Acne at fifteen is miserable; acne at thirty-five, when you were told you would grow out of it, is worse. The medicines that work for acne are prescribed by your GP or dermatologist. Our naturopaths and nutritionists in Geelong and Drysdale work alongside them on the things a prescription does not reach: what you eat, blood sugar, the hormonal picture, gut health and stress.
Because acne is not only a teenage condition, and it never was. It is increasingly recognised in adult women in particular, and the common belief that adult acne always sits along the jawline and is “just hormones” turns out to describe a minority: in a large international study of adult women with acne, almost nine in ten had it across the same areas of the face as teenagers do [1].
That matters, because it means the standard treatments are still the right starting point. Dermatology guidelines rest on topical and oral medicines, and for acne that is severe or scarring they are clear that it needs medical care early [2]. If that describes you, the first appointment to make is with your GP.
What those treatments do not address is the ground the skin stands on. Many people who come to us have been through two or three prescriptions, improved on each, and relapsed when it stopped. Others have cycles that have never been regular, or a gut that has never been right, and nobody has put the three together. That is the work we do.
We don’t diagnose or treat acne; that stays with your GP or dermatologist. Our part is the nutritional, herbal and lifestyle work that sits alongside their care.
Acne is driven by oil production, blocked follicles, bacteria and inflammation, and all four respond to signals from the rest of the body. We look for the signals that can be changed.
Blood sugar and the glycaemic load of the diet — in a randomised controlled trial run in Melbourne, young men on a low-glycaemic-load diet for twelve weeks had a larger fall in acne lesion counts than the control group, alongside better insulin sensitivity [3]. It is one small trial and weight loss may explain part of it, but it is the best dietary evidence there is, and it is where we start.
Dairy, without overreacting — a meta-analysis of more than 78,000 young people found acne modestly more common in those who drank milk, with the authors urging caution about the quality of the studies [4]. That is an association, not proof. We look at how much dairy you have and what it would take to test it properly, rather than removing a food group from a teenager on a hunch.
The hormonal picture — irregular cycles, acne that flares before a period, excess hair or hair thinning point towards a hormonal driver that your GP should assess. Our PMOS page explains what we look at once that has been done.
Stress — acne severity rose and fell with exam stress in a prospective study of university students, independent of sleep and diet [5]. Stress is not the cause, but it is a lever.
Gut health — people with long-standing gut symptoms often notice their skin tracks with them. Where the gut is unsettled it is worked on in its own right.
Nutrient status — measured through your GP’s bloods where there is a reason to, not assumed, and never supplemented blindly alongside prescription acne medicines.
Skin care and what you are already using — we will ask, and we will refer you to your GP, pharmacist or dermatologist for anything topical rather than second-guess them.
What stays with your GP or dermatologist — diagnosis, every prescription and any change to it, severe or scarring acne, and acne in pregnancy.
Your GP or dermatologist diagnoses, prescribes and monitors. We work on food, blood sugar, the hormonal and gut picture and stress, and we keep them informed. We never ask anyone to stop or change an acne medicine or the pill; that decision sits with you and your doctor. Tell us everything you take, including anything prescribed for your skin: some acne medicines must not be combined with certain supplements, so everything we recommend is checked against them first.
Depending on what we find, a plan can include:
A lower-glycaemic-load way of eating built around foods you will actually eat, with enough protein at each meal.
A structured trial of changing dairy, where your history suggests it, with a clear end point so you know whether it mattered.
Cycle and hormone work, alongside your GP, where the pattern points there.
Gut work where symptoms point there.
A stress and sleep plan that is realistic for a student or a working parent.
Herbal and nutritional support, chosen in consultation and checked against anything you take. We do not prescribe from a list.
A referral back to your GP or on to a dermatologist where the skin needs more than we can offer.
We usually review at eight to twelve weeks, which is how long skin takes to turn over and the window dermatology trials use. We will not promise a result, and we will tell you plainly if what we are doing is not helping.
We are open 6 days per week, by appointment only. Book an appointment online via our online booking link.
Often, and sooner than people think:
Deep, painful lumps or cysts, or acne that is leaving scars or dark marks. Scarring is permanent and early medical treatment prevents it.
Acne that is affecting your mood, your confidence or whether you go out. Acne is linked with higher rates of depression and anxiety [6], and that is a reason to see your GP rather than wait it out.
Acne with irregular or absent periods, excess facial or body hair, or scalp hair thinning.
Sudden, severe acne in an adult, or acne that starts with a new medication.
Acne in pregnancy or while trying to conceive, because several acne medicines are not suitable then and your doctor needs to manage the change.
A rash that is not clearly acne, or skin that is hot, swollen or weeping.
We don’t diagnose or treat acne, and seeing a naturopath is never a reason to stop a prescribed treatment or to delay seeing your doctor. healthdirect’s acne guide and the Australasian College of Dermatologists set out the medical side plainly.
Not with the diagnosis or its treatment; those stay with your GP or dermatologist, and the medicines they prescribe are what the guidelines rest on. What a naturopath can do is work on the things around the skin that a prescription does not reach: the glycaemic load of your diet, the hormonal picture, gut health and stress. That work sits alongside your medical care, never instead of it.
Not on its own, but it can turn the dial. The best evidence is for a lower-glycaemic-load diet, which reduced acne lesion counts in a randomised trial. Milk is associated with slightly more acne in observational studies, which is not proof of cause. Chocolate and greasy food have far less evidence than their reputation suggests.
Sometimes. Acne that flares before a period, or comes with irregular cycles or excess hair, deserves a hormonal assessment through your GP. But most adult women with acne have the same pattern as teenagers, not the jawline-only pattern the internet describes, and the same first-line medical care suits them.
Yes. We never ask anyone to stop or change a prescribed medicine, and we check everything we recommend against what you take, because some acne medicines must not be combined with certain supplements. Tell us exactly what you are on.
Skin turns over slowly, so we review at eight to twelve weeks, the same window dermatology trials use. We do not promise a result. If nothing has shifted by then, we say so and send you back to your GP or on to a dermatologist.
1. Dréno B, Thiboutot D, Layton AM, Berson D, Perez M, Kang S. Large-scale international study enhances understanding of an emerging acne population: adult females. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2015;29(6):1096-1106. doi:10.1111/jdv.12757
2. Reynolds RV, Yeung H, Cheng CE, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of acne vulgaris. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2024;90(5):1006.e1-1006.e30. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2023.12.017
3. Smith RN, Mann NJ, Braue A, Mäkeläinen H, Varigos GA. A low-glycemic-load diet improves symptoms in acne vulgaris patients: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;86(1):107-115. doi:10.1093/ajcn/86.1.107
4. Juhl CR, Bergholdt HKM, Miller IM, Jemec GBE, Kanters JK, Ellervik C. Dairy intake and acne vulgaris: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 78,529 children, adolescents, and young adults. Nutrients. 2018;10(8):1049. doi:10.3390/nu10081049
5. Chiu A, Chon SY, Kimball AB. The response of skin disease to stress: changes in the severity of acne vulgaris as affected by examination stress. Arch Dermatol. 2003;139(7):897-900. doi:10.1001/archderm.139.7.897
6. Samuels DV, Rosenthal R, Lin R, Chaudhari S, Natsuaki MN. Acne vulgaris and risk of depression and anxiety: a meta-analytic review. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020;83(2):532-541. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2020.02.040
If you have been through the creams and the courses and your skin keeps coming back, it is worth having the rest of the picture looked at by someone who works with your GP or dermatologist rather than around them. Our naturopaths and nutritionists consult from Geelong CBD and Drysdale, in person or by telehealth, six days a week. Bring your results and a list of what you have tried, and we will start by listening.
We are open 6 days per week, by appointment only. Book an appointment online via our online booking link.
