'Bachelor' Star Bekah Martinez Shares How She Got Rid of Her Acne

Bekah Martinez isn't one to keep her secrets to herself. The 23-year-old former Bachelor contestant, who has already gotten brutally honest about the real cost of being on the reality TV show, has also been quite vocal about her struggles with acne. After years of trying different medications and treatments, Martinez says she's finally found the cure that cleared up her complexion: gut-healthy foods.

"Real talk: my skin used to look like this for YEARS, and now (thank god) if you swipe left it looks like this!" Martinez wrote on her Instagram account. She said she's tried Accutane, numerous popular acne-clearing products, and birth control—along with going vegan, drinking more water, and using coconut oil, all advice anyone who's ever had acne has probably be given at some point—and likely to no avail. Adult acne is actually on the rise for women in their twenties and thirties, which is why many are now leading the charge around "acne positivity" on social media to help combat the shame and stigma surrounding it.

"I could go on and on about all the things that DIDN’T cure my acne," Bekah added. "Only recently did I discover it came down to my gut health, which I’ll be sharing a hell of a lot more about in the next few weeks. No, it’s not plexus or any other supplement, it’s real raw food that you have to incorporate into your diet on a regular basis."

The before-and-after photos she posted along with it have already gotten 25,000 likes and counting. Clearly, they're resonating. Her comments section is flooded with responses like, "I love to see post like this—my skin is so bad right now" and "Please post more about this, I could really use the tips!"

While she hasn't shared what those exact items are yet (Glamour reached out and will update this post when we've heard back), it's possible that Bekah is referencing fermented foods like kefir and sauerkraut. These foods contain probiotics, a.k.a. gut-friendly bacteria, which some experts—like Moon Juice founder Amanda Chantal Bacon and Whitney Bowe, M.D., a dermatologist and the author of the new book The Beauty of Dirty Skin—swear by for their stomach- and liver-detoxifying effects. These, in turn, help support glowing skin.

"Eating fermented foods has been shown to improve gut health and restore a healthy microbiome in your G.I. tract," says Joshua Zeichner, M.D., director of clinical and cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. "There's a definite association between gut health and your skin, so by feeding your gut probiotic-rich foods like kimchi, you're helping to reduce internal and external inflammation—including the kind that causes acne."

And it doesn't take a lifetime to see results. Zeichner says a few weeks, while Lauren Slayton, R.D., and founder of Foodtrainers in New York, says that depending on your current gut health, you can see a clearer complexion in as little as a week. "But it's not like you can be a sugaraholic, have some kimchi after dinner, and then expect to glow," she adds.

Martinez, for her part, says she wanted to share her struggles with trial-and-error treatments because too many women feel like they're by themselves in the process. She ended her post with an endearing note to her followers: "None of this content is or will be sponsored in any way. I just want to help as many people as possible find the solution to their acne or feel beautiful in the meantime. If you’re in the middle of the struggle, I feel you. I see you. I hear you. You are NOT alone, and I know a lot of the time it feels that way. I know how frustrating and demoralizing it can be. I know how it can take all your confidence and crush it to the point where you don’t want to leave the house. You’re not alone, and your acne does not define you. Rise above it and smile anyway—that’s what people will notice first."

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