Hormonal Acne and Eczema were frustrating problems I personally battled twenty five years ago. No matter what I tried, the acne and eczema would never fully go away. It was not until I learned about the importance of balanced Female Hormones and Naturopathic Medicine for acne and eczema in Naturopathic school, that I finally was empowered to discover the diet and lifestyle that works best for my skin type and particular type of hormone imbalance as I explain in my Dermatology presentation "Holistic Dermatology: Acne, Eczema and Itchy Skin" on my free Naturopathic Class page.
I still remember the day my Naturopathic Dermatology professor explained the link between acne and hormones, nutrition, the microbiome and the skin and everything I was battling made perfect sense! The light bulb went off and I followed the instructions the Naturopathic Doctor mapped out and received amazing RESULTS! My hormonally triggered allergic itchy inflamed skin was suddenly less sensitive to allergens and chemicals. While I am still chemically sensitive and food sensitive to this day, balancing my hormones and nutrition has greatly improved my skin. I am now less reactive to foods and chemicals in general thanks to Naturopathy!
As my skin improved I was finally able to quit using all the different prescription creams and antibiotics the Dermatologist was prescribing for my acne, hives, eczema, and allergies. I was truly shocked and amazed I could finally manage my annoying itchy painful skin symptoms. I no longer needed to take antibiotics or use steroid creams. My skin was no longer itchy or painful. I worked for three Dermatologists for eight years and nothing they prescribed ever gave me a lasting result. My skin was hooked on prescription drugs! At one point I had four different prescriptions I regularly had to apply. It was horrible!
HOLISTIC ACNE AND DERMATOLOGY TREATMENTS REQUIRE WE TREAT THE ROOT CAUSE!
Nothing brings me greater JOY today as a Naturopathic Doctor but to see my patients heal their skin by treating the ROOT CAUSE. I would like to take a few minutes to explain what this process entails so that patients know whether or not they will be able to follow the recommendations of their Holistic Dermatologist. If you are tired of relying on expensive Dermatology creams and prescription medicines... and open to making some diet and lifestyle changes, you are the #1 perfect type of patient for me to help! If you are not open to making diet changes, I will not be able to help you. I have struggled to make the changes to, I understand it takes time for some of us, but if you are not open on working towards the new diet with me then I will likely not get a good outcome by enrolling you in to my Holistic Dermatology practice in Scottsdale. I never want to waste anyone's time or money when there are plenty of patients that seek the valuable women's health and hormone care I provide, and desperately need my Alternative Dermatology services to solve their mysterious dermatology condition. Sometimes women are stuck on a certain style of diet that is completely wrong for their skin or are so busy googling skin remedies they cannot focus on doing what I need them to do. While my process is simple and time tested to provide amazing results it does not work when the patient does not follow what I say to do. Its really that simple!
DO YOU PROVIDE HOLISTIC DERMATOLOGY VIA TELEMEDICINE?
Whether you need a Holistic Dermatologist in Arizona or whether you need to work via Telemedicine I am able to help patients with most skin conditions that are wiling to change their diet and take supplements. Simply snap photos of your skin condition and send them to me if you are unable to come in or do not live in Arizona. I can still help you over the phone via Telemedicine, I just cannot prescribe any hormones. In the event I discover you would need a hormone prescribed for your skin condition, I would make a recommendation you can take for your local Family Doctor. Itchy or painful Hormonal Skin conditions such as acne, eczema and psoriasis are my favorite conditions to help women with.
I would be happy to help you with any acne, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, scalp psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis, hives or itchy skin! Please consider giving Naturopathic Medicine a try! It is works very well for patients that are SERIOUS about addressing the ROOT CAUSE of their acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, hives and itchy skin. If you don't believe me watch my webinar on my free class page to see my before and after photos as well as some case studies from real patients that have received lasting results. The only thing they did was change their diets and take the supplements I prescribed to them for their eczema treatment, acne treatment or psoriasis treatment.
HOW DOES HOLISTIC DERMATOLOGY WORK WITH NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE?
Please keep in mind my Holistic Dermatology treatments are focused on treating the ROOT CAUSE of your skin problem and while I will prescribe natural remedies to apply to your skin... that is just "Slapping a Band-aid" on your dermatology complaint and it is not going to provide a lasting result. When we don't listen to the symptoms and understand why they are there the body just continues to scream louder and louder with the symptoms somewhat like an angry toddler when you cover your hand over their mouth to make them stop screaming. We all know when we remove our hand they will generally just scream louder and louder until they are "heard" and "understood."
When patients come to see me as their Holistic Dermatologist and they think I am going to just prescribe them some magical root from the Rain forest to cure their hormonal skin condition then we sometimes cannot realistically get a good result with Naturopathic Dermatology because that is not how it works. Incorrect nutrition causes imbalanced hormones especially Female Hormones and it is impossible for me to correct the hormone imbalance without the use of bioidentical hormones when the patient refuses to change their nutrition and work to a more Naturopathic Diet and lifestyle that helps them live itch free in their skin again. I struggle to make diet changes but know that the reward of feeling good in my skin is far greater than eating a few things that make me sick. My own personal triggers I have found are not even foods I enjoy eating but foods I thought were "Health Foods" and was eating them regularly to be healthy. So imagine my shock when I realize that these foods were creating eczema, psoriasis and inflammation in my skin?
The problem with your outsides is on the insides. If you are not already convinced of that please watch my Holistic Dermatology video on the Free Class page as everyone that knows me knows I am "No Nonsense" and expect new patients wanting holistic options to be open to the fact that requires nutritional changes. When I teach my new Dermatology patients their new diet for "their body," many choose to never return to their old way of eating because they feel so much better on the fuel that is correct for their body. Imagine having your skin improve AND feeling better, thinner and more energetic? That is what my naturopathic diet for my skin does for me.... My weight is actually 25 pounds less in the after photo of my acne you will see in my Holistic Dermatology presentation. I weighed 165 pounds when I was graduating college and now easily maintain my weight at 140. So the benefits of thinking in a holistic manner for your skin are greater than just improving your skin!
I only want patients to enroll in to my practice that will be my next Dermatology success story. I can confidently say after practicing Holistic Dermatology for over fourteen years that patients that are willing to follow my instructions will get better with their skin condition and those that are not on the same page as me and won't follow my instructions just don't get better. Many new patients erroneously feel we should be applying only topical treatments or are stuck in an allopathic naturopathic medicine model that treats each symptom with an herb rather than treating the underlying cause of the symptoms with an herb. When we give a patient an herbal medicine, vitamin or supplement for their skin symptom we are "Slapping a band-aid" on the skin problem in the exact same way that steroids and antibiotics do not address the underlying cause. In Naturopathy "Tolle Causom" is one of our most important healing principals because the patient WILL NEVER EVER EVER GET BETTER....Until we treat the cause!
In my fourteen years of experience successfully treating dermatology patients that is what all of my success stories have in common. They trust me to investigate the underlying cause of their itchy skin and they trust me to implement a plan that will address treating the root cause of their skin problems. Please do not take away my "Joy of fixing your skin" if you know you won't be able to change your diet to whatever I say you need to eat and remember to take your supplements as prescribed.
Holistic Dermatology is very complex and when hormone driven, is never usually what the patient thinks or suspects.... which is why it is difficult for me to help patients in Holistic Dermatology that do not understand this key concept and are not committed to finding and treating the underlying cause of their skin condition with natural medicine.
DO NATURAL TREATMENTS WORK FOR ACNE?
I know you all want me to prescribe herbs to apply to your skin and I get them. I promise we will also do this. I promise we will still use 100% natural eczema treatments, natural acne treatments and natural treatments for psoriasis. I promise you that and I also promise that they will likely be much more affordable than prescriptions as I tell the story of Pam and her $10 Natural Psoriasis Treatment in my Dermatology presentation. Pam is no longer spending $400-$800 per month on her prescription skin care! She is happy with her new natural psoriasis ointment recipe I gave her... but she also most importantly changed her diet to exactly what I needed her to eat for her personal constitution and skin type so the best part is that she does not even need to use the natural psoriasis ointment I made her anymore.
To me as a Holistic Dermatologist that is the ultimate goal... I want my patients to not have to apply anything to their skin. I know what a vicious frustrating loop that is and wasted years of my life fruitlessly applying things to my skin when ultimately the problem with my skin was brewing on the insides and I needed to treat my skin from within.
WHO WILL BE SUCCESSFUL WITH HOLISTIC DERMATOLOGY?
If you are able to follow my directions to a T then I am able to help you with your Dermatology Condition. I do not treat patients with skin cancer or provide minor surgery in my office. You would need to see an MD Dermatologist for those conditions. I am happy to refer you to someone for the few dermatology conditions that I do not see success with in my Holistic Dermatology Practice such as topical treatments for skin cancer. I refuse to participate in what I consider to be dangerous nonsense and believe you are better served having the skin cancer removed and working with me to ensure from a nutrition standpoint that it does not return. Once the skin cancer has formed it should be removed.
IS HOLISTIC DERMATOLOGY SAFE FOR MY CHILD?
As a mom myself, I can say with great confidence that Naturopathic Medicine is by far safer and better for your child than prescription drugs. It is also much more effective and provides lasting solutions for children with itchy skin and acne. Pediatric Dermatology has been a passion of mine for years and it usually is about the child's diet and something wrong with the inside. Giving your child steroids, accutane or antibiotics is not good for their overall health and completely unnecessary if they are a good patient. If your child has hormonal acne and you do not think they will make diet changes or remember to take supplements and you are not capable of enforcing this there is also little sense for parents to waste their time and money with Naturopathy even though it can be helpful we will not see a result with chronic skin problems until we treat the ROOT CAUSE and heal the skin from the inside out. Generally children are my most compliant Dermatology patients because it makes complete sense to them that what they eat impacts their skin. They want to feel good in their skin. Many teen girls are my best acne patients because they feel shame with their skin.
I am a living breathing success story for holistic acne, eczema and psoriasis treatments. If you truly want lasting solutions then Naturopathic Medicine is the only answer!
I would be happy to help you feel good in your skin again! Visit my appointment scheduling page and lets get started working towards perfect skin before you end up with permanent scarring like I have!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
You fixed my skin! Thank you for what you do. I have been to a dozen dermatologists and in and out of the hospital for the past 10 years and thanks to Naturopathy and your excellent doctoring I have not been to the hospital for a skin infection in over 6 years. God bless you Dr. Nicole!
Thank God you have the hormone expertise to fix cystic acne. No dermatologist I saw could help me. No esthetician. Get your hormones fixed if you have cystic acne. It was my hormones all this time and I wasted so much money on all the wrong treatments. You are in amazing hands with Dr. Nicole!
This makes so much sense with what I have been going through. Constant lumps and bumps with my period each month. Nothing seems to work. Thank you!
Great blog! Just popping in to let you know I am doing so much better and am grateful my esthetician gave me your number. Together with her facials and the new hormone plan and diets I am so much better. My mom is so happy that she has my beautiful face back! Thank you Dr. Nicole
Thank goodness someone understands hormones and acne! I am already doing better from just 2 appointments with you. Thank you Dr. Sundene