Acne is the most common skin disease it has affected nearly 85% of the world’s population and we will check out some effective home remedies for acne.

Some acne treatments can be costly and may cause some side effects like dryness, redness, and irritation to your skin. Which leads people to look for natural treatments to cure acne at home. And the internet got tonnes of articles and suggestions around the world, but the question is do these treatments really effective?

Let us find out some natural home remedies for acne.

So what causes acne?

When the pores in your skin start getting clogged with oil and dead skin cells that’s when it starts developing acne.

These pores are connected to sebaceous glands, which in result produces an oily substance known as sebum. The extra sebum can boost sebum growth that in result leads to the growth of bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes or P. acnes.

Our white blood cells attack P. acnes, which leads to skin inflammation and acne. The cases of acne can be severe than regular ones, but some common symptoms include whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples too.

There are a lot of factors like genetic, hormone change, diet, stress, infection contribute to developing acne. Nevertheless, let us see now how you can cure your acne problem at home.

1. Apple Cider Vinegar for Acne

Apple Cider Vinegar is made from fermented apples or unfiltered juice from pressed apples. And this vinegar is also known for fighting bacteria and viruses. It has several natural acids that shown to kill P. Acnes. (source1,2)

Even lactic acid has shown to improve the appearance of acne scars, whereas apple cider vinegar helps in drying up the skin that may prevent the development of acne scars in the first place.

How to use

  • Take 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 3 tablespoons of water and mix it well (Use of more water for sensitive.
  • After cleansing, apply water and apple cider mixture to your skin with a cotton ball.
  • Keep it for 10-20 seconds, and then rinse with water and let it dry.
  • You can repeat this process 1-2 times daily, as needed.

Summary: The natural acid in apple cider vinegar helps in destroying the acne-causing virus and helps in minimizing the scars. Applying the mixture to your skin may cause burning sensation or irritation, we recommend using the mixture carefully.

2. Use of Zinc Supplement for Acne

Zinc is a key nutrient it helps in cell growth, hormone production, immune function, and metabolism. It is studied that people with acne have lower levels of zinc in their blood than those who have clear skin, as zinc is the most studied natural treatment for acne.

Research shows that consuming zinc orally helps in reducing acne.

There was a research done on 48 patients undergoing acne issues, were given zinc supplements thrice a day. After 8 weeks 38 patients have to experience about 80-100% reduction of acne. (Source)

Zinc oxide has highest amount of elemental zinc at 80%.

For consuming zinc, the recommendation is about 40mg per day, so it is advisable as well not to exceed the limit or you can consult you, medical doctor, for the same. If you eat more zinc supplements, you will undergo stomach pain and gut irritation.

Zinc does not absorb well into our skin so applying zinc to the skin may not see the effects.

Summary: Individuals with acne tend to have a lower level of zinc than with people who are having clear skin. The research shows that consuming zinc orally can see the effects and reduce acne.

3. Remove Acne with Cinnamon and Honey Mask

Cinnamon and honey are high sources of antioxidants (source). In addition, research has proven that applying antioxidants to the skin is more fruitful at reducing acne than benzoyl peroxide and retinoid (source)

The antioxidants studied were vitamin B3, linoleic (omega-6) fatty acid, and sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP), which is a vitamin C derivative.

These anti-bacterial properties are not found in honey and cinnamon, but possibly other anti-oxidants have those similar properties to cure acne.

You can reduce inflammation and fight bacteria with honey and cinnamon too. They do benefit the acne-prone skin but they might not be used to treat your acne there is no such concrete study found.

How to make Honey & Cinnamon Mask

  • Get 1 tablespoon of Cinnamon & 2 tablespoons of honey and mix well till you get paste-like formation.
  • After cleansing your face, apply this mask to your face and keep it for 12-15min
  • Rinse the mask with normal water and make it dry.

4. How to use Green Tea to Cure Acne

As we, all know that green tea contains a high amount of antioxidants, and drinking green tea is good for health too.

Green tea contains flavonoids and tannins they are known to fight bacteria and helps in reducing inflammation, these are the 2 main cause of acne (source)

The anti-oxidants which is found in green tea is known for reducing the sebum production, that fights inflammation and inhabit growth of P.acnes in individuals in acne-prone skin(source)

Multiple research has found that applying 2-3% of green tea extract to the skin it will reduce the sebum production and in turn reduce the pimple in those with acne. (source)  there is a cream available at the store and amazon but it is also easy to make it at home.

How to Make Green Tea Mask at home for Acne

  • Put green tea in boiling water for about 3-4 min
  • Then allow the tea to cool down
  • Take a cotton ball, apply it to your skin or you can put it in a spray bottle to spritz on your face
  • Let it dry and then rinse it with water and pat dry.

Then you can take the remaining green tea and add in the honey to make a mask. Even there is no such quality research that green tea fights acne, but still, you can see the results and it is beneficial too.

Summary: Green tea has a high level of antioxidants that fight bacteria and reduce inflammation. In addition, applying green tea has shown good results in reducing acne from the face.

5. Moisturizing Skin with Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera produces gel and it is one of the best tropical plant. You can find the use of Aloe Vera gel in products like lotions, soaps, creams, ointments etc. it is used to cure abrasions, rashes, burns and other skin conditions.

Aloe Vera gel can also use to treat burns, heal wounds, and cure inflammations. The Aloe Vera gel has salicylic acid and sulphur, which are highly used to cure acne. (source).

Research has shown that using salicylic acid on your skin reduces acne problems significantly. (source) Exact same results can be seen when applying sulphur to your skin (source)

How to use

  • Remove the gel from the Aloe with the help of a spoon
  • Apply the gel directly to the skin like a moisturizer
  • Wash your face gently after it gets dried
  • You can apply it 1-2times a day

Summary – Aloe Vera helps in curing wounds, burns, and fight inflammations. It may also help in curing acne.

6. Exfoliating Skin for Treating Acne

Exfoliating means removing the dead skin a top layer of the dead skin. You can remove the dead skin by scrubbing or by using a brush on your skin. Exfoliated skin cells, which bind pores, are expected to strengthen acne.

Acne remedies for the skin are often expected to be more successful by allowing them to penetrate more deeply, as the top skin layer is removed.

In one small sample, 25 acne patients provided eight weekly therapies for microdermabrasion. Moreover, based on before and after photos this therapy helped to cure acne. (source)

There are a lot of products available at the store or you can get it online too or else you can make your own scrub at home.

How to make Scrub at Home

  • Get Sugar, (or salt) and coconut oil mix it well (take it equally as per the qty)
  • Scrub over your skin and then rinse it nicely with soft hands.
  • You can exfoliate as per your needs you can do it daily if needed.

Summary– Exfoliation removes the top layer of the skin and it also reduces your scars and discoloration appearance.

7. Cutting down the Use of Dairy Products

The correlation of dairy products with acne is a bit more controversial. However, consuming more dairy products or milk exposes yourself to hormones, and the hormonal changes may lead to acne. (source)

There are multiple research found that high level of milk consumption can lead to acne (source)

Summary– There are research showing consuming milk or dairy products leads to acne. You may limit the consumption of milk or dairy products in order to fight with acne. However, more study that is concrete is yet to be found.

8. Stress Causes Acne

In research, found that the production of sebum and skin inflammation increases and that gives a boost to acne. (source)

Here are more studies found that there is a relation between acne and stress, where stress makes acne worse. (source)

It is also found that stress can heal your wound 40% slower, which will affect the repair of acne too.

How to Reduce your stress

  • Sleep on time and get a good sleep
  • Exercise will help to reduce stress
  • Yoga, meditating
  • Take deep breaths

Summary– Hormones released during stress periods may aggravate acne. Stress reduction can lead to acne improvement.

9. Regular Exercise may Cure Acne

Exercise boosts blood circulation and promotes blood flow, nourishes the skin cells, which helps to prevent acne and as well heal acne-prone skin.

Exercising also promotes hormone regulations (source)

Several research studies found that exercise reduces stress and anxiety, and these are the two main factors that give a boost to the development of acne. (source)

We recommend you exercise at least 30 min 2-5 times a week, you can include walking, hiking running, weight lifting, yoga, etc.

Summary- Exercise promotes healthy circulation of the blood, regulation of hormones, and reduces stress.

Conclusion: Acne has many underlying causes as a common issue. Conventional therapies can, however, lead to dryness, redness, and irritation.

Fortunately, there are a lot of home remedies to get rid of acne. However the treatments may not work for everyone, but they are worth a shot.

However, we also recommend to see a doctor if your acne gets worse.

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Home remedies for treating acne