5 Amazing Natural Remedies for Adult Acne

home remedies

Let’s face it, getting adult acne is no fun! However, it is a lot more common than you would think. In fact, a 2012 study published in the Journal of Women’s Health  found that nearly half of all women ages 21 to 30, a quarter of women ages 31 to 12, and 12% of women ages 41 to 50 get acne. No matter how old we are, pimples usually form in the same time- honored way: Pores—which contain oil glands—become blocked, letting dirt, bacteria, and cells build up and form a plug.

Why We Get Adult Acne?

For most women, hormonal changes, either around the monthly cycle or during a menopausal shift, are the culprit. But dietary imbalances and stress also cause flare-ups. “Acne in adults is like a whistle blow. Often it’s a sign that something else not quite right is going on,” says Michael Murray, ND, a naturopath and coauthor of The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.

Home Remedies For Acne

Have no fear though! There are some amazing home remedies to treat adult acne that are very inexpensive. Below I list five tried and true examples of remedies that work !

1. Tea Tree Oil For Skin

Less irritating than its chemical cousin benzoyl peroxide, tea tree oil has a long history of fighting mild to moderate acne outbreaks. The oil, which comes from the leaves of a tree native to Australia, has antiseptic properties that help reduce acne-causing bacteria on the skin and quell inflammation in skin cells. “We’ve seen it work against a wide range of organisms, including 27 of the 32 strains of acne-causing bacteria,” says Murray.

Multiple studies, including a review last year in the International Journal of Dermatology, back the plant’s power. You can find tea tree oil in a wide variety of soaps, skin washes, and topical solutions. Look for a minimum concentration of 5% of the oil (up to 15% for more severe acne). Below is the tea tree oil cream that I use. It contains vitamin E and is less potent than others, but works 10 times better (according to me). Other tea tree oil creams are soo strong and leave the skin way to dry. This formula is geared more towards adult men and women, not teens.

2. Detox Tea

This is my number one suggestion!…and I bet you are surprised to see this on the list. Why detox tea? Well, a lot of the time we get acne is because of what we have been eating. A gentle detox can help clean your kidney and liver, flushing out the “gunk” which may be contributing to your skin problems.

Some detox’s tea like Ultra Slender Tea’s 15 day detox even have rooibus and dandelion root, which do miracles for acne.

The dandelion plant has a bad reputation as a weed, but it’s actually an excellent source of vitamins A, C, D and B, as well as the minerals iron, potassium and zinc…and zinc works miracles for your skin. Ultra Slender Tea has the highest concentration of dandelion root, compared to any other detox tea on the market.

15 day detox

According to a research that was published in 2009, the dandelion root is a natural agent used for detoxification on a very common scale. It has the ability to easily remove all toxins from your liver and kidneys. Apart from that, it also helps in curing acne that is caused to an excess of bacteria, or due to a hormonal imbalance.

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When preparing a cup of Ultra Slender Tea, you should keep some tea aside for later use on your skin! Before bed try using the tea water on your face where the acne is present, allowing for a much cleaner and smoother skin. Since dandelion roots contain a number of detoxification properties, you can also be sure that very soon, it would suck out the toxins present in your skin, leaving you with smoother and clearer skin.

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3. Aloe Vera

 Aloe vera is often associated with wound healing and soothing of burns, but it is loaded with vitamins and can nourish your skin while preventing acne scars. Specifically, aloe vera will reduce the diameter of your acne boils and reduce their redness. How? Aloe Vera contains over 75 different nutrients and vitamins, minerals, enzymes, sugars, anthraquinones or phenolic compounds, lignin, saponins, sterols, amino acids and salicylic acid. Additionally, aloe Vera contains 19 of the 20 amino acids required by the human body for good health. The human body however produces only 12 of these. Then 8 outstanding amino acids (also known as “essential” amino acids) have to be consumed as food or drink.

For aloe vera to benefit the skin, one must either drink aloe vera juice or apply it topically. In a study by Dr. Davis et al. it was found that when animal drank Aloe Vera orally they experienced a 62.5% reduction in would diameter compared to animal who drank plain water for 2 months (control).  Note, the mice received 100 mg/kg/day of aloe vera.

Dr. Davis, et al. and his team also published that when aloe vera is applied topically to mice, they experienced a 50.8% reduction in wound diameter. Although this is a 11.7% reduction in improvement compared to drinking aloe vera, it is still a significant improvement in would healing.  Specifically, the scientist put a 25% w/v concentration in Eucerin cream.

4. Aspirin Face Mask

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Did you know that aspirin contains salicylic acid, which is one of the most commonly used ingredients in acne products today. Salicylic acid cleans out pores and exfoliates the skin (which is ideal for sloughing away fine lines and wrinkles too). Aspirin is so great for acne and is one of the strongest anti-inflammatory ingredients you can find in your cupboard. Hence, it will immediately reduce redness.

For it to be most effective as an “at home remedy for acne” you will need to crush it and use it as a face mask.

What You’ll Need:
5-7 Uncoated aspirin pills
Distilled Water (bottled water like Fiji or Evian)
1 tsp Organic Honey

Instructions:
In a mug, drop the aspirin in with just enough distilled water to create a paste consistency. Let the aspirin dissolve in the water (you can mix a bit if necessary). If it seems a bit too pasty, add more water. If it is too liquidy, add another aspirin. I’d advise not to use more than 8 aspirin. Once you have your paste at the consistency that you like, you can apply to skin as is. However, I find that by adding 1 teaspoon of organic honey, the mask is less drying to the skin. You also receive the added benefits of honey (and I love honey for acne-prone skin) so I have included honey in my directions. You could also sub the honey for olive oil if your skin is extra dry or irritated.

How to Use:
Apply to the face, jaw, chest, back – any area that is prone to breakouts. Leave on for 7-15 minutes. This is great for men too as aspirin is wonderful for ingrown hairs (i.e. beard acne). Use up to two times a week but make sure that you make a new batch each time you use.

*You will notice an immediate glow to the skin once you rinse off the mask. Skin will feel heavenly soft and look luminous. Blackheads should decrease after the first use as well. Enjoy!

5. Blue Light For Acne

It was found that some of the visible violet light, present in sunlight, in the range 405-420nm activates a porphyrin (Coproporphyrin III) in Propionibacterium acnes which damages and ultimately kills the bacteria by releasing singlet oxygen. A total of 320J/cm2 of light within this range renders the bacteria non viable. This part of the spectrum is just outside the ultraviolet and produces little if any tanning or sunburn.

The Caribbean Sun Box Red and Blue Light Therapy Acne Treatment Professional Model RB-PRO is a highly effective light therapy light box that uses LED lamps of a specific wavelength to treat acne. Using the Caribbean Sun Box Red and Blue Light Therapy Acne Treatment Professional Model RB-PRO a few minutes a day can lead to beautiful acne-free skin. Measuring just 5.5″ x 9″ x 1.25″, it easily fits on a desk, table, or countertop.

Application of the light for 3 consecutive days has been shown to reduce the bacteria in the pores by 99.9%. Since there are few porphyrins naturally found in the skin, the treatment is believed safe except in patients with porphyria; although eye protection is necessary due to light sensitive chemicals in the retina. The light is usually created by fluorescent lamps, bright LEDs or dichroic filament bulbs.

Treatment is often accompanied with application of red light which has been shown to activate ATP in human skin cells (essentially a photobiomodulation effect), and seems to improve response rates. Overall improvements of on average 76% for 80% of patients occurs over 3 months; most studies show that it performs better than Benzoyl peroxide but treatment is far better tolerated.

Note: if the above blue light acne treatment is too expensive for you, maybe start with the Illumamask? I included the link below:

Natural Remedies For Insect Bites

With all this great summer heat unfortunately comes insects. The problem today is that most insect repellants all contain so many harsh chemicals (i.e. DEET) and often make you feel kinda gross while out in the heat.

Below are a list of some natural alternative insect repellents, some may even surprise you:

Basil – Commonly known for its use as a “spice” in North America, but elsewhere it is used extensively in medicine, particularly in India. Indeed, Indians rub the leaves on their skin as an insect repellent, and Africans do the same.

Best Natural Remedies For Insect Bites

Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemuum muticum) and Pennyroyal – Both of these herbs contain “pulegone”, a powerful insect repellent. Pennyroyal is the more popular of the two, and it has a long and honorable history. In fact, pennyroal goes back to the first century A.D. when people discovered that it was effective against fleas. However, based on personal experience, I would say “mountain mint” works better than penyroyal.

How to apply: Just pick some leaves and rub them on your skin and clothing. Note: don’t use either of these if you are pregnant, as these herbs have been known to increase the risk of miscarriage).

Citrus essential oils: Something about citrus, and plants with citrus-like aromatic qualities, repels insects. The info-graphic below will help you understand how powerful citrus essential oils can be when used as a natural insect repellent.

Citrus essential oils as natural insect repellent If you like this post and want more articles like this, please subscribe to the mailing list. It would make me so happy 🙂

Benefits of Tumeric

Want to find a more natural cure for digestion, circulation, arthritis and your overall health? Well, it probably already exists in your home! It’s called Turmeric…you know, that BRIGHT YELLOW HERB that probably has been sitting there for a while?

Turmeric Health Benefits

Benefits of Tumeric

The benefits of turmeric are endless. It has been used for centuries and is actually considered an ancient herb. Today it is often prescribed by naturalpathic doctors to treat everything from digestion, arthritis, skin conditions, circulation, liver ailments and to increase health of the brain.

Why is Tumeric Powder good for you?

Turmeric health benefits are a result of the antioxidant called curcuminoids. Curcuminoids key benefits are that it (1) eases inflammation (2) eases stomach pain (3) stimulates the secretion of bile and (4) kills bacteria.

Limitations of Turmeric

The only limitations of turmeric, as many herbs on your spice rack, is that it is not as concentrated or as easily absorbed by your body when compared to the turmeric in quality supplements.

DON’T LOSE HOPE THOUGH! SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED A SOLUTION IN A SUPPLEMENT CALLED THERACUMIN!

Where to Buy Quality Turmeric Supplements?

To increase the absorption in your body of turmeric and thus health benefits, scientists have taken this potent herb and created a really incredible supplement called Theracurmin. What’s so great about theracurmin? The particle size.

The average curcumin particle size is more than 100 times smaller than particles of curcumin powder alone. These microscopic particles are obtained by mixing curcumin powder with all-natural emulsifiers, including gum from the Indian ghatti tree. The mixture is ground to an extremely fine state, then the particles are dispersed evenly through the emulsifiers and kept in suspension so the curcumin is easily absorbed by the digestive tract. As a result, the level of curcumin antioxidant that is actually absorbed is much greater.

Scientific Studies: Benefits of Turmeric

In a research study using healthy human volunteers, scientists were each given an oral dose of 30mg of curcumin powder (Sasaki) and 30mg of Theracurmin at different time periods. The bio-availablility was analyzed and found to be 27 times higher for Theracumin.
Researchers from Michigan State University, also published a study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry showing that curcumin helps prevent abnormal protein formation, thus supporting neurological communications. Ultimately this may help prevent Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease. Curcuminoids, especially in this highly absorbable form found in Theracumin supplements, may be able to cross the blood-brain barrier to influence biochemical reactions in the brain. 

Questions for Eco-Savy readers. Fill out in Comment Box Below.

So have you every tried Theracumin? Eco-Savy encourages its readers to write about turmeric and wants to promote discussion on the benefits of this herb and your health. For example, have you ever used this herb to help with any health problems such as digestion, circulation, arthritis? Have you found another natural herb that helps just as much?
We look forward to your comments.