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Best Natural Acne Treatments
Working through acne is a difficult challenge. In this blog post we’ll go over exactly what to do, what not to do, and what natural ingredients to look for, that have been proven to help you in your quest to reduce and eliminate acne.
Wash Problem Areas & Skin Gently Twice a Day. Gently is the key here. It helps to use a cleanser that is also gentle yet effective, like this one here.
Avoid Daily Scrubs but Once a Week. It's a good idea to stay away from daily scrubs to help keep your skin to calmed down and feeling less volatile. Scrubbing often can spread the bacteria that causes acne and it can make skin more inflamed and irritated, causing existing breakouts (which are basically small infections) to look and feel worse. Once a week will benefit your skin by removing excessive dead skin cells, help clear your pores, and break down hardened skin oils. Once a week will not shake your skin up or irritate it as a daily scrub might do.
Touch Problem Areas a Little as Possible. Not only is it tempting to touch your face, but it can be a hard habit to break if you lean on your hand while sitting, twirl your hair, or rub your eyes, etc. Do your best to occupy yourself with other tasks and stay away from spreading germs to your face.
Wash Hair Every Day. Washing hair every day will ensure that you are removing excess oil that could end up around and on your face. It doesn’t need to be a harsh or strong shampoo, but instead it can be gentle yet effective. Be sure to rinse very well, which helps remove excessive oils that collect in our hair and around our face.
Shower After Sweating. Sweating can draw bacteria and dirt to the skin, even if we can’t see it in our environment. Be sure to pack a towel and body wash before heading to the gym, or take a few minutes after a jog to wash off before carrying on with your day.
Protect Skin from Sun. Wearing a sunscreen that is safe for skin with acne is a very important step when it comes to acne treatments. Not only will it help keep skin calm and less irritated, but it will protect the skin from UV damage since many acne products can make our skin more sensitive to sun damage with exposure.
Keep Cosmetics Minimal. It’s easy to fall into the habit of wanting to hide and cover up our acne with lots of products, but the reality is that it’s going to harder for your skin to heal and breath with many layers. Stick to just a couple of products on skin - like a foundation and a concealer that you know do not irritate your skin and you’ll be giving your skin a better chance to reduce breakouts and irritation. Consider skipping the primer, powders, and setting sprays.
Protect Skin from Friction or Pressure (Keep it in a Breathable State). Keeping hair off of your forehead and wearing cotton blend clothing is a great way to reduce irritation and friction to problem acne area when determining the best acne treatments. On the contrary, wearing spandex and synthetic materials will only suffocate skin and prevent the natural healing process. Wounds heal best when air can get to them, and acne breakouts are just like wounds on our skin.
Find Healthy Ways to Reduce Stress. It’s easier to say than to do, but a great tool for acne treatment is to have little actions that help reduce stress. Listen to uplifting or happy music while exercising or walking on campus. Take some time to sit quietly and meditate or just try to be in the moment. Have an evening routine that is calming and relaxing. Even a hot bath is a quiet and relaxing way to bring our stress down a notch. Most importantly, remember that no one will remember this particular situation you're going through or maybe you won't find it so painful or difficult someday soon, and it should not weigh too heavily on you. These are all ways to reduce stress and ward off acne, which can end up worse when our bodies are reacting to stressful challenges with an influx of stress hormones that are proven to make it worse.
Top 4 Things to Not Do
Don’t Pick or Pop Breakouts. Of course it’s extremely tempting to pick and push breakouts, we’ve all done it. But the reality is, once you start, it leaves that area very red and irritated, and then you’ve probably made it worse by spreading the acne bacteria area to nearby parts of your face. As tempting as it is, keep the touching to an absolute minimum, so as to let your skin work through the healing process without making it worse.
Don’t Over Scrub Skin. While it’s very good to keep pores clear and exfoliate about once a week, constantly and daily scrubbing can exacerbate the situation. We love the feeling of super smooth, freshly exfoliated skin, but limiting this treatment to one time during the week will end up being the best plan for your skin.
Don’t Pile On or Layer Too Many Treatments and Products. Impulsively we want to buy every product that has good reviews and use them all once, but the truth is that using too many products at the same time can greatly irritate skin and leave it volatile and inflamed, making breakouts perhaps worse than they already are. The most optimal acne treatments are to limit product use to a couple of products at a time and consider coming back to the task later in the day with something else that you know will be beneficial. Keep they layers minimal and sparse.
8 of the Best Natural Acne Ingredients
Tea Tree. Tea tree is perhaps the most popular natural acne treatments, and for good reason. It’s easily accessible, affordable, and works fantastic for keeping skin clear or at least minimize breakouts and keeping them under control. Too much tea tree though can actually burn skin, so find a good product that has the proper amount and use it according to instructions.
Honey. Honey is naturally an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, so using it on acne only makes sense. Again this is a perfect acne treatments since it’s readily accessible in virtually every grocery store. Try to find one that is organic, and you can devise some incredibly helpful masks that can help calm skin and reduce breakouts.
Garlic. This is another very effective antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory product that can be used directly on skin to reduce acne bacteria and help skin heal. While it may not smell as beautiful as some other ingredients, it is one you can greatly benefit from in the evening if you are concocting a special mask treatment.
Green Tea. Great tea is a gentle and universally great skin care ingredient that can reduce sebum production and reduce inflammation, and it helps inhibit the growth of the acne bacteria that causes breakouts.
Aloe. Aloe vera has antibacterial properties that can help control and reduce acne-causing bacteria. Combinine with some honey and cinnamon, and all three will greatly help your skin as an at-home spa treatment. You'll be upping your chances at smooth skin that's acne-free.
Cinnamon. As mentioned above, studies show that cinnamon is an excellent choice for an acne treatments (or anyone for that matter) because it has the ability to kill acne causing bacteria and it is also an inti-inflammatory, which makes it great for calming irritated acne skin.
Rosemary. In lab tests, rosemary essential oil actually destroys acne-causing bacteria P. acnes. In addition to its antibacterial properties, rosemary can also be used to decrease redness and puffiness, which is helpful when treating cystic acne.
Salicylic. Salicylic acid has been around for a long time. It’s what aspirin is made of. It’s a much healthier option as a acne treatment than peroxide which can damage skin in the long run. Salicylic acid will help unclog pores and break down hardened sebum in hair follicles and pores.
AHA’s. Just like with salicylic acid, alpha hydroxy acids can help clear out pores and hair follicles, and remove excessive oils. It will also lift away and remove dead built up skin without being abrasive.
Our Acne Spot Treatment is a great way to includes these important ingredients - naturally and affordably.
