Basil
★★★★★
Bentonite Clay
★★★★★
Also, I usually don't write these things because the solutions never last long enough for me, but this one truly is a blessing, even if just for a few days. See, I had mixed it before with water/apple cider vinegar and left on my face to 'pulse' for suggested time.... Big no-no. It was way too harsh for my sensitive skin. But a little pinch mixed with a lot of water, massaged onto skin like soap, and immediately washed off works just right. I hope this helps someone else who has a big tub just sitting around! It's worth a try!
Bentonite Clay
★★★★★
BHA
Black Mud Soap
★★★★★
Blackstrap Molasses
★★★★★
However, Blackstrap was by far the best acne treatment for me. I do have low iron (too low to donate blood even though I ate many foods with iron in them every day), so maybe that was a factor that was remedied and therefore gave me clear skin. I rarely have even a pimple anymore. It also made my face unbelievably soft, softer than ACV, Oilpulling, or Hydrogen Peroxide, although those things are better for other ailments.
To make mine, I use the recommended TBSP with a little bit of honey, stir with a bit of hot water, add 1-2 TBSP of Half and Half
Blackstrap Molasses
★★★★★
I also did some research- blackstrap contains copper which helps skin repair itself and a bit of zinc which when taken consistently has the effect of an antibiotic/anti-acne prescription. Just make sure you get the right ratio of zinc and copper- they block the absorption of each other and can cause an imbalance.
Blackstrap Molasses
★★★★★
Borax
★★★★★
This is what I do: wet your face with warm water, get about a teaspoon of borax in your hand and then apply on your face AVOID eye area and under eye. Scrub gently with the borax around the problem area, rinse with luke warm water and watch your face glow. AMAZING
After I rinse the borax off I apply a toner 50/50 ACV and water with a cotton pad to minimize the size of my pores, after it dries a apply coconut oil and my face is like a babys bottom :)
Make sure you always apply suncsreen to the face.
I also use borax as a scrub for my body, I used to have back acne and they are almost gone, my skin feels like silk. I swear by borax.
(California)
03/08/2018
★★★★★
Borax works sooo well for me and my face literally feels so soft. It's really hard for me to be satisfied with the results of many products but this diy home remedy was perfect. I use this twice a week and it really helps unclogging the pores! Add a nose strip and you're good to go! I use this on my back, face, and chest.
(Also heard it can reduce dark armpits but haven't tried it yet.)
Borax
★★★☆☆
BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS
I quit the cure after a few days due to the effects the borax had on my mental state. It was almost like a drug in the way it made my mind feel very aware. If I wanted to get off legally without being out of control, I would use borax.
I think I would try it again, using a very very small dosage, maybe even smaller than Ted's. A side effect that I liked was that the horrible bad breath I had experienced for a year went away within a day or two and stayed away for a couple of weeks. Perhaps my breath still stunk to other people, but the horrible disgusting taste in my mouth when I woke up was gone.
Borax
★★★★★
(Durham, Nc, Usa)
03/07/2012
Note to add: The Borax I use is "Boraxo Powdered Hand Soap" and the contents are listed as Sodium Tetraborax Decahydrate, along with 'fine toilet soap'. One or two applications a day, scrubbing for about a minute, then rinsing thoroughly, will keep the oils down and the acne from occurring. Overuse of this soap will cause skin drying.
Calamine, Witch Hazel
★★★★★
Finally I came across an "acne cure" that people were paying up to sixty-dollars per ounce on the Internet. I found out that it was simply Calamine lotion and witch hazel and I already had that in my medicine cabinet. I tried it out and it works great.
I wash my face good in the evening, use witch hazel as a toner then apply the Calamine lotion. (I am going to see if ACV works better then Witch Hazel after reading about it here on this site.) The Calamine dries up the acne usually overnight and has always made it better including really deep hard nodule type of acne.
Chamomile lotion doesn't prevent or otherwise cure acne but it does dry up outbreaks extremely rapidly, keeps the acne from itching and being irritated and doesn't burn, sting or otherwise have side effects that I have experienced. I wish I had known about this as a teen.
Carrot Juice
★★★★★
Eating raw carrots OR carrot juice can help with acne considerably. According to Ray Peat (Google him), carrot fiber reduces amounts of toxins in the gut that contribute to hormonal acne. He also suggests that activated charcoal has the same effect. So, in this case, it's the fiber, and not the carotenoids that do the trick. On the other hand, we all know that vitamin A has an impact on acne, so carrots may help in that way too.
I've recently read a post by Ted that drinking carrot juice before meals lowers the blood sugar, which is interesting because carrots are a high sugar food. There is a strong correlation between high sugar levels in the blood and acne, so this might be the triple whammy. I keep a bag of organic baby carrots in the fridge and munch on them in the mornings (4-7 baby carrots - equivalent, I suppose, to one large carrot. ) Doing so has considerable improved my acne.
When I get sick of eating carrots, I take a few activated charcoal caps in the morning instead.
Lastly, when I've neglected to do those things, and I break out terribly, I (after immediately incorporating those back into the diet) have had success in clearing up the acne quickly by rubbing a lemon over the breakout after washing my face, and before I go to sleep. (I have fair skin - the first night doing this, my face turns bright red.)
Another thing that really helps me is drinking peppermint tea regulalry. Don't know why it works. I avoid soap, except for liquid castille. Coconut oil internally and externally did not help whatsoever.
Liver support helped quite a bit - detoxing, N-A-C (600 mg day) and Milk Thistle (1, 000 mg 4 x day during breakouts) and this is another thing I do when I get the occassional bad breakout (usually after neglecting my carrots.) In my case, there is a strong gut/liver health component to my breakouts. Keep in mind that there are different causes. Middle aged women with hormonal acne may have a cause different from a teenage boy.
I eat a low sugar diet, and that also helps. When I have bread (less than once per week), I usually get a zit within a few days. Rice doesn't seem to have this effect. I think that tomatoes could be a problem, still experimenting with that. Peanuts are a huge problem, as are any nut or seed oils that are mostly polyunsaturated fats. Eliminating those from my diet helped many things, including acne.
Zinc helps, and I take it a few times per week. Rubbing the face with calamine lotion provides zinc and also dries out the pimples. And ice cube on a zit, held there for as long as possible, breaks down the tissue, and allows the body to remove the debris. I read this in an acne book a decade ago, and all I know is that it does help.
That said, I have not completely cleared my acne but I also drink milk and coffee daily, so those may be contributing. Carrots (or charcoal), some zinc, avoiding polyunsatrated fats, drinking peppermint tea, and liver support vitamins have improved the condition by about 90%. Iodine makes my acne worse, and I am aware of the protocols to increase salt and other nutrients to reduce acne while on Lugol's.
Things that haven't worked:
- Magnesium applied topically (but I think this works for teenage boys)
- Face masks
- Proactive
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Coconut oil
- Castor oil (made acne much, much worse)
- tea tree oil applied topically
- B vitamins (but they work for other things)
- Probiotics
I'd just say yes to carrots first thing in the morning, or on an empty stomach, as a first step if you're dealing with adult acne.
(San Diego, California)
03/04/2013
PS: I've also tried topical antibiotics, systemic antibiotics, retin A, daily zinc lotions and zinc potions, glycolic acid peels, a and d lotion, lavendar oil, various soaps, and everything the drug store offers (benzol peroxide, salicilic acid), apple cider vinegar, and probably everything that looked promising on earthclinic.
Carrots, and avoiding the foods mentioned above, beat those things in effectiveness.
Carrot Juice
★★★★★
I suffer from moderate adult acne and I wanted to share with you my results from drinking freshly made carrot juice, blended with fresh parsley, apple and ginger.
Anecdotal evidence (my own) suggests that the Vitamin A (Beta Carotene) in carrots is helping heal my skin. Parsley contains high amounts of chlorophyll and Vitamin C, and Apples also contain vitamin C. Ginger is a potent herb known for it's curative properties.
To get the full benefits of this regimen, use ORGANIC produce.
I recommend starting on the juice regimen as a daily practice.
NB: You will need a juicer, NOT a blender! I use the Breville brand of juicers, they are the absolute best and easy to clean.
The recipe I use:
12 organic carrots - do NOT juice the greens - they are toxic
2 organic apples (do NOT juice the apple seeds. They contain a trace amount of cyanide)
1 very large bunch of fresh organic parsley
1 hunk of fresh ginger (about 1 - 2 inches long)
Carefully clean and rinse produce. Chop off the top and tip of the carrots. Leave the peel ON.
Divide the apple into four quarters. Chop off the part where the seeds are.
Wash the parsley and place on a paper towel.
Scrub the ginger well with a vegetable brush. Cut off any dead looking areas.
Carefully inspect the juicer and turn it on.
S-L-O-W-L-Y feed the parsley into the juicer with the safety pusher
then slowly feed your apples through
then slowly feed the ginger through
then slowly feed the carrots through.
STIR THE FINISHED JUICE WELL BEFORE POURING.
DRINK IMMEDIATELY! Juice starts to lose it's vitamins on contact with air. If you do make too much juice, refrigerate it in a GLASS CONTAINER and use it within 24 hours.
Carrot Juice
★★★★★
Also- this is just cosmetic... but have always used hydrocortisone and Visine to dab on a freshly-picked zit. the Visine constricts blood vessels to take away redness and the hydrocortisone cream dramatically decreases swelling almost immediately.
