[YEA]  03/16/2009: Katie from Seattle, WA, USA: "Yogurt cured my acne. I used plain yogurt (about 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp) with live cultures sometimes mixed with a few drops (2-3) of honey. Some people prefer to mix it with honey because it softens the skin, although it isn't necessary. When I applied the yogurt to my face, I just applied enough for there to be a layer about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. But, if the yogurt is spread on too thick, it will slide down the face and becomes a mess. I leave the yogurt on until it dries (about 45 minutes to an hour), but some people suggested to leave it on overnight. Then I simply washed it off with warm water.
After applying the yogurt mask, my face always feels smoother and has a more even complexion. Some suggest the uric acid in the yogurt is what helps with acne, although I cant confirm that to be true, I can say it has worked for me.

Thank you Earth Clinic, I love this website so much!"

[YEA]  12/30/2009: Vanessa from Portland, Or, Usa replies: "I use yogurt as well, usually when I start to break out, but it's gentle enough to use it everyday. I mix it with honey and lemon (a few drops of both then apply to my face and let it dry. Sometimes I leave it on overnight, but most of the time I dont because it isnt a pleasant feeling to have dried yogurt on your face for hours. Its not harsh and always does the trick. I find it helps all skin problems, its calms the skin and reduces swelling, reduces redness, shrinks pores, cures pimples and seems to do an amazing job at smoothing the face.

There are lots of other recipes for yogurt masks on the net, just do a google search!"

[YEA]  03/13/2010: Bill from Prescott Valley, Arizona: "Am an Alternative researcher. My 12 year old son was developing acne back in the 70's. Gave him some Zinc
tablets, 10 mg I. think, and it cleared up. It worked so well, he started selling them on the school bus and got in trouble. To stress the importance of Zinc in the body; he was told young boys deficient in zinc would have small sex organs and zinc was important for their growth. Needless to say, all of his friends took zinc religously."

[YEA]  Anonymous from Missouri: "This is very inexpensive and it should be somewhere near the band aids and neosporin section at the store. Just dab on heads at night and in the morning they are dried up. If they're small then the zinc oxide will draw out more pus resulting in it being bigger than before you put it on. Just use the creme again and it will dry up the whitehead."

[YEA]  11/13/2009: Kai from Randolph, Nj replies: "About a week ago, I noticed that my 14 year old son's prescription tazarotene acne face cream was no longer working. He was breaking out in large pimples everywhere on his face, neck, chest and back. He was running out of the prescription cream, which had worked pretty wel for a while, (but not great) and I had to decide if it was worth a trip to the doctor to get a new prescription. After I looked at the cost of the prescription meds without insurance, I began to research natural cures for acne. He was also using a sulpha wash and an 8% benzyol peroxide wash to try to keep the acne at bay with no success.

After doing some research here on Earth Clinic, I decided to try some of the methods others were having some luck with. First we tried diluted ACV and it seemed to smooth his skin, but since his skin is ultra sensitive, it burned quite a bit even though it was diluted far more than recommended by other posters. So while it could work well occasionally, I knew we would not be able to use this on an daily basis.

Topically applied zinc also sounded promising, but before we went out and bought zinc cream, I decided to make our own concoction out of what we had in the house. I used a Miconazole nitrate cream, (which I had read worked for some acne suffers), and zinc tablets which I ground with a mortar and pestle. We have applied the cream for two nights now and it is working so well it is hard for me to believe. He has no new pimples (some were getting large and cystic--one by the side of his nose kept coming back no matter what we treated it with) and the old ones are disappearing. I wish I had taken a picture of his face before the treatment to compare.

He says the cream tingles a little when it is applied, but that sensation goes away quickly. While it is too soon to tell if this is a viable long term solution, the immediate results are promising.

In the meantime, we have ordered some commercial zinc cream (around $8) and are looking forward to trying it to see if it will work as well as our homemade cream."

11/14/2009: Jp from Lake Park, Fl replies: "He's probably allergic to dairy with no symptoms other than the acne. Have a food allergen blood test done."

09/18/2010: Piper from Toronto, On replies: "Zinc ointment or commonly known as diaper rash cream is very healing. It is good for bringing up whitehead as well as for getting spots to heal faster. Apply at night as you don't want to walk around with white stuff on your face. As you sleep the zinc cream will help spots heal. Diaper rash cream or zinc ointment can vary in zinc content from 15-37%. I use the brand with the highest content I could find and it is worth the price difference."