12 Proven Natural Remedies for Acne

Thyme

Posted by Rob (Manhattan, Ny) on 04/19/2012
★★★★★

Nature wins again... a new study showing preparations of Thyme extract are more effective than prescription creams...The beauty of nature is the vasteness of its elements that just may never be measurable and will forever remain unknown to us.

Detox Teas

Posted by Lady From London (London, Uk) on 04/14/2012
★★★★★

For the last 2 weeks I've tried a great deal of things to deal with a sudden eruption of acne cysts on my throat, chin and jaw. I tried the lavender oil, ACV application, vitamin E, oil cleansing, Castor oil. Nothing worked. Then, I figured I will try something different.

So, I went and bought some Detox tea that has dandelion root, milk thistle and then I mixed in my own nettle tea. They are all herbs that are liver cleansers and blood purifiers. I drank 4 cups yesterday, and low and behold, the cysts have settled down overnight. There was one on my throat that was pretty persistent, and it's the one that has gone first. I have the scar now to deal with - so am applying Vitamin E to it.

it seems to be working so far.

Castor Oil

Posted by Lady From London (London, Uk) on 04/06/2012
★☆☆☆☆

I tend to get cystic type spots around period time, and I tried castor oil for the last 4 days. I've been cleaning my face with steam and oil first, rinsing then before sleep, I apply a thin layer of castor oil neat all over my face. I can't say I've seen a difference at all. In fact, I got even more spots on my chin and neck than before I used it. I can't say my skin feels or looks much better. Maybe I'm not patient enough, but I don't want to create more spots for myself than I already have! So, I'm wondering if it just might not work for me, or if I'm doing something different?

Argan Oil

Posted by Carlos (Barcelona, Spain) on 03/27/2012
★★★★★

Hi, Just like most people I discovered Argan Oil by chance, my sister use it for her hair and she forgot it in my bathroom. After using coconut oil, sesame, jojoba, olive, shea butter, cocoa butter... I've used every oil I come across since I live in a very dry area and my skin is so sensitive that I can't use regular cosmetics.

I have to say Argan oil is rejuvinating, antiwrikle, absorbs well, leaves an awesome smooth texture. Its basically the best oil I've ever used. Fine lines diminish in front of your eyes upon first application.

There's currently a lot of hype towards Argan oil and its becoming the trendy ingredient in the cosmetic industry. It's a bit expensive in pure form but it's definitely worth it. Works like magic. Don't bite on the cosmetic brands and try to find 100% argan oil. 2 drops are enough for your whole face.

I think it's a bit too expensive to use as a hair treatment, there are cheaper alternatives like coconut oil. But for cosmetic purposes a single oil bottle can last for more than a year with daily use. A little goes a long way.

Try it you will thank me later.

Argan Oil

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

Argan oil made me break out horribly! I guess everyone reacts differently to different things. You are so lucky you can use it, though, because I know it does wonders for wrinkles. So acne prone people should be cautious about trying this oil.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Alexandria (Atlanta, Ga) on 03/12/2012

I had moderate acne on my forehead when I hit puberty at the age of seventeen, but the doctor put me on birth control and it went away. Well, about a year and a half ago, I discontinued the birth control because of side effects and how much it cost. I am 21 now so I was on it for a good three years. When I did that, my face freaked out. A lot of people suffering from acne, especially in the older years, have hormonal imbalances.

I go to an Aveda school and they teach you the importance of cleansing your body inside and out and how important it is to use natural products and not synthetic ones. According to Aruveydic medicine, where you break out on your bady and face is where you are having troubles in your body (chin-hormones, like before menstrual. Forehead-intestinal upset, from food allergies or parasites. Cheeks- liver and lungs, could be from pollution, smoking, virus, bacteria)

So I went to a good doctor(not one trying to give me random medication) who did a lot of tests and it turned out I have a major hormonal imbalance (thank you birth control), multiple food allergies (gluten, dairy, peanuts, pork) and she also thought I might have a parasite build up (most people have parasites in their systems). Parasites can cause you to hang on to toxins and then cause you to break out. Food allergies can cause you to break out. Hormones can cause you to break out.

Bottom of the line, acne is your body's way of telling you that something is not right. And it is a bacterial infection once it occurs so you must treat it accordingly. I try to use as natural of face regime as possible because I am very senstive to synthetic chemicals, parabens, petrochemicals, and fragrance adn I always have been since I was an infant.

First I would suggest detoxing your body in some way, and STICKING TO IT! It will get much worse before it gets better, but stick it out.

You might need to get an antibiotic if your acne has gone septic, because then it could get into your blood stream and cause a lot of harm to the rest of your body.

Second, get a GOOD SKIN CARE REGIME.

I personally LOVE aveda and I use the 'botanical kinetics' line. Face washes made for acne irritate my skin and are too harsh. However, try different things out, everyone is different. But I highly reccomend natural or organic face washes. They are less likely to irritate your skin further. African black soap and tea tree oil are wonderful things to use to cleanse the face with. there are many products that contain these two in them at natural food stores.

ALWAYS CLEANSE TWICE! Use a gentle motion with you fingers and cleanser twice! The first time removes dirt, pollution, makeup, the second time insures nothign is left behind and gives your face wash a chance to work.

Next, exfoliate with a chemical exfoliant! Abrasive exfoliants are WAAAAYYY TOO harsh for acne skin and actually SPREAD THE BACTERIA AROUND and cause you to break out MORE! I made this mistake until recently when an esthitician explained to me how to properly cleanse the skin. Until your acne clears up more, you don't want to risk making your acne septic my spreading the infection. I put the exfoliant in a spray bottle and spritz it instead of rubbing harsh cotton on my face. THIS STUFF IS MIRACLE SPRAY. If you don't want to get the rest of the B. K. Line, at least give thsi stuff a try. it has a small % of saycilic acid in it to help kill bacteria and exfoliate dead skin cells.

Then, at night I just lightly pat moisturizer on my face. DO NOT RUB IT into your skin. This will also spread the bacteria around. I use the Botanical kinetics line BUT sometimes it can irritate some people's skin. It would be best to use 1-2 drops of ORGANIC jojoba and one drop of tea tree oil. Jojoba is the closet plant oil to sebum that our bodies produce and tea tree is the natural version of benzyl peroxide. It dries up acne and acts as an antiseptic.

In the morning I usually just spritz a toner (ORGANIC witch hazel works well. The B. K. Line has a toner with witch hazel in it already) and then lightly pat my moisturizer on my face, while it is still damp from the toner bc it will soak in nicer. I ALWAYS use sunscreen if I am going to be exposed to the sun. I like La Rosche Posay tourmaline spf60 and Neutrogena dry touch spf100. They both are extremly light and do not leave a greasy feel to the face.

I use a face mask once a week, depending on what my face needs. Sometimes I just use organic honey to heal my scars, kill bacteria and add moisture into my skin. Sometimes I use a clay and ACV mask. Aveda makes a mask in the Tourmaline line that helps reduce scarrign and it is very gentle. A mask just helps give more nutrients to your skin. BE VERY GENTLE when you do masks, you don't want to use anythign irritating or abrasive.

I spot treat my acne with staright tea tree essential oil. I have tried B. Perox and Say. Acid but they don't seem to be as effective. Just get a dropper and drop a couple of drops onto your finger and lightly apply it to the effected area.

SO, from doing this, I have noticed a HUGE improvement in my horrible cystic and the reoccurence there of. Get PLENTY of sleep, your body heals itself when you sleep. Drink water with ACV in it to help detox your body, and be very careful of what you eat, medicines and vitamins you take, and even products you use (laundry soap, perfume, lotion, soaps) these can all cause you to break out because they have a lot of synthetic chemicals in them that irritate the lymphatic system in your body. Usually, those with acne, less is more and be VERY GENTLE or you will irritate it more and cause scarring. I made that mistake... So learn from me, be very gentle! Washign twice helps remove all that makeup so you don't have to scrub so hard to remove it all!

And get your hormone levels checked out. That could be the root of all the evil. There are a lot of natural ways to help regulate hormones, although you may sometimes have to take another approach.

Probiotics

Posted by Tina (Houston, Us) on 03/12/2012
★★★★★

High probiotic foods like Kefir, Kombucha, Sauerkraut and also freshly juiced green organic vegetables are a great way to eliminate Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis. Good gut health is key to removing and improving any skin conditions. Took me about 3-4 months to restore to normal.

Borax

Posted by Southernarc (Durham, Nc, Usa) on 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.

Sea Buckthorn Oil

Posted by Debbie (Colorado Springs, Co, Usa) on 03/05/2012
★★★★★

I have had issues with acne since I was 12. I was always told not to worry that it would get better as I got older. I'm 53 now & still waiting for it to get better. Recently I have tried sea buckthorn oil. I have used it straight & mixed with my moisturizer. For the first time in my life (since 12), my face is clear! Absolutely no breakouts! I recently moved from Dallas, TX to Colorado & had serious issues with dry skin. Sea buckthorn oil has taken care of that. I can't believe an oil would clear up breakouts but it does. It has lessened the redness from prior breakouts too. By the way, I've only been using it for about 5 days. Results were quick. I hope this helps someone else. Love this website!!!

Sea Buckthorn Oil

Posted by Rae (Chicago, Illinois) on 03/16/2012
0 out of 5 stars

I bought some organic sea buckthorn oil and the color is very dark orange, almost like iodine. When I mixed one drop with my oil free moisturizer, it turned the white moisturizer to dark yellow. I put it on the back of my hand and it turned the skin yellow. How do you use it on your face without it turning the skin yellow?

Sea Buckthorn Oil

Posted by Debbie (Colorado Springs, Co) on 04/02/2012

The sea buckthorn that I purchased is organic & a dark orange color as well. I am very fair skinned but have had no issues with staining. I did read on the box of a Skincare product that is made with sea buckthorn oil that it could possibly stain clothing. I think it absorbs so quickly into my skin that I haven't noticed a problem with clothing or pillowcases. Another oil I have used with great success is neem oil. The downside of this oil is that is has a very strong odor. Kind of like garlic & onions. If you can get past that it's a great oil. I really like the sea buckthorn because of the other great properties it has. Just google & you can read about them. Sorry if you are having a problem with staining. I guess we are are so biochemically different that what works for one may not for another. I would suggest diluting in a carrier oil but if acne is an issue, that might not be an alternative.

Epsom Salt

Posted by Cindy (Torc, Nm) on 01/25/2012
★★★★★

I have been battling acne break outs for the last couple of years. I purchased ProActive and found that it only worked for a while and had to keep using it to keep clear skin. I broke out yesterday (1/25/12) and in desperation I grabbed the bag of Epsom Salt. I mixed 2 tsp of Epsom Salt to 3oz warm water and mixed it. I also took a few crystals on my index finger and applied them to the boils on my forehead. It is now (1/26/12) and the swelling and inflamation is almost gone. The area is no longer red, it is more pink and is almost gone!!!! I found this link in researching Epsom Salt and I thought I'd share my wonderful inexpensive remedy. Everyone is different, this worked for me!

Green Juicing

Posted by Sarah (San Francisco, Ca) on 11/18/2011
★★★★★

I just have to share. My skin has broken out almost my entire life. I always have atleast one zit at any time. I'm 32 and it's exhausting. I see an acpuncturist which helps a lot. I understand that my skin is just a reflection of what's going on inside of my body. If I ate too much sugar, ate too much meat or a single slice of wheat my skin would break out. Grrr..... My acpuncturist said I had too much heat and it would come out through my skin. She would fix it and then I would just break out again the next week.

A month ago I started drinking a green drink every morning (broccoli or kale, cucumber, avocado, apples, orange juice and green superfood powder) I use Vitamineral Green... And no I don't work for them but I hope they allow the name in here because this has been amazing. Seriously it's been amazing. A few weeks into it my skin looked great, a month later my skin was completely clear and stayed that way. And now no matter what I eat, my skin stays clear. So freaking crazy! I can eat sugar, wheat, drink alcohol, etc. And my skin stays clear! (Although I don't encourage anybody to be that abusive to their body) It's pretty much been a miracle in my life!

I've always had tons of blackheads on my nose and a pink dicoloration around my nose and mouth. I had to become brillliant with makeup to cover it up. Now it takes me a few minutes to "do my face" because I don't have anything to cover up. It's crazy.

Has anybody else has this type of response?

Green Juicing

Posted by Lhsis1 (Woodinville, Wa) on 04/28/2012

I just started juicing, and have been drinking a vegetable juice concoction every morning for a week. My face broke out like crazy this week, though. I hope it's my body purging through my skin, and this will go away soon! I'm going to keep juicing for at least a month and hope my skin will adapt soon!

Toothpaste

Posted by Barb (Suwanee, Ga Usa) on 09/26/2011
★★★★★

I suffered for many months at a time from perioral acne (red, bumpy, itchy, oily, flakey rash with pustules) around my nose and chin, and tried all the classic home remedies from AC vinegar to calamine lotion, to eating foods that fight infections, etc. Rubbing alcohol made it redder and it didn't cure it.

The cure? Change to Tom's Toothpaste with no fluoride. Regular toothpastes (common brands like Crest, Colgate, and all others) have fluoride and some other ingredients possibly. In one day the red bumps were calmer and not "active" and in about 2 days they were gone. My face was clear!! Such a simple solution, and I had struggled for about 5 months! As soon as I started fluoride toothpaste again after a week or so of Tom's, it usually broke out again. It isn't the toothpaste dripping on the skin, it is that the toothpaste has irritants which are absorbed through the membranes of the mouth lining, so it becomes an allergy to some people. Even mouthwashes & some sugarfree gums or mints which may be strong can cause flare-ups of perioral acne. My dermatologist had given me an antibiotic for this which did work, but then you're on antibiotics which make skin sensitive to sun. After weeks on Tom's you can usually go back to your regular toothpaste, but you'll know what to do if you feel the first itchy, red little bump...

Vitamin E

Posted by Christy (Collinsville, Tx) on 09/12/2011
★★★★★

I adopted the bad habit of picking scabs when I got acne in my early teens and have bad scars from it. Over the years (I'm 25 now) I've used Vitamin E oil; internally and externally. I think if I were to use it on a regular basis for 2 or 3 months at a time, it would have faded the scars but I was only able to apply the oil once a day for about a week at a time.

I still have trouble fading scars, but from what I've read on this website about fresh Aloe Vera Gel, I am eager to keep at it and see what it does for me.

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 Marina R (Downey, Ca) on 06/12/2017

Hi there, this post is from 2011. Its now 2017 and want to know if DE got rid of your acne completely? Did the few pimples stop? Thanks.

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!