Liquid Chlorophyll: Does it Work?

About a year ago when I joined Twiter, my cousin, who involves herself in just about every pyramid scheme imaginable, was singing the praises of Chlorophyll, Vitamin A and Vitamin E to battle acne. I was still on the pill at that time, and was maintaining better skin through hormones, so I made a mental note of it, starred her tweets on the matter, and tucked it away for a time in the near future when I might need it.

It has been about 11 months since I have gone off the pill, and my acne is back. It’s not as bad as it was in high school, but the usual suspects always come in around my period, hang out for a week, and then my skin calms down again.

I mentioned this to Dr. Dreamy in April, and his intern, who has a bunch of experience working in dermatology offices, suggested I use Benzoyl Peroxide  (I am going to type BzP from now on because I am lazy) products. They both said not to get ProActiv, apparently that’s shit’s the devil, but they did suggest BzP would help clear my skin.

Something you must know about me is that I try my best to balance natural and conventional medicine. It is something I struggle with. I would love to start using only natural/Eastern medicine, actually, but fear I don’t have the willpower to follow the daily regimen that lifestyle entails. I am getting better, but don’t know I could do it just yet.  Whenever Dr. Dreamy suggests medication, if I think about it I ask about natural alternatives, things in my diet I might not be eating that would help. In other cases, I listen to his advice, go home, and then google the shit out of natural alternatives.

In this case, the only natural alternative to BzP I could find was tea tree oil. NOT GOOD. I am pretty sure my skin hates the stuff.  Against my better judgment, though, I went to Whole Foods and bought some.

I found a Burt’s Bees acne care system that seemed to be gentle on the skin and on my wallet. Of course I broke out, so I went straight to Fred Meyer’s looking for some BzP.

I found a Nutrogena skin care line.  Nutrogena seemed to be the safest, most benign thing I could find. I pretended the fact they are owned by Johnson & Johnson didn’t bother me, and I bought my second acne care system in one week.

Will stain your washcloths!

I used it for a week, and was amazed at how it ruined all my washcloths (BzP bleaches things. Dr. Dreamy did warn me about this), it also dried me the fuck out.  I had to learn the hard way that BzP works best on problem areas, not on the entire face.

I used it like that for a month or so, when I remembered my cousin’s praises of chlorophyll. Like a lot of things in my ADD-addled mind, I’d forget, then remember, forget, then remember. I did find a women’s multi-vitamin at Trader Joes with Vitamin A and E during that time, and felt like I was at least doing something.

One fateful night after sushi, we went to the fancy hippy-dippy store on a mission. We went to the vitamin section, and found the liquid chlorophyll. There were a few brands though, and we weren’t sure which one to get. The resident queen of the Naturopathic Department found us, and helped me pick out the right one. I don’t remember her talking about the benefits of the stuff, but she assured me she drinks it in water, and that her colleagues in the know do the same. Her skin is flawless by the way.  She has that hippy glow that I’ve always admired. I was convinced I was doing the right thing.

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For the record, the packaging says nothing about helping acne, mainly improving brain function. It also boasts a terrific minty flavor. It is a beautiful color of dark green, and the stuff stains like nobody’s business. The directions recommend 18-36 droplets in 8 oz of water twice a day. It tastes much better in cold water than room temperature water. It is indeed minty, as suggested, but it has an odd lemony tang as well. It amazes me that the queen of hippies enjoys hers over the day, I have to drink it down, sometimes I even plug my nose while drinking it.

It has been a week and a half now, and I can’t help but wonder, does it work?

Since taking chlorophyll regularly for a week and a half, I’ve noticed very little improvement in my acne. To be fair, this is the time of month in which the acne is pretty calm anyways, but I don’t notice a marked change—a hippy glow, if you will.

I think it is helping in cleaning out toxins though. I know this because I feel a little better, and I notice I drink a lot more water since I’ve started taking the stuff.

Sure, it’s been hot, but in the mornings, I actually crave the stuff. I think time will tell if it is something worth keeping up. I will give it three months and report back.

For now the old adage it’s not hurtin’ so I might as well definitely applies!