12 Proven Natural Remedies for Acne

I started using olive oil for Hidradenitis suppurativa and it worked so well, I tried it on my face for blackheads and whiteheads. Now I rarely get a bump. Put the olive oil on every morning and every night; it soaks in quickly. It is also great for keeping suntanned legs from looking dry and chalky.

to Azg from Toronto:

Hi Azg,

Combine 2 tablespoons of baking soda with a drizzle of water until you make a soft paste. Massage the baking soda paste around the face using small circular motions. Focus on the areas of the most scarring and red spots.

After around 30 seconds rinse your face well with warm water. Repete this process once per day to help diminish red spots from acne. Baking soda can help diminish red spots and skin discolorations quickly, especially when used as a facial scrub.

Avoid wearing makeup, do not pick or squeeze pimples. Change pillow cases and sheets every other day. The pillow case absorbs oils from your skin and reapplies the dirt and oil.

Eat foods rich in Zinc. Zinc is an antibacterial agent and a necessary element in the oil- producing glands of the skin. A diet low in Zinc can actually cause acne breakouts.

I have give this to many of my friends for acne. They all said, it helped them. I hope it helps you too. Let me know!

Pauline

I finally figure out how to tell acne sufferers what to try without looking like I am advertising any company! I feel responsible for letting everyone else know what worked for me. After over 30 years suffering with acne I know how devastating this can be. Look for all the information on Pantothenic Acid that you can get. Look for Dr. Lit-Hung Leung who conducted the study! There is a lot of information, message boards on B5 for the treatment of acne. There are a lot of vitamins shops on and off line that you can get it from, but you need to learn how to take the dosages and for how long. I hope every acne victim at least take a look at this and consider. My only regret is not knowing about it 30 years ago!!!

When I was a teenager I had very very bad acne. I used CORNMEAL. I got a jug of hot water, washed my face before with soap and faucet water then soaped my hands then add some cornmeal and massage my face. I leave it on and steam my face with the hot water covering my head with a towel while holding it over the jug of hot water (he will have to come up for air sometime) I then wash the face with warm water. This opens the pores. I then squeese some of the bumps but try not to tear the skin.

After that I wash my face with faucet water and soap. I then applied small amounts of baking soda to this face (this will burn a little bit.) Sometimes at nights or when I was home for a weekend I mix the CORNMEAL with ALOE VERA and leave it on my face overnight or for a day. THIS WORKED WELL FOR ME. Be minded though that some acne may be caused by anxiety, in which case exercise will help.

I have struggled with acne for years and finally (at 42 year old) found a solution - castor oil! I found the cure on this website. I put about a quarter sized dollop in my palm then rub into my face. Let sit for 2 or 3 minutes, then take a hot wash cloth and lay it on my face for about 30 seconds. I repeat that 2 times and after the final time "steaming" with the washcloth, I scrub my face with the washclooth. I follow up with a cotton ball soaked in ACV or hydrogen peroxide then finally an oil free moisturizer. Hope it works for ya'll!

Hi glegs I wanted to know how long befor you saw results because I tried this before with no results. Also did it work for blackheads and whiteheads?

Hi Tussy! It took a week or 2 to get results because initially it pulls everything out. Once I got past that point, I saw improvement. I mainly get the cystic acne and it works great on it. Also, I started taking Turmeric and that seems to help! Good luck!

I have suffered from acne to most of my life. It started when I was probably 12 or 13 and now I am 39 years old. I too have tried so many natural things, things from store, been to the dermatologist when I was younger. what I started doing last summer was making me green smoothies. my recipe is 1/2 or sometimes more of water, some ice cubes, then I add things like celery, cucumber, small amount of fruit like apples, blueberries or whatever you have on hand and always put lots of spinach, I never measured it, but probably approx 2 cups of spinach. after I started doing this, my acne started improving and almost all the whiteheads were gone, except for an occasional, I also had a breast lump that dissapeared. you can add other veggies or fruits, but to me I think one of the key ingrediants is the spinach. I have gotten away from drinking them for the past 2 months and I see my face is slowly starting to break out again, so I know I need to start drinking them again. this would be worth a try and I would give it a couple of weeks to work.

To EC:

No, I did not have to drink it EC, although that was my next step. Pat fresh urine on your face with two cotton pads the size of silver dollars. In my case I use warm water directly hitting the face, or a hot towel soak first. This opens the pores! Quickly apply the fresh urine liberally while the pores or open by patting the face. This can be done easily in a morning shower. The rest of the urine can be applied to the hair. I stopped using shampoos except maybe once a week and hair-skin acne cleared up. Your grey hair will become stronger and healthier, what do you think about that? My hair actually looks better now un-shampooed! Air dry your face or infected area. After you feel the face is dry go back to the bathroom and pat cold water on your face. This will close the pores tight and allow your white cells to fight the infection just under the skin.

Jerry, Belen

I have adult acne (I'm 34f) due to hormonal imbalance and problems with my digestion. They tend to bother me a great deal causing me to pick at them and otherwise make them worse. I tried a lot of different expensive commercial products without success. The ingredients usually burned and inflamed my skin and didn't do anything for the acne.

Finally I came across an "acne cure" that people were paying up to sixty-dollars per ounce on the Internet. I found out that it was simply Calamine lotion and witch hazel and I already had that in my medicine cabinet. I tried it out and it works great.

I wash my face good in the evening, use witch hazel as a toner then apply the Calamine lotion. (I am going to see if ACV works better then Witch Hazel after reading about it here on this site.) The Calamine dries up the acne usually overnight and has always made it better including really deep hard nodule type of acne.

Chamomile lotion doesn't prevent or otherwise cure acne but it does dry up outbreaks extremely rapidly, keeps the acne from itching and being irritated and doesn't burn, sting or otherwise have side effects that I have experienced. I wish I had known about this as a teen.

Yes my face also got a reddish burn scar that never happened before. I also had to stop it.

I cured my pimple using my own fresh urine in the morning. I just dab it in a cotton and apply all over my face. I then wash it after 30 mins . Then after that, I use the mixture of ACV and green tea for the rest of the day. My skin has never been better.

Background: I had a problem of adult acne for several years. I used to have at least 2-3 active zits over my face. I tried everything: OTC Acne products, ACV, H2O2, and went to a dermatologist for creams and Zyrtec. Then I cam across steam bath at my apartment complex. Within a week my skin was great, no acne problems for months! And then the Steam bath was out for repairs and my problem slowly crept back. So I bought a 'Steam facial' on Amazon for about $30 and it works almost just as great.

Measurements that worked for me: Steam bath/ steam facial: 10--15 minutes, three times a week. I make sure my face about 5 drops of sweat trickles down on the towel. I saw dramatic improvements within a week. In steam bath, I make sure the heat is enough to accelerate my heart without any pain or discomfort.

My results: I haven't used ANY skin medicines for 5 months and going strong! It also helps get rid of any cold/ cough symptoms. My wife saw her back-ache vanish.

I have used many remedies from this site and I thought I should share this very natural, no-chemicals-involved remedy with you.

I got a good question for everyone about acne. Does anyone know how to diminish those holes in your face sometimes associated with acne? Are there any foods, supplements, or techniques that can help with this.

This is for Tee from Chicago, I use baking soda to scrub my face and it helps so much with acne scars. I have the red forever blotches and they faded to almost nothing after scrubing with baking soda every night. An added bonus is that it makes my face less oily too. You could try to use a mixture of apple cider vinager and porixide to cleanse your face after wards, but beware that the h202 will bleach your hair and eyebrows.

Peroxide? I don't think that putting something that harsh on your skin is a good idea.

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!

i love sandalwood powder! what i do is i wet my face and dip my damp fingers into the powder rub it between my hands and scrub my skin gently. then i also use a warm wet cloth and let it sit for a minute and then wipe off the powder and rinse my face with warm and then cold water several times. afterwards i will put a few drops of either VCO or jojoba oil on my face - and sometimes after this at night i will also use a layer of castor oil. my pores have never been happier!

I kept getting breakouts on my chin and around my mouth. I somehow stumbled onto blackstrap molasses. I take two tablespoons a day (in Stash's double spice chai tea- really good) and it really seems to help. No new breakouts. Just the fading red marks from the old ones. I pretty certain it's the molasses because I stopped taking it for about a month while I was on vacation and the acne came back within a week.

I also did some research- blackstrap contains copper which helps skin repair itself and a bit of zinc which when taken consistently has the effect of an antibiotic/anti-acne prescription. Just make sure you get the right ratio of zinc and copper- they block the absorption of each other and can cause an imbalance.

im taking a whole body cleanse that has Milk Thistle, and I'm just finishing my first week with it. so far im very happy I have lots of energy, and I haven't been breaking out. my face is starting to clearing up... I'm taking this cleanse to test to see if i would clear my acne, because when I went to Italy for 5 weeks my acne cleared up once I got back to CT I started to breake out all over again, and I eat pretty much everything organic, I even use organic toothhpaste, organic deodorant, and organic hair and face products. I started getting acne when I was about 13 or 14 I stop taking medication when I was 20 now im 23 and still have 3rd grade acne. I have gone to many dermatologists, and have gone on accutane. I became an esthetician and I took basic herbal studies to fine a cure. once I started to change my diet it has helped but it wasn't enough im still researching but im also finding out Brewer's yeast (available at GNC) helps cure acne I haven't tryed it yet but im planing on it after my cleanse which you can get also at GNC but the web sit for it is www.vt.wbclranse.com I recommend looking online for one that cost less. all I can say is research and fine what works for you because everyone is diffrent ex. my older brother took some mediction, and once he got off the medication he was clear and never broke out again, and he has no acne scarring you can't even till he suffered from acne. my older sister started breaking out when she was 15, and now she is 27 and still on medication, and she tried getting off, because its costing alot but she breaks out. don't give up and don't pick I've been really good about not picking and I dont have acne scarring thank god!

I have been an avid reader of Earth Clinic since finding a great sore throat cure here in desperation last winter.

I suffer from moderate adult acne and I wanted to share with you my results from drinking freshly made carrot juice, blended with fresh parsley, apple and ginger.

Anecdotal evidence (my own) suggests that the Vitamin A (Beta Carotene) in carrots is helping heal my skin. Parsley contains high amounts of chlorophyll and Vitamin C, and Apples also contain vitamin C. Ginger is a potent herb known for it's curative properties.

To get the full benefits of this regimen, use ORGANIC produce.

I recommend starting on the juice regimen as a daily practice.

NB: You will need a juicer, NOT a blender! I use the Breville brand of juicers, they are the absolute best and easy to clean.

The recipe I use:

12 organic carrots - do NOT juice the greens - they are toxic
2 organic apples (do NOT juice the apple seeds. They contain a trace amount of cyanide)
1 very large bunch of fresh organic parsley
1 hunk of fresh ginger (about 1 - 2 inches long)

Carefully clean and rinse produce. Chop off the top and tip of the carrots. Leave the peel ON.
Divide the apple into four quarters. Chop off the part where the seeds are.
Wash the parsley and place on a paper towel.
Scrub the ginger well with a vegetable brush. Cut off any dead looking areas.

Carefully inspect the juicer and turn it on.

S-L-O-W-L-Y feed the parsley into the juicer with the safety pusher
then slowly feed your apples through
then slowly feed the ginger through
then slowly feed the carrots through.

STIR THE FINISHED JUICE WELL BEFORE POURING.

DRINK IMMEDIATELY! Juice starts to lose it's vitamins on contact with air. If you do make too much juice, refrigerate it in a GLASS CONTAINER and use it within 24 hours.

I had tried everything as a teenager to get rid of acne and finally took accutane for a couple months and it totally worked and changed my life. I have since been trying to find a natural alternative to recommend to friends. Recently my facialist told me that her great grandmother in Finland or something had a cure that worked (probably for the same reason that accutane- a very strong form of vitamin A- worked). The remedy is this: Eat and drink nothing but fresh carrot juice for 3 straight days... acne will be GONE. wondering if anyone has heard of this before?

Also- this is just cosmetic... but have always used hydrocortisone and Visine to dab on a freshly-picked zit. the Visine constricts blood vessels to take away redness and the hydrocortisone cream dramatically decreases swelling almost immediately.