too. 🙂
Boneless short ribs for breakfast….insane but genius!!!!! Cannot wait to try this.
My daughter has acne and i take her to a dermatologist and it has helped tremendously!!! she is actually on an antibiotic to help clear the acne from the inside out as well as face washes (she is only 16 and it is a huge problem). i also believe what you put into your body helps as well. You are bueatiful and a huge inspiration!!
Thank you so much for your blog! I’m new to paleo and this blog has helped me so much! I have a huge acne problem as well. As a nurse I have always leaned on medications such as antibiotics, bcp and topical creams to help w/ my acne but none have really cleared up my acne 100%. I finally found success with bcp (birth control pills) and Ole Henriksen products. I currently use the Aloe Vera Deep Cleanser, vitamin plus cream and the Grease Release Face Tonic. These products are natural, paraben free and amazing! You can go to sephora and ask if samples are available. Another thing I have done is change my makeup. I started using Tarte. They are also considered natural cosmetics (also found at sephora). I Love their BB tinted cream, mineral powder and blush. I want to warn you…these products are a lil more expensive than your average department store cosmetics and cleansers but they are so worth it! Please remember Acne gets worse before it gets betters and choose a product and stick with it for at least 3 mos prior to switching (unless you have an allergic reaction).
thanks again! Ur blog is AWWesome!
Hey Juli! I’ve become a tiny bit obsessive/stalkery of your blog—love love love. Wanted to offer some help from a fellow sufferer of acne. The new World Market on Colorado Blvd carries Republic of Tea’s Get Gorgeous that helps with acne. Also there’s a holistic shop on East Colfax called Herb and Arts, find out when the herb lady will be there. She’ll mix up tea and a powder to make a mask, totally helped my face.
Julie, I understand your frustration about acne. I have pcos and one of the side effects is really bad cystic acne. It is painful, deep, and tends to leave marks..I had tried everything from prescriptions to proactive…nothing worked…even tried coconut oil…which worked some but not a lot. So in my own lil lab here is what has actually worked…dead sea salt and rose oil extract. What I do is grind the dead sea salt to a fine sand and mix in olive or coconut oil (just enough to moisten the salt) then up to 10 drops of rose oil. I use this as a scrub. At night I will leave the residual oil on for moisture, but in the morning I will use a plain antibacterial soap with out any additives. If you can find a pure black soap that works great. Rose oil is a natural anti-inflammatory which helps with puffiness and dead sea salt has been a long time cure for all types of dermatitis, eczemas, and acnes. Good luck…love the recipe!
Oh and I have tried accutane and lots of other antibiotics. They work temporarily but if it is a hormone issue it will just go back to normal. I don’t think it is worth the compromise on your body to go on antib’s.
Have you heard of Liz Wolfe and her Skintervention Guide? I haven’t used it, but I tune into her Balanced Bites podcast every week with Diane Sanfilippo and she seems to really know her skin stuff! And also not trying to be lesbo in any form or fashion, but you look gorgeous, girl, try not to let the acne get you down!
Julie–We use hemp oil in our house for acne. It has been a miracle. Buy the kind in the refrigerated section of the store. Dab some on your face after a shower in the morning and at night before bedtime. It does not make your skin oily like you think it would. Do not use anything else with it. Try it and let me know how it goes.
You’re beautiful. Smart. Funny. Strong. *repeat*
Sounds like you’ve got a good idea of the cause of the acne on an internal standpoint, but what about external. When was the last time you sanitized your phone? Do you rest your face on the palm of your hand when surf the web?
Check out this link to PaleoPlan and her $1500 test results…http://www.paleoplan.com/2013/02-23/my-1500-lab-tests-5-month-update/
Hope the info helps!
Love your blog and recipes!
For the acne, have you tried simple probiotics? I’m 27 and get pesky breakouts on my chin- since taking probiotics for a month, it had GREATLY decreased and almost dissappeared. I take Dr. Ohhira’s. Worth looking into anyway.
P.S love your recipes.
1. These look delish.
2. I took antibiotics, use two topical gels, a clairsonic, and changed my birth control brand a bunch of time. And its not cystic anymore, but I still have oily skin and some occasional bumps. Once I go off the topicals, I’m going accutane if the cystic stuff comes back. I literally creeper stare at people who have nice skin and contemplate asking them about their skin care regimen…. The scars are the bane of my existence, but I’m trying to focus on being happy and using the edit tool before I instagram stuff.
We get regular blood test done and she does not wear makeup except for eyewear only. For her age she has a pretty bad case and i never ever had acne. acutualy i have pretty clear skin except at that time of month when i would have maybe 1 or 2 zits tops. she does have a pretty big sweet tooth. i never did and still dont ( im a carb ffreak) so i agree i think sugar and acne go hand in hand….just saying, not judging….did i mention i love my carbs (but they dont like me)
Juli,
I’m new to your blog, but have been loving your recipes! Also been reading your skin updates. I have mild PCOS and one of my worst symptoms is acne. If I’m not on 100mg of spironalactone, all hell breaks loose. Bah.
I’m currently about 7 months pregnant, so obviously can’t use most meds. My skin has been terrible during pregnancy — including my shoulders and back, which I’ve never experienced before.
I have to echo what other posters have said about Spiro and Doxycycline. Sprio takes about 3+ months to kick in, so you might need to give it more time. A low dose of Doxy was amazing (!) but made me very sensitive to sun. Amoxicillin also works, but of course you don’t want to be on antibiotics for a prolonged period of time.
After my wedding, I went off Doxy and stuck with Sprio, topical Benzaclin in the AM and Retin-A in the PM. I had an occasional PMS blemish, but otherwise skin was great. No doubt that I will be back on these meds again after pregnancy/nursing.
For now, I’m relying on my Clairsonic (really, they are wonderful) and the Mario Badescu products that one of your previous commenters recommended. It’s helping.
Hang in there — and thank you for all the great food fodder!
Hi Juli! I am new to Paleo and your blog. I absolutely LOVE your attitude and humor and let it all hang out attitude. Since I am new to you, I don’t know what you have tried and not tried with the acne thing, but have you tried changing conditioners? It seems that when you wear your hair down it touches the areas where you have acne. Just a thought and a much easier route to try than putting more meds in your body. But the guy who talked about the paint chips above was right…..you are hot and beautiful and have a frickin’ awesome personality and all of that totally cancels out the acne. I am a longtime sufferer so I get it. Be cool.
I’ve been drinking spearmint tea for its anti-androgen effects, and I think it has really helped my hormonal acne…usually around the jaw line like yours. Worth a try!
I am astonished at the amount of people recommending Accutane. That stuff is insane! Don’t take that crap! It is so bad for you. If you aren’t already taking an omega 3 supplement you may want to consider it. Some brands are really crappy though. My husband has spent HOURS searching for the best, cleanest forms of omega 3 supplements and we now take them from innatechoice.com and he recommends it to all his patients. We both have a history of acne and now never have a problem (unless we really dive off the deep end with our diet). But in the end, dealing with zits is a lot better than Accutane. Yikes.
EFF drugs! I’d keep it simple. Drink more water with lemon, for starters. I also recommend “SK-II Facial Treatment Essence”. This sh*t is the bomb diggity. Yes, I said that. And yes, this stuff is like holy water. Yes, it is expensive, but I’ve been using a sample for the month and I still have a lot left. All you need is a raindrop on your forehead, raindrop on your cheeks, raindrop on your jaw. Your skin will become insta-mazing. Good Luck Juli
Hey Juli!
I just started reading your blog and LOVE it. I live in China, so this presents a problem for finding some ingredients or at least causes a mad hunt to find them all around my “small” city. Anyway, I struggled with cystic acne, went on accutane, and it cleared up! (For about 8 years) Recently, it came back along my checks : /, but I know that two things have helped me. Cetaphil cleanser and baking soda masks. For some reason, most face washes (clean and clear etc..) break me out, but Cetaphil is keeping the cystic acne in check! It’s not too expensive and is WORTH trying (much less than accutane and other drugs). Give it a month. Also, I don’t wear any foundation and that has helped also!
You rock. You’re gorgeous as is!
Hi Juli,
Skin problems suck. I had never had acne much and then started getting what looked like acne around my chin and jawline. It wasn’t horrible but made me feel self conscious. It turns out it was actually perioral dermatitis- have you ever looked that up? Looks just like acne, but different things may cause/help it. Just a thought. I know it sucks but trust me people look at you and see a gorgeous woman inside and out.
As far as makeup goes, I HIGHLY recommend trying Mineral Hygienics- http://www.mineralhygienics.com. It is AWESOME. It looks like you airbrushed your face, but natural, and it stays on all day without rubbing off. Only 4 ingredients and all are natural minerals, just literally taken from the earth and ground into a powder. My rash cleared when I started using it some people say it helps their acne…but it definitely will not aggravate it or rub off. Hope this helps!
★★★★★
PS I think diet wise, the only thing you haven’t tried that might work is upping your starch intake as your carb source and lowering fruit/sugar. That has helped me as well. And I have zero sugar cravings. From what you post it seems you eat very low carb esp. for activity level. That can actually cause some problems in the long run. But seriously…you’re gorg, try not to focus on it!!
Hey! i have crazy bad acne around my jawline too …. what brand of foundation/ concealer do you use??
i use napoleon foundation. it’s like putting a mask on, it’s seriously covers up everything. which probably isn’t a great thing.
I feel really compelled to comment about the acne. I had acne my WHOLE life as well… ever since I was a teen when my acne first started. It NEVER went away no matter what I tried. Drinking more water, changes in exercise, changes in diet (I’ve been paleo for 2 years now), changes in make-up, changes in what I washed my face with, etc… nothing would work. And if there were any minor “improvements”, it wouldn’t last long. I saw MANY doctors and MANY dermatologists. I was prescribed nearly everything to try and get rid of the acne- birth control pills, antibiotics, topical treatments, things like spironolactone, and doxycyline… among many others that I can’t even remember. I tried proactive, heating devises, and laser treatments to get rid of my acne. I realized that many dermatologists are hesitant to prescribe accutane, but I was at the end of the rope and was determined to keep going until I could get a prescription for it. I finally saw an AMAZING dermatologist who, after hearing about my lifelong battle with acne, suggested accutane right away. At the age of 29, and after 6 months of accutane, my acne was FINALLY gone. Almost a year later and I hardly ever get so much as a white head. I never have to think about the acne again. I don’t have to be self conscious anymore. I don’t have to worry about my make up wiping off and my acne being exposed. I don’t have to be embarrassed about my own husband seeing my ugly acne and scars. I finally feel free. My suggestion is to do whatever it takes and get on accutane. I know it’s a harsh and serious treatment, but it is WORTH it. And I believe it is far better than being on harmful drugs and chemicals for YEARS with no real results in clearing up acne. After accutane the amount of chemicals you will ingest and put on your face will pretty much disappear. I just wash with cetaphil, use a little witch hazel, and then moisturizer… and that’s it. If you want to ask any more question about accutane, feel free to email me. It is so worth it! I know how devistating and depressing acne can be… good luck.
I’m terribly sorry you have to deal with acne, unfortunately it probably won’t do you much good to tell you how unbelievably beautiful you are both inside and out. Your boyfriend is a lucky man no doubt.
I will be making this dish tomorrow night, it looks extremely tasty!
★★★★★
A little background…44 yr. old mom of 6 who has done half marathons, weight lifting contests, and every other aerobic competition. No matter what I tried, nothing seemed to worked on acne ( professionals, cutting dairy & nuts ). I had a friend tell me to go to Trader Joes…buy their face wash as well as tree oil cleansing pads. My face cleared up within 2 weeks. When I am 2 weeks from pmsing I use apple cidar vinegar as a “toner” on a paper towel for a couple of days. I am truly amazed at how simple it has been. After spending thousands of dollars through my 30’s, I wish someone would have explained that organic was the way to go!! I hope this helps you as much as it has me and most of my friends!!
Hi Juli, I am new to your website. But when it is a meat day I usually look for a recipe on your site. I admire your frankness and humor. I wanted to comment about the acne thing. I am inmy 30s and have struggled with acne most of my life. It wasn’t until my husband and I bought the book ” Eat to Live” and followed the plan that my acne cleared up right away and I don’t need wear makup to cover blemishes anymore because my skintone is rosy and healthy. The plan is mainly fruit, veggies and nuts. Now we eat meat and use butter sparingly. about 2-3 times a week. I know this is hard for a paleo person but I thought I should just share my experience.
By the way, your carrot cake pudding recipe is my new favorite treat.
I got so lost in your dimples I forgot to look at your acne! Its spendy & who knows if it will work for you but take a look at the Tria blue light acne treatment laser thingy. Supposed to kill bacteria so the acne doesn’t form in the first place. No one else mentioned it so thought I might! Btw, I’m starvemanian & wish you could magically put these tacos in my face like right now!
First off, you are beautiful….with or without acne 🙂 I have struggled with acne for years, and I finally found something that has worked for me. It is Obagi skin care and I use the ZO skin care line. I cleanse with the Offects exfoliating cleanser, and then use the TE pads acne pore treatment. I can’t tell you how much better my skin is! No, I do not sell this stuff 🙂 but if I can get my hands on a sample I will send it to you!
The recipe looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I work for a dermatologist and all I can say is say no to drugs lol. Accutane patients often complain of blood in their stools, intense joint pain (especially for those who exercise often) and depression.
With all the work you do to keep your body healthy…putting drugs in it is just counter productive. In the long run, antibiotics will only hinder you.
Coming from someone with a very long history of scarring acne….the only thing I can say is, try to rule out a fungus infection which can cause acne.
Love all of your recipes!!! Keep up the awesome work.
Ugh, acne. Just, ugh. I feel your pain, and you should know that you are a gorgeous girl nonetheless, but I feel you! I have an appointment with a derm in a month that I feel will end with an accutane prescription, but I know that I eat well, take good care of myself, and if it clears the acne once and for all, well I will strongly consider it. Many people would disagree with me for wanting to jump on board with accutane, but nothing else has completely cleared it yet. I still get cystic acne, boo. I am weighing my options right now. Accutane is not the right decision for everyone, I feel, but I do have friends who have gone through with it and are sharing with me their improvements from the drug now.
One suggestion that I will make (since your acne appears to be jaw-line oriented), is a good quality probiotic. Believe it or not, I found that the probiotic I take has really helped at least in that area of my face. A company called Udo’s Choice makes a good one called Super 8 Probiotic, which I use daily. Talk to your doc if you’re unsure whether to take a probiotic or not, but I have has improvements after taking it. Best of luck Juli! I just stumbled upon this blog a few weeks ago, as I recently switched to Paleo, and it is so creative and wonderful!
You are probably getting tired of all the different recommendations, but I wanted to share because your blog is great and my skin used to look just like that, I am 26 and have had bad jaw/chin/lower face hormonal acne. I was on doxycycline, spironolactone, retin-a cream and finacea cream. Sulfur ointment for “spot treament”/drying.
Severe acne is caused by bacteria in a clogged pore. When the dead skin in pores doesnt break down (hormones/genetics can cause this) and oil is released (testosterone contributes) the bacteria are fed (eew), cause inflammantion and bam acne. All the diet, anti-stress, drinking water can decrease inflammation, but to clear up the acne the bacteria must die! So- get an oral antibiotic if you are not already taking. And they do take a while to work- those pores house a lot of bacteria!
my 2 cents – i’ve done everything mentioned (all meds, accutane, taz, bcps, etc etc), and FINALLY when I cut it all out and went natural, to oil cleansing – my skin finally calmed down. my skin stays pretty clear now.
i had the hormonal jawline breakouts like you. just a thought! all of the meds/topicals/etc are just way too much for our skin. stripping out and going all natural is like paleo for the skin.
Question- what kind of makeup do you use? You always look so glowing and pretty 🙂 not to sound like a creeper…
I love your blog btw!
i use napoleon foundation. it’s like putting a mask on, it’s seriously covers up everything. which probably isn’t a great thing.
Ok, you are NOT going to believe me when I tell you this… really , you will think I am nuts.
Have you heard of the “Oil Cleaning Method” for acne?
I am 38 years old and have battled cystic acne my entire freaking life. If there is a prescription, I have been on it. I only used the best brands of skin care as well. About a month ago I read about “OCM”. Basically you wash your face WITH OIL. No kidding. It balances out your skin’s need for oil so you do not over produce oil. My perfect combo is 3/4 castor oil 1/4 olive oil. Google it to see exact directions about steaming your face. I swear to you it has changed my skin. I have not had one single pimple since the first week. NOT ONE!!!!!
Just have to add my 2 cents regarding acne — I never did Accutane, but did try Proactive (which made my skin worse and BLEACHED THE PAINT off my bathroom wall — and we put this on our SKIN??). I tried all the rest, including birth control and antibiotics and the dry ice/alcohol sizzle (by the same dermo who INJECTED my cystic acne — in case you were wondering, this does not tickle). Tea tree oil worked a tiny bit, but not enough. Clarisonic helped somewhat but worsened my blood vessel breakage, so I stopped using it. What has FINALLY worked is a mixture of Trader Joe’s organic coconut oil and baking soda. The baking soda is key — oil alone did not do it, and made things worse. It took some experimentation to get the ratio right and I’m guessing that it’s a very individualized mix, but I do about 60% baking soda to 40% coconut oil. Warm (not hot) water on my face first, then massage the coconut oil/baking soda mixture into my face, rinse with warm water, pat try and dab a tiny bit of coconut oil (without baking soda) around my eyes and on my chin (which would otherwise be dry in the morning). I do this twice a day and my pores are the cleanest they’ve ever been, the smallest they’ve ever looked, and all of my acne — cystic and otherwise — has simply vanished. Took me 30 years to discover what worked for me, but now I never have to worry if I can justify a sick day because I feel too disfigured to be seen in the office (if your acne was bad enough you know you’ve considered it, too!).
Thank you, Juli, for taking all the time you do to share your successes (and failures!) and for being such a warm and entertaining inspiration to all of us!
i’m totally not going to give you any acne advice. i’m just popping in to say i agree. it sucks. it’s been nearly 25 years for me. most of that time it’s been cystic. i’ve tried all the “cures”. i did two rounds of accutane. it has cleared up from some of the things i’ve done but it always come back. i. hate. acne.
Have you ruled out PCOS? What about antibiotic therapy?
I read something in your blog a few months back that was a red flag and just thought I’d mention it: You had said you were using hot water on your face when cleansing. This is a really common mistake that most women make, thinking that it’s opening their pores or something. The only thing it’s really doing is drying out the skin, which is a vicious cycle for more acne. Just a thought to consider.
Asian women use only cool water on their faces, and they’ve been horrified when I’ve told them I use warm water. They always say “Doesn’t that dry out your skin?” Why yes, yes it does. Most dermatologists here continue to insist on warm to hot water. Fail. Also, shower water is wayyyyy too hot for our faces. Try switching to using cool water only for awhile. It’s not a complete solution, but definitely contributes to the problem. HTH!
★★★★★
Juli… Have you ever had your hormones checked??? It’s so important and can reveal a LOT.
Hey, have you tried cutting out all diary??? It might sound trite, but at age 35 I started getting what my Dermatologist called “adult acne” due to hormones, blah, blah — and after various antibiotics and topical treatments, nothing seemed to be working. Then I came across an article that basically said those who have a propensity for acne should stay away from ALL dairy because 95% of the dairy cows in the US are pregnant at the time they are milked…which means the milk has high levels of hormones in it…which means when consumed by you and me (and those who have a propensity for acne) it will be blemish city. I’ve been dairy free for 6 months now and my skin has NEVER looked better/been more clear. Who knew it could be so easy to clear up my quote/unquote “adult acne”?? 😉 Give it a shot!
If it’s really affecting your life I’d suggest seeing Naturopathic Doctor. It’ll cost some money up-front, but in the long run they should be able to help you find the cause of your imbalance (hormonal, blood sugar, microflora, liver detox…) and work towards solving that- which will help your skin but also your general well-being. Unfortunately many prescription medications do not treat the route cause of the acne. Something to consider 🙂
Been there been there been there….at the ripe age of 35…hormonal acne. I believe in health and good food….but when all else failed, I went to the dermatologist. I was prescribed Atralin skin gel, and wash exclusively with LHA cleanser from skinceuticals which you can order online. Moisturizer with CeraVe twice a day after cleanser. 3 months and I was Completely clear including minimal scarring.
These look delicious!
Adding another well-intentioned but unsolicited piece of acne advice to the pile here. I started taking a zinc supplement once a day for my (20-year-long) hormonal acne issue, and it was like a small miracle. It’s still not perfect, and I still have to be diligent about skincare, but at least my face doesn’t hurt anymore. I’d been on everything before that, including two cycles of Accutane, Spiro, antibiotics, topicals, blah blah blah. Anyway, best of luck. Acne really is the WORST.
http://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-Optizinc-Monomethionine-Tablets/dp/B00020I7Q2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362748842&sr=8-1&keywords=optizinc
I was getting the same breakouts, around my jawline, until I started sleeping with a clean towel over my pillow every night. I read on some blog that there are germs on our pillows that can cause use to break out. It’s a really weird idea but when I don’t sleep with a clean towel over my pillow you can definitely tell the next day. Hope this helps! 🙂
I have experienced the hormonal acne at a much later age than you. Have tried everything from bc to spironolactone to retin-A. I just ended up fat on bc and tired/lazy/joint achy on the spiro. While I still use the retin-A a couple times a week what has definitely helped has been a blue light therapy – the handhelds can be expensive so I decided to just by a bulb (415nm) on amazon for $45 and use it for 15 min three times a week or more if I feel things starting to sprout. I can totally relate to having these horrible often painful cysts come up and feeling helpless. Hope you can try the light therapy – I know I was willing to do (almost!) whatever but was sure sick of taking medication internally for it.
We did away with all of our non-stick cookware years ago, so I’m hesitant to buy a non-stick pan to make these tortillas, but am also dying to buy a non-stick pan to make these tortillas! Any advice for my indecision :)?
Love your blog!
(For the acne, have you tried the oil approach (rub jojoba oil on area for a few minutes, use steaming hot cloth to rub it off – it acts like a magnet to remove all deposits; do that 3x/week and use baking soda to clean face), I’ve heard others had great results for their adult cystic acne.)
just use a little coconut oil in your pan to coat it!
We’ve used coconut oil for over 10yrs and can’t get it to work as a nonstick on our stainless :(. We’ve tried a dab (and rubbing all over) to a chunk, but parts always stick. Thank you though!!
As usual, this dish was the ish. Thanks, Juli!
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I’m a woman in my 40’s and I’ve had the acne problem since my early 30’s. I would dread waking up in the morning….
For the last 4-5 months I’ve been taking 2 probiotics daily (I get the cheap ones at the dollar store, about $5 a bottle). since then I’ve had ZERO breakouts!!!! I started taking two because of digestive issues and NO acne is quite the happy side effect. My skin looks soooooo much better. I use no other products on my skin other than BB cream daily. It make take a little while but it may worth trying for the heck of it.
Good Luck and I LOVE your blog 🙂
Juli, if you’d like to try it out, I can send you some essential oils to use on your face for both treatment and for cleansing (with coconut oil). Email me if you’d like some free samples ! I use only 100% certified pure therapeutic grade doTERRA essential oils and they are wonderful for some many things, including acne. 🙂
Hello – my acne looked remarkably like yours – and very much along my lower jaw. I did Atkins induction for two weeks – and my acne cleared. I’m now back upto about 130g carbs, and although my skin is getting a little greasier, my acne has not returned. It may have been coincidence, but for a fortnight it might be worth a try.
Juli – my acne is basically gone and the only things I have done are to take a zinc supplement every night – 50 mg chelated and use OCM to cleanse my skin. I use a combo of sunflower oil and castor oil. I don’t even get my normal zit on my chin before my period anymore! Dairy and sugar were also big triggers but I’ve been paleo for a few years now. I love your blog and thanks for being so open about your struggles. It’s refreshing to see.
Hey, sweet girl–it looks like you have only 37,000 responses about the acne. I can sympathize. I won’t go on and on, but the ONE thing that worked was eliminating all sulfate products that were in my skin care regimen. Sodium lauryl (or laureth) sulfate. It is a sudsing agent, so anything that suds is going to have SLS in it. I use Burt’s Bees products on my hair and skin, and use gloves when I wash dishes or clean house.
I spent YEARS fighting acne. I was treated with strong antibiotics, and use corticosteroid cream daily to combat the inflammation. I also use a cream for treating rosacea, but I feel that most of my problem was an allergy to SLS and allergies of other kinds (chocolate, wheat predominantly).
Good luck.
Barb
P.S. LOVE your recipes–my husband does, too!
Hi, I don’t know you personally at all but I do read your blog almost every day. I’m a Crossfitter and understand the issue with Cystic Acne— I have tried eerything in the past from, natural products, to clean eating, to antibiotics (which worked but you dont want to be on those for the rest of your life). BUT I finally found something that works– Spironolactone! It is a water pill that people use to reduce your blood pressure etc. but one of hte side effects is that it lcears up cystic acne!!! And since it’s a water pill it has no ill side effects— just make sure to drink a lot of water since it’s a diuretic and dehydrates you a little. Just thought i’d pass this on, because I had tried everything natural without any success.
sigh. inspired by your little vent, i will also share my acne irritation — i get pimples and to add insult to injury, my love bumps also like leave marks on my face for freakin ever. since nearly everything irritates my skin, i’m investing in the fermented cod liver oil team. i’m hearing reviews that it’s a miracle. also, and more importantly, can’t wait to try these ribs and also want to mention that my boyfriend was very impressed with your magic shell recipe and i am personally pretty sure that there are god particles in that mixture. thanks always JB!
Have you tried pantothenic acid (B5) for the acne? I was having serious problems about a year ago, right before I started going paleo. I cleaned up my diet and started taking 2 pantothenic acid tablets in the morning and 2 at night and within 2ish weeks everything was clearing up. I still take 2 tablets in the morning every day and I havnt had acne problems in months. In case you’re curious, this is the brand I use: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZDN2Y/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
🙁 I have the EXACT SAME acne problems. $hit sucks!!!! Stress causes acne and I stress ov er acne WTH!!!??? Makes me sad, I know my husband thinks I’m beautiful regardless but it’s hard to feel beautiful when your neck and jawline are full of bumps! Waaaaaa :'(
I do not have any acne advice but I think you are a beautiful person with or without acne and brave for sharing your story. I started eating Paleo because I found your hilarious blog through friends at CrossFit. I love your stories and recipes. Thank you for all you do and I’m sorry you are struggling with the whole acne thing. That sucks.
I also suffer from the same exact acne problem. A whole 30 didn’t help, immune protocol, nothing. A friend told me about washing your face with coconut oil and a sprinkle of baking soda for exfoliation. BOOM! 3 days later, my face was clear. No expensive face washes, creams, exfoliants, nothing.
I also suffer from cystic ance… I take spirnolactone twice a day… and have a very clear face these days… I hate that I take a presciption daily but my face hurts a lot less and I have a LOT more confidence.
I have had injections done into the cysts before to help minimize and used various other topical oitments/creams from the dermatologist.
I tried to suffer through it and not use prescriptions… but nothing works…long term… and this does.. I have my blood monitoreed regularly to make sure the medicine isn’t having any adverse impacts.
on a separate notes…Your blog is wonderful and inspires me to cook better all the time!! thank you for doing it!!
I want to say ALL OF THE THINGS about this post. Argh. I hate that you have to deal with acne, but admire your perspective that your energy is better of use else where. Like sexytime with a new man! 🙂 I have been dying for a new pork crockpot recipe and cannot wait to try this one! Thank you! Praying my store has boneless pork short ribs! Lastly – yay for a new man!!!! Happy for your happy.
Forget Accutane – that stuff is awful. I swear up and down that the only thing that worked for me, a lifelong acne sufferer from 10 yrs old to 37 yrs old, is Sulfacet. Like pretty much overnight it worked. Seriously. SERIOUSLY!
Okay everybody with acne, I personally never had it but my little sister did. So I’m gonna share with you our family secret….argile clay. My mother is from France, her father was a moderately famous artist and ceramicist. They used the ceramic clay (argile) for EVERYTHING…and I was witness to it all. Sister’s acne cleared; father got bit by a brown recluse – healed the open wound; ear aches in children, skin problems, sores, sore throats, diarrhea, you name. Argile clay has MANY healing properties. My mother buys this stuff by 10 lbs in powder form. In a glass bowl, you wet it with purified water to make a pudding-type paste, put it at the sun to absorb vitamins for a few hours and then apply as a poultice between something like cheesecloth. Keep it covered when not in use. Put it on am & pm for about 20-30 mins. It goes on cold; remove it and discard when it feels warm to the touch. Rinse and carry on with your regular regime. My grandmother always said to also drink lemon juice when you do this. Good luck!
Instead of liquid makeup that can clog your pores, have you tried mineral makeup like Colorescience? It is actually good for your skin! No, I don’t work for them. Just been using it for years. Google it! Good luck.
Have you tried a mineral makeup like Colorescience? Liquid makeup clogs your pores. Colorescience is actually good for your skin. You can sleep in it! google it! I have used it for years.
Had to pipe in on the acne discussion because I’ve been struggling as well and after research on EarthClinic and iHerb, have been finding success using organic apple cider vinegar as a toner, coconut oil to moisturize, and mega doses of vitamin C (to help speed healing and minimize scars). Also drinking 3 capfuls of ACV in tall water bottle every day, and using Grandpa’s Thylox Acne Treatment Soap with Sulfur…read the reviews online which convinced me to try these protocols and I am pleased with my results.
have you ever tried ditching the makeup and the soap? I was on minocycline (sp?) for 10+ years after a doc prescribed it and I couldn’t get off of it after that, every time I tried it was worse than it had ever been. my body was adicted to it. a derm tried to put me on accutane too but when he left the room his assistant told me never to go on it. it wasn’t until my diet was clean and I gave up on soap that it finally cleared up. of course if you wear makeup you’ll need something to chisel that crap off of your face. it takes 2-3 weeks for your skin to adjust to not being washed with soap but I’d try that before you go to the drugs, they are tough to get off of
Okay, I gotta throw in my two cents, cause, Juli, I’m feelin’ ya on the acne thing.
I know you’ve tried a lot of over the counter and prescription remedies… Have you tried just using baking soda? I know it sounds too easy, but I had horrible acne and a friend of mine suggested it, and it completely cleared it up. Years later, the acne came back, and I tried everything (Proactiv, birth control, tea tree oil… You name it, I tried it). Eventually I gave up and just decided that it must be my lot in life to walk around hideous and scaring small children. And then I remembered the baking soda. I started using it again, and within a few days my face was totally cleared up. I still have the occasional day where my face will flare up, but I just wash with the baking soda that night, and maybe for the next few nights to be safe, and it goes away.
The recipe is easy-peasy… Mix baking soda with water to make a thick paste. Splash water on your face, and then rub the mix onto your face with your fingers. Once you’ve rubbed it on, rinse it off and moisturize. You can either make up a batch to last you a few days, or make a little every night. In the morning, I usually just rinse the eye boogers and drool off with a splash of water (I know, sexy, huh?) and then go without lotion. Not sure what your skin type is (not sure what mine is, for that matter), but I’ve found that a splash of water and a quick towel off leaves my skin feeling tight at first, and then it oils itself back up (ick, but true).
I hope you can find something that works for you… But whether you do or not, I 100% agree with R. (3rd post down). He put it rather, well… um… guy-like, but it’s true 🙂
I struggled with cystic acne too. It was super frustrating. It was initially caused by an IUD. Once I had that removed and got back on the pill, of course my skin was perfect. When I finally got off the pill, it started coming back – those deep zits that take forever to go away and heal. I got an adrenal profile done (which showed a hormonal imbalance & low blood sugar in the PM, among other things), and my Nurse Practitioner put me on Wobenzym and DHEA. I also started to use super high quality manuka honey and jojoba oil on my face (jojoba oil has made me break out in the past. You HAVE to use the really good stuff), and my skin is FINALLY getting normal looking again! I can send you links to the honey and oil, if you are interested.
Those breakfast tacos look awesome! As for the acne … I struggled with cystic acne for years! Have you tried apple cider vinegar? I take it in tablet form and it has done wonders. That combined with Kiss My Face olive oil soap and Burts Bees blemish stick. I still get a pimple here and there but not nearly as bad as I was!
I’ve tried it ALL. Sometimes there just isn’t a magic answer. As a teen I did not have acne. As an adult, I was hit with cystic acne. Finally went on Accutane. Cleared my face up for 8-10 years, but the cystic acne has come back; fortunately not as bad as before. I am now on doxycycline (doesn’t keep the cysts away so much as clears them up quicker) and two creams. See a dermatologist!
Beyond that…from YEARS of experience (I’m 41 now) some simple things that I discovered that no one ever really told me helps greatly in preventing them. It’s not a magic thing but definitely cuts down on the break outs!
ALCOHOL YOUR PHONES! I alcohol mine daily or more often. Do your cell and home phones regularly. Cuts the bacteria that comes in contact with your face.
DO NOT USE FABRIC SOFTENER(liquid or sheets)! It a break out waiting to happen.
IF YOU USE BLEACH, RINSE TWICE! Again this irritates skin.
CHANGE YOUR PILLOW CASE EVERY FEW DAYS. Just keeps the oils away.
WASH MAKEUP UTENSILS EVERY DAY.
I am a newer reader of yours and haven’t adopted the paleo diet…yet. But, I have the same problem as you with cystic acne and I think I finally found a cure – JuiceBeauty.com organic face care. I purchased it a couple of weeks ago and have had NO breakouts – first time in forever! I actually just saw a deal on RueLaLa yesterday for JuiceBeauty products and snatched up that deal. I bought the “clear” kit that comes with a 30 day supply of multiple products and it has really worked wonders. I also picked up the CC cream. Hope you find something that works for you!
Hello
Just came here from nom nom paleo’s newsletter and saw the issue with the acne. Some of this other’s have suggested:
Probiotics, liver cleanse with milk thistle (make sure it is 75% silymarin) cut out all forms of sugar (you could do this first and if that is the culprit you will know in a couple of weeks), if it is truly hormonal, then take chaste berry or also known as vitex. It is an herb that helps to balance your hormones. It may take a good 6 weeks but worth it. It will also help if you have any PMS symptoms. Lots of luck and I am excited to check out your blog!
I have tried basically everything short of accutane to clear my acne. I got the primal bundle of ebooks when it was on sale a few months ago and the one by The Love Vitamin was really helpful. She talks a lot about the usual diet/exercise/stress stuff but what really got me was her stuff on estrogen/testosterone dominance. I went with her recommendations for estrogen dominance (DIM and some liver detox supplements) and it seems to be helping. Its only been about 4 weeks but I have very few new cysts and they are smaller (maybe 1/3-1/2 the size) and less inflamed. I also started with Betaine HCl which has seemed to help a lot with blackheads. I hope you find something that helps!
I’m a licensed esthetician and I’ve helped lots of other people overcome the very same thing you are experiencing. I would love to help you out…no charge (because i consider you paid in full with all the delightful recipes you’ve provided for my family!) i’d love to talk to you and help you through this…drug and pain free. drop me a line!!
I’m glad to see a few people up there caring about what they put on their skin.
I had perfect skin to 25, then awful cystic acne for a year, finally got desperate and tried proactive – boy, did it work.
I couldn’t bring myself to keep using it, I am so careful about what I put in and on my body, so seemed silly to be dousing my face in chemicals. Stopped using it, acne returned.
Switched to OCM and bought Crunchy Betty’s e-book. Changed my life. I cleanse with honey in the AM, oil at night. Seems counterintuitive, but man, it works. I’m down to a completely smooth forehead, smooth nose and cheeks, and minor isolated bumps on my chin (and these are subsiding). It has taken a month and a half, and I felt absolutely insane in the beginning (terrified my skin was going to freak out). I’m telling you, do iit. You care so much about your food (as do I), you’re radiant as is, don’t cling to crazy nasty drugs. Give “Crunchy Betty” a shot!
I don’t know if you’ve tried it. But I hear that African Black Soap by Nubian Heritage has been really helpful to reduce acne. I love the smell, but have super dry skin so stick with their shea butter washes.
Juli, have you checked out Liz Wolfe’s Skintervention Guide? I haven’t purchased it yet but she’s my go-to girl for natural skin and body care advice. I’ve been slowly but surely working on my skin for the past couple of months and things are improving…slowly. I try to wear a little less make-up in this stage of my effort, and switched to talc-free mineral stuff whenever I do. I’m trying to up my mineral intake with bone broth, eat plenty of fermented foods, and moisturize with coconut oil whenever I can (I live in dry, dry west Texas and so no matter what my skin is dry). That being said, since I’ve cleaned things up on that front I’ve found that whenever I go a little crazy with my food (like when I ate three Paleo cupcakes last night, nbd) I have a breakout around my chin or jawline.
But you might consider doing something gentle to cleanse your liver and/or digestion, as these parts of our body are also somewhat connected to our hormones. Good luck!
P.S. I’m going to Paleo FX this year and I’d love to meet you!
Love your blog! Go with the lady that suggest trader Joe’s tree tea oil pads, clean your face with them morning and in the evening. Use purpose soap, no chemicals and light on the base makeup which will break you out! I had adult breakouts from hormone changes…really, have to get zits now??? Do people still say zits??? Anyway, worked great, not expensive and I tried everything.
Got the low down from someone who had acne her whole life. Whenever I try something new I always go back to this routine. The only other product that really works, Mario Bedescu’ drying ( we just call it the pink stuff) dab it on your zits with q-tip gone in a couple of days! I have three girls….and two boys, I promise you… I know the scope on acne!! Now can you help me lose weight????
Hey Juli,
This recipe looks amazing!! If I don’t have a slow cooker, could I put it in a dutch oven? Would 250 be too low or should I bump it up to 300? Love your recipes, thanks so much!
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i’ve never used a dutch oven so i could say, probably 300 though!! that’s my best guess
I live in Colorado, too. Thank you for opening up about it. There are so many who suffer from the same. I dealt with acne when I was 19. I’m sure you’re sick of advice so don’t read this if you don’t want to. I wash my face with olive oil. Straight up cold expeller pressed EVOO. Slather it on. Rub it in. Warm wash cloth to gently wipe it off. I use Argan Oil or EVOO or Jojoba Oil or even Coconut Oil to moisturize. I live in Colorado Springs so dead skin clogs are common. Our dry climate sucks for acne. I put a small amount of coconut oil with a sprinkle of baking soda and gently scrub a few times a week. After a month or two I didn’t have any zits. At all. Oil breaks up oil. Those oils don’t clog pores. I hope you find relief soon. It’s okay not to like it. And it’s okay to learn to accept your appearance with it. Blessings!
these are delish! Next time I will grease the crockpot tho – got a little crusty on the outside. It was hard not to get out of bed at 4am with those tasty smells wafting down the hall from the kitchen!
For me, n=1 revealed that facial soap — no matter how organic the ingredients — causes most of my acne. (Still trying to work out the lingering 10%…though I think at least 5% of that is caused by chocolate!) If I only wash my face with water, if I avoid moisturizers, and if I mostly avoid chocolate, my face is okay. Just wanted to pass this along in case it could be helpful.
Quick tip on your acne, heal it from the inside out.
Zinc – helps wound healing and immune system (fighting the bacteria)
Apple Cider Vinegar (yes its Paleo); drink 1-2 TBSP per day, balances your internal PH and your HORMONES! ALSO using it as toner works beautifully.
Coconut oil; as moisturizer; antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, diminishes any dark spots, CONTROLS OIL.
also taking coconut oil internaly is AMAZING AND PALEO!!
Good luck girl! LOVE THE BLOG 🙂
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Love your blog! And the recipes! I used to battle acne all the time…same thing on the jaw line! I know a lot of people said to me it was hormonal also but when I was randomly given an allergy test I found out I was allergic to eggs and peanuts. At that time in my life, I had been consuming lots of eggs and peanuts as I was trying to follow the South Beach diet. Since finding that out and modifying my diet, my acne is gone…no more cystic acne and I really believe my skin had been reacting to my allergies. And although my food allergies were not life threatening (thank goodness) they were effecting me through my skin. I can still have eggs and even peanuts but only very occasionally and never both in same day. I don’t worry about eggs being in baked products so I really only modify my intake of eggs alone as a meal. I also never eat raw peanuts anymore….they aren’t Paleo friendly anyhow. Its only when I splurge on the irresistible peanut butter cup candy! ;-O Anyhow–maybe we worth looking into any food sensitivities or allergies you may have developed as an adult?
Juli, I am almost thirty and have struggled with acne since I was 12!!! I have tried EVERYTHING to no avail – birth control, accutane, oral antibiotics, steroids, every prescription topical cream known to man. After going paleo, I dropped all my chemical creams and potions and my skin improved a little bit, but certainly not much. I tried oil cleansing, moisturizing with coconut oil, blah blah blah. Nothing worked.
I finally switched dermatologists and boy did he open my eyes to a whole new line of thinking in acne! Mine is also along my jawline and I had always been told it was hormonal. He actually cultured my skin and grew it in a lab for several days, at which point we learned not only was there a candida overgrowth, but also infection. Instead of sticking me on oral antibiotics or antifungals for the millionth time, he actually researched natural methods that would work with my paleo lifestyle and recommended some different topical essential oils. Now, I use the most basic Neutrogena foaming face wash to get the makeup off, and then use Jason plain organic tea tree oil as a topical medicine, followed by a thin application of organic argan oil for moisture. My skin isn’t perfectly clear, but it’s the clearest it has ever been and I do feel like it’s going to heal over the next few months. It’s incredibly simple, and it actually works.
I feel for you, Juli. Adult acne is AWFUL. I strongly recommend the tea tree oil, you may have to build up to using it pure as it can cause sensitivity. Good luck!!!
I forgot to mention two very important things: use plain baking soda as an exfoliant (I use it in the morning), and make sure ALL of your makeup is gluten free (and as natural as possible). I like Tarte cosmetics and Josie Maran.
Juli, go to my website LoisK.Nerium.com
The product that I sell helps people with many problems with their skin. All natural product.
Check out the before and afters. The people who are getting results are the ones taking the pictures.
There is a video that website that explains the product and it’s safety as well.
Good luck.
Lois
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if you crack open a liquid Advil and use it as a spot treatment for the cystic acne it really takes the swelling and readness away and clears it up very quickly. Have you tried drinking more water ? since i started eating paleo i have noticed that if i do not drink an absolutely insane amount of water i get cystic acne. I do not work out much (hang my head in shame) and still need to drink a huge amount of water or else my face breaks out. Until i went grain free i never had a problem with my skin.
I’ve actually been lurking for a very long time, and just wanted to say that, I love your website, and all your recipes. You’re awesome, and I think it’s great that you’re so open, and honest about your life, and especially your dealing with acne. I’m 28 years old, and I dealt with it for a long time, on and off since I was about 16. I always had mild acne, but I think when I was around 25/26, it was the worst it’s ever been. I also had the big, deep cystic acne all around my jawline, under my chin, some on my cheeks. It wasn’t until about, I’d say, a year ago that I began to get it under control. Both a mixture of diet, and face creams, and antibiotics. I went to several dermatologist, and so many of them just completely sucked at their job. I spent a lot of money on peels, face creams/gels, antibiotics, the works. Nothing helped. It wasn’t until I found a good dermatologist. One who actually cared, and listened. He prescribed 50mg of Solodyn an antibiotic, Aczone cream and Ziana gel. I take one Solodyn pill at night, Morning just apply Aczone, and at night first aczone followed by Ziana gel 10-20 minutes later. It’s honestly a super easy routine, and it has completely cleared up my acne. Diet wise, I do low carb paleo. Fruit, unfortunately, makes me break out bad. Even with the antibiotic, I don’t break out as bad, it’s tolerable, but it still sucks. So I just avoid fruit all together. Also, splenda or any artificial sugars in general, give me awful breakouts. If I cheat, I stick to real ingredients, real sugar. I can eat a cookie made with real sugar, butter, milk, and I don’t break out at all. Yet fruit = bad acne. I don’t understand why, but it’s true.
Check out epicbeautyguide DOT com and thelovevitamin DOT com!! They are both awesome websites with many great tips for healing your skin. Maybe your acne is because of your emotions and hatred towards it. Also maybe your high intake of nuts, pork, and inflammatory foods. My skin is naturally clear but I have shared those websites to help many friends. Try doing some yoga instead of crossfit to controll your hormones and help relieve your stress. Maybe try mediating for healing your skin. Hope it helps!!! :)))
I was reading the comments, and then I got to the point of TL;DR- I’m terrible. I promise to go back and see if what I am recommending gets recommend by anyone else.
I had hormonal acne on my jaw, like you, til I went on Whole30. I actually am staying Whole30 because my body just can’t handle all the stuff I took out. Have you looking into Whole30 as a way to see if you are reacting to foods, and thus your acne is just an exacerbation of an already present food allergy? Just throwing the idea out.
Now- back to reading all the comments!
Sorry to hear about the acne, it really does take a toll on your life. I also had the same problem just a month ago. I mostly got acne around my mouth and I’m also sure it was hormonal. But no joke I found the perfect solution. The CLARISONIC! Holy shit it works wonders! I also use make-up so I thought that had an effect on my acne situation. Especially after you clean it off, the possibility that there’s still some present on your skin. It’s been a little more then my month and my skin has cleared up TONS! It’s def worth the money. I have the Mia 2 the acne one that comes with some cleanser. The first night I used it my skin felt so clean and smooth. I was in total shock! You must get it!
I have had terrible acne and “backne” my whole life. I tried everything from prescription strength wash to all-natural “home remedies” (my grandfather swears by colloidal silver and let me tell you, I would rather have pimples than a-literally-blue face). In all the years of struggling with it, it has finally started to become less of a problem. You know what helped? Periodic microdermabrasions (maybe once every other month; they don’t cost as much as you may think), NO makeup (I wear eyeliner and mascara on special occasions, but that’s it), and best of all: constant moisturizing. Sometimes, your skin is so dry that it over-produces oil to compensate. That oil clogs your pores and that’s where acne comes from. I was born and raised in Colorado, so I completely understand how dry it can be. Try a moisturizer with an SPF of at least 15 so that it hydrates and keeps the sun from dehydrating. You may not want to take my advice, but it’s free 🙂
I know this may sound weird, but Grandma’s Lye Soap worked great for my and my daughters’ acne and eczema. It’s just plain old fashioned soap: lye, lard, and water. I get it at Ace Hardware. Love it!
I’m sure you have heard this before but Loren Cordain wrote a paleo book and looked at diet and its links to Acne.
I just wanted to say thanks for sharing. It can be easy to gloss over things and only present the best of ourselves. My face was crystal clear a few years ago when I was on birth control, but since going off birth control, getting pregnant, etc. it hasn’t quite been the same. Sometimes it’s worse than other times. You aren’t alone, and I hope you find what works for you. 🙂
These were DELICIOUS! I used pork loin instead of short ribs to cut down on fat, and topped mine with chipotle salsa, avocado, and a fried egg. The tortillas took me a try or two to perfect, and they were awesome. I think they would make a great crepe substitute as well–you could stuff with chocolate and strawberries.
I made this for a post-workout brunch on Saturday for my boyfriend and I, and I’m pretty sure we just inhaled them. Thanks so much for the great recipe, Julie!
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This recipe looks FAB!! Can’t wait to try it.
I have struggled with acne most of my life, especially cystic acne once I had kids. I tried natural stuff. I tried to go on accutane, but have GI issues, so it was contraindicated. I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!! Mine is hormonal too, on my chin and jawline- let me ask you this: Are you a picker? You know what I mean. I am the QUEEN of picking at my face and every now and then it clears up and I have NOTHING to pick at. So it stays clear for like 2 days. Then I find a pore that must die and pick it…the next day its like Im 16 all over again…
So there ya go. If you find a miracle cure, please share.
THanks for the awesome recipes and continuously fantastic posts!!!
Hey Juli-
Stop stressing about the acne – YOU ARE EFFING GORGEOUS!!!!
One more thing… Have you considered that maybe the makeup you’ve been using to cover up has not been helping? Check out EWG’s SkinDeep and see what is in your makeup that could be making the acne worse.
XO
So, I can’t find boneless short ribs anywhere! Ugh. I did however get a couple lbs of regular short ribs. Do you think this would work in the crock pot and I can just debone them after?
absolutely!!!
Great! Thank you! I was worried!
Minocyclin (sp) cleared me up good pretty good. As did cutting out the dairy. question: what kind of make up do you use? I am a tool w/ makeup and could use some tips!
Juli – I am finally commenting on your blog because you’re speaking about something that I’ve dealt with for more than half my life. I’m 28 (going to be 29 in August) and have had moderate to severe acne since I was 13. Since switching to the paleo lifestyle, my skin has also improved albeit not completely.
I have found that makeup plays a really large role. Once I switched to Laura Mercier and Jane Iredale makeup, my skin had a transformation. I know how frustrating it can be. You might want to see if your makeup contains bismuth as a primary ingredient as this can be an aggravator as well. I’ve also noticed that when I eat more fruit, my skin reacts.
I know that your patience wears thin when you can’t find anything to alleviate the problem. What other products are you using?
Hi, I just discovered your site and am excited to try some of your recipes as I am new to the Paleo diet. As far as acne goes, I too had terrible cystic acne as a teen and took Accutane with great results and the only side effect that I am aware of with me was dry skin. However, later in my 20’s the acne returned and I discovered that I am really sensitive to all fragrances. Once I eliminated fragrance in all personal care products and laundry detergents my acne completely cleared up. Now the only breakouts I get are from when I accidentally touch my skin with something fragranced.
This is so random, but have you tried grass-fed tallow? I made my own after Christmas and have been using a small amount every morning to fry my eggs, plus a good amount to roast veggies every few days. Since doing that, I have seen a drastic improvement in my acne! I even added some sugars, corn chips, and dairy back into my diet with barely any flare ups! The only thing I’ve done different is consuming the tallow, which I did because I didn’t want all of that beef fat to go to waste. I had no idea it might clear things up!. I also made a body balm with it and use that as well.
I’m now 29 and this is the clearest my face has ever been…it could be the tallow or it could be that my hormones are finally calming the F down. I’m glad to hear you’re taking the high road while your acne is still being a b*tch!
The only thing you havent tried yet is cutting out animal products, meat, eggs etc that are filled with saturated fat and hormones. Fix the problem from the inside out. It worked for me:)
This is definitely a breakfast of champs! Thanks, and thanks for the tip on Alba Bontanica
So I noticed that someone else mentioned for you to go see an Endocrinologist… I am 26 and have been dealing with acne for over 10 years. I eat clean, work out like crazy, drink plenty of water and take care of my body inside and out. It drives me nuts that I take such good care of myself and my skin and I still have to deal with acne while my friends are passing out drunk on my couch with their makeup on every weekend and eating whatever they want! I went and saw an endocrinologist over 6 months ago and my skin is NOW amazing. I got a series of blood tests done and it turns out I had some Cortisol and Androgen imbalances. I am now on a medication called Spironolactone. You should definitely get some bloodwork done to help get you to the root of the problem! Good luck 🙂
P.S. You’re my hero and I’ve probably made half of the food on your blog. And I’ve NEVER been disappointed!!!
First you made my day. I was looking for an alternative for flour tortillas. My husband NEEDS quesodillas! So, thanks.
Also, since you mentioned where you acne is mainly at before even finishing the sentence “hormonal” popped up. Well, I used t work for a dermatologist, and one of the PAs would always perscribe spironolactone for hormal acne, and a lot of patients saw great results. It’s an off label useage, http://acne.about.com/od/acnetreatments/a/spironolactone.htm
hormonal* woops
Well done! Your blog is simply THE BEST! These were fun and easy to make. My whole family loved them (they do love everything with bacon – ha!). I was surprised how much they loved the egg tortillas. I’ll need to double those as well as the chili hot sauce next time. Thanks for another interesting and fun recipe to play with.
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I finally kicked my 20 year acne affliction. Getting pregnant helps…but really I stopped washing my face at night (even though I wore some makeup) and stopped popping my pimples all together “picking my face” unless I had an absolutely obvious whitehead. Then I washed my face each morning with just regular white dove soap. Not the sensitive skin one, and not the generic one. I use only one of three moisterizers… aveno or clinique or mary kay and all worked. Once a week I used the proactive scrub, skiped the green toner and used the zit night cream only when I had a whitehead that I’d usually popped by then. I am now without acne unless I am around steam (like when I open the dishwasher just when it’s done). Also, proactive bleaches your towels and pillowcases, so use white only! good luck!
Julie- I have always struggled with hormonal acne. I would get the cystic ones too which would scar. Last year I went and saw a dermatologist and she put me on 100mg of spirnolactone which is a high blood pressure medication that actually blocks the production of testosterone that cause those nasty cystic and hormonal acne. Since I naturally have low blood pressure, it took me a couple of weeks to get use to the medication, but it has worked wonders and I don’t have to worry about accutane at this time. I’ve spent lots of money on proactive, expensive makeup, and other expensive cleansers but they only worked for a short period of time. It’s a better alternative to accutane.
A friend just told me about your blog and I had to check it out. I totally love it so far and I had to comment when you mentioned your jawline acne. I used to have cystic acne so bad there too! After years (and many doctors, homeopaths, and countless internet searches) I stumbled upon someone whose jawline acne was caused by fluoride. I stopped using fluoridated toothpastes, and avoid other sources of fluoride and my acne cleared up. I still get the occasional zit, but compared to what it was, one zit is nothing. Maybe this will help you, maybe it won’t, but I had to share in hopes that it does. Good luck with your acne. I’ve been there and I know what a struggle it can be.
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Hi Juli! Fist off LOVE your blog!!! I get most of my recipes from here:) ok about the acne try this it sounds crazy but it’s awesome!!! Oily Skin: 2 or 3 parts castor oil to 1 part olive oil
Normal Skin:1 part castor oil to 1 part olive oil
Dry Skin: 1 part castor oil to 2 or 3 parts olive oil
I use the oily skin combination. I mixed the oils together then just added a couple drops of tea tree oil that helps with acne. The castor oil acts as a make up remover and dirt remover while the olive oil keeps a balanced pH and helps keep the natural oils of the skin.
I was worried about it leaving my skin feeling really oily but it actually feels really healthy and not oily.
To Use:
Rub face wash on face for about one minute.
Take a HOT wash cloth and lay it on your face for about 1 min or until it cools to room temp.
I hope this helps!
Oh then rub off face once cloth cools 😉
One brand of face wash you must try…Cetaphil. It WORKS!! Use the face wash and the moisturizer! Dont scrub, try touching your face as little as possible and pat dry. Use Neutrogena on the spot acne treatment with 2.5% Benzoyle Peroxide anything higher is too harsh on your skin and will make you break out! Trust me I had the same problem same cystic acne and covered it with same horrible makeup for years! Now I am totally clear and hardly ever wear foundation! Meds and doctors dont work, Cetaphil does. Anyway….recipe looks DELICIOUS!!! Off to the kitchen I go!!
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Juli! Please put your shoes on. Get in your car. Go to Target/CVS. And purchase a Clarisonic by Olay. It is like an electric toothbrush for your face, it comes with an exfoliant (you can throw it out if you don’t like it) You can use it with regular face soap.
It won’t cure hormones (wah wah wahhhhh) but I have had awful acne for years. From the lovely blend of Sweat and Makeup- and it has been a dream come true. It will shorten the life of the zits you’ve got, and help clear up all the gunk that gets clogged day to day.
Hope it helps! Love your blog!!!
Excuse me Juli, these tacos look bloody amazing! We hate pimples, they can all go away! e & c
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Hey girl! I feel your pain with the acne. I’m also dealing with that and nothing’s helped me either so far.
I’m sure you are already getting a crapload of advice you didn’t ask for but I’m also an esthetician and I think you mentioned in one of your other posts that you moisturize with coconut oil. Coconut oil is EXTREMELY comedogenic! So if you’re still doing that I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the cause of your acne.
Anyways, if you wanna go the natural route with your moisturizing, try switching to jojoba oil. It has a similar structure to the natural moisture we produce and is much less likely to cause acne.
Hang in there acne sucks!!! Esp adult acne. =/
PS your recipes are amazing.
have you tried the oil cleansing method? I have had ahhhhmaazing results with it. I use baking soda as a facial scrub. Between these two methods… I’ve tossed out all the “other” products. I’ve been to dermatologist and esthetician and somthing so basic did the trick! Check it out when you get the time
Loved this! We used the tacos with some shredded chicken, avocado and spinach. So good! and the tacos hold together very well! Will definitely be a staple!