How Do I Heal My Skin?Acne, Hives, Rosacea, Eczema and Keratosis Pilaris
Updated: Jul 21
The answer might surprise you...
Welcome to the Gut Honest Truth blog where a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner gives you digestible information to tackle your chronic health concerns.
That’s me, Katie Morra; and in this blog I am going to talk about five common skin conditions today (Acne, Hives, Rosacea, Eczema and Keratosis Pilaris aka chicken skin), what triggers each and how to start supporting your healing journey.
And as always, working one-on-one for your specific needs is always our top recommendation, check out our appointment options to get started with one of our licensed health care professionals today.
If you've been struggling with a chronic skin condition, chances are you've cycled through countless topical prescriptions and over-the-counter products — alpha hydroxy acids, retinoids, salicylic acid, steroid creams. Maybe they helped a little, or offered temporary relief during flares. But nothing has stuck long-term.
That's because the creams aren't solving the root problem. They're managing the surface while the underlying drivers go unaddressed.
Our skin is a mirror of our internal health. What shows up on the outside is almost always a reflection of something happening on the inside — and that's actually good news, because it means there's often a lot we can do about it.
Top Contributors to Common Skin Conditions:
Food sensitivities
Gut health and intestinal permeability
Stress and trauma
Genetics
Hormone imbalances
Environmental toxicities
Nutrient deficiencies
You don't have to accept an untreatable, life-altering skin condition managed indefinitely by ointments and steroids. There are meaningful lifestyle modifications and targeted testing approaches that can create real, lasting change in your skin health.
Rosacea
Rosacea is a skin condition characterized by flushing, persistent facial redness, bumps, pimples, and visible blood vessels (spider veins). It can look a lot like acne, and the two often co-exist.
Potential root causes:
Demodex mites (a microscopic skin mite)
Vascular dysfunction
Mast cell activation
Food sensitivities
Genetics
Common flare triggers:
Intense exercise — The body has a threshold, and those with rosacea can experience flares when exercise intensity exceeds what their system can handle.
Makeup and skincare products — Your skin has its own microbiome, and harsh chemicals can disrupt it, causing irritation and reactivity.
Food — Fermented foods, spicy foods, and individual food sensitivities are among the most common triggers.
Alcohol — Increases inflammatory cytokines and causes vasodilation, which means more blood flow to the face and worsened redness.
Environmental factors — Sun, wind, and heat are well-documented triggers for many rosacea patients.
Systemic inflammation — When your body is inflamed internally, the skin is often where it shows up first.
The H. pylori connection is particularly worth noting. We see a meaningful overlap between H. pylori infections and rosacea in practice — and when the infection is properly addressed, skin often improves significantly. If you've never been tested for H. pylori, it's worth adding to your investigation.
Keratosis Pilaris
Keratosis Pilaris — commonly called "chicken skin" — is the buildup of excess keratin and dead skin cells within the hair follicle, causing the characteristic small bumps on the back of the upper arms, front of the thighs, and sometimes the face or buttocks.
Potential root causes:
Vitamin A and vitamin D deficiency (the most common nutritional drivers)
Dehydration
Genetics
Leaky skin and/or filaggrin deficiency (a protein that helps maintain the skin barrier)
Addressing fat-soluble vitamin status — particularly vitamins A and D — along with gut health and skin barrier support, is often the most effective approach here. This is one condition where what you're absorbing matters as much as what you're consuming.
Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis)
Eczema is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by impaired skin barrier function, immune dysregulation, and intense itching. It's associated with heightened sensitivity to food and environmental allergens — and it tends to flare in response to the same triggers that drive gut inflammation.
Your skin has its own microbiome, and just like the gut, it can become too permeable. When the skin barrier is compromised (leaky skin), foreign particles — food proteins, bacteria, environmental allergens — can enter and trigger an immune response. The result is increased susceptibility to infections, irritation, and chronic inflammation.
Potential root causes:
Leaky skin and compromised skin barrier
Genetics
Chronic stress
Dysbiosis (imbalance in the gut or skin microbiome)
The gut-skin axis is real and well-researched. We frequently see eczema improve significantly when gut health is addressed — particularly when food sensitivities, dysbiosis, and intestinal permeability are identified and treated.
Urticaria (Chronic Hives)
Chronic hives are flesh-colored or red welts caused by an inflammatory immune response — specifically, the release of histamine beneath the skin lining, which irritates nerve endings, causing swelling and itching.
There are several classifications of hives, and the treatment approach depends entirely on what's driving them. This is a condition where "treat the symptom" approaches tend to be frustrating and short-lived.
Potential root causes:
H. pylori infection
Chronic stress
Autoimmune conditions
Stealth infections (Lyme, mold)
Histamine load and mast cell reactivity are worth investigating here. A combination of comprehensive stool testing, H. pylori testing, and histamine/DAO levels can often point clearly to the driver.
Acne
Acne vulgaris is the common form — inflamed or infected sebaceous glands, typically presenting around the T-zone.
Acne conglobata (cystic acne) is deeper, more painful, and longer-lasting — large, hard bumps under the skin that may never form a visible pimple and can linger for weeks to months. It tends to appear along the lower face, jawline, chest, neck, and back.
Potential root causes:
Gut health — Disruptions to gut integrity (SIBO, dysbiosis, intestinal permeability) impact skin health directly. Your gut is responsible for nutrient absorption — and without proper digestion, you can't absorb the vitamins A, D, E, and K, protein, and fatty acids that skin health depends on. Gut dysfunction also drives inflammation, insulin resistance, and stress — all of which feed acne.
Food sensitivities — When the body identifies a food as inflammatory, it triggers a cascade of hormones and cytokines to respond. The skin is often where that response shows up visibly.
Stress — Chronic stress elevates cortisol, which sends oil glands into overdrive, promotes dead skin cell buildup, and compromises the skin barrier. Cortisol also suppresses natural collagen, hyaluronic acid, and ceramide production — making the skin less resilient overall.
Hormone imbalances — Elevated androgens, testosterone, and estrogen are common drivers of "hormonal acne," particularly along the jawline and lower face. Proper hormone testing (we use the DUTCH) is often the missing piece for patients who've tried everything else.
Skincare products — What you put on your skin is absorbed and processed similarly to what you eat. The EWG Skin Deep database is an invaluable resource for evaluating the quality of your current products.
Location clues:
Cheeks — Hormones, food triggers, pillowcase and bedding detergent. How often are you washing your pillowcase and with what?
Hairline — Hair care product ingredients. Many popular products contain pore-clogging or irritating ingredients.
Jawline — Excess androgens, gut health, menstrual cycle, stress, and sleep quality.
Testing Worth Considering for Skin Health
If you've been managing symptoms without getting to the root, these are the tests we use most frequently at GHT:
GI-MAP comprehensive stool testing — Assesses the gut microbiome, pathogens (including H. pylori), digestive markers, and intestinal permeability
SIBO breath testing
Histamine and DAO levels
Food sensitivity testing
Total toxic burden testing
DUTCH hormone testing
Advanced micronutrient testing (intracellular and extracellular levels)
Skin health is complicated — but you deserve a thoughtful investigation and a strategic treatment approach, not just another prescription cream.
We also have a podcast episode that goes even deeper on some of the nuances here — search "Gut Honest Truth" on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to find it.
If you're ready to stop managing symptoms and actually get to the root of what's driving your skin condition, we'd love to help.
Comments