About your skin:

The skin is a dynamic organ that is unique from other organs in our body because it is directly affected by both our internal and external environments.  We often dismiss our skin as simply being a covering, but it is more than that. Our skin has many roles: barrier, communicator and filter.  It is estimated that every square centimeter of the skin contains 70 cm of blood vessels, 55 cm of nerves, 100 sweat glands, 15 oil glands, 230 sensory receptors and half a million cells that are constantly dying and regenerating.  Therefore, our skin is very much alive and should be treated with respect and care from both the inside and outside.

Acne

Acne can appear in different forms:

• Comedone: A general term for an enlarged hair follicle plugged with oil and bacteria.
• Open comedone (blackhead): A plugged follicle that reaches the surface of the skin. A blackhead appears back not because of dirt, but because the fatty acids produced by the bacteria and oils are oxidized.
• Closed comedone (whitehead): A clogged follicle that stays beneath the skin that appear as round, white bump.
• Papules: Inflamed lesions that appear as small, pink bumps on the skin
• Pustules (pimples): Inflamed pus-filled lesions that are red at the base
• Cysts and nodules: large, inflamed, pus-filled lesions that are lodged deep and can’t drain, causing pain and scarring.

What causes acne?

Acne will form under the right conditions – a combination of bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes), dead skin cells and oil (sebum) clog up the pore to form a microcomedome. The bacteria produces enzymes that breakdown the sebum in the pore to fatty acids that irritate the walls of the pore, creating an open comedome.  This irritation triggers an inflammatory response and white blood cells and proteins collect forming a closed comedone, pustule or cyst.

Anyone of any age can develop acne.  Periods of hormonal changes can alter oil production and alter the bacteria on the skin, so teenagers and menstruating, pregnant or menopausal women may develop pimples, even if they have never had pimples before.  Stress, life events and diet can influence the factors that aggravate acne.

Antibiotics, hormones (such as those in birth control pills), chemicals (benzyol peroxide) strong medications (such as Accutane) alter the surface environment by killing bacteria or reducing oil production. Unfortunately, these approaches don’t cure acne for most people.  Why? Because acne is not simply a surface problem.

Acne is a problem of poor microcirculation and chronic inflammation.

Those 70 cm of blood vessels running in each square centimeter of you skin are delivering nutrient and oxygen rich blood to your skin cells and carrying oxygen poor blood and cellular waste away from your skin.  Good microcirculation is what gives our skin its healthy glow and fast healing time. The blood vessels at the level of the skin are very tiny and somewhat fragile, thus circulation can be easily compromised, especially by inflammation.
During the process of inflammation, the blood vessels in the target area become leaky and allow white blood cells, fluids, antibodies and proteins to the targeted site.  The purpose of inflammation is to fight local infection, protect the area and eventually allow healing.  But you can see that in acne the inflammation process is maladaptive because it compromises the delicate microcirculation, making it more difficult to the skin to clear the inflammation properly and heal the skin.

How does acupuncture help my acne?

Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles into specific points on the body.  From a Chinese medicine point of view, acne is a “heat” condition in which the “chi”, or energy, cannot flow properly and the blood stagnates resulting in pimples.  Acupuncture helps promote the smooth flow of “chi” and blood as well as help release the excess “heat” from the skin. From a western point of view, the acupuncture needles affect the underlying blood and lymph circulation and nerves in the areas they are applied. The needles also stimulate collagen formation which promotes healing and helps relax the surrounding tissue. Thus, acupuncture very much helps to improve microcirculation and reduce chronic inflammation.
General improvements helped by acupuncture are:

• Improved skin texture and smoothness
• Faster healing times for existing pimples
• Softening and fading of scars
• Drainage of deeper comedones
• Eventual prevention of new pimples

How many acupuncture sessions do I need?

The number and frequency of acupuncture depends on the type and severity of your acne, as well as lifestyle and dietary factors that contribute to your acne.  After the naturopathic doctor assesses your health and prescribes the necessary diet, supplements and lifestyle changes, the acupuncture sessions are scheduled 1-2 times per week. Within 1-5 sessions you should notice a difference in your skin and healing time. After 8 – 12 sessions your skin should become more resistant to forming new pimples and old scars should soften. Once you skin improves and is able to maintain itself, the number of acupuncture sessions will gradually decrease.
The acupuncture sessions are 30 minutes.  Before we start acupuncture, the naturopathic doctor will have an initial consultation with you to discuss your general health, lifestyle and diet.  After a general physical and treatment plan development that usually involves diet adjustments and supplements, acupuncture sessions begin (as soon as the second appointment).

Is it painful? Are there any side effects to the acupuncture?

The needles used are very thin -- thinner than a strand of hair.  Care is taken to make the acupuncture experience as comfortable and safe as possible. There is the initial prick sensation when the needles are first applied, but after that they are not really felt. There will be areas (especially on the face) that will be more sensitive than others, but the naturopathic doctor always asks for your feedback during the session.
There is no down time after your acupuncture sessions. The only side effects may be occasional minor bruising or possible lightheadedness afterwards.  It is recommended that you have something to eat and drink before each session.

Diet and Nutrition in Acne

How does diet play a role in my acne?

Although there seems to be an apparent lack of research into the area of diet and acne, diet can influence those factors that make one more susceptible to skin problems.  Food can influence insulin levels and blood sugar. If we eat too many sugary foods this creates spikes in blood sugar. This alone can affect circulation. Then, in response to high blood sugars, the body produces insulin.  Insulin is a hormone that can indirectly increase the activity of the oil glands of the skin.
Fatty foods can also influence skin, not by making the skin oilier as some might think, but by increasing inflammation. The saturated fats in junk food and fast food increase the production of inflammatory proteins, especially if we don’t get enough healthy fats, such as omega 3 and omega 6 oils from fish, nuts and seeds. Thus, eating fried foods and hydrogenated fats can prime our skin to trigger inflammation and form new pimples more easily.
A diet for healthy skin has to be nutrient rich as the skin and its associated blood vessels, nerves, and oil glands require building blocks to grow, maintain and repair.
And lastly, food allergies and sensitivities can contribute to acne by, you guessed it, increasing inflammation. In fact, any problems with digestion can show up on the skin, not only because of increased inflammation, but also decreased the absorption of nutrients that would be beneficial to the skin.

How does doing a detox or cleanse help my skin?

The liver, kidneys, lung, digestive tract and even the skin itself are considered organs of detoxification.  These organs are responsible for removing or neutralizing byproducts of normal metabolism and toxins from our body.  Everyday we are exposed to toxins through our food, water, air and emotional stress. Our body is equipped to deal with these toxins to a certain degree. But it can come to a point where our toxin exposure outpaces the rate at which we can eliminate them.  So these toxins remain in our body and affect the general health of our cells.  The more toxins we have the more they can degenerate cells, such as making the blood vessels in our skin more fragile and increase our susceptibility to inflammation.  So it comes as no surprise that a person who smokes, eats fast food everyday and experiences constipation may complain of acne prone skin.