While doctors provide some relief from acne breakouts with antibiotics, birth control pills, and other prescription drugs, the cost in both money and your health has you looking for other ways. Doctors heal people, however some of the powerful drugs they use also have powerful side effects. That is why many people often look for a natural remedy for acne.
Natural acne remedies can include things that go inside your body and substances that you use directly on the acne. Some foods, including herbs, provide additional vitamins and minerals to help the skin fight the effects of an acne breakout.
Acne comes from dead skin cells that don’t shed properly and mix with excess sebum produced by the body. The two block the small hair follicles and create a bump on the skin. This is the perfect environment for acne-causing bacteria to grow. The more bacteria grow, the more their debris inflame the skin and eventually spread to other parts of the skin.
What goes on inside your body should be foods that help prevent the buildup of androgens, the hormone responsible for causing the release of extra sebum. It should also contain the good nutrients for the skin. The healthier your skin is, the better chance it has of not sticking together to block pores or fighting bacteria growth. Since everyone has the same bacteria, but bacterial overgrowth doesn’t affect everyone, it just makes sense to improve your diet. Best of all, while this may not help enough to prevent all breakouts; it can only help you and will not harm you.
Not all healthy foods are healthy for acne. Citrus fruits contain phytoandrogens that could worsen your condition. These plant hormones trick the body into producing more sebum and that leads to additional blemishes. Other foods that contain phytoandrogens include wheat germ and wheat germ oil, coconut, parsnips, spinach, celery, corn, garlic, onions, oatmeal, and pine nuts.
Other items in the kitchen can help you curb acne. One of them is oatmeal, which is used as a mask and facial scrub. If you cook a batch and let it cool to body temperature, then apply it to your face, it draws out impurities, removes dead skin cells, and tightens pores while it dries on your face. A little oatmeal mixed with a small amount of water and massaged on the face acts as an exfoliant as it removes dead and sticky skin cells.
Emu oil is an oil that comes from the fat of an emu, a bird that resembles an ostrich. This oil is antimicrobial and has the same chemical composition as the skin. Studies show that it helps treat antibiotic-resistant skin infection while stimulating the production of healthy skin. While this oil is often recommended by doctors to treat diabetic sores and surgical sites, it also helps clear other skin infections while maintaining the proper oil balance. This is particularly important for older acne sufferers.
Simply placing cucumber slices or tomato slices on your face while you rest is another natural acne remedy that many people find beneficial for their skin. The slight acidity of the tomato helps remove dead skin cells, like a very gentle chemical peel. Cucumbers moisturize the skin and soften sebum plugs while doing so so you can wash them off.
