How to Get Rid of Acne Fast

author avatar Dr. Eric Berg 08/31/2023

Acne can be very annoying, which is why you have to learn how to get rid of acne fast. To effectively eliminate chronic acne, you need to understand the science behind it to make sure it doesn't come back, as well.

In this article:

  1. Getting Rid of Acne Fast Is Getting Rid of the Root Cause
  2. Common Mistakes of People with Acne
  3. Understanding the Sebaceous Gland
  4. The Sebaceous Gland Is Sensitive to Body Hormones
  5. Too Much Androgen Causes Acne
  6. High Estrogen Levels Lead to Acne or Skin Irritation
  7. Eat Healthily to Avoid the Root Cause of Acne

The Science Behind How to Get Rid of Acne Fast

 

Getting Rid of Acne Fast Is Getting Rid of the Root Cause

When it comes to getting rid of acne fast, you need to know what the root cause is so you can get rid of it permanently. The problem with most people trying to get rid of pimples or acne, especially those with sensitive skin, is they are just treating the skin condition directly, which is only treating the symptom. They never get to the root cause, and they are committing mistakes that may make things worse.

 

Common Mistakes of People with Acne

Part of knowing how to get rid of acne fast is to learn what mistakes people make that lead to different types of acne problems.

1. Scrubbing the Face with Cleansers

Young woman cleaning her face with cotton disc | How To Get Rid Of Acne Fast

One mistake is scrubbing it with cleansers as part of their skincare routine. That's a very bad idea because you have all these friendly bacteria protecting your skin, and you basically scrub them off. When you are sterilizing your skin with the cleanser, you wonder why acne or other skin issues come back. That's why scrubbing your face really hard with cleansers is not a good idea.

I'm not saying you don't clean your face, but don't scrub it. I made a mistake of that, too, and I had really bad acne in high school. I scrubbed my face back then, and it never worked.

2. Using Antibiotics

Another mistake is using antibiotics. It helps with acne at some point, but the skin condition eventually comes right back even worse because you kill both the good and bad bacteria. You create very strong resilient strains of bad bacteria that won't work against antibiotics anymore. So, it's not a long-term solution.

3. Using Accutane

Using Accutane is also a mistake most people commit when dealing with acne. It's a synthetic version of Vitamin A that may work but has some slight minor complications like nose bleeds, infertility, and blindness. I think it's off the market now, though.

 

Understanding the Sebaceous Gland

Structure of the Sebaceous gland | How To Get Rid Of Acne Fast

The first thing to know about how to get rid of acne fast is to find out what really causes the skin condition and understand what it really is. That includes understanding what the sebaceous gland is. It's the gland underneath your acne that's creating the problem.

Here's what's happening when you have acne. There are five different situations:

  • You have an extra tissue formed in your skin, like a little flake.
  • You also have a clogged pore, which gives you whiteheads or blackheads.
  • Another one is inflammation, which causes redness and is painful.
  • You also have unfriendly bacteria in there feeding off the oil, which is what we call sebum. It's the waxy, oily thing that lubricates the skin.
  • The last one is an enlarged gland.

All these things are happening at the same time, which is what acne really is. It's not just one thing. My point is to get deeper and see what we can do to correct the original reason why it's in there in the first place.

 

The Sebaceous Gland Is Sensitive to Body Hormones

The unique thing about the sebaceous gland is it's highly sensitive to hormones, specifically androgen, which is a male hormone, and estrogen. What you know about acne and hormones is more on estrogen, which usually affects women. You would notice during your cycle or right before your cycle that the acne gets worse. It can be in just one side of the face. If it's on the left side, for example, it's the left ovary that's releasing too much estrogen. The ovaries repetitively go back and forth each month in releasing eggs and producing hormones.

 

Too Much Androgen Causes Acne

Young woman with acne problem near mirror | How To Get Rid Of Acne Fast

One form of androgen is testosterone. Men and women have it, but men have it in larger amounts than women. If you have natural acne problems, you're giving out too much testosterone, which increases sebum, the size of the gland, and provides extra tissue. So, why are you producing too much androgen? There are reasons for this hormonal imbalance.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

One reason is you may have a condition called PCOS where the ovaries are releasing too much androgen. The three big symptoms of it are acne, hair loss, and a deeper voice. What causes PCOS? It's high levels of Fat Storing Hormone. But every time there is an improvement with the Fat Storing Hormone situation, PCOS goes away.

Too Much Enzyme Production That Converts Testosterone into Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)

Another cause is you have too much of the enzyme converting your testosterone into DHT, a very powerful form of testosterone. DHT is like ten times stronger than regular testosterone. So, why does this happen? You're Vitamin A deficient. This vitamin helps reduce that enzyme. I would start taking Vitamin A in the form of extra virgin cod liver oil.

Vitamin B5 is another vitamin that works with Vitamin A, helping reduce acne. Zinc is also powerful in getting rid of acne because it lowers the enzyme. You also need to lower your Fat Storing Hormone levels.

 

High Estrogen Levels Lead to Acne or Skin Irritation

If you have an estrogen problem, that's a little different. What causes high estrogen? One major cause is liver dysfunction. Your liver may not be eliminating the bad estrogen in your body. There's an enzyme in the liver called aromatase that converts estrogen and testosterone into estrogen. The problems with the liver can include a fatty liver or liver cirrhosis. You may also have Fat Storing Hormone resistance that causes the fatty liver.

Liver Cirrhosis Definition: A late stage of liver scarring caused by various liver issues, such as chronic alcoholism and hepatitis.

What I'm saying here is you have to look at acne as a clue to get your body healthy. The skin is the largest organ in the body, and it gives us clues on what's going on inside. You can tell a lot about a person's health by their skin. Other causes of high estrogen are high blood pressure medications, specifically calcium channel blockers, antibiotics, alcohol, heartburn medications, and antidepressants.

 

Eat Healthily to Avoid the Root Cause of Acne

Women Healthy Eating | How To Get Rid Of Acne Fast

To avoid these issues, you should start eating healthily. The best foods for the liver are cruciferous vegetables. There is a product called DIM (diindolylmethane) that is 25 times stronger than cruciferous vegetables. You can also try stinging nettle root, which is a plant that helps lower aromatase and cleans up the excess estrogen. There might be other medications you can take to get rid of acne fast, but it comes back. So, this is the best way to correct it without making it come back.

Knowing how to get rid of acne fast involves understanding the root cause of the skin condition to deal with it properly. You may try another acne home remedy, but you cannot make sure it won't come back. So, start switching to a healthier diet now and say goodbye to acne!

How do you deal with a zit? Do you have acne medication? What are your home acne remedies? Tell us in the comments section below!

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Disclaimer: Our educational content is not meant or intended for medical advice or treatment.

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