The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Lemongrass Tea
Posted by Libraloveshealth (Los Angeles, California) on 02/27/2017
★★★★★
I was pretty surprised to not see lemongrass up here. Lemongrass is the best treatment for acne. It just can be a bit difficult to get a hold off consistently because it is an exotic and can be a bit hard to find. Drink 1 to 2 cups each day of lemongrass tea, The best would be with fresh lemongrass cut up and boil it for 10 mins then allow to steep in the pan a bit. along with a good diet this will clear up your acne within a few days. It also makes your skin have a very beautiful glowing effect. I highly recommend this it is great!
Black Mud Soap
Posted by Samantha (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 07/24/2016
★★★★★
Another AMAZING remedy (topical) for acne that I want to mention is Black Mud Soap from the Dead Sea. It draws impurities right out of your skin, and clears up acne like you wouldn't believe. I think it also has actually helped to fade the red marks/scarring I had. You can use it all over your body and face. If you use it on your face, make sure to moisturize after because it can be a bit drying.
Sauerkraut
Posted by Samantha (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 07/24/2016
★★★★★
Raw, unpasteurized Sauerkraut works wonders for clearing up acne!! You have to buy the kind at a health food store or a local farmer's market. The kind at the supermarkets are pasteurized and unhealthy and will actually feed yeast. Raw sauerkraut kills yeast, it's a natural probiotic, and I believe that candida (yeast) can contribute to acne. You can start out taking 1 teaspoon and work your way up to a few tablespoons a day. Go slow. When you add something super healthy like this into your body, you can get a healing crisis. It is also a good idea to cut out all concentrated sugars, like honey and fruit juices, candy, chocolate, soda, and eliminate all dairy from a cow. Almond milk is a great substitute for milk, and goat and sheep cheese are great, too. Dairy from a cow is notorious for causing acne!
Wash Only With Water
Posted by Kglaser (Lincoln, Nebraska) on 02/16/2016
★★★★★
I have suffered with acne since I was a teenager. I have tried countless remedies. The one that has helped me finally be rid of this affliction costs nothing and was 100% effective for me. I came across a research article about the antimicrobial lipids at the surface of skin. Natural skin oils can even kill MRSA. I will post the article for you to read.
What I decided to do, after reading this article, was stop washing my face for a few days to see what would happen. I have oily skin so my face looked oily, but my spots started disappearing, too. And my skin became a little flaky. The 3rd day, I took a wet washcloth and lightly scrubbed my face to get the dry flaky skin off. What was revealed underneath was clear, glow-y skin.
After searching on the internet about the benefits of not washing your face, I realized this information is already out there. Some call it the caveman regimen. Basically, you only wash your face with cool to warm water once a day, or every other day, and pat dry.
Don't strip your skin's natural protective layer away with harsh soaps and creams. Let your skin's natural antimicrobial lipids do their job.
Here is the research article: http://www.jlr.org/content/49/1/4.full.pdf+html
French Green Clay and Turmeric Paste
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 10/03/2015
★★★★★
Over time, Mmsg has suggested using clay to a variety of people seeking help on EC, and sometimes mentions French Green Clay, I believe. I have used Bentonite Clay for years and it is wonderful. But I love to experiment with new natural products so I bought some French Green Clay. It is supposed to be good for acne, and I have been trying out some different things for teenager acne. (I have 4 teenagers, though they actually have pretty good complexions.)
I woke up this morning with a cystic type pimple on my own face. It was irritating me and was painful. I admit that I broke the rules and tried to pop it but that hurt a lot and didn't work. I took equal parts of French Green Clay and turmeric and mixed that with enough water to make a paste. (About equal parts of water and powders.) I put that on the pimple and went about my morning at home. After a few hours I washed it off, gently, which took several minutes as it had dried to my face. It had drawn infection to the surface and I was able to get it out quite easily.
I applied a little more of the clay paste for another hour or two. Now at the end of the day, the pimple is 90% better, and not painful or noticeable. So, thanks Mmsg for introducing me to this clay!
~Mama to Many~
Baking Soda
Posted by Jenny (Red Deer Alberta Canada) on 05/28/2015
★★★★★
I have suffered from painful acne break outs for years and couldn't find a safe solution that didn't involve pills till now! I took baking soda mixed it with a mild facial cleanser and added tea tree oil to it and used it to scrub my face and body than followed with a tea tree mask from the body shop and my skin feels amazing!!! My skin hasn't felt like this since I hit puberty, not naming how many years ago, lol, but none the less my face and body feels great! I even used it on the areas I shave on my body, yes I shave not wax cause i' m a wimp but I used it there and it is working to get rid of any in grown hairs I had! I hope this might work for you. it says baking soda here but I used both baking soda and tea tree oil for this.
Baking Soda
Posted by Inkblot (New York, New York) on 01/23/2015
★★★★★
I get stress related acne, which drives me absolutely nuts, which I've had limited success treating. I'm lucky in that the acne itself isn't constant but it is frequent and if I pick at it at all (and I'm a picker) it does leave marks that last for at least a month. I recently started a combination of baking soda and mango butter that has been amazingly effective. I've been washing my face at night with hot water - using the baking soda like a scrub and before my face has the chance to dry applying this wonderful mango butter cream. My acne started clearing up in just a few days and the existing marks have also been healing faster than usual.
Baking Soda
Posted by G (San Diego) on 03/11/2013
★★★★★
I've come to realize the only thing preventive for my acne (and healed my acne) now is the use of baking soda (A&H) everyday. The way I use baking soda is mixed inside my normal face wash(soap)(I use all natural face wash too). I mix baking soda in my shampoo and body wash as well. I only use natural soaps and I realize they don't make me feel very clean so I mix baking soda with them. I use quite of bit of baking soda. Make sure that you don;t scrub your face with just baking soda. Mix it first. You can use this remedy once a day or twice a day until your face clears up. I use it every day almost. The acne will clear up and then you can alternate between washing just with regular face soap and then the next time mixture of baking soda and soap.
My face is clear.
I haven't found a over the counter face moisturizer so I use regular cow butter. Sounds gross, but once I got clear skin, I only needed to moisturize it. Coconut oil made me break out. Do not leave butter on face for too long. I wash off thoroughly with regular face soap (not baking soda soap) and I feel great and I think I look great. I put the butter on my neck and massage my face.
I'm not a doctor and this may not work for anyone else. Butter has diminished my wrinkles.
Baking Soda
Posted by G (San Diego) on 03/25/2013
Okay so I raved about baking soda clearing up my acne but I think my skin dried out too much and now I have to use borax (20 mule) on my face to help it. My acne is alot better but not perfect.
I hope for the best! I'm not a doctor. I always say this.
Green Tea
Posted by Gentle (Indy, Us) on 08/11/2012
★★★★★
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.
Borax
Posted by Mable (Benalmadena, Spain) on 06/25/2012
★★★☆☆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.
Toothpaste
Posted by Christie (Bristol, Ct) on 04/29/2012
★★★★★
When I was travelling last week, I ate a chocolate and peanuty dessert at a restaurant. Well, within an hour I had a big pimple popping out on my chin. Peanut and chocolate combination will sometimes do this, esp if the chocolate has cocoa butter in it. I didn't have any pimple remedies with me, but I remembered reading about toothpaste for pimples. I dabbed some on my pimple and went to bed. The next morning, it was barely visible. I think it's the mint that works. Yea toothpaste!
Thyme
Posted by Rob (Manhattan, Ny) on 04/19/2012
★★★★★
Nature wins again... a new study showing preparations of Thyme extract are more effective than prescription creams...The beauty of nature is the vasteness of its elements that just may never be measurable and will forever remain unknown to us.
Argan Oil
Posted by Adriael (Atlanta, Ga) on 01/02/2012
★★★★★
Hi all, This may seem like a trendy post but I have had amazing results with Argan Oil. About 6 months ago my mild acne turned rather severe. I had about 80 little white bumps on my cheeks and about 5-6 on each side would flare up into small red pimples. My face was really starting to scar so I went to the dermatologist. She put me on Ziana cream and suggested oral antibiotics as well. As I did not want yeast infections I opted to try the topical Ziana cream (which is tretinoin and an antibiotic). I used this for several months with about a 10% improvement overall.
Finally I went on Amzon to buy some Argan Oil for my hair and noticed that a lot of reviews had said that it had helped with their Acne. I've been using it for about three weeks and I've had no new blemished and all my scars are healing. It's really been a miracle for me. This is my current routine morning and evening:
1: Use Clairsonic exfoliating brush to wash off makeup with a gentle cleanser (I just use a regular cleanser not an acne specific one).
2: Rub about 20 drops of Argan oil over my face and under my chin.
I wish I had before and after photos, but all my family and friends have remarked on the dramatic improvement.
Toothpaste
Posted by Barb (Suwanee, Ga Usa) on 09/26/2011
★★★★★
I suffered for many months at a time from perioral acne (red, bumpy, itchy, oily, flakey rash with pustules) around my nose and chin, and tried all the classic home remedies from AC vinegar to calamine lotion, to eating foods that fight infections, etc. Rubbing alcohol made it redder and it didn't cure it.
The cure? Change to Tom's Toothpaste with no fluoride. Regular toothpastes (common brands like Crest, Colgate, and all others) have fluoride and some other ingredients possibly. In one day the red bumps were calmer and not "active" and in about 2 days they were gone. My face was clear!! Such a simple solution, and I had struggled for about 5 months! As soon as I started fluoride toothpaste again after a week or so of Tom's, it usually broke out again. It isn't the toothpaste dripping on the skin, it is that the toothpaste has irritants which are absorbed through the membranes of the mouth lining, so it becomes an allergy to some people. Even mouthwashes & some sugarfree gums or mints which may be strong can cause flare-ups of perioral acne. My dermatologist had given me an antibiotic for this which did work, but then you're on antibiotics which make skin sensitive to sun. After weeks on Tom's you can usually go back to your regular toothpaste, but you'll know what to do if you feel the first itchy, red little bump...
Diatomaceous Earth
Posted by Natcat86 (Gaithersburg, Maryland, Usa) on 08/16/2011
★★★★★
I had really bad acne all over my face and neck with the random appearance on my chest, back, or shoulders constantly for 14 years (starting at puberty), and as time went on it only got worse (so it wasn't caused by changes in hormones as I was led to believe). I stumbled upon some information on Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and became intrigued because of its many proported benefits (I recommend looking it up). It is relatively unknown, and only sold for pest control and consumption by animals, (but you can buy food grade DE online) but since it is used to mechanically kill bugs in grain silos and just about every person who has ever eaten grain which was stored in a silo has eaten DE, I figured it would be safe and I would try it. DE is the fossilized shells of a type of algae called Diatoms. Their shells are extremely hard and very sharp (but yet not dangerous to your cells) and they mechanically scrub the walls of your intestines, scraping away any build-up. Some DE passes through the intestinal walls and into the bloodstream and while it is there it scrapes plaque buildup away from the walls of veins and arteries. It basicly acts like a plumber in your body.
I found that most cases of acne are caused by toxins entering the blood stream through the digestive system (some degree of leaky gut), not by a problem with the skin itself. It is your body attempting to expel the toxins from your blood. When you expel the toxins which originate in your digestive tract through the digestive system, they don't have the opportunity to make it into your blood stream and thus cause acne by pushing through your skin. So... I began adding 1tsp DE to water every day for a week, then increased it to 1tbsp gradually after that and drank it daily for 2 months. I noticed a difference my skin within a day. By the time 2 months was up I no longer had acne. I had to stop consuming it for a little while after that because I slightly threw my body off balance (my skin became a little dry). After a month off, I started consuming it again in moderation and have been ever since. I have been able to consistently keep the acne away as long as I continue to consume it at least a couple of times a week. I highly reccomend it because it is very effective and it gets to the root of the problem instead of just treating the symptoms. I now have had only a few pimples (instead of many hundreds) within the last 9 months, and I know that in time I will get them to go away completely.
