12 Proven Natural Remedies for Acne

Turmeric

Posted by Kaitlin (Los Angeles, California) on 09/07/2011
★★★★★

One big whooping YEA for turmeric curing/healing a stubbon and large pimple in 2 days. This sucker has not been getting any better after 4 days of trying remedies! It popped out after I ate a very spicy Korean dinner.

I put 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric in half a glass of water and drank it before going to sleep 2 nights ago. The next morning my pimple was half the size. Yesterday I did the same remedy twice and my big and unseemly pimple is almost gone. I recommend going to turmeric route for stubborn acne. It is a powerful internal skin cleanser.

Essential Fatty Acids Oil

Posted by Tammy (Fort Knox, Ky) on 08/21/2011
★★★★★

I've had terrible acne for 40 years. Everyone said it would go away after I got out of my teen years, but it never did. My face is just a mess of scars at this point, but I've learned to live with that. I've tried everything imaginable, from so many doctors, in so many states. I can't even begin to list all the things I did to treat my face.

Anyway, I want to say two things. I have developed halitosis from 25 years of being on antibiotics. It has destroyed my personal life. Antibiotics kill off your good bacteria, and I am suffering from an overabundance of resistent bad bacteria, that I can't see seem to recolonize. What makes matters worse is all those pills didn't even make my acne go away, but I took it anyway since I had to do something. Please don't make the same mistake...

After almost 40 years, I discovered something that finally works. It is Essential Fatty Acids Oil. Taken daily, at one tablespoon for every 50 pounds of body weight, mixed in juice is what is needed. It's expensive, at $38 a bottle, and has to be refrigerated. (Buy it early in the summer so it doesn't get exposed to high temps while shipping). It took about a month for the results to show up, and I went off once for a few months, and began looking older and breaking out again. This time, I'm on it to stay. Won't need another round of accutane again, like my doctor was suggesting.

Peppermint Tea

Posted by Karen (Johannesburg, South Africa) on 08/18/2011
★★★★☆

I've suffered from chronic hormonal acne for more than 20 years. I stayed on birth control pills during most of the time because it was the only thing that kept me consistently clear (any combined pill seemed to work for me). After leaving my job and losing my health insurance I found that the drugs were too expensive and started looking for a natural remedy.

After more than a year of giving everything I could think of a try, I finally started to see results with peppermint tea. Took about 2 weeks to start noticing improvement. It's not a 100% cure but it's something of a small miracle after being so completely unresponsive to everything else. 1 - 2 unsweetened strong cups a day seems to do the job. And I quite enjoy the taste.

After doing some research I think this only works for androgen-type hormonal imbalance ie. Too many male-type hormones. I believe the effects are similar for men. Spearmint, which I can't seem to find, apparently works as well.

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.

Alkalize

Posted by Randy (Myrtle Beach, Sc/usa) on 07/27/2011
★★★★☆

I do agree about the alkalizing. Whenever I am more consistent drinking my sea salt, baking soda, and lemon juice drinks I can tell my face is clearer. One other thing that has helped me is making sure I take a couple tabespoons of granulated lecithin each day to help flush out those rancid oils in my body. I also use ACV on my face with a cotton swab and I do not dilute it. I've struggled with adult acne for years and have tried many things but what I've mentioned above seems to have helped me more than anything else.

Randy

Epsom Salt

Posted by Maxine (Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa) on 06/23/2011
★★★★★

Thank you so much for giving me the oppurtunity to learn more about Epsom salts and its uses. My grandmother told me to put a pinch of Epsom salts in my tea every morning- that was about two monthes ago. As a young adult I struggle with acne terribly, and I hoped the Epsom salts would help. I now religiously drink every two cups of tea in the morning with epsom salts. My body has been detoxing since- Its interesting to know that when I do struggle with pimples, I find that they go away in a few days, not like previously, when they would last for months!

Argan Oil

Posted by Reni (Hammond, Indiana) on 06/21/2011
★★★★★

Hi... I read with interest your comments about acne. You would not think that an oil would benefit acne and acne scarring, but Argan Oil really works. It's 100% natural. It also helps with stretch marks.

Silicea

Posted by Sherri2012 (Los Angeles, Ca) on 05/30/2011
★★★★★

Someone posted asking about acne. I too have spent a lifetime battling it and have probably used just about everything dermatologists would recommend. After yet another outbreak, I decided to try something natural. The woman at an apothecary recommended an acne soap and Hyland's #12 Silicea 6X. I started using those, and discontinued everything else. That was a couple of months ago, and it has worked like a charm. Plus my skin became softer and smoother. I highly recommend it.

Baking Soda

Posted by Phoenix (Tampa, Florida) on 04/30/2011
★★★★★

I used to have really bad acne on my face, back, chest. My acupuncturist told me to put 2 TBSP of Baking Soda in a bath and soak, submerging my face. It's worked so well for me I've been doing it for years! At first I soaked 3x a week but now I take a bath every week or two. I started putting fresh aloe on my skin right after. It always clears my skin, shrinks pores, and diminishes fine lines.

Oil Pulling

Posted by Regina (Abuja, Nigeria) on 04/17/2011
★★★★★

hi, I heard about oil pulling from a friend and I decided to try it for my acne and I must say I was really impressed by the result. I used sunfloweroil.

Acne Tips

Posted by Karenmarie (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) on 04/16/2011
★★★★★

Thoes harsh chemicals are horrible for skin and hair, not only that but our health as well. I've been using African black soap to cleanse my face and body, it's free of all harsh SLS's, parabens, is high in natural glycerin and has been used traditionaly by African women to wash lol babies! The smell is very earthy and it lathers like a body wash. I wet my face and hands with Luke warm water rub the bar untill it lathers slightly and lightly massage my face in little circles for about 1 min, rinse well with a cloth. I also like to use a toner I made out of boiled( and cooled) water, organic apple cider vinegar with mother, peppermint tea and lavender oil. To make:

Boil 3 cups of water
Throw in 1 peppermint tea bag
3 drops of lavender EO

Let stand untill cool

Add 1/4 cup ACV

The smell of the ACV dissipates once it's dried, if you have very sensitive skin you can use less ACV. I also moisturize with extra virgin organic coconut oil, use VERY VERY sparingly, focusing on your dry areas and under the eyes!! That's my daily skin care and I finally don't have to wear any of that foundation anymore without being embarassed of red patches and zit everywhere!

Pantothenic Acid

Posted by Caitlyn (Bloomfield, Mi Usa) on 03/02/2011
★★★★★

After literally trying everything under the sun, I came upon this article from a naturopathic doctor (link to copy and paste is below post). I've seen much discussion about B5 (pantothenic acid) for acne, but the amounts you need to take are excessive. This article explains how you can take L-Carnitine to boost the benefits of B5, necessitating a lesser amount. (L-Carnitine fumarate is the more absorbable form of it-- just google L-carnitine fumarate; many places to purchase will show up. This worked much better for me than regular L-Carnitine)

While they recommend 750 mg. of B5 with 250mg. of L-Carnitine 3x per day; I took 1000 mg. of B5 with 500 mg. of L-carnitine. (Mainly because the capsules I purchased came as 500 mg. Each, so I took two B5 and one L-carnitine per dose. I've found if I'm having a problem, adding an extra dose or 2 (making 4 or 5 times a day) works better and much faster, then you can lower the doses per day for maintenance.

Additionally, Vitex (chaste berry herb), and saw palmetto are very, very helpful and safe for hormonal acne.

Blackstrap Molasses

Posted by Chelsea (Minneapolis, Minnesota) on 02/13/2011
★★★★★

This did wonders for my face and skin as a whole. I decided to start living a more healthy life last summer of 2010. I came to this wonderful site and started trying a lot of remedies for various ailments. Concerning acne/the look of my overall face, the ACV remedy did help a little bit for the acne and made my skin a nice healthy color as well as bringing out my eyes more. Oil pulling also helped clear it up a little bit (less than ACV though) and made me have a fresh look in the morning (the bags under my eyes, although not as prominant as some people, seemed to disappear). Applying Hydrogen peroxide to the face helped a lot, but it seemed as if I am allergic to it since I started to get a lot of small flesh-colored bump on my face (which also happens when I tried Benzyl Peroxide).

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

Acne Tips

Posted by Aubrey (Portland, Oregon) on 02/03/2011
★★★★★

I haven't ever had severe acne, but I tend to get a lot of blackheads and breakouts every once in a while. I have started this simple regimine and it has worked terrifically when I follow through with it.

I wash my face with non-foaming wash in the shower, and once with only water before bed. Once a week I apply AVC to my entire face besides the eye area. It dried out pimples but not the rest of your face.

For bacne I use naturally made soap and a pumice stone. It works great.

Also applying an organic lotion in the morning helps with acne and bacne. I use Nubian Organic Honey and Blackseed healing lotion. It smells good too. :)

Sulphur Soap, Aspirin Mask

Posted by Rw (Tazewell, Virginia) on 01/28/2011
★★★★★

My teenage son has been using sulfur soap for moderate acne and his face is now clear. Also helpful is a crushed aspirin mixed with a little bit of water rubbed on the face and rinsed off after a few minutes. Also the sulfur soap is to be left on the face a few minutes (works well to leave it on your face while you take the rest of your shower). This has been a very inexpensive and very effective remedy.

Acne Tips

Posted by Sarah (Carrollton, Tx) on 01/21/2011
★★★★★

I agree with stopping the use anything containing sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). I got canker sores in my mouth repeatedly for a month until I switched to a sensitve toothpaste (pronamel or sensodyne are good and inexpensive) and my canker sores vanished w/in 1 day - the only different ingredient was the absence of SLS. Read up on it and SLS is a strong detergent used in toliet cleaner/bath&kitchen cleaner to make the "foaming" soapy action... Everything has this - shampoo, bottled soaps, toothpaste, and all household cleaners. I started developing cysts and dandruff problems on my head after a while and was shedding a lot of hair, I found some good shampoos - David Babaii's Wildaid (from ULTA) and Renpure Organics (from Walgreens) - they don't have SLS and have safer, less harmful ingredients for the environment - my scalp problems vanished w/in 1 week and I haven't had problems for the last 2 years since I've cut SLS out of my life.

I was on Retin-A for years w/o much help, still broke out and it turned my face red. Using face wash w/o SLS has reduced my acne outbreaks to only 3-4 days out of the month when I'm cycling, all other times my face is pretty clear and I don't have to apply harsh chemicals anymore.

Supplements

Posted by Jamie (Chattanooga, Tn) on 12/28/2010
★★★★★

I have researched many cures for acne on line and have put together what works best for me.

Daily Plan:

Vitamin A 3 8000iu (24, 000IU) capsules 2x's daily

Vitamin E: 1 200IU 1 or 2x's daily. (i find 2 sometimes makes my face greasy)

Zinc: 1 caplet 1 time a day (can't remember the mg off top of head)

Niacin flush daily. You will have to experiment to find the appropriate amount of Niacin to cause the "flush" which I have found to be the MOST helpful part b/c if I miss it a day or two I have a breakout. My flush amount is 300mg on empty stomach. Wash 2x daily with ben Peroxide wash and use salicylic acid moisturizer.