Or will it be accutane, that completely dries you up from the inside out while also going to monthly blood drawings to make sure you aren’t pregnant, because that stuff will really screw up a fetus, or making sure your liver isn’t disintegrating. This was me, as a 26 year old woman. On top of it I had just gotten engaged and all I could think about was walking down that isle with a face full of acne and about five pounds of makeup on top to cover it up. That is what really kickstarted my journey towards clear skin. 

As a holistic nutritionist I was determined to figure this out. So I started reading studies, books, journals, articles anything I could get my hands on no matter how far out or reaching it was. 

On top of researching, I also started to see doctors in all sorts of fields. I first started with my OBGYN who wanted to put me on birth control. However, at this point in my like I had been on about 10 different birth control pills, some of which did help my acne, but also turned me into the exorcist. And I was not about to give up myself just to have clear skin. Onto the next doctor I went. This time it was a dermatologist, who suggested 6 different prescriptions consisting of cleansers, creams, toners, and retin-a to use both on my face and my back. I took the prescriptions and only filled 2 of them because I couldn’t afford the rest.

By now I was getting really desperate and worried this would never get resolved. After that, I still continued to do research but I took a break from seeing doctors. After about 3 months I decided it would be a good idea to go see a different OBGYN and start from scratch. So I booked my appointment with a highly recommended doctor in the orange county area. She ordered a battery of tests: blood draw, thyroid ultrasound, ovary and uterus ultrasound and urine sample.  After about 2 hours, all the tests were complete and I was told to schedule an appointment for the following week to review my results. The appointment came and I was told at the front desk that the doctor who had seen me wasn’t in but that I would see her PA. Right there my heart sank, and all sorts of emotions ran through me. I was less than thrilled. So I waited in the room for the PA to arrive and in less than 15 minutes she had explained that all my results came back normal and that I just needed to control my stress levels better. And the best option would be to go on the birth control pill… That right there is when I lost all hope in western medicine. I walked out of that office balling my eyes out in such anger and frustration and thought to myself “this is how people lose it”. 

A few months later I decided to give one last doctor’s visit a shot. This time it was with an ND, naturopathic doctor. February 21st was my first appointment. We sat and talked for 2 hours. He wanted to know my entire history from when I was a baby all the way up until when I started to notice my acne and when it really started to get bad. I had never felt more relieved after that appointment. Something about the doctor’s sincerity and willingness to work with me and figure out what was really going on made me feel at peace again. He suggested we do a stool analysis to make sure that everything in my gut was in balance and eliminate the possibility of yeast or bacteria. The sample took 3 weeks to get back. While my bacteria balance was good, there was a species of yeast living inside my gut that was not supposed to be there. The yeast was emitting toxic byproduct throughout my system that was coming out in the form of acne. I had never been so relieved in my life.  Now that the root cause had been discovered, we were able to implement a protocol that would address the issue. The only thing he put me on was an all natural grapefruit seed extract. No harsh antibiotics, creams, lotions or potions. The first week on the gse, my face blew up even worse. But he told me it could get worse before it gets better so I stuck with it. Two weeks after starting, my acne started to clear up. No more painful cysts or constant blemishes popping up. I started my protocol in May and by June I was completely cleared up, just in time for my bridal shower! 

It’s not typical to see your face start to break out and immediately think your gut is the problem. However, having been through the process I cannot stress enough how important gut health is for a clear and glowing complexion. To this day I still notice a change in my skin if my eating habits haven’t been normal or my stress levels are higher. But instead of focusing on my skin as the problem, I can now increase my gut health habits, which always included VP collagen, and get my skin back in balance in no time. This is why I stress to every single client I work with, that gut health is key. It doesn’t matter what symptom you are experiencing, if your gut isn’t working, you aren’t working. 

To Gut Health and Glowing Skin,

Dani