Natural Acne Remedies
There has been an uproar in the media recently with information that drugs prescribed for acne- Roaccutane, Diane-35, Yasmin and Yaz are causing very serious problems including teen suicide and blood clots.
I have always had problems with my skin and I was on Dianne for some time in my younger years. The doctors said there were no side effects and my skin did clear up. But now I shudder thinking about what could have gone wrong.
I am a little embarrassed to tell you what else I did to my poor skin when I was younger. Metho! Yes, I was desperate and miserable about it. It’s a horrible thing to have – it can really affect your self-confidence. I never went anywhere without makeup to cover my skin.
Unfortunately, the acne didn’t go away as I got older but I just managed it as best I could. I used Dermalogica products, which were quite good but they used to bleach my towels if I accidentally got some product on them. Yikes!
It really only cleared up properly when I gave up wheat. You will get dermatologists telling you acne is hormonal and yes, it is, but I think everyone is different and you need to try a few things to see what works for you. I know diet and gut health plays a big part in how good my skin is or not.
Now we have teenagers in the house, the whole cycle begins again! So here, are our best tips for you.
♥ Water. Drinking lots of filtered water helps flush out toxins – it’s that simple! Jazz up your water to make it easier to get down.
♥ Cut out the chemicals. Ingesting and applying chemicals to your skin can really cause problems. I have heard so many people say that when they switched to a more natural lifestyle, including skincare, their skin clears up.
♥ Go Easy on dairy, wheat and sugar. Fizzy drinks and lollies play havoc with acne! Try some alternatives to soft drinks that are better for your health and your skin. Limiting dairy or swapping to non-dairy options seems to make a difference with us as well. In my case, wheat was really causing havoc with my skin. So, experiment and find out what flares up your skin.
♥ Acne Complex Homeopathy. I love homeopathy and Owens Homeopathy are great for the home prescriber. I love ordering from Megan at The Simplest Remedy as she has free shipping and great advice! If she doesn’t have something in stock, just ask and she will order it in for you. The Acne Complex has several remedies in one.
♥ Fruit and Vegetables. Time and time again, our family finds that getting stuck into the fruit and vegetables (particularly lots of greens) results in a glowing complexion! Try a green smoothie, daily.
♥ Herbal Tea. Teas like Red Clover, Nettle, Dandelion Leaf, Calendula and Burdock can all help with detoxification in the body and get your skin clear. We drink it hot or cold. My daughter often makes it up a big batch of iced tea and sips on it all day. The Complexion Tea from Tea Tonic is a winner and it tastes delicious.
♥ ACV. We dilute apple cider vinegar with some water (about 1 to 4) and use it on a cotton wool ball after cleaning. It kills off the bacteria and it also makes your skin alkaline, so the bacteria finds it hard to grow again. Leave it on for 20 minutes and then wash off and apply moisturizer.
♥ Essential Oils. Lemon oil, lavender oil and tea tree oil are all effective on acne. Just pop a drop on the spots using a clean cotton bud or mix one drop with a little coconut oil and use as a moisturiser. Eco Oils actually have a blend called Pimple Clear you might like to try. It’s budget friendly and this blend is safe to apply direct to the skin without a carrier oil.
♥ Good Hygiene. Acne is bacteria, so keeping your face clean, not touching it with dirty hands and washing pillowcases frequently all helps.
♥ Supplements. Find a good supplement to support healthy skin. Zinc, vitamin C and A and omega 3 are all beneficial. These supplements are fantastic and really work well for us. Their skincare is great too.
♥ The Healthy Skin Diet. This book by Aussie mum and nutritionist, Karen Fischer is really worth a read. If you are having persistent problems with any sort of skin problem, Karen guides you through it with eating plans and advice. We found it very useful! Get it here.
♥ De-stress. The cells that produce sebum have receptors for stress hormones. Get stress out of your life and see if it helps your skin. Try yoga, meditation, relaxation exercise and walking.
♥ Natural acne skin care. It’s important to use a good quality, natural skincare designed for acne. Don’t use horrible, harsh chemical-laden products – they just bleach your face and make the problem worse. Here are some that you might like to try:
- Skin B5. A little more affordable, the kids found this range to really gentle on their skin and to be very effective at keeping the acne under control.
- Botani (pictured). This is an all natural 3 step treatment pack that’s very gentle on troubled skin.
- Noosa Basics. This natural company make a face wash and an acne drying lotion.
- The Jojoba Company Jojoba Oil. It seems strange to put oil on oily skin but jojoba oil works really for acne because it has anti-bacterial properties and can help prevent excess sebum on the skin.
♥ Professional help. Visit a naturopath or integrative doctor aand get specific help if you feel like nothing is working. The answer could be more complex and involve your gut or liver health.
I hope these tips help! Let me know in the comments below what you have found good for clearing up acne.
Thank you so much for this post!!! I have just finished writing my own blog post that my face is not looking someone who is turning 40 in two years time – but rather that of a 16 year old with blemishes! Will definitely look into your recommendations!!!xoxo
Let me know how you go. I so believe that skin is a reflection of what is going on inside. x
i have whats called hydradenitis suppurativa in other words a sever form of acne so they say and apparently incurable which i dont think is true but alot of the remedies i see and read are always based on acne on the face and is hard to adapt to where i have problem areas such as inner thighs under arms sometimes under bust and stomach would love some insight in to how to apply some of your ideas yo to those areas? or if u have any knowledge on hydradenitis suppurativa?
I have never heard of it! But you know what is coming to me to tell you? Kinesiology – have you ever tried it for this? Just a thought x
Both hubby and I were pimply teens so our kids don’t stand a chance. Can you remind me about this post in say 4yrs time please! Re ACV, do you use it as like a toner?
yes, but it’s best washed off though and then moisturized
As a former Beauty Therapist, I think these tips are really great. I still (at 37) suffer from acne if I allow myself to be run down and stressed out. It all comes from the inside but treating acne naturally and gently from the outside too is a great help x
Isn’t it the most annoying thing!!
I have always had acne / zit prone skin from my teens until now in my (very lol) late 30s. Totally agree with not using the harsh chemical products. I stopped using them about a year ago and switched to handmade lavender and tea tree soap from the local market and my skin is soooo much better. Also much improvement since changing my diet over the last 12-18 months – clean eating on the 80/20 rule and it has made such a difference. I’ve tried everything over the years including Dianette contraceptive pill (it worked but I agree with your comments there and no OH has had snip I wouldn’t want to be using the pill just for my skin anyway) and chinese medicine potions… I still get the odd zit quite frequently but generally only when my 80/20 has gone a bit 60/40 😉 And at such times I dab on either eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil. Or my latest miracle discovery, colloidal silver, also works a treat. Always something new to learn 🙂 xx
ahhh colloidal silver – I use it for other things, but not this! will give it a try on the kids 🙂
Wow! Well covered Sonia!! Fabbo advice 🙂
thanks for contributing your wisdom honey xxx
What a great post. Both I and my husband had acne as teens, but his was much worse cystic acne. My 7 year old has already had a few pimples, and my 11 year old – well, he is approaching the age! So I will be looking at all these tips!
Yes a lot of it seems genetic. My poor boy has my skin type and tendencies 🙁
My teenage kids use Apple Cider Vinegar diluted with water on their skin. Use it as a toner after washing and before moisturising. Dab it onto the skin with cottonball. It works beautifully and means avoiding nasty antibiotics. I’ve started using it too and my skin feels soft and so clean afterwards.
Great tip thanks Donna!! x
you are turning into my source of advise. anna has now little lumps and bumps in the skin, just puberty attack. i knew i was going to find info here. it is so good. thank you son
gaby
On the back of arms? if so that is more likely keratosis pilaris not acne? KP can be eliminated with a wheat free diet, lots of exfoliating, applying coconut oil and good gut health. xxxx
she started with lacto flora (Neways australia) and coconut oil. will see how it goes. not on the arms, just cheeks.
Yeah, that’s probably hormonal. My daughter is 13 and she has had great success atm with the Hormone Balancer drops mentioned in the blog – huge and noticeable difference, so keep in mind if you don’t get any joy. xx
Hi,
I’ve been collating some natural remedies for my sister’s teen acne. I had a very mild case of acne problem when I was younger, so I didn’t did so much to deal with it. My sister, on the other hand, got it bad. She’s red all over her face. She went to a Dermatologists, was given a ton of prescriptions, but she would like to try finding an effective but natural approach. We both ditched milk, to start. I will take note of all your suggestions, and will let you know which one worked best on her skin. Thanks so much for sharing!
Let me know how you go Jenny! x
Great post! I’ve suffered with acne for a long time and I’ve worked out that dairy products are the worst thing for my skin. Since ditching milk, cheese, yoghurt etc from my diet my skin has been fantastic. I haven’t bought concealer for ages. Dark chocolate is my go-to sweet treat now! There have been a couple of occasions where I’ve eaten something with dairy in it and a pimple appeared overnight. I just wish I’d known the link between dairy and acne a lot earlier in life so I could have avoided the scarring. At least I will know what to do to help my kids.