Natural Ways to Combat Acne

Open up almost any health care book and find acne listed along side hypertension and cardiac arrest. While acne may not be life threatening, it feels like it for a teenager when they find themselves “under attack” by angry red blemishes. The unwelcome skin disorder causes many a teenager and sometimes even adults to lose self-esteem and self-confidence.

What causes acne?

It is not caused by chocolate, or lack of sex. It is caused by hair follicles in the skin becoming clogged with fat or sebum and a combination of cellular material. While acne is more common in teens and is linked to hormonal activity experienced by the growing youth, it is not a plight suffered by teens alone. Teenagers may have pimples dotting their face, necks, back, chest, and upper arms, while acne is much more isolated for adults and usually only appears on the face.

What can your doctor do for acne?

It is up to your health care professional to diagnose and prescribe medications, but some of the choices might be:

• For females – certain birth control medications

• Topical medications containing benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, resorcinol or salicylic acid

• Retin-A

• Accutane

• Antibiotics

Antibiotics have side effects.

Mark Stengler, N.D. in The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies tells us “For treatment of acne, antibiotics must be used on along term basis. The acne returns when they are stopped. Unfortunately, tetracycline in not a magic bullet.”

Antibiotics do not discriminate against good (friendly) bacteria and bad bacteria. If antibiotics have been prescribed the patient may need to follow up with acidophilus to reintroduce the friendly bacteria into the system.

Some ways we can care for our skin to avoid acne:

• Wash your face once or twice daily taking care to keep your hands off of your face during the day.

• Use an over the counter product containing one of the ingredients mentioned in bullet point two shown above.

• When using a moisturizer on the skin use one labeled “noncomedogenic”. This type of product according to Well Advised written by the Institute for Research and Education has been tested and proven not to aggravate and cause pimples.

• Do not pop your pimples unless you have been taught the correct way to do so, as this can create infection and scarring.

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Dr. James A. Duke, PhD, author of The Green Pharmacy offers these natural remedies:

• Chamomile tea used either as a tea or a compress. It is useful to help relieve stress, inflammation and to treat bacteria. A word of caution here though as some are allergic to chamomile.

• Wild pansy – a teaspoon of dried herb boiled then steeped for ten minutes and drank as a tea.

• Witch hazel, used topically, is a potent and natural astringent which promotes healing and relieves inflammation.

• Carrots (pureed) – use topically for ten minutes, or ingest to aid in repairing and protecting the skin.

• Pineapples – puree in the blender and create an alpha-hydroxy acid facial which will remove dead skin cells revealing healthy new skin.

• Purslane – blend this with the pineapple and carrots if you like to create a facial.

Mark Stengler offers these:

• Burdock – He recommends 20 to 30 drops (0.5 milligrams) or 300 to 500 mg. in capsule form two to three times daily with meals. He advises to start slowly, and not to ingest if pregnant.

• Vitex  (Monk’s Pepper) or Chaste berry –  80 – 240 mg. 3 times a day.

• Milk thistle – this contains a natural anti-oxidant, silymarin complex  480 – 600 mg. daily

• Vitamin E – Take 400 – 800 mg. daily to improve the immune system.

• Flax seeds – the Omega 3 fatty acid help reduce the inflammation.

• Vitamin A – High doses can prove toxic. Many foods are a good source. Examples are spinach, kale, dandelion greens, beef liver, chili peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, milk, mangoes, broccoli and squash.

• Goldenseal – Can be used as a tincture, drank in tea or ingested by capsule. He advises 500 mg. daily.

• Saw palmetto – This herb reduces the sebum output. Use along with milk thistle, vitex and burdock.

• Tea Tree Oil – Apply topically.

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• Zinc – Start with 30 mg. 3 times a day then drop down to 50 mg. once a day.

• Calcarea Sulphurica (Calc Sulph) – Take 10 to 20 minutes before or after a meal.

None of this information is meant to replace your physician’s advice.

This is simply a researched article containing compounded information regarding acne and treatments that have been tested and found successful on patients. Each person is an individual and should consult with his or her health care provider before undergoing any type of medical treatment. Some herbs or supplements may cause allergic reactions or reactions to medications the patient is already taking, so please consult with your doctor first.

Take care and stay well.