22 Home Remedies for Acne & Pesky Pimples Part Two

11. The wonders of sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate, glorious sodium bicarbonate, swoops in and makes itself useful in too many ways to count. In the case of acne remedies, this fabulous substance (also known as baking soda) is useful thanks to its mild antiseptic properties, as well as its uncanny ability to fight off fungus and bacteria and dry up excess oil, all while exfoliating your skin via microdermabrasion and making it soft and beautiful. I know-I get star struck too now whenever I see a box of baking soda.

You will need…

• a box of baking soda
• Fresh water

Directions

There are two ways to go about this-making a facial mask, or a straightforward scrub. For a facial mask, mix equal parts baking soda to water to form a thick paste. Massage the paste on in slow circular motions for a 2 minutes. Leave the mask on for around 15-20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with warm water, pat dry, and moisturize.

For a scrub, mix a half a cup of baking soda with one eighth a cup of water. Apply the paste to your face, massaging it in well. After 5-6 minutes of this, rinse your face thoroughly with warm water, pat dry, and moisturize.

12. Dab some lemon juice on it

Lemon juice can help get rid of breakouts for a number of reasons. It is rich in vitamin C, which is good for all types of skin, and it’s a citric acid, so it helps ‘exfoliate’ the skin as well. Most importantly though, it is an astringent. An astringent will cause a contraction of body tissues, and will therefore dry out the blemish itself. It is also a natural skin whitener, which helps reduce redness. If you misplace a dab you may get a little white spot, but don’t panic- it will go away on its own accord. Rinse off any lemon juice before going out in the sun, as it may make you more sensitive to it.

You will need…

• 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately)
• Q-tips or cotton balls (optional)
• Yogurt (optional)

Directions

Rinse face gently with water and pat dry. Dab fingers, a cotton ball, or a Q-tip in lemon juice and apply to pimple. If it stings, try mixing it first with a bit of yogurt.

13. Make it steamy

Steam can help soothe a number of minor maladies, acne being one of them. It helps reduce acne, and its glaring appearance, by opening up the pores and flushing out impurities lurking deep within your skin. You can choose to only steam, or you can use something afterwards. If you use it with something else, you’ve cleared a sort of path for whatever you’re using to really do its job.

You will need…

• 1 pot of boiling water
• 1 towel
• A large bowl

Directions

Boil a pot of water, pour into a large bowl, and let it cool for a few minutes. After its temperature has lowered slightly, place your face above the bowl, and drape the towel over your head to trap the steam. After 10-15 minutes, remove the towel and pat your face dry. Do this once a day or as needed.

14. The wonders of garlic

Garlic is thought to be a good natural remedy for acne because of its supposed antibacterial properties. You can either ingest it, or apply it topically to help reduce the severity of your breakouts and prevent them in the future. If you can get the juice from the garlic, great, if you can’t, mashing it up and putting it in some water is fine. Never, ever, ever, apply garlic to your skin without diluting it first. If you’re hesitant about the garlic smell, look at the silver lining-others may be a bit taken aback, but you won’t have to worry about Dracula creeping around either.

You will need…

• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• water OR aloe vera gel

Directions

Either extract the garlic juice and mix it with 1 teaspoons or so of water, or mash up 2-3 cloves and let sit in water for about 10 minutes. Using a cotton pad, soak up the juice or garlic water and cover problem spots. If you don’t have a cotton pad or something similar to apply it with, the mixture can be a bit runny and hard to work with. In this case, substitute aloe vera gel for water. If you choose to ingest garlic, a clove or two a day should be enough. Prepare it however you like.

15. Oatmeal boost

Oatmeal can power you up from the inside out-and the outside in. If you soak/cook your oats and use them in mask, they can reduce the inflammation and unsightly redness that accompanies breakouts. Add some honey to your mask and you have a great recipe for a rather tasty sounding acne remedy. Keep in mind that oatmeal on its own will not cure your acne, and should be used as part of a sensible routine acne treatment. However, it may very well reduce the blatant, painful, appearance of the breakouts.

You will need…

• One serving of oatmeal-steel cut seems to work well
• Water
• Two tablespoons raw honey

Directions

Whip up a batch of oatmeal as usual, or by following the directions on the box. When it is finished and still hot, add two tablespoons of honey. Let mixture cool to room temperature. Keep in mind it retains quite a bit of heat, so really make sure it’s a comfortable temperature before applying it to your skin-the last thing you need is a burn! Leave it on for 20-30 minutes. When it has set, rinse off with warm water and pat your skin dry.

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16. Sugar scrub

Sugar, white or brown, helps get rid of the excess skin cells clogging up your pores by acting as gentle exfoliator. Mix it up with honey, olive oil, or just plain water, and you have a sweet scrub to help rid you of your acne woes. There are plenty of different recipes out there, but we found this one to be particularly delightful (courtesy of cjanecreate.com-thank you for sharing this!)

You will need…

• 1 ½ cups of white sugar
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar, light or dark
• 2-3 tablespoons coarse sea salt
• Roughly 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 10 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract
• 1 whole vanilla bean (totally optional)

Directions

Mix 1 ½ cups of brown sugar and 1 ½ cups of brown sugar, adding in a few tablespoons of coarse sea salt for extra exfoliation, and mix. If you’re using the vanilla bean, scrap out the caviar (the inside stuff) and mix it in at this point as well. Put about 2 cups of this sugar/salt/vanilla mixture into a liquid measuring cup and pack it down nice and snug. Pour the extra virgin olive oil over the top, and let it soak through half the mixture, leaving a little layer on top. Mix this up in the measuring cup, and then add it to the rest of the sugar/salt/vanilla mix. Add 4-5 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract and mix it in. Now you can spoon your scrub into whatever containers you wish to store it, making sure to pack it down. If you like, drizzle one tablespoon of vanilla extract on top to ensure that you’ll get the delicious scent when you open it up. This will fill 4 half-pint jars.

17. Avocado & honey mask

There are so many rumors surrounding diet and acne, it’s hard to know what’s right and what’s wrong. Amongst these rumors is the claim that avocado (eating it and sometimes applying it topically) will make you breakout, because it’s higher in fat. As far as I am concerned, there’s no concrete evidence to prove this, and far more people seem to have success using it than not. It’s so full of good vitamins and nutrients it seems it can really help tone down the acne. If you have sensitive skin, too, it’s quite mild. There are different combinations you can try, as with most home remedies, but this one blends together avocado and honey.

You will need…

• 1 avocado
• 1 tablespoon of honey

Directions

Rinse your face with water and pat it dry. Scrap out the inside of the avocado and mash it up, then stir in the honey. Continuing mashing/stirring until it turns into a paste. Apply it to your skin and leave it on for 15-20 minutes. When you’re done, wash off the mixture with lukewarm water and pat your face dry. Depending on your skin type, apply moisturizer.

18. Wash your pillowcase

Technically, a pillowcase should be washed at the very least once a week. While most of us don’t practice this, when it comes to keeping your skin fresh and healthy, it might help to get a little picky about your pillowcase. If you never wash it, all the stuff that gets rubbed onto it then comes in contact with your face for around 6-8 hours every night, and can exacerbate your acne. Keeping a clean, comfy place to rest your weary head is worth the hassle of stuffing your pillow back into its case-the real reason we avoid washing it-if it could prevent future breakouts.

19. Don’t touch your face (more specifically, your breakouts)

This doesn’t mean you can rest you chin in your hands or anything-it means don’t itch, scratch, pick, peel, pop, or rub at your skin. I distinctly recall the constant discomfort of acne, especially when treating it with irritating topical stuff. Almost subconsciously I would touch my face-probably every 2-3 minutes on average-and pick at my breakouts. Of course, this just made things go from bad to worse. While touching your face with your hands now and then won’t cause acne, if you suffer from it, resisting the urge to bug it will help the healing process go smoother and more efficiently.

You will need…

• self control

20. Freshen up with mint

Mint contains menthol, which works as a natural anti-inflammatory and pain killer. It won’t cure your acne per say, but it may help the redness fade and ease up some of the discomfort cause by painful swelling.

You will need…

• A decent handful of fresh mint leaves

Directions

Rinse your face with water and pat it dry. Crush up the leaves thoroughly, you can use a blender but a mortar and pestle works quite well if you happen to have one lying around. Rub the juice and crushed leaves on your face and leave for 5-10 minutes before rinsing off thoroughly with cold water.

21. Put a potato on it

Potato is a wonderful vegetable, to be sure, but one of its benefits may not be something you’ve heard of before. That benefit would be taming acne, as potatoes are full of potassium, sulfur, phosphorus, and chloride-all components that can help reduce bothersome blemishes. They also have antioxidants to nourish your skin and encourage the healthy growth of new skin cells.

You will need…

• 1 potato

Directions

Wash your face with water and pat almost dry, leaving it a bit damp. Grate 1 raw potato and rub the pulp and juice onto your face for a few minutes in a circular motion. Let it dry for 15-30 minutes, and then rinse off completely with warm water.

22. Tea Time

There have been some promising studies recently (namely in 2011, 2012, Journal of Investigative Dermatology) in which green tea was shown to have a noticeable impact on acne when used externally. Internally, there is theory it helps as well, but less concrete evidence. To sum up the findings briefly, there is an antioxidant in green tea called epigallocatechin-3-gallate or EGCG. ECGC was shown to reduce sebum production, inflammation, and bacterial growth in acne-prone skin-basically the main causes behind breakouts. It’s exciting for the future of acne, or rather, a future without acne. Here’s how to use it topically-you can also try drinking a cup or two a day to detoxify.

You will need…

• 1/2 cup fresh water
• 2 teaspoons loose organic tea leaves OR 1 green tea bag

Directions

Wash your face with water, and pat dry with a soft clean towel. Place your leaves in a clean bowl and pour boiling water over them. Steep for 4-5 minutes before straining the leaves and letting the liquid cool to a comfortable temperature. You can then pour into a spray bottle and spritz your face lightly, soak a cotton pad/soft cloth and apply, or simply use a teabag steeped for 2-3 minutes, patting it onto your face or problem areas. Some people find more success just leaving the refreshing liquid on, while others rinse it off with cool water.

Now what?

Have patience. The desperate urge to find a speedy solution to acne, preferably something that takes minimal effort, is a strong one. In all reality though, and like so many other aspects in life, one really doesn’t exist. Having a regular skin care routine and adding a good, natural, acne remedy to it may take extra work, but stay committed, do things right, and give your treatment time to have an effect. Remember, you live in your skin and that’s not ever going to change. Taking the effort to really care for it will make all the difference in terms of your comfort, happiness, and confidence.

Debunking 5 Myths About Acne

Acne is shrouded in misconception, and covered up with conflicting information. Knowing what’s true and what’s not true can help you figure out how best to treat your skin.

1. Acne is caused by dirt/dirty skin- Acne is not caused by dirt, poor hygiene, not washing your face and so on. Too much scrubbing or cleansing with harsh soaps or chemicals can actually irritate your skin and make the acne worse. If you “over clean” you can end up drying out your skin, which will then try and compensate by making that much more oil. A simple cleansing of the skin to get rid of excess oil and dead skin cells is all that is needed.

2. Greasy food/chocolate makes you breakout-Greasy food and chocolate have been shown to have little to no effect on the development of acne. Diet can still have an impact, as some dairy products or carbs increase blood sugar or have added hormones and trigger acne, but it’s not usually the case.

3. Stress causes acne- In theory, stress can affect hormones, and therefore promote acne. It’s hard to quantify this though, and when you think about the stress most of us deal with in day to day to life, there wouldnt be an acne free face in sight. An effective acne treatment regime will override a bit of everyday stress anytime.

4. Having acne means you can’t use a moisturizer- Look for a good noncomedogenic (meaning less likely to clog pores) moisturizer to use. After treating your acne, be it with banana peels or over the counter creams, a moisturizer can help balance out your skin, ensuring that it doesn’t create excess oil to compensate for all that you dried up.

5. Sunlight/tanning clears up acne- In the short term getting a tan, or even slight sunburn, will seemingly clear up your acne. Long term, it’s not a solution. It’s just hiding the redness, and while it does dry up your skin, it can make it too dry, and do more harm than good.

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