12 Proven Natural Remedies for Acne

Aloe Vera

Posted by Gennie (Mercedd, CA) on 09/21/2006
★★★★★

When I had acne, I used aloe vera gel which u can find in walgreens. It cleared up my acne in no time I. also drink plenty of water to cure the acne.

Iodine

Posted by Donna (Aspen, CO)
★★★★★

I totally cured my PMS, as I used to have severe anxiety, temper flare ups and acne. I paint myself with 2% tincture of iodine every AM & PM. Noticed the change within 2 days! Also, my allergies went away, my teeth weren't sensitive anymore.

Recipe: Paint about a 2" X 2" area on your stomach area, always moving the spot around to different locations (or the skin gets dried out and itchy). Just two days ago I forgot to paint in the morning, by evening I had a acne starting to form on my chin, I quickly painted my tummy, and when I awoke the next day it was gone!

If your paintings don't absorb then you can put off painting, maybe every other day. It means your iodine level is okay, maybe you really don't need any. However, I read that 80% of Americans are iodine defficient. They used to put iodine in all of our flour products (before 1966), then they discovered bromide, it is easier, cheaper, less messy and makes ingredients mix well, so it's in all of our bread, flour products (except "sprouted grain" breads/products & 100% organic) cakes, even Gatorade and Mountain Dew (it was found in Dansani water too)!

Fluoride, chlorine, bromide & iodine are all halogens, their atomic weight determines which one deletes the other, fluoride being the winner (doesn't that make you happy). Iodine is the loser, so all three delete iodine. That's why we are all deficient, we cannot escape fluoride, chlorine and bromide! So, paint paint paint, you only absorb what you need!

Iodine

Posted by Tish (Granger, IN)
★★★★★

I just started painting twice a day. I have always had irregular menstral cycles and cysts and recently started having problems with acne. It has been about 1.5 weeks now and my acne is almost gone. I have had acne problems for the last 6 months and tried everything over the counter and topical you could imagine. I was ready to give up and go to the doctor for meds. Thank God for iodine! It is too early to comment on the female issues, but I am having some positive signs in this area too.

EC: Read more about iodine here.

Urine

Posted by Pay It Forward (PNW) on 09/08/2022 61 posts
★★★★★

The old saying, 'Cut off your nose to spite your face' kinda comes to mind on this topic lol. Right out the gate, YES it sounds weird and probably shocking. Only because of two things; people's preconceived assumptions, which leads to #2 that it seems dirty. However, with a little education in a research dive (and contrary to our assumptions) human urine is sterile and, moreover, actually contains your own antibodies and antigens... And once understood, this little known fact is amazing!

Urine is entirely sterile after secretion and has an antiseptic effect
The only time it is not is if you're unfortunate to have a UTI/Bladder infection.
It has strengthening and curative characteristics concerning many deficiencies.
Urine consists of 95% of water, 2.5% of urea and the remaining 2.5% is a mixture of minerals, salts, hormones, and enzymes.

Most acne is said to be caused by the infection of P. Acne bacteria (aka Propionibacterium Acne). And urine can rid this bacteria from the skin because the anti-bacterial properties in urine are effective enough to expel acne from the skin.

After getting over the initial WTH!?, I personally experimented in trying this after acquiring one rogue deep & painful subterranean pimple, the nasty kind that hurts but wont come to a head - aka cystic pimple. I'd read of others dabbing a Qtip in it and applying it to the area. And I can say it worked! After 10-14 days of this angry inflamed painful torment on my face, within 24 hrs it calmed right down and even the pain was gone. And I only dabbed it 2-3 times in total. As others have noted, applying it each time you you go throughout the day, you will really notice it working. So I'd recommend that rather than the slow 2x daily application. But I learned. I was alone at home so I tore a small piece of tissue, wet it, and stuck it on my face and let it stay there for apx 15 min, similar to when you cut yourself shaving and stick some tissue it.

So, as weird as this sound especially when you've never heard of it, please don't cut your nose off to spite you face. Remember what it's made up of and try it. (No one at home needs to know what you're doing if that's your biggest concern ;)🌞

Dietary Changes, Detox Cleanses

Posted by Kyle (Mason City, Il) on 05/09/2017
★☆☆☆☆

Dear Earth Clinic:

I found about you guys by doing a Google search for holistic medicine. I'd like your advice on something I'm still struggling with. I'm currently a 24 year old male & I have struggled with acne ever since my teens. Me & my family try to do practically everything as healthily as we can. We don't eat fast food, we don't eat anything out cans anymore (except for canned sardines once in a great while), we drink filtered reverse osmosis water, we even stay away from soda, we eat organic health food & stay completely away from major-label brands that have extra junk added to it.

In the past we've even taken some of the more extreme measures like doing liver/gallbladder cleanses, kidney cleanses & even colon cleanses. (Although I haven't had a colon cleanse since several years ago.) Going back to my original issue- despite doing all of this, to this day I STILL struggle with acne! I even have some on my back & shoulders which hasn't cleared up completely! Sometimes, I tend to have some acne spots get swollen. Why I haven't yet been able to figure out. But if you can offer any explanations or solutions that would be helpful, I would be very grateful! And if you have any questions for me or might need further details, feel free to drop me a line.

Thank you for your time & hope you can help me! Kyle

Lemongrass Tea

Posted by Libraloveshealth (Los Angeles, California) on 02/27/2017
★★★★★

I was pretty surprised to not see lemongrass up here. Lemongrass is the best treatment for acne. It just can be a bit difficult to get a hold off consistently because it is an exotic and can be a bit hard to find. Drink 1 to 2 cups each day of lemongrass tea, The best would be with fresh lemongrass cut up and boil it for 10 mins then allow to steep in the pan a bit. along with a good diet this will clear up your acne within a few days. It also makes your skin have a very beautiful glowing effect. I highly recommend this it is great!

Sauerkraut

Posted by Samantha (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 07/24/2016
★★★★★

Raw, unpasteurized Sauerkraut works wonders for clearing up acne!! You have to buy the kind at a health food store or a local farmer's market. The kind at the supermarkets are pasteurized and unhealthy and will actually feed yeast. Raw sauerkraut kills yeast, it's a natural probiotic, and I believe that candida (yeast) can contribute to acne. You can start out taking 1 teaspoon and work your way up to a few tablespoons a day. Go slow. When you add something super healthy like this into your body, you can get a healing crisis. It is also a good idea to cut out all concentrated sugars, like honey and fruit juices, candy, chocolate, soda, and eliminate all dairy from a cow. Almond milk is a great substitute for milk, and goat and sheep cheese are great, too. Dairy from a cow is notorious for causing acne!

Wash Only With Water

Posted by Kglaser (Lincoln, Nebraska) on 02/16/2016
★★★★★

I have suffered with acne since I was a teenager. I have tried countless remedies. The one that has helped me finally be rid of this affliction costs nothing and was 100% effective for me. I came across a research article about the antimicrobial lipids at the surface of skin. Natural skin oils can even kill MRSA. I will post the article for you to read.

What I decided to do, after reading this article, was stop washing my face for a few days to see what would happen. I have oily skin so my face looked oily, but my spots started disappearing, too. And my skin became a little flaky. The 3rd day, I took a wet washcloth and lightly scrubbed my face to get the dry flaky skin off. What was revealed underneath was clear, glow-y skin.

After searching on the internet about the benefits of not washing your face, I realized this information is already out there. Some call it the caveman regimen. Basically, you only wash your face with cool to warm water once a day, or every other day, and pat dry.

Don't strip your skin's natural protective layer away with harsh soaps and creams. Let your skin's natural antimicrobial lipids do their job.

Here is the research article: http://www.jlr.org/content/49/1/4.full.pdf+html

Homeopathic Remedies

Posted by Rw (Southwest Virginia) on 11/18/2015
★★★★★

Two homeopathic remedies, Arsenicum Album 200c and Hepar Sulph Calc 200c, given at the same time, once every other day cleared my son's acne within a few weeks.

IMPORTANT: Stop giving the remedy after the acne clears. And if there doesn't seem to be improvement after about 3 weeks, don't keep giving it. These can be bought on Amazon or any site that sells homeopathic remedies. If you get the BB size pellets, one pellet works as well as the 3 or 5 the bottle says to give. It works on an energy level so you're not getting any more benefit by giving more than one pellet at a time, just spending more money.

French Green Clay and Turmeric Paste

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 10/03/2015
★★★★★

Over time, Mmsg has suggested using clay to a variety of people seeking help on EC, and sometimes mentions French Green Clay, I believe. I have used Bentonite Clay for years and it is wonderful. But I love to experiment with new natural products so I bought some French Green Clay. It is supposed to be good for acne, and I have been trying out some different things for teenager acne. (I have 4 teenagers, though they actually have pretty good complexions.)

I woke up this morning with a cystic type pimple on my own face. It was irritating me and was painful. I admit that I broke the rules and tried to pop it but that hurt a lot and didn't work. I took equal parts of French Green Clay and turmeric and mixed that with enough water to make a paste. (About equal parts of water and powders.) I put that on the pimple and went about my morning at home. After a few hours I washed it off, gently, which took several minutes as it had dried to my face. It had drawn infection to the surface and I was able to get it out quite easily.

I applied a little more of the clay paste for another hour or two. Now at the end of the day, the pimple is 90% better, and not painful or noticeable. So, thanks Mmsg for introducing me to this clay!

~Mama to Many~

Baking Soda

Posted by Jenny (Red Deer Alberta Canada) on 05/28/2015
★★★★★

I have suffered from painful acne break outs for years and couldn't find a safe solution that didn't involve pills till now! I took baking soda mixed it with a mild facial cleanser and added tea tree oil to it and used it to scrub my face and body than followed with a tea tree mask from the body shop and my skin feels amazing!!! My skin hasn't felt like this since I hit puberty, not naming how many years ago, lol, but none the less my face and body feels great! I even used it on the areas I shave on my body, yes I shave not wax cause i' m a wimp but I used it there and it is working to get rid of any in grown hairs I had! I hope this might work for you. it says baking soda here but I used both baking soda and tea tree oil for this.

Baking Soda

Posted by Inkblot (New York, New York) on 01/23/2015
★★★★★

I get stress related acne, which drives me absolutely nuts, which I've had limited success treating. I'm lucky in that the acne itself isn't constant but it is frequent and if I pick at it at all (and I'm a picker) it does leave marks that last for at least a month. I recently started a combination of baking soda and mango butter that has been amazingly effective. I've been washing my face at night with hot water - using the baking soda like a scrub and before my face has the chance to dry applying this wonderful mango butter cream. My acne started clearing up in just a few days and the existing marks have also been healing faster than usual.

Baking Soda

Posted by G (San Diego) on 03/11/2013
★★★★★

I've come to realize the only thing preventive for my acne (and healed my acne) now is the use of baking soda (A&H) everyday. The way I use baking soda is mixed inside my normal face wash(soap)(I use all natural face wash too). I mix baking soda in my shampoo and body wash as well. I only use natural soaps and I realize they don't make me feel very clean so I mix baking soda with them. I use quite of bit of baking soda. Make sure that you don;t scrub your face with just baking soda. Mix it first. You can use this remedy once a day or twice a day until your face clears up. I use it every day almost. The acne will clear up and then you can alternate between washing just with regular face soap and then the next time mixture of baking soda and soap.

My face is clear.

I haven't found a over the counter face moisturizer so I use regular cow butter. Sounds gross, but once I got clear skin, I only needed to moisturize it. Coconut oil made me break out. Do not leave butter on face for too long. I wash off thoroughly with regular face soap (not baking soda soap) and I feel great and I think I look great. I put the butter on my neck and massage my face.

I'm not a doctor and this may not work for anyone else. Butter has diminished my wrinkles.

Baking Soda

Posted by G (San Diego) on 03/25/2013

Okay so I raved about baking soda clearing up my acne but I think my skin dried out too much and now I have to use borax (20 mule) on my face to help it. My acne is alot better but not perfect.

I hope for the best! I'm not a doctor. I always say this.

Borax

Posted by C (California) on 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.)

Argan Oil

Posted by Adriael (Atlanta, Ga) on 01/02/2012
★★★★★

Hi all, This may seem like a trendy post but I have had amazing results with Argan Oil. About 6 months ago my mild acne turned rather severe. I had about 80 little white bumps on my cheeks and about 5-6 on each side would flare up into small red pimples. My face was really starting to scar so I went to the dermatologist. She put me on Ziana cream and suggested oral antibiotics as well. As I did not want yeast infections I opted to try the topical Ziana cream (which is tretinoin and an antibiotic). I used this for several months with about a 10% improvement overall.

Finally I went on Amzon to buy some Argan Oil for my hair and noticed that a lot of reviews had said that it had helped with their Acne. I've been using it for about three weeks and I've had no new blemished and all my scars are healing. It's really been a miracle for me. This is my current routine morning and evening:

1: Use Clairsonic exfoliating brush to wash off makeup with a gentle cleanser (I just use a regular cleanser not an acne specific one).

2: Rub about 20 drops of Argan oil over my face and under my chin.

I wish I had before and after photos, but all my family and friends have remarked on the dramatic improvement.

Diatomaceous Earth

Posted by Natcat86 (Gaithersburg, Maryland, Usa) on 08/16/2011
★★★★★

I had really bad acne all over my face and neck with the random appearance on my chest, back, or shoulders constantly for 14 years (starting at puberty), and as time went on it only got worse (so it wasn't caused by changes in hormones as I was led to believe). I stumbled upon some information on Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and became intrigued because of its many proported benefits (I recommend looking it up). It is relatively unknown, and only sold for pest control and consumption by animals, (but you can buy food grade DE online) but since it is used to mechanically kill bugs in grain silos and just about every person who has ever eaten grain which was stored in a silo has eaten DE, I figured it would be safe and I would try it. DE is the fossilized shells of a type of algae called Diatoms. Their shells are extremely hard and very sharp (but yet not dangerous to your cells) and they mechanically scrub the walls of your intestines, scraping away any build-up. Some DE passes through the intestinal walls and into the bloodstream and while it is there it scrapes plaque buildup away from the walls of veins and arteries. It basicly acts like a plumber in your body.

I found that most cases of acne are caused by toxins entering the blood stream through the digestive system (some degree of leaky gut), not by a problem with the skin itself. It is your body attempting to expel the toxins from your blood. When you expel the toxins which originate in your digestive tract through the digestive system, they don't have the opportunity to make it into your blood stream and thus cause acne by pushing through your skin. So... I began adding 1tsp DE to water every day for a week, then increased it to 1tbsp gradually after that and drank it daily for 2 months. I noticed a difference my skin within a day. By the time 2 months was up I no longer had acne. I had to stop consuming it for a little while after that because I slightly threw my body off balance (my skin became a little dry). After a month off, I started consuming it again in moderation and have been ever since. I have been able to consistently keep the acne away as long as I continue to consume it at least a couple of times a week. I highly reccomend it because it is very effective and it gets to the root of the problem instead of just treating the symptoms. I now have had only a few pimples (instead of many hundreds) within the last 9 months, and I know that in time I will get them to go away completely.