Acne after stopping the pill

About half of the emails that I get address this very one concern "I hear so many that experience acne when they stop, I don't want it to happen to me". The concern is a real one! And so scary that some decide to actually stay on the pill (!). So many DO experience acne when they stop taking the pill... let's look at why this may be happening to so many of us and what we can possibly do to prevent it from happening.

I am no exception. When I stopped I struggled with acne on my face, back, chest and it felt like my scalp had acne too even if I couldn't see it. The spots felt like they were bigger and more red than the acne I had experienced being a teenager and wouldn't really go away with regular acne treatment options, facials, and/or home-made remedies. Acne is fun for no one, but at age 30 I thought that I wouldn't have to ever worry about such a thing again. But apparently age had nothing to do it with it...

The reason regular acne treatment normally does not work in this case is because the underlying reason of them is slightly different. (Remember I am no doctor or health care professional so I could be feeding you crap right now... But then again - I was fed crap by health care professionals so who knows the difference these days - trust your gut!!! ;p)

Ok, back to what I was saying... the acne you get after stopping the pill is different. Why wouldn't it be?! You (yes me too) have been willingly feeding your body chemicals for who knows how long with the perception that it is a fantastic way to prevent you from getting pregnant. The fact that the same dosage is given to everyone is never even discussed and not to dwell on this too long, but just ask yourself: if you were a 125lb petite woman - would you feel it was appropriate that you took the same dosage as a 200lbs woman? Does it even make sense?! No it does not! There is no regulation, no check-ups that tells you to lower or increase your dosage depending on tests and whatnot... (that was just a thought that popped up in my head as I was writing this. It doesn't mean that petite girls experience more symptoms than larger girls - in fact I have nothing to support or deny that thought).

Have you ever heard the expression that your body has three kidneys? (We normally have two - they are located on your back slightly over your waste-line.) Do you know what the third one is?? The largest organ in your body - your skin! Yes! Your skin is considered to be your third kidney. Our kidneys are fantastic and they work really, really hard to keep up with today's horrible eating culture and our exposure to toxins of all sorts on a daily basis.  The kidneys' main task is to filter the blood and remove the toxins (and access fluid) from the body and eliminate it all via urination. Could you imagine going through pill-detox without your kidneys?!!!?? Probably not a good idea... They are your BFFs ;)

So, if the kidneys aid in getting rid of all that crap... why are you then experience acne? Well maybe years of birth control pill toxins is a little too much for the kidneys to handle all at once. You see, when you feed your body stuff it is not naturally meant to "eat" like the pill it will in a way think to itself "hummm... well I don't know what this really is for but she is feeding it to me so it must mean that I will need it sooner or later..." so your body will store excess toxins somewhere, normally in skin and fat tissue. And when you stop feeding your body it, it will be a little surprised to say the least and realize that it want nothing to do with it and that you in fact do NOT need it. So it will do everything it can do clean it all up and away. This is extremely draining for the body and the kidneys. The acne you experience is two-fold - because you have toxins in your skin and fat tissue just waiting to come out, and because your kidneys are overworked and the "third" kidney has to take some of the work load and the body is starting to get rid of the access toxins via the skin too. 

So what can you do? Help your kidneys!!! Do everything you can to help your kidneys clean out. This means:

1. Drink water! This is the number ONE of all detox methods - simple water! The formula to follow is: 1/2 your body weight in oz of water (150lbs = 75oz) or 1/3 of your body weight in dL of water (60kg = 20dL) 
2. Add a pinch of sea salt to every other water bottle this will help out even more!
3. Take EPSOM salt baths at least 2 times a week if at all possible 
4. Drink Apple Cider Vinegar tea or a cleansing citrus drink
5. Eat organic and natural. This allows your body to focus on the detox rather than on digesting and "detoxing" out bad food on top of it. 

Topically you can use apple cider vinegar - but forget all the other anti-acne stuff that is out there, they most often have other toxins in them, and toxins is what got you in this spot in the first place... Baking soda is a good and gentle face scrub and great for pH regulation. But to try to treat acne from the outside should not be your first defense... since that is just the symptom of what is going on inside.

It also needs to be said that the acne should almost be seen as a success (I know I am hanging on a very fine line here...). Success that your body is working! It is doing what it is suppose to do and that is to clean out what it does not need nor want. So, if you can... celebrate a little, tell yourself when you see a new spot in the morning "get that s$#t out" ;) and tell your body thank you and go about your day. It can make the struggle of the acne be a little bit more bearable.

Many also think that acne is because of disturbance of hormone levels, which it off course can be, but the body is way more focused on getting the crap out... so my one and only suggestion is to help your body with the detox before thinking you need to take every blood test there is. Your time is valuable, spend it on things that matters...