Skin Health: Functional Medicine for Skin Conditions
Treating the root cause of eczema, psoriasis, acne and chronic skin problems
Jarrod Cooper - ND
Naturopathic Doctor · Author, The Healing Hierarchy
On this page
If you have spent years managing a skin condition with creams, steroids and elimination diets that never quite fix it, the problem may not be your skin at all. Chronic skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea and dermatitis are very often the visible sign of something happening deeper in the body, in the gut, the immune system, the liver or the hormones. Treating the skin alone rarely resolves them, because it does not address why the skin is reacting in the first place.
At Advanced Functional Medicine we work with people across Australia by telehealth to find and treat the underlying drivers of chronic skin problems, rather than suppressing the symptoms and waiting for them to come back. The people we help most are usually the ones who have already tried the topical route, seen the improvement fade, and want to understand what is actually going on.
Why Skin Problems Are Rarely Just Skin Problems
The skin is one of the body’s largest organs and one of its clearest windows into internal health. When something is out of balance inside, the skin is often where it shows. These are the root causes we investigate most often.
Gut health. The connection between the gut and the skin is well established and, in our experience, is the single most common driver of chronic skin problems. A disrupted microbiome, a leaky gut, or an overgrowth such as SIBO or candida can drive the systemic inflammation that surfaces as eczema, psoriasis or acne. For a lot of patients, treating the gut is what finally clears skin that has resisted everything else.
Immune and autoimmune activity. Psoriasis in particular is an immune-driven condition, and many chronic skin problems involve the immune system reacting to something it should not. Identifying and calming that immune response is central to lasting improvement.
Histamine and food reactions. Histamine intolerance and food sensitivities are a frequent and often missed driver of hives, flushing, rashes and reactive skin. When the body’s histamine load is already high, the skin is often the first place it spills over.
Liver and detoxification. When the body’s detox pathways are overloaded, the skin takes on part of that load, which can show as breakouts, dullness and irritation. Supporting clearance often improves the skin as a side effect.
Hormones. Acne and other skin changes are frequently tied to hormonal patterns, which is why they tend to shift with the menstrual cycle, stress, or a change in life stage.
The point is that two people with the same rash can have completely different causes. That is why a one-size cream so often fails, and why testing matters.
How We Investigate
Rather than guessing, we test. Depending on your picture, that can include advanced stool testing to assess the gut and microbiome, an extended blood panel of over eighty markers read against optimal rather than just normal ranges, and organic acids testing to look at what is happening at a cellular and metabolic level. Those results let us see the drivers behind the skin, not just the skin itself. From there we build a sequenced plan that addresses the underlying cause in the right order, which is usually what makes the difference between temporary relief and lasting change.
Conditions We Work With
Eczema and dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, hives and urticaria, and other chronic or unexplained skin conditions. We are most useful for people whose skin problems have persisted despite topical treatments and who want to understand and address the root cause rather than keep managing the surface.
FAQ
Frequently
asked questions
The questions patients ask most often when they first come in. If yours isn't here, bring it to your appointment.
Can gut health really affect my skin?
Yes, and it is one of the most consistent patterns we see. The gut and the skin are closely linked through the immune system and inflammation. A disrupted microbiome, leaky gut, or an overgrowth like SIBO or candida can drive the inflammation behind eczema, psoriasis and acne. Treating the gut is frequently what clears skin that has not responded to topical treatment.
I have tried every cream and cut out foods, why does my skin keep flaring?
Because creams and blanket elimination diets manage the surface and the symptoms, not the cause. If the driver is in the gut, the immune system, histamine or hormones, the skin will keep reacting until that underlying driver is addressed. The aim of our approach is to find and treat that driver so the skin settles for good.
What testing would you use for a skin condition?
It depends on your picture, but it commonly includes advanced stool testing, an extended blood panel read against optimal ranges, and sometimes organic acids testing. Together these reveal the gut, immune, nutrient and metabolic factors behind the skin.
Do I have to travel to see you?
No. We consult across Australia by telehealth, with the same care and testing as an in-person visit. Your pathology is collected locally and everything runs through your online patient portal.
Is this instead of seeing a dermatologist?
No, it works alongside conventional care. A dermatologist treats the skin directly; functional medicine looks for why the skin is reacting. Many patients use both.
How telehealth works
Telehealth: the same care, wherever you are
Most of the patients I treat never set foot in the Perth clinic, and that is by design, not compromise. Telehealth patients get exactly the same care and access as someone who walks in the door in person. Not a reduced version: the same practitioner, the same functional testing, the same treatment sequence, the same follow-up. Plenty of my Perth patients choose telehealth anyway, simply because it is more convenient than travelling in.
Here is what that looks like in practice. Consultations run through a secure medical video link, joinable from your phone or computer with nothing to download. Your testing is arranged through our electronic links with the major Australian pathology labs, so you collect locally and the results come straight back to me. Any specialised kits that are not collected at a standard centre are simply posted to your door. Every patient also has access to a secure online patient portal, where your results are stored, you can message me and the team directly between appointments, and order your supplements. Being interstate or overseas changes nothing about the standard of care you receive.
Where to start
Two paths forward,
depending on where you are.
If you are dealing with a chronic skin condition that has not responded to topical treatment, there are two paths forward.
Start with the foundations on your own. Stabilise blood sugar. Remove the major inflammatory triggers: gluten, dairy, processed sugar, alcohol, and seed oils. Support gut motility and diversity with fibre from vegetables, adequate hydration, and fermented foods where tolerated. Prioritise sleep, since poor sleep drives the inflammation that shows up in the skin. These changes alone can produce meaningful improvement and they cost nothing.
When you are ready for the clinical layer, a DNA-based stool test combined with a functional blood panel will give you the data needed to identify exactly what is driving your skin and address it in sequence. At Advanced Functional Medicine, we offer both in-person consultations from our Perth clinic and telehealth consultations for patients across Australia and worldwide.
Ready to find out what is actually driving your skin condition?
WRITTEN BY
Jarrod Cooper - ND
Naturopathic Doctor and founder of Advanced Functional Medicine. Consults from Perth, Western Australia and via telehealth nationally and internationally. Author of The Healing Hierarchy: Restore Function. Rebuild Your Body.
More from the Health Library