11 Home Remedies That Can Cure Acne
11 Home Remedies That Can Cure Acne
Everyone wants to glow and have baby-like skin.
Unfortunately, there are several skin conditions that are ready to not make this happen. There is one that is most common — acne.
Also known as pimples, acne is most common in teenagers and young adults. This is because the sebaceous gland produces more oil at this stage.
However, there is no age limit to acne and many people in their 40’s and 50’s have adult acne.
Question is, is acne just limited to the little pop that suddenly appears on your skin, or is there more to it?
You’ll soon find out.
In this article, we’ll walk you through all you need to know about acne — as well as home remedies that can cure them.
Come along!
What is Acne?
Acne is a skin condition that occurs when your hair follicles are blocked or clogged with oil, dead skin cells, or infected with bacteria.
These hair follicles are tiny holes in the skin where hair grows out from.
Each skin pore is connected to a sebaceous gland (tiny glands located near the surface of your skin attached to hair follicles), which produces an oily substance called sebum.
Acne is characterized by swelling, tenderness and red pimples that may be filled with pus on the skin, especially on the face, due to inflamed or infected sebaceous glands.
Nevertheless, to know how to fight this skin condition you must understand why and how it happens.
Why Does Acne Happen?
The main causes of acne are:
Bacteria.
Excess oil (sebum) production.
Hair follicles clogged by oil and dead skin cells.
Other factors include:
Stress
Hormonal changes
Smoking: especially in older individuals
Genetics: inherited from family members
Diet (dairy products, oily foods and fatty foods)
Endocrine disorders: polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Certain medications: such as lithium, steroids, anticonvulsants.
Premenstrual flare-ups: hormones fluctuate before a menstrual cycle and may lead to acne breakout
Stress hormones: Feelings of intense anger and anxiety may aggravate acne due to stress hormones rising with the emotions.
You can use specific home remedies to conquer all these causes and prevent future acne breakouts.
11 Home Remedies That Can Cure Acne
There are prescription creams and pills for acne. However, if you are interested in taking care of your acne at home. That's totally fine!
Some of the most popular home remedies for acne include natural herbal extracts.
Here are 11 home remedies you can try out:
Tea Tree Oil:
Tea tree oil is an essential oil that's extracted from the leaves of “melaleuca alternifolia,” a small tree native to Australia.
Tea Tree oil is used widely for skincare. It is a natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory oil, which means it has a high chance of killing P. acnes (Propionibacterium acnes), the bacteria that causes acne.
Its anti-inflammatory properties mean that it can also help reduce the swelling and redness of your pimples.
You can also use tea tree extract on your skin in other forms as cream or gel. However, tea tree oil can cause allergic reactions in some individuals.
NOTE: You should always do a patch test before trying a new essential oil.
Aloe Vera:
Aloe vera is a natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory substance which enables it to reduce the appearance of acne and prevent acne breakouts.
Aloe vera contains sugar molecules, amino acids, zinc, salicylic acid and sulfur making it an excellent skin moisturizer and protectant.
It is especially suitable for people who have dry skin.
It can be combined with other certain ingredients like tretinoin cream or tea tree oil to give better results on acne and to soothe sunburned skin.
Cut an aloe shot into half, scrape the gel out with a spoon, apply it to the acne. Make this a regular routine (and say bye bye to bacterial infections and acne once and for all).
Honey:
For many years now, honey has treated many skin conditions because it contains many antioxidants that can help to clear clogged pores.
Its beneficial effect is its antibacterial activity. It is also used in treatments of ulcers and wounds.
Apply a healthy serving of honey directly to the acne, allow it to dry and wash off after an hour.
The stickiness of honey helps in removing excess stubborn dirt from the pores of the skin.
Zinc:
Zinc is an essential nutrient that is important for cell growth, hormone production, metabolism, and immune function.
Zinc has anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce redness. It also decreases how much oil your skin produces.
The recommended safe limit of zinc is 40mg per day, so it's best to not exceed that amount unless you’re under the supervision of a medical doctor.
You can decide to apply zinc topically on the skin or take it via supplement form.
Taking zinc compliments is supported by scientific studies. Though it can irritate the stomach and gut.
Green Tea:
Green tea contains high concentrations of “catechins” A group of antioxidants.
Too much natural body oil in your pores and not enough antioxidants can also cause acne.
Antioxidants help your body break down chemicals and body waste products that can damage healthy cells.
Drinking green tea is as effective as putting green tea on your skin because they contain chemicals that kill bacteria and reduce inflammation.
Applying green tea extract to the skin helps reduce sebum production and pimples.
You can buy creams that contain green tea, but it's just as easy to make your own mixture at home.
Rosemary:
Rosemary extract contains chemicals and compounds with antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties.
This helps in reducing swelling and redness and kills the bacteria responsible for the acne.
Coconut Oil:
Coconut oil contains anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial compounds.
Thanks to its soothing and moisturizing effects, coconut oil can help destroy the bacteria causing acne.
It can also help reduce the redness and swelling of pimples.
Cucumber Face Mask:
Cucumbers have a soothing effect on the skin, reducing irritation, swelling, and pain. Therefore, they can relieve inflammation associated with acne.
Cucumbers also have hydrating effects, so if your skin is inflamed from acne, cucumbers offer an assuring calming benefit.
You can decide to chop a fresh cucumber into round cuts and place it on your face while lying down.
Also, you can make the cucumber into paste and apply it on your face.
Apple cider vinegar:
Apple cider vinegar is made by fermenting apple cider, or the unfiltered juice from pressed apples.
ACV may also chemically exfoliate the skin, fight blackheads, and improve hyperpigmentation.
It helps to balance the skin's pH. However, always dilute it properly.
ACV can easily irritate the skin because of its high concentration.
Mix one-two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into about a cup of water.
Gently apply the mixture to the skin using a cotton wool.
Let it sit for about 10-20 seconds.
Then rinse with water.
Turmeric:
Turmeric is packed with antioxidants that provide many benefits for the skin
These benefits includes:
Reducing flare-ups
Calming inflammations
Brightening and purifying the skin
Turmeric is also packed with antimicrobial properties that makes it great for treating acne as well as eczema and impetigo.
Chamomile:
Chamomile is another active ingredient that can be used to keep acne at bay.
Chamomile is used in the cure of several human ailments such as:
Ulcers
Hay fever
Insomnia
Haemorrhoids
Inflammation
Menstrual disorders
Chamomile essential oils are used extensively in cosmetics and aromatherapy.
To use as cure for acne :
Empty the contents of a chamomile tea bag in a blender.
Add water and blend into a smooth paste.
Apply this paste on your face and bid a good farewell to acne.
You can as well add one or two chamomile tea bags in boiling water
Allow them to cool then apply on your face to get the same soothing effect as the former method.
Lifestyle changes for acne
While there is no completely perfect way to get rid of acne forever, there are habits you can add to your routine that may help keep breakouts out of the way.
Alongside home remedies, certain lifestyle changes can have a powerful effect on making the skin less oily, and reducing acne breakouts. They are:
Do not touch/pop pimples:
It can be very tempting, but touching pimples will irritate the skin, may make the pimple worse, and can spread pimples to other areas.
Touching, squeezing or popping pimples can also introduce more bacteria into the lesion, causing further infection.
Use cleansers:
Choose mild cleansers, avoid highly concentrated ones that can further irritate the skin and cause burns or make it worse.
Use oil-free skin care:
Oil based skin products can increase the risk of clogged skin pores.
Drink More Water:
Staying hydrated ensures new skin cells develop correctly as sores heal while dry skin can cause skin irritation and make acne worse.
Reducing stress:
Stress causes the levels of the hormone androgen to increase. Androgen stimulates hair follicles and oil glands in pores, increasing the risk of acne.
Also, when you are stressed, you’re also more likely to pick at spots on your face and remember that touching or picking your skin more than necessary can increase acne by spreading bacteria.
Exfoliate regularly:
Exfoliation is the process of removing the top layer of dead skin cells. It may help reduce acne by removing the skin cells that block pores.
Exfoliating also makes acne treatments more effective by allowing them to penetrate deeper into the skin once the topmost layer of skin is removed.
Wash face at least twice daily:
Wash your face properly to remove excess oil, dirt and sweat daily.
Moisturize daily:
Use a good and mild moisturizer
Limit makeup:
Using a lot of makeup may block pores and trigger breakouts. Always wash makeup off, especially before going to bed.
Limit sun exposure:
Frequent sun exposure dehydrates the skin, which over time, causes it to produce more oil and block pores.
Good diet:
Avoid foods that trigger breakouts because what you eat may have an impact on your skin such as dairy products, sugary drinks and foods, white bread, whey protein and other fatty foods or oily foods.
Others include; quality air and good sleep.
NOTE: Acne is rarely itchy, so if a person experiences an itchy pimple, it could signify another condition resembling acne such as Allergic dermatitis, hives.
Wrapping Up
Acne can be quite difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, over-the-counter (otc) medications can help cure acne and stop new breakouts. However, the bad news is that — some acne medications have side effects like redness, discoloration, or dryness.
To avoid the harmful side effects from otc medications, treating acne with natural remedies can be a better solution.
However, severe acne like the ones with cysts or nodules require professional treatments. Consult a dermatologist in such a case.
Cheers to an acne-free skin!