Alicia Keys dumped dairy for clear skin

R&B star Alicia Keys discovered the secret to clear skin after ditching dairy from her diet during her first pregnancy.

The No One hitmaker has struggled with acne since her youth and it wasn't until she was about to become a mother in 2010 that she discovered a small change in her diet could do wonders for her complexion.

"It took me forever to get this skin," she tells Elle U.K. "I mean, I know how it feels to have a face full of bumps and pimples. I lived through that in the public eye. But when I first got pregnant, I started to eliminate dairy from my diet and drank a lot more water, which made a huge difference to my skin."

Alicia has been showing off her clear complexion in recent months after deciding she no longer wants to hide her true self with make-up, and she is hoping going bare-faced will show other women and young girls cosmetics aren't a necessity.

However, the singer insists her efforts are far from a "crusade", and claims she's just doing what feels right for her.

"Some have called this a crusade," she says. "Well, I died laughing at that. I use to feel the pressure to appear as the music industry expected, but I don't now."

Alicia, who has two boys with husband Swizz Beatz, serves as the cover girl for Elle U.K.'s Feminism issue, and she cannot understand why anyone would be against equal rights for women.

In an accompanying video taken during the chat, Alicia is asked if she considers herself a feminist.

She first reads out a dictionary definition of the word, stating: "'The advocacy of women's rights on the ground of political, social and economic equality.'"

"So yes," she continues. "Yes, I am a feminist, and whoever isn't is crazy. It's about owning your power, embracing your womanhood."