Does dieting reduce PMS acne flare-ups?

[SteelWeaver]

I'm 30 years old, and I STILL frigging well get acne EVERY SINGLE MONTH - comes on bad a week or so before my period, then takes a week or two after to clear up, which means I get a max of a week or so relatively clear per month.

I noticed when I was dieting for my competition my skin was unusually clear, especially in the last month or so, and the recent discussion about having naturally high testosterone levels got me thinking ...

Dieting causes testosterone to drop, right? And test tends to cause acne, right? So if my natural test levels dropped, that's why my acne cleared up then.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

And what to do about it now that my skin looks like crap again? I read that some women have had success with about 50 mg vit B6 per day.

 

[SteelWeaver]

Mmm. Nobody else on this board has ever had acne ...

 

[magdelana]

Steel i posted about this about one month ago. Sassy mentioned the B6. The dose of this however was much higher then you mention. Search for my thread about aftercycle pimple explosion. Also spatts suggested erythromycin. Have you tried this ever? It is said to work very well.

BTW, checked your email?

 

[SteelWeaver]

Thanks ladies. I'd like to find the root cause of this, rather than use various medications. Strangely when I was a bulimic chronic dope and tobacco-smoking alcoholic teenager my skin was perfect

I don't take antibiotics if I can help it. They tend to screw up other things in one's body. But none of the topicals I've tried has worked.

And Lana - YES!!! In-f***ing-credible!

 

[teirrah]

I'm wondering whether the clearer skin during the dieting might be connected to pre competition tanning as much as anything else? Of course if your tan came straight out of the bottle then that answers that, but were you getting a lot of UV exposure during this time, be it from the sun or from lamps? If you were, then perhaps this had an effect on your skin other than your tan.
I know the long term risks of skin damage from UV but for me a light tan has kept the old acne under control far more effectively than B vitamins, tetracycline antibiotics or retinol, the latter two I believe should never be used in conjunction with sun exposure. What does anyone else think about a tan playing a bigger part than a diet?