Serious acne that you can’t get rid of is one of the most frustrating experiences that anyone can have to go through. Constantly trying new treatments that don’t work can leave you feeling dejected and hopeless. In fact for many people acne leads to depression and anxiety. Plus, the range of conflicting advice that you receive from doctors, dermatologists, friends, family and anyone else around you only makes things worse. However, you don’t have to give up hope, the following suggestions may be just the thing you need. Although the jury is still out on what exactly causes acne, the basic consensus is that it is due to high levels of androgen hormones, or in other words it is a hormonal imbalance. Some scientists suggest that the imbalances can be brought on by genetics, while others believe that a range of lifestyle factors may be the cause. Like most of these types of problems for science, the most likely cause is a mixture of genetic influences and lifestyle factors. So you might not be able to change your genetics but your lifestyle can definitely be changed and make a big difference. As the old adage goes ‘You are what you eat’. This is particularly true of acne. A recent study suggested a link between acne, dairy products, and high glycemic foods such as white bread. These foods can dramatically influence the hormonal balance of the body and cause or reinforce acne. Stress does a similar thing to the hormones. When the body goes into fight or flight mode it immediately prepares itself for action, which can unbalance the body and hormones if this reaction is occurring too often. Plus, when we get stressed our diets tend to get worse, which only reinforces the cycle. So unsurprisingly managing your stress and diet can make a big difference to your acne. A natural remedy that compliments a healthy lifestyle and is growing in popularity for treating persistent acne is a 2000-year-old Chinese medicine called acupuncture. The most common form of acupuncture involves stimulating particular acupoints along the skin with very thin needles. When the points are stimulated, they send a message to the brain that something is out of balance, which it then rebalances. When it comes to acne, acupuncture can help rebalance the hormones and tackle the underlying cause of breakouts. However, if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of acupuncture, SkinB5’s Acne Control Tablets can do a similar job from the inside out, without the need for needles.