Acne. Just the word alone brings back bad memories from high school. My face didn't look too bad, but I still had to put on foundation so no one would notice my terrible skin. I was also on Accutane for a year, which cleared about 80% of my face, but unfortunately, some red marks came back. I needed a permanent solution and through research, I found three effective ways to get rid of those little nasties.

1. Cheap, natural skin care

Now, I'm all about holistic health, so I invest in chemical-free all-natural skin care products. The only things I use to wash my face are coconut oil and apple cider vinegar diluted with water. The brand I use is Bragg's apple cider vinegar (make sure it is raw, unfiltered, and has the mother on it). All you do is put the apple cider vinegar in a plastic bottle and dilute it 75/25 (75% ACV and 25% water). I only put this on when I'm in the shower as it smells a bit funky.

Put away that $200 Clarisonic and use this inexpensive holy grail product instead

My skin care regimen:

Take a cotton pad and tone the area with the ACV mixture (if you have any open gashes, I do not recommend putting it on as it will sting A LOT)

Wash off with water and slather on some melted coconut oil to soften the area.

After showering, moisturize with an organic cold cream or moisturizer that only has natural ingredients (this step is important as the ACV has stripped the bacteria off your face and left it feeling dry).

That’s all folks! It's such a great exfoliator.

What I also like to use once a week is the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay made from all natural calcium bentonite clay. You only need a thin layer of it and once you take it off, your skin looks automatically clearer!

2. The sun is your friend

So my skin cleared up a whole lot after doing something as simple as being out in the sun more. I went to Hawaii last summer and went to the beach several times. As you could probably imagine, I got tan which is pretty nice. But along with that nice tan, my skin looked so much better. So for any of you who are staying inside on your electronics, go outside! The sun is a lifesaver, but don't get too much or you may get sunburned. If you don't live in a sunny area, get Vitamin D3 supplements.

I also went swimming in a lagoon with saltwater. When I got out and looked in the mirror in my hotel room, my spots had faded!

3. Eating out occasionally and avoiding alcohol

Even though we have several food resources on-campus, college students love eating out or ordering take-out because most of us don’t know how to cook!

But, you may want to skip out on that Papa John’s pizza or juicy cheeseburger because of all that grease and oil. Ew.

Now, there are healthy oils such as olive, coconut and red palm. The oils that you want to avoid are the ones with high Omega-6 fatty acids like corn, sunflower or grape seed which are rampant in the majority of fast food. Even french fries served in a formal restaurant setting have tons of oil.

Every time I eat out, I always develop a giant pimple on my face the next day, so I assume that the food I ate prior must be the main culprit. This is exactly why I’ve cut down on the amount of times I eat out per month. It’s just too unhealthy.

I’ve also managed to try a vegan diet for a couple of months since modern meat and dairy industries inject cows with the hormone IGF-1 to make them bigger and grow faster. However, this still affects those who eat from these cows as our hormones elevate, ultimately disturbing our normal hormonal system.

So, just buy some Daiya cheese and make your own pizza or participate in weekly Meatless Mondays.

Now, I am a pescatarian which means that I avoid cows and eat seafood instead. But make sure to avoid farmed fish as they are fed pellets which turn them gray. That’s right, farmed salmon is dyed pink! Eat wild salmon that is vibrant in color due to its healthy diet of krill and shrimp.

Wild-caught on left, farmed on right. What a difference.

Alcohol is also a big no-no on this list. It actually affects your liver, which is an organ directly related to your skin. It’s very high in sugar which is what most people should cut down on if they want to get rid of their skin troubles. Skip the poisonous drink and replace it with the most necessary beverage of all: water.