Table of Contents
Acne Remedies
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DISCLAIMER
Our readers offer information and opinions on Earth Clinic, not as a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or health care provider before taking any home remedies or supplements or following any treatment suggested by anyone on this site. Only your health care provider, personal physician, or pharmacist can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your unique needs or diagnose your particular medical history.
05/29/2009: Al from Long Island City, NY writes: "I can't vouch for this, but have heard anecdotally that raw egg whites applied on affected areas every day 10 minutes for week will cure acne. I don't have it but does anyone know about this? Just curious to know if it works and wanted to share it if it does."
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1 YEA
[YEA] Mary Jo from St. Louis, MO writes: "Deciding to give up caffeine was one of the best choices I've made in a long time! After just one week without any, my face has not "caught on fire" even once, and no significant breaking out. Instead of coffee or colas, I drink chamomile, dandelion, and red raspberry leaf (with a pinch of angelica) in teas, using honey or beet sugar to sweeten. Now that I have found this great site, I'll be trying some of the natural remedies recommended here! Much thanks to everyone."
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1 YEA
[YEA] 03/20/2007: Roy Morris from Mississauga, Canada writes: "Stop drinking coke! I have had terrible acne since grade 6, and recently i stopped drinking coke. My entire face has almost cleared, and my body is starting to heal. It has been the biggest change i have ever had. Also less or a natural cure, the clinique product line drys out the skin the fastest of any product i have used. Currently I am 1st year university and have tried almosty everything, but eliminating coke, and using the clinique product line has helped immensly."
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1 YEA
[YEA] Eric from Charleston, WV writes: "Since avoiding "all" foods that have "high-fructose corn syrup" or fructose/sucralose, I have had no breakouts. I also avoid milk and opt for USDA organic yogurt. High fructose corn syrup is in everything. I strongly believe that eliminating it along with milk and chocolate/sweets will help."
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2 YEA
[YEA] 09/14/2008: Telicia from Farmington Hills, MI writes: "Eliminating dairy practically cured my acne. I actually went to a nutritionist who tested my urine and told me that I was lactose intolerant. I rarely get an upset stomach from dairy so I wrote it off. I've practically lived on cereal, yogurt, and sourcream for years! Later on, I went to an acupuncturist who told me that my acne would clear up if I just stop eating dairy. She says I have too much yeast in my body and that when I eat dairy I was feeding it. Well apparently she was right. Cause over the years I've done everything from taking vitamins everyday, to doing full body detoxes. But the moment I stop eating all dairy products including creamer in my coffee and sourcream on my baked potato, my skin was completely clear! Completely! Whenever I get a pimple now, I just stop eating ALL dairy products, swipe a little peroxide and/or tea tree oil on my face, and my skin clears up within a matter of days. Why couldn't I have figured this out 10 years ago? Good luck."
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[YEA] 12/29/2005: Bibi from Fairhope, AL writes: "Eliminate dairy foods from your diet if you want to clear away acne."
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ELIMINATE DAIRY and FAST FOODS
[YEA] 08/23/2006: Alex from Nampa, Idaho writes: "I completely cut Dairy from my diet. My acne was clearing up dramatically just after a few weeks. My breakouts were minimized by over half. But i was still breaking out at times. I cut all fast food from my diet, or anything that has lots of oils and non natural fats in them. i stopped my intake of soda pop, candy etc.
I now eat a lot of fruits, vegetables (salad is great) and i drink at least one glass of green tea a day. My breakouts have gone down so dramatically and it's so amazing, it's all in diet. Not everyone has a strong body to fight off toxins, so you MUST take care of your body. The average diet of today is so horrible. I'm only 20 and i know this, everyone should know this. Actually i think everyone does know it. They just don't care anymore and enjoy fast food cause of the easiness, and taste. But i tell you what, once you cut it out, you soon learn to love the taste of these great foods that god put here for us. To the point where fast food just sounds like poison, cause that is all that it really is!!"
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1 YEA
[YEA] 09/11/2006: Jose from Canoga Park, CA writes: "i do a lot of sports and i try not to eat cheese and chips, chocolate and all the junk food. Eliminating the junk will cure acne and make your life easier. Try it, it will work, trust me."
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ELIMINATE SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE
[YEA] 01/21/2006: Chet from Los Angeles, CA writes: "STOP USING SLS (SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE) AND ANY SULFATES IN YOUR BATH PRODUCTS!!! This ingredient is found EVERY body and face soap...and EVERY shampoo. IT IS ALSO WHY YOUNG MEN ARE GOING BALD!!! For acne, I'm trying the lemon juice exfoliation and the cucumber juice face mask. Seems to be working."
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ELIMINATE WHEAT, DAIRY AND GLUTEN
[YEA] 07/20/2008: Simone from Portland, Oregon writes: "re: Acne & wheat/gluten allergy. I have suffered from embarrassing acne for over 20 years. I finally went to a naturopath, who diagnosed me as being allergic to gluten and wheat. Now that I have stopped eating anything w/ wheat or gluten in it, not only has my stomach stopped being upset, but my skin has cleared up. I don't have to put anything on it or do anything - it's just clear now.
I have also heard that dairy products can cause acne. I stopped using dairy products about the same time i stopped eating wheat/gluten, so that could also be part of the solution."
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10/17/2009: Anne from Thunder Bay, Ontario writes: "Epsom Salt baths for acne treatment
Hello : ) I am 31 years old and have been dealing with moderate acne since puberty. I have tried everything from popular name brand acne cleansers, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, prescription acne cream, not wearing make-up, cutting sweets out of my diet, cutting junk food out of my diet, steam bathing the face, exfoliating facial cleansers, overnight acne treatment creams and birth control. Among all of those treatments, only staying on birth control seemed to make any real difference, however, it did not make the acne disappear entirely during menstruation.
I am now 20 weeks pregnant and the hormones have been wrecking even more havoc with the skin on my face since pregnancy. I also developed a rash on my tummy. As a result of reading many different solutions on the internet, I decided to give an Epsom Salt bath a try. I have been taking these baths each night for the last 4 nights and have seen remarkable improvements, such as:
- The little white bumps (that have been on the back of my upper arms since puberty) have almost disappeared altogether
- The rash on my tummy has disappeared entirely
- The few hard "under-skin" bumps/cysts on my face (which have stubbornly been there for a couple of months) have virtually disappeared
From my readings on the internet, bacteria (that causes acne) cannot be live in a salty environment; therefore, washing with the salt water kills the bacteria.
I have simply poured 1 to 2 cups of Epsom Salts into a full bath tub of warm/hot water and stirred the salt around in order to dissolve them into the water. I bathed for 10 to 15 minutes and rinsed my face a few times. I highly recommend this treatment to anyone with acne problems."
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2 YEA
[YEA] 05/17/2008: Elisabeth from Sommerset, Colorado writes: "Lavender, tea tree and rosemary essential oils: I had mild cases of acne as a teenager but as an adult nearing 35, I broke out into terrible cystic acne all of the sudden. I tried everything but accutane, nothing would get rid of it and some things made it worse (like retin-a). A friend finally suggested this remedy and I was completely clear within two weeks-no kidding. The recipe is two to three drops each of Lavender, tea tree and rosemary essential oils in a small spray bottle of distilled water(such as a trial size hairspray bottle. Be sure to wash it out well first). Shake it up each time you use it. Spray it on a clean, dry face every morning and night. Let it air dry on your face. Keep the oils and the spray bottle in a cool dark place like a drawer or medicine cabinet, away from light and heat or the oils won't stay "true" for very long. I have been doing this for over ten years- I have added other oils as I have gotten older that are good for aging skin, like frankinsense and geranium-but I look fresh and young still and my skin is like a babie's soft pink bottom. This was my little miracle and there are absolutely no side effects from this. My family all use this remedy, I have given it to our teenage daughters and thier girlfriends who have breakouts and everyone is amazed at how such simplicity works such wonders! This is also great for anyone at any age who just wants to have softer and much more radiant skin."
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[YEA] 04/03/2007: Mila from Sacramento, California writes: "I tried essential oils, more specifically, rosemary and coriander oils, for my blackheads and active acne, and a miracle happened with my face. Here is how I do it: at night I wash my face first if i have makeup on with my regular camphor based cleanser, then about an hour later i heat up a huge pot of water, and hold my face above the steam for about 10-15 minutes, i also cover my head with a big towel, so the heat does not escape. The steam helps open up the pores and let the toxins out. Then I take a shower and rinse my face off oil and toxins. After i get out i pat my face dry and apply coriander and rosemary oil mixed together. It's been a couple of weeks, and my face has cleared up so much, I am amazed. There are other things I do too, like drinking less caffeine and eating less sugar ,taking flax and omega 3,6,9 oils, also praying to God( I'm a christian), and my skin has been great. It doesn't get congested anymore, it's color is more healthy and even, I am absolutely amazed. I am 22, so I know acne at my age is an internal problem, so I recommend to anybody the essential oils(coriander and rosemary), but also checking your diet, some foods cause your skin to congest and breakout. Hope this helps)) I think I'll be using essential oils now,for me they've been more effective and a lot less expensive than facials and pretty much all brand name products i've tried in my life, and trust me i've wasted thousands of dollars on lotians, facials, cremes, etc. God bless you, and hope you find this comment helpful."
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1 YEA
[YEA] 11/24/2007: Vinny from Atlanta, GA writes: "A quick, cheap, & healthy way to prevent and heal acne is to use Eucalyptus Aromatherapy Oil. A big bottle is about $8-9 and can be found at GNC. Make sure you dilute it with water as it is very potent like other oils. You should have very good success with this and should notice HUGE differences within a day."
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2 YEA
[YEA] 08/17/2008: Randahl from San Jose, California writes: "This remedy, unfortunately, only applies to women with acne problems--however, it worked REALLY well for me. About one year ago I suddenly got a moderate case of acne, and nothing I did would get rid of it. Putting ACV on my face and drinking it kind of worked in keeping breakouts small, but didn't prevent them from appearing.
One of my friends had been in a similar situation a while before and recommended that I try Evening Primrose Oil. I did some research on it and lo and behold, it has anti-inflammatory and hormone-regulating qualities. I started taking one 500 mg pill 3 times a day, and it helped ENORMOUSLY.
I also would like to mention that being on a birth control pill like Yasmin or Yaz, combined with Evening Primrose oil, got rid of ALL acne. I mean absolutely every little bit. While on BC, I only took EPO twice a day, but once I went off of it, I went back up to 3x a day and my acne is still very under control.
Hope this helps!"
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[YEA] 09/11/2006: Jessica from Edwardsburg, MI writes: "We learned in school (for alternative medicine) that for women, evening primrose oil capsules clear acne and for men, borage oil caps. I was in my late 20's still breaking out like a teenager and it cleared me right up! Now whenever I see the little bumps coming I start the primrose and they disappear! **Sometimes it will make you break out for a week first as your skin releases the toxins!** It will be beautiful after tho!"
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1 YEA
[YEA] 03/18/2007: A. from San Francisco, California writes: "If I feel a blemish coming on and I have some where to go, I usually get a q-tip wet with eye drops and put it in the freezer. when the q-tip is frozen I put it on the pimple and it take the red out and reduces the swelling. thanks for this great site, after reading all this great information, I thought I'd share one of my own."
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1 YEA
[YEA] 12/03/2007: Les from Athens, Greece writes: "For acne, the best solution is having a blood test for food intolerances. Then completely cut out the foods you are intolerant to. It takes less than a week to see results. It took me years of struggling to finally discover this simple solution. I hope this helps people."
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2 YEA
[YEA] 01/20/2008: Robert from Naples, Florida writes: "Robert's Fungus Saga: Part Two: Adult "Acne"
This is where the "saga" starts to get interesting. After my adolescent acne should have cleared up 35 years ago, it got slowly worse. All over the bearded part of my face, what appeared to be sacs of hardened oil under the surface of the skin had been forming nodules. These didn't get infected, each just grew larger. Over the years I've seen dermatologists who said, because of my otherwise great health, "you're just a middle aged adolescent," blaming it on high testosterone, etc. The apparent acne problem continued and worsened.
I've seen doctors, dermatologists, pharmacists, herbalists, laser specialists, and spiritual healers. I've bought every acne ointment known to man. I took pills, vitamins, and herbs. I changed diet. I get plenty of exercise. Nothing worked. I had extensive surgery to correct the problem three years ago, and within 18 months it looked just as bad as before. As a public speaker and author in my profession, the skin condition was emotionally upsetting and stressful.
Having conquered toe nails, I started researching down the path that maybe the acne was caused by a fungus (although the symptoms didn't look like my feet). Was I surprised when I found:
" Tinea barbae is a superficial dermatophyte infection that is limited to the bearded areas of the face and neck and occurs almost exclusively in older adolescent and adult males. Symptoms include inflammatory, deep, kerion-like plaques and noninflammatory superficial patches and lumps resembling bacterial folliculitis. The hair breaks off below the skin surface. It is caused by several dermatophytes. Trichophyton species are most common. Infection of bearded skin may be the result of autoinoculation from tinea pedis or onychomycosis."
In other words, the mess on my face that had caused me so much grief and been misdiagnosed for decades was caused by the same fungus that gave my feet a problem. Apparently the dermatophytes enter the hair follicle (nails and hair are similar biological structures), then attack the sebaceous gland, feeding off the body oil; then the body's immune system reacts with scaring and hardening the facial oil, leaving an oil nodule. The dermatophytes then migrate to the next follicle, and eventually dozens of affected follicles link as a nodule the size of a pea.
Now it became obvious what had happened: The athlete's foot I got as a teenager went to my toe nails, and, because I was ignorant of the relationship of using a towel on my face that might have been used on my feet or crotch, the fungus got transferred.
Not a single dermatologist who examined my face ever bothered to ask the question: "Do you have toe nail fungus or athlete's foot!"
Using the same solution on my facial outbreaks as on my toe nails (the revised formula with coconut oil), the facial condition is clearing up. Just like with my feet, skin is sloughing off and the nodules are beginning to eject. This is the best result I've seen in years. I expect it will take a few months for the problem to be cured, as the fungus is down below the level of the base of the hair follicle in the sebaceous gland."
EC: Read Robert's entire email on the Nail Fungus Remedies page.
04/17/2008: FT from Ridgewood, NJ replies: "Comment to Robert: THANK YOU for posting about your "adult acne!" Beginning at 11 years old I got pilonidal cysts at the base of my spine (tailbone) which I suffered with all through my school years. The inflammation, swelling and pain was excruciating. I rode a schoolbus to school and it was pure torture. I didn't want to tell anyone I was suffering with this condition as I was embarrassed as a child. When I went off to college I finally was seen by a doctor who operated and removed the cyst. I haven't had another since in that location but beginning shortly thereafter, I started getting cysts in my armpits. These cysts, which I still get, sound exactly like your "adult acne" condition. One doctor wanted to remove all of my sweat glands under my arms. Another just used to cut them open and let them drain, only to return again after healing. In the past 10 years I have developed Lichen Simplex Chronicus in my groin area which also "flares up" frequently and is accompanied by a painful cyst in the area. And last year I developed athlete's foot accompanied by toenail fungus of my right big toe. I AM FALLING APART! I have never, ever had athlete's foot until last year. At the same time I developed a weird scale on the side of my head that I at first thought was dandruff, but is something much worse than normal dandruff. It's oily and crusty and builds up very quickly! I tell you all of this to show you how I believe all of these conditions are connected/related to fungus. Oh, I also suffer with severe sinusitis during allergy season (now) and through the summer and fall. I really think this is all related. I am otherwise a healthy person (ha!) or at least I thought I was! Now I see that this is all the doing of one culprit - FUNGUS! I am going to try your formula and will let you know how it works. I'm very glad I found this site!"
[YEA] 08/17/2009: Ga_bass from Douglasville, Ga replies: "OMG! My 12 year old had the worst break out of multiple acne bumps, rash like and painful pimples across her forehead. Black and white heads, acne cyst, large yellow and white puss filled pimples. I had tried everything over the counter. Which was a temporary fix. I tried peroxide I tried even part bleach and water. That minimized it but once you stop the use of it , it return again. Then I saw on EC someone mentioned fungal treatment. The only thing I could think of was M------ [over the counter cream for yeast infections] I put it on my 12 year old before bed. I applied it on 3x making sure I rubbed it all the way in. The next morning to my surprise the pimples dried up and the rashes were gone. Only the larger pimples/cyst remained but the were dramtically reduced in size."
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6 YEA
2 NAY
[NAY] 12/02/2007: Frustrated from Mississauga, Canada writes: "LAST NIGHT I TRIED USING MASHED GARLIC FROM YOUR WEBSITE ON THE ACNE AREAS FOR JUST 5-10 MIN. WHEN I APPLIED IT IT REALLY BURNED BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS DOING ITS JOB. THIS MORNING WHEN I LOOKED AT MY FACE I WAS SHOCKED, IT WAS SOOOO RED!!!! DO NOT USE MASHED GARLIC ON THE FACE IT WILL BURN!!!!"
01/03/2010: Katrina from Taunton, Massachusetts replies: "You're supposed to dilute it with mostly warm water, sometimes tree oil or honey also and keep on the skin no longer than 3 minutes."
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[YEA] 09/20/2007: Mika from Santa Barbara, California writes: "RAW GARLIC. garlic is a natural, powerful antibacterial. the antibacterial compound is called allicin. It works when eaten raw. yes, RAW. it burns the stomach, but well worth the immediate results. I finely chop a clove of garlic when my acne gets severe, put it on a spoon, and swallow it with some water like powder medicine.
*** CAUTION: do NOT eat on an empty stomach!.
I HIGHLY recommend you eat it with/right after meals or have a bottle of antacids ready. ***
This causes garlic breath and you sweat out garlic because your blood carries allicin through your body. Think about it--antibacterial sweat and blood! My face clears up after a good night's sleep and i get no new acne when i do this twice a day (morning and before sleep). The only downside is that it doesn't help take away scarring. Oooh, and smelling like garlic. My mom says I reek but personally, i love the smell."
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[NAY] 12/17/2006: Ani from Melbourne, Australia writes: "I read on this website that you can apply garlic to your acne to get rid of it. Well so i went to the kitchen, chopped up some garlic, mixes it with a tiny bit of water to make a mash. I applied it to my face and covered it with bandages and tape and went to bed. When i woke up, I was hoping my acne would be all gone but instead, to my horror, I had blisters and burned skin! It even burned all my healthy skin! Now i look even worse then before. I have put honey on my skin and left it on all day. I look disgusting now. I should of just tried a little bit on and then just rubbed it off."
05/11/2008: Raquelle from Auckland, NZ replies: "Have a good look all over this website, there is plenty of good acne cures. Have a look at a variety of cures and then make your choice. Oh and if you suffer from constipation, that could very likely be contributing. if we dont go toilet regulary, the body starts to try and exit toxins an alternative way, the skin. Also Candida can cause tummy troubles and also affect the skin. So look at what your body is trying to tell you, (our bodys have you let us know somehow) and along with balancing the inside, work on the external. happy journeys."
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[YEA] 09/26/2006: Paulette from Mississauga writes: "Garlic is amazing. I eat it both raw and cooked. I noticed it brought my blood sugar level down, so that was a good side effect. I try to eat some everyday raw in salad, roasted and mixed with butter for bread or just top it on soup after the soup is cooked. I had a great body cleansing effect. I then decided to crush the garlic and mix with apple cider vinegar for application on stubborn acne. Great results. One week later I started adding onion to this mixture and apply to face with a natural bristle eyeshadow brush. If it was too heated, I would apply raw honey. I have used exfoliating creams, lightening creams and had peels to clear up stubborn acne and spots from face, but there was no comparison to this garlic, onion and apple cider vinegar mixture. The acne literally walked away, the spots faded gently, but consistently and progressively. There was nothing left on my face that should not be there in the first place, it all left. In one month my face was clear radiant and rosy. I will never again waste my money on pharmaceutical expensive skin care products."
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[YEA] 02/04/2006: Mona from Toronto, Ontario writes: "garlic capsules did wonders for my badly acne suffered skin.after all nature comes to my rescue."
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[YEA] Ratna from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania writes: "I have slight pimple skin but after starting on raw garlic once a day I've began to see the zits disappear and the blemishes are slowly fading away!!! I take 1 big clove with my lunch (for the after smell you can chew on some fennel seeds it will go) and it really helps.You'll see the difference in 5-6 days. Also have started to take fresh vegetable juice on rising. Its made of carrots,white gourd,apples and a little tomato.The difference in my skin was seen in 2 days!!This juice also cleanses your colon and you know when you have a toxin free system it shows on your skin!!"
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