12 Proven Natural Remedies for Acne

Wow!! That's all I have to say about borax. I have found the best product on the market for my stuborn blackheads and clogged pores. I swear just from washing my face once with borax all my blackheads, dead skin and clogged pores are gone.

This is what I do: wet your face with warm water, get about a teaspoon of borax in your hand and then apply on your face AVOID eye area and under eye. Scrub gently with the borax around the problem area, rinse with luke warm water and watch your face glow. AMAZING

After I rinse the borax off I apply a toner 50/50 ACV and water with a cotton pad to minimize the size of my pores, after it dries a apply coconut oil and my face is like a babys bottom :)

Make sure you always apply suncsreen to the face.

I also use borax as a scrub for my body, I used to have back acne and they are almost gone, my skin feels like silk. I swear by borax.

PS: I've also tried topical antibiotics, systemic antibiotics, retin A, daily zinc lotions and zinc potions, glycolic acid peels, a and d lotion, lavendar oil, various soaps, and everything the drug store offers (benzol peroxide, salicilic acid), apple cider vinegar, and probably everything that looked promising on earthclinic.

Carrots, and avoiding the foods mentioned above, beat those things in effectiveness.

Castor oil. Made my adult hormonal acne much worse. May be good for scars though, so I kept it for a scar on my leg.

I am in my 40's with a mild case of PCOS and have dealt with acne since I was 19. In the past 16 months I've found things that help.

Eating raw carrots OR carrot juice can help with acne considerably. According to Ray Peat (Google him), carrot fiber reduces amounts of toxins in the gut that contribute to hormonal acne. He also suggests that activated charcoal has the same effect. So, in this case, it's the fiber, and not the carotenoids that do the trick. On the other hand, we all know that vitamin A has an impact on acne, so carrots may help in that way too.

I've recently read a post by Ted that drinking carrot juice before meals lowers the blood sugar, which is interesting because carrots are a high sugar food. There is a strong correlation between high sugar levels in the blood and acne, so this might be the triple whammy. I keep a bag of organic baby carrots in the fridge and munch on them in the mornings (4-7 baby carrots - equivalent, I suppose, to one large carrot. ) Doing so has considerable improved my acne.

When I get sick of eating carrots, I take a few activated charcoal caps in the morning instead.

Lastly, when I've neglected to do those things, and I break out terribly, I (after immediately incorporating those back into the diet) have had success in clearing up the acne quickly by rubbing a lemon over the breakout after washing my face, and before I go to sleep. (I have fair skin - the first night doing this, my face turns bright red.)

Another thing that really helps me is drinking peppermint tea regulalry. Don't know why it works. I avoid soap, except for liquid castille. Coconut oil internally and externally did not help whatsoever.

Liver support helped quite a bit - detoxing, N-A-C (600 mg day) and Milk Thistle (1, 000 mg 4 x day during breakouts) and this is another thing I do when I get the occassional bad breakout (usually after neglecting my carrots.) In my case, there is a strong gut/liver health component to my breakouts. Keep in mind that there are different causes. Middle aged women with hormonal acne may have a cause different from a teenage boy.

I eat a low sugar diet, and that also helps. When I have bread (less than once per week), I usually get a zit within a few days. Rice doesn't seem to have this effect. I think that tomatoes could be a problem, still experimenting with that. Peanuts are a huge problem, as are any nut or seed oils that are mostly polyunsaturated fats. Eliminating those from my diet helped many things, including acne.

Zinc helps, and I take it a few times per week. Rubbing the face with calamine lotion provides zinc and also dries out the pimples. And ice cube on a zit, held there for as long as possible, breaks down the tissue, and allows the body to remove the debris. I read this in an acne book a decade ago, and all I know is that it does help.

That said, I have not completely cleared my acne but I also drink milk and coffee daily, so those may be contributing. Carrots (or charcoal), some zinc, avoiding polyunsatrated fats, drinking peppermint tea, and liver support vitamins have improved the condition by about 90%. Iodine makes my acne worse, and I am aware of the protocols to increase salt and other nutrients to reduce acne while on Lugol's.

Things that haven't worked:

• Magnesium applied topically (but I think this works for teenage boys)
• Face masks
• Proactive
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Coconut oil
• Castor oil (made acne much, much worse)
• tea tree oil applied topically
• B vitamins (but they work for other things)
• Probiotics

I'd just say yes to carrots first thing in the morning, or on an empty stomach, as a first step if you're dealing with adult acne.

Yeah. Better but not cured for hormonal acne.

Have used this for six months. If I drink several cups of this per week, I notice fewer breakouts. Although it did not cure my hormonal acne, I wouldn't be without it because the improvement is noticeable.

Other thing that helps is either raw carrots consumed on an empty stomach and activated charcoal caps (they both do the same thing so take either/or.)

From my experience, I am over 30 and suffer from adult acne occasionally I apply BHA for months and it does help from acne occurring again. Also home remedies such as banana peel, olive, avocado, and honey are a great help for making acne disappear without leaving spot and scar.

I accidentally came across some information on using Olive Leaf, Nettles and Green Tea for acne, and found it to be surprisingly effective (after trying countless other things). I Googled each of these three things individually for acne, and there were a lot of sites that showed people had immense improvement, so I just started taking all three supplements and couldn't believe the results.

It is best to use herbs that say "standardized" and/or "guaranteed potency" to ensure you're actually getting the strength and amount the label lists. I took two olive leaf capsules and two nettle leaves capsules in the morning and in the evening (although if your condition is very bad, you can take a dose at lunch, as well).

I also took Green tea extract (either the herbal liquid tincture or herbs makes a liquid cap that works better than a powdered green tea capsule-- at least in my experience) a couple times a day. Drinking the actual tea is good to do too.

Make sure you are getting adequate vitamin and mineral intake, as well. For skin, especially Vit. C, A, E, and the minerals zinc and selenium. Also, Essential Fatty Acids like fish oil (EPA/DHA).

Lots of great acne tips here. If you drink 1 tbs baking soda in a glass of water and 1 or 2 tbs apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, it will make your body alkaline (rather than acidic - the US diet is almost 100% acidic which promotes... Cancer and disease). An alkaline body actually makes your body a very poor host for disease and bad bacteria. Having an acidic body is like posting your houseparty on Facebook... They ALL show up. Incluing acne.

I would also suggest a wakeup and before going to bed rinse of your face with a cottonball or cottonpad dampened with witch hazel. It gently removes a lot of the oil from your skin without drying you out. Keep a small bottle of it with you during the day and it is great for a midday removal of any oil that may accumulate on your face.

Research the skin vitality vitamins, minerals and supplements also. A base vitamin regime of a multi vit/min, vit C, vit E, vit D will help keep that healthy glow to your visage and prevent you from getting sick with all the colds and flu that come around. The US diet is very deficient in vitamins and minerals, one of the reasons that hypo/hyper thyroidism is so prevalent. 90% of Americans checked have low levels of vit D (get more Sun... But choose short exposures), magnesium and vit B12. In the past 30 years the soil has been depleted, so you cannot trust the produce to provide vits/mins anymore. Some vits/mins are as much as 90% less than 3 decades ago. Take your vitamins.

Also be aware of the 3 stooges that appear in virtually all processed food and drink. Aspartame, MSG and high fructose corn syrup. They are excitotoxins which play havoc on your digestive, neuro and endocrine systems... Which could manifest as acne breakouts. If you switch to an organic diet you will find you eat less (because your body is geting nutrition and doesn't need to signal you to gorge so that it gets the proper amount of nutrients).

Sleep much? 8 hours or more per night to ensure that your face gets the restorative and healing rest it needs. Research good sleepijng methods and be sure that you have a comfortable, dark (wear a face mask if necessary) and peaceful place to rest.

Good luck!

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

I've had great results with green tea. I replaced coffee with green tea and I was pretty surprised. I was more clear the very next day. BTW, I am in my 40s and dealing with hormonal acne.

I had terrible cystic acne. Tried a lot of things. Was told to try sauerkraut. I got the good kind (bubbies) sold at whole foods. I dont think regular brands work. This kind has lots of good bacteria. I'm not exaggerating when I say my skin was clear in three weeks. I battled with terrible skin for 10 years. Apparently, the live bacteria balanced something in my intestines and my skin cleared up. Please try it. Each jar is less than $5. I ate about 1/3 each day.

You might also want to reconsider what you're eating. Acne is usually the result of incompatible foods or imbalanced hormones. Even if the sauerkraut helps, there might still be an underlying issue that manifests in another way. Trust me, I'm living it.

Good luck!

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

I've been fighting skin parasites or something on my face for 2 years chronically and 8 yrs of 'acne' previously. Tried Ted's remedy in capsule form as recommended on curezone. I would not use in that way again, and would follow Ted's recipe of putting it in water to sip throughout the day.

I quit the cure after a few days due to the effects the borax had on my mental state. It was almost like a drug in the way it made my mind feel very aware. If I wanted to get off legally without being out of control, I would use borax.

I think I would try it again, using a very very small dosage, maybe even smaller than Ted's. A side effect that I liked was that the horrible bad breath I had experienced for a year went away within a day or two and stayed away for a couple of weeks. Perhaps my breath still stunk to other people, but the horrible disgusting taste in my mouth when I woke up was gone.

A very good treatment for acne is Lysine. It is very cheap and can be found in any store's vitamin section. It typically comes in 500mg pills. I'll chew up 2 or 3 of them a day when I have an acne outbreak and it'll be gone in no time. Hope this helps and good luck.

I can't stress how much thoroughly washing my face has made a difference in the feel of my skin. Normally I would lather the soap on my face and immediately rinse. The surface of my face would get clean, but keep in mind most of the skin on our faces is about seven layers deep. It takes more than a quick rinse to thoroughly cleanse.

Now I lather and massage in a circular motion for a couple of minutes. Sometimes if I had been wearing a lot of makeup or something that day I will wash my face twice.

After the first time you do this you will literally feel an immediate difference. Your skin will feel deep-cleaned.

A few years ago I started having severe skin disorders and ended up with severe acne. I've tried everything from honey masks, herbal detoxes and tinctures, colloidial silver, vegetarian, primal, mediterranean diets, etc etc, Even expensive facial creams and soaps stuffed with glycolic acids and AHAs. And while I can delight in two-three pimples at a time instead of 40, my skin still stresses under change in weather. It peels off and sheds profusely when it's cold out, but a few days ago... BAM! Hot, humid weather and my oil reserves see no end. I started breaking out again and desperate, I grabbed an old jar of Calcium Bentonite (the green-external-use-only-kind) and washed my face with it. It WORKED. All day my face had zero oil. And my pimples were drying out. Praise God for dirt that cleans my face!

Also, I usually don't write these things because the solutions never last long enough for me, but this one truly is a blessing, even if just for a few days. See, I had mixed it before with water/apple cider vinegar and left on my face to 'pulse' for suggested time.... Big no-no. It was way too harsh for my sensitive skin. But a little pinch mixed with a lot of water, massaged onto skin like soap, and immediately washed off works just right. I hope this helps someone else who has a big tub just sitting around! It's worth a try!

Yogi Tea makes a Skin Detox Tea that has great reviews on many different websites (amazon being one) in it's use for acne. I actually made my own version (not for acne, but for skin-glowing benefits) which does not contain the green tea as I am caffeine free (as far as beverages go - do enjoy chocolate! ). I also added several other herbs which I found in an online article for skin glowing tea. Many of the herbs flush out the system and help with digestion, blood purification, etc... So this tea could benefit most. In the article I read it was recommended to drink the tea for 3 weeks then take a 1 week break. Yogi's tea does not specify this that I know of, but many reviewers on amazon give in-depth descriptions of how/when they used the tea for results with acne.

My personal version of the tea wasn't anything special, just all the herbs I could find at my co-op, unmeasured and thrown together. I would go high on the hibiscus, orange peel and honeybush (plus green tea or any other flavor enhancer you like)... But all in all, it's good enough to drink : )

Burdock Root
Cardamom Pods
Dandelion
Hibiscus
Orange Peel
Yellow Dock
Sarsparilla
Sassafras
Honeybush (similar to roobois tea)
Oregon Grape Root
& powdered Stevia leaves for flavor (or honey)

Also on my list that the co-op didn't have or that I thought I still had at home (but didn't) were:

Rose petal
Red clover
Nettles
Cleavers

Yet another acne remedy I discovered while helping out a family member: Bentonite Clay applied with apple cider vinegar. A specific clay was touted: Aztec Secret - Indian Healing Clay. Apparently this is benitoite clay from Death Valley, Ca and has been baked dry at a certain temperature. I do not know if other benitoite clays have the same property as Aztec; I would assume so. My relative just started using it and reported improvement in skin but has a long way to go, and is of course making other changes in order to heal from this condition. Also, there are many types of clay which are beneficial for different skin types/issues, but this was the one I found to have the most reviews on Amazon and elsewhere in treating up to severe acne. But... It should be said that other clays would likely be beneficial.

It's been a few years since I've posted on earthclinic and this isn't one I have tried personally, rather found it online while conducting some research for a family member with this issue. There is a ton of info online stating that this method works even for moderate to severe acne because of the potassium and antioxidants contained in the peel. Because this is such a cheap and accessible item, and because I found glowing articles even on mainstream 'beauty' sites and such, I had to add it here. I recall info about peels for warts but did not know it helped acne.

I would suggest doing some reading online but essentially the method involves taking a fresh banana peel (yellow with brown spots works best, do not use green) and rubbing on the face for up to 10 minutes. The peel will get discoloured from rubbing on the face, and when that happens, new peel area should be used. Let this sit on the skin for some time. Some articles I read advised doing this up to 3 times per day.

I have pointed my family member in this direction and will report on the results. Surely if acne is severe many other measures should be taken, but this seems like a cheap and easy ritual to add in. It's all about good habits and remedies adding up. I wish I had known about it years ago!