When my acne first popped up during puberty, it was annoying, but everyone told me it was normal and would clear on it’s own as I got older.

Well, imagine my horror when I hit 20, and not only did my acne not disappear—it got worse. Year after year, my skin kept rebelling. At one point, I actually thought, Maybe when I hit menopause and my periods disappear, my acne will too. (A little dramatic? Maybe. But when you’ve had chronic acne for 10 years, you start to spiral.)

Now, I wasn’t just sitting around hoping for a miracle. I was on Google every day searching things like “how to clear acne for good” and “why won’t my acne clear?” I visited doctors, specialists, and skin clinics. I tried every skincare routine, skin peel, and supplement under the sun. At the time, I truly thought I’d tried everything.

Turns out, I was missing one major piece of the puzzle.

Why My Acne Wouldn’t Clear (And Why Yours Might Not Be Either)

My biggest mistake? I was hyper-focused on acne itself. And so were the professionals I went to for help.

I even asked my doctor, Could something be causing my acne? Maybe my diet? My makeup? My skincare? His response? “Diet, skincare, and makeup don’t make a difference. The only thing that will help is antibiotics.”

Something about that didn’t sit right with me. Surely something was contributing to my breakouts?

So, I started looking at my whole-body health. And what I realised changed everything.

When my acne was at its worst, I was also struggling with IBS. But back then, gut health wasn’t the hot topic it is now, so I never thought to connect the two.

I also didn’t know that:

• 36-42 day cycles weren’t normal.
• Being curled up in pain every month because of my period wasn’t normal.
• Having a super-light, two-day period wasn’t normal.
• Recurrent tonsillitis wasn’t normal.
• Feeling exhausted every single day (even with 8 hours of sleep) wasn’t normal.

Why did I think all of this was just part of life? Because no one had ever told me these symptoms weren’t normal. And when I was going to professionals about my skin, no one (not even the doctors) had asked me about other symptoms I had. But all of these symptoms were clues as to why my skin was stuck in a cycle of breakouts.

How to Clear Your Acne (Way Faster Than I Did)

Looking back, even though it took me 10 years, I’m grateful for the journey. It pushed me to study nutritional therapy, corneotherapy and learn about the body. This eventually, led me to be able to help you clear your skin much faster than I did.

So, if I had acne again, here’s exactly what I’d do:

1) Look at Your Whole-Body Symptoms

Those little things you’ve accepted as “normal” (bloating, fatigue, irregular cycles, digestive issues)? They’re not normal. They’re signs that something’s out of balance. And guess what? Your skin is a response organ. It reacts to what’s happening elsewhere in your body.

Don’t believe me? These articles go into more detail:

• A study found that people with acne are more likely to have IBS than those with clear skin.
• This article also links severe acne in women to undiagnosed PCOS.

So, start paying attention: Are you bloated all the time? Struggling with period pain? Missing periods? Constantly exhausted? These symptoms aren’t separate. They’re connected to your skin and they’re clues into what might help you support your skin.

2) Dig Deeper Into Your Health

I started changing my diet and lifestyle at the beginning of my journey in the hope to clear my skin. I’d been eating healthy and exercising regularly for a while, but my acne still wouldn’t budge.

It wasn’t until I learnt about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) during my nutritional therapy studies that the penny finally dropped. It was such an ‘aha’ moment for me. All those hormonal symptoms I had could be PCOS. And this could be the reason why skin was so slow to clear? I actually had to beg my doctor to test me for PCOS (he told me that I shouldn’t worry about my hormones because I’m 22 and not thinking about having children). But after demanding tests, he finally agreed to do a blood test and refer me for a scan. And guess what? I got a diagnosis of PCOS.

But here’s the thing: The only advice I got was to take the pill and keep eating well. That’s it.

So, I took matters into my own hands and did a private, comprehensive tests. And what did I find?

• Blood sugar imbalances
• Hormone dysfunction
• Liver imbalances
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Bacterial and candida overgrowth

Eating healthy and working out was great, but it wasn’t enough to fix all of this. That’s where targeted, high-dose supplements made a world of difference. After a good few months of using supplements to target my imbalances, my periods regulated, my bloating reduced and my acne started to clear!

3) Nutrition & Skincare Need to Work Together To Clear Acne Faster

And not just any skincare. The right skincare.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Didn’t you already try skincare and say it didn’t work? Yes, but here’s why:

The skin therapist I saw didn’t look at the bigger picture. She gave me a routine based on my acne, not based on my skin health as a whole.

There are generic protocols for acne-prone skin. They tend to be quite harsh and intense. And while this can work for some people, my skin barrier was already in a bad way. Adding even more intense actives, acids and peels to my skin just made things worse. So, you might need skincare that supports barrier repair, keeps your skin hydrated and microbiome balanced, not just harsh treatments to “kill” spots.

How to clear acne faster

What I’ve learnt on my journey is that acne isn’t just a “skin issue.” It’s often a reflection of what’s going on inside your body, and in some cases, a symptom of an underlying condition (for me it was PCOS).

If you’re stuck in an endless cycle of breakouts, please, stop trying more skincare, or buying another skin-targeted supplement and hoping for the best. Take a step back, look at your whole-body health, and start connecting the dots.

And if you need help? I’ve been there. I get what it’s like to feel that you’re stuck with skin issues forever. But I’m proof that your skin can heal (even when you think you’ve tried everything).

I’m here to help you clear your acne in way less time than it took me.