Natural Solutions for Acne

It is a sad reality that for many adults acne is not something that went away along with those awkward teen years. It can plague skin for years after puberty and those hormonal years. Many adults find that acne returns when the hormones do, as with pregnancy. Others find that it may be less dramatic than when they were younger but it never went completely away. This condition can make you feel awful and can put a real dent in yourself esteem and social life. This is made even worse when you’re let down over and over again by yet another “miracle” product that you discovered on an infomercial or from a well meaning friend.

The “miracle” is usually all in the marketing… as in “its a miracle if they don’t fall for this!” The sad fact is that most mainstream acne treatments make the problem worse and can even be harmful to your overall health because they are packed with nasty chemicals.

Why not try something different and use natural options to help alleviate and even get rid of your acne once and for all?

Natural Solutions for Acne

A Healthy Diet: A healthy diet is the very best thing you can do for your acne. The skin is an organ so if an organ is unhealthy you need to consider what is making it unhealthy in the first place. Our skin is used to eliminate toxins from the body. What are those toxins doing to our skin and how are they getting there?

Sugar is catastrophic for acne sufferers. It has been proven to cause an inflammatory reaction in the skin which makes acne worse (or even helps it develop in the first instance). Reduce or better yet remove all sugar from your diet and you will see a HUGE difference in your skin.You also need to give up grains though…they convert to sugar inside the body. Once I went paleo I noticed that even the occasional breakouts I used to have, stopped completely.

In addition to getting rid of sugar, eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Opt for an array of colors so that you can get the most antioxidant power in these foods into your system. Raw foods, green juices, and green smoothies do wonders for healthy skin. Uh… just look at Sarma. Whenever I stop drinking green smoothies I notice it in my skin… it gets dull and dry. When I start drinking green smoothies again… my skin plumps like I got Botox or something.

Reducing dairy or even eliminating it can also make a huge difference in regards to acne. Many experts believe that a vegan diet is the best way to keep the skin clear from acne. Many vegans swear this is true and have healthy skin to prove it.

Eating fewer grains/carbs, little dairy, and no caffeine are great first steps. And although chocolate on its own may not cause acne, it contains caffeine which can make acne worse.

Natural Remedies for Acne

Green tea: You can drink green tea to help relieve your symptoms, but you can also apply the tea directly to you skin. There are green tea creams available over the counter, but if you’re looking for a cheaper, easier way, just brew tea bags, then apply them directly to your acne.

Egg Whites: Applying egg whites to the face as a masque is a great way to treat your acne and immediately close your pores. In addition, it also gets rid of redness caused by your acne and can reduce the appearance of scars from previous breakouts.

Tea Tree Oil: While many people disagree about the causes of acne, or how to treat it, pretty much everyone agrees that it’s an infection or inflammation. And tea tree oil has long been used as a natural way to kill bacteria and treat skin infections.

Zinc helps strengthen your immune system so you’re better able to heal and even prevent your acne. Good sources for vegetarians include dairy products, beans and lentils, yeast, nuts, seeds and wholegrain cereals. Pumpkin seeds provide one of the most concentrated vegetarian food sources of zinc. Vegans can just ignore the dairy sources.

The absolute best part about natural acne treatments is that they also improve the general quality of your skin without damaging it or drying it out like traditional products can and do. Many of them have few or no side effects and they are safe.

Avoiding makeup is another important step. Your skin needs to eliminate toxins as it was designed to do. When we clog our pores up with makeup and oils it can’t do its job and it will protest with flare-ups.

Lastly, stress can cause big acne flare ups. Why else does a bride breakout before her big day? Try meditation or yoga to keep your stress levels low. This will not only help your acne symptoms but your overall health as well. I like to listen to meditation CDs or natural sounds CDs like waterfalls and birds singing when i am stressed.

Acne can be devastating but by using the tips above and starting a plan of attack you can start to see improvement. Use diet as your first weapon, reduce stress and apply a few natural treatments as necessary and you’ll see a difference in the overall health of your skin very soon.