How I Healed My Skin & Body After 5 Months in Mexico

This isn't something I have shared a lot about but it was a journey. I lived in Mexico for 5 months while on a missions trip. I ended up coming home with the worst acne I've ever experienced and gained 30 pounds. I'm going to insert some pretty raw pictures so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about...

As you can tell in these pictures I was EXTREMELY inflamed, puffy, and covered in horrible acne. I think when I was there I hadn't realized how much I had lost control of my health. But let's start with what caused this...

The first issue was my diet. While I was in Mexico I didn't cook one meal. I was at a base where all of the food was provided. After that we went to different cities to do mission work. First we lived at a boys rehab center in Juarez where we lived for about a month. I didn't drink remotely enough water. My diet consisted of mainly carbs, meat, tacos, and sugar. I didn't work out for over three months. A recipe for bad breakouts and weight gain. Next, we lived in a church where I slept next to a fire for a couple weeks. On top of smoke building up on my face throughout the night, I was using coconut oil on my face to I guess moisturize? That would explain my painful breakouts and weight gain.

When I came home I realized just how bad my acne had become. I remember feeling so frustrated because I was trying all sorts of skincare products to help clear my skin and nothing was working!!!

My parents were finally like you are putting way too many products on your face and it's making it worse. So I really changed things up. I started to create an extremely simple skincare routine, and it's one that I still follow today for the most part.

In the morning I used a moisturizer. I used either CeraVe or Kiehls. If you have really dry skin their Ultra Facial Overnight Rehydrating Mask with squalene is amazing and lasts forever.

At night I would wash my face with CeraVe gentle cleanser, apply their retinol, and moisturizer. I realized oils on my face is a recipe for breakouts. I just can't use them even to this day. I'll tell you what I think makes more of a difference than any skincare product and it's your diet....

I started obsessing over gut health. I added a probiotic into my morning routine. I made fresh juices with ginger, carrots, greens, berries, etc. I ate fermented foods like sauerkraut (my fav is Cleveland Kraut,) drank bone broth, and stuck to whole foods. I also want to note that you don't need to restrict yourself completely. I used to do that and it would drive me to eat as much sugar and "bad foods" on the weekends. Focusing on fueling my body with whole and gut healthy foods helped heal my skin.

So overall...

• Stick to a simple skincare routine and be consistent.

• In the morning; rinse and moisturize.

• At night; wash your face, apply retinol, eye cream, and moisturize.

I hope these tips will help you in healing your skin! But remember every one is different and you might have to do some trial and error to truly figure out what works best for your skin!