Cutting One Thing From Her Diet Cured This Beauty Pageant Contestant's Crippling Acne

✨7 WEEKS PROGRESS PICTURE ✨The picture on the left was when my skin was at its worst. My acne was cystic, red, sore and I had bumps underneath my skin. I felt like I wanted to give up at this point. I then decided to give my diet one last change before I would have seen a dermatologist. I took pictures of my skin so I could see the results as to whether what I was doing was working or not and I started seeing the difference day by day. I wanted to share with you the realism of what people go through. Unfortunately acne isn't seen as normal and is thought as 'ugly' but it's something so many of us experience. It's nothing to be ashamed of. What is to be ashamed of is the perception of what we are supposed to look like. The picture on the right is my skin today! My scars are being treated with natural skincare products that I have found work my skin and I do want to avoid having any treatments to get rid of them. They need time to heal and I'm okay with that. Whatever journey your on to clear you skin don't give up on yourself. There is always light 🌟🌞 ----------------------------------------------------- #acne #acnetreatment #loveyourself #selflove #healing #acnescars #recovery #vegan #nontoxic #love #wellness #happy #happiness #inspiration #enlightenment #journey #growth #natural #beauty #transformation #acceptance #spiritual #mindfulness #plantbased #positivity #soul #yoga #youarebeautiful #youarenotalone #youareenough

A post shared by Rachel Crawley ☾❂ ॐ (@asprinkleofhealthandbeauty) on Mar 15, 2017 at 3:11pm PDT

Like many teenage girls (and boys), Rachel Crawley was bullied for her severe acne. She stopped going out with friends and grew her hair out in an attempt to cover up her face.

When she was 18, she even turned down an opportunity to compete in a beauty pageant because she was too ashamed of her acne. Fast forward a few years and the now-22-year-old is a finalist in U.K.'s Miss Preston beauty pageant and overcoming her self confidence issues in the most amazing way.

Now, she's documenting her skincare woes on Instagram with dramatic before-and-afters as her acne begins to clear up.

So how did she start seeing an improvement in her acne? With a diet overhaul. While experimenting with different foods, Crawley discovered that by eliminating sugar her skin saw an immediate improvement.

🌟My progress since starting this page🌟 no Medication ✖️ High fat vegan plant based diet (nothing processed) Real whole foods, natural minimal skin care routine ✔️ People are happy to take strong medication that can lead to bad side effects in are bodies but aren't willing to change there diet which is safe and better for our health. Remember that everyone has there struggles in life. Most of us choose not share them. Most people with acne don't share it because there ashamed but why should we it's only a stage in our life it won't last forever and it certainly doesn't make us any less of a person. Clear skin or acne you are the same person. I get asked how can I be confident when my skin looks like this? The reason I decided to accept myself for how I looked is because for years I suffered with acne and for years I let my mental health take over, ruin relationships, stop me going out ect all because I was insecure and worried about other people's opinions. Because let's be honest acne isn't nice to look at. I knew I couldn't carry on being this hard on myself to the point I would cry and have a lot of built up stress causing headaches. I thought about the days when I used to have no worries when I was younger and here's what I came up with- I wasn't living life trying to impress anyone I wore no makeup so never felt less beautiful I didn't spend my time trying to make myself look perfect I didn't sit at home comparing myself to others on Instagram It's the world we live in today that makes us think like this. I don't want young girls feeling the same way I did. I don't want them to think they have to look a certain way to be accepted or beautiful. They need more role models embracing there real natural selfs because that is real life. I know how hard it can be but please please practice self love and believe in yourself this alone will make you feel better 💛🌸✨ ------------------------------------------------

A post shared by Rachel Crawley ☾❂ ॐ (@asprinkleofhealthandbeauty) on Mar 3, 2017 at 12:38am PST

While sugar was the main culprit of her acne, she also discovered that cutting carbs made a difference too — even the "good" carbs like brown rice.

"Only for about 3 days I have stopped eating these foods and upped my fat intake (healthy fats) and guess what? No new breakouts!" she wrote on one Instagram post.

MORE: The Vitamin That's Making Your Acne Worse

She now eats a vegan diet, which means lots and lots of veggies. Luckily, she can still find ways to indulge without sugar; take her raw cacao and peanut butter bites, for example.

A post shared by Rachel Crawley ☾❂ ॐ (@asprinkleofhealthandbeauty) on Feb 25, 2017 at 9:01am PST

"Once you cut out the sugar," she says, "your taste buds will change and your cravings will stop."

[H/T Instagram / @asprinkleofhealthandbeauty]

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