Are you bothered about acne?
We all have at one time or the other gone through the woes of acne, I ‘used to’ have mild acne in the past, and once, I had a severe case of back acne, It took the grace of God and a lot of trial and error before I finally got a cure. Acne can dampen a person’s confidence, leave scars on the skin, and make one feel less beautiful/handsome.
I’ll share tips on how diet and little things lying around the home helps in the treatment of acne. First, let’s know what acne is.
Acne is a common disorder of the oil glands in the skin and can appear on the face, back, shoulders, chest, and arms. In adolescents during puberty, sex hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands resulting in excess secretion of sebum, a fatty oil that lubricates the skin. The glands become blocked and inflamed, which causes blackheads and pimples. If the glands become infected, sebum and pus buildup under the skin and larger pimples and cysts appear which can eventually lead to scarring and pitting.
In adults, stress, hormonal fluctuations, and possibly food allergies may be the cause of acne. Oral contraceptives can cause breakouts. Excess dietary iodine irritates the pores and can induce flare-ups. Iodine is found in iodized salt, shellfish, and fast foods in which an average meal can contain 30 times the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance). Acne may be caused by a deficiency in zinc. Zinc tablet—30 mg taken two or three times daily for several months, has been found to be as effective as oral antibiotics; Here are 9 home remedies I used and I’m still using.
Note: I’ll be using ‘face’ in this post, but it applies to every other places you have acne breakout.
Apply some apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a powerhouse when it comes to acting as an acne remedy. Why? It kills off the bacteria that may be causing all the trouble in the first place. It balances the pH of your skin, which in turn makes it harder for bacteria to thrive. To top it off it’s an astringent, like lemon juice, and will help dry up excess oil. Keeping that in mind, don’t overdo and dry out your skin too much. This could cause the sebaceous glands overproduce to compensate, therefore triggering an outbreak.
Directions
Wash your face with water and pat dry. Using a ratio of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water, dip a cotton ball into vinegar and apply it directly to the blemish. Leave on for at least 10 minutes, or overnight. Reapply several times a day, washing face thoroughly after each time. Make sure to use a moisturizer afterwards as well if you feel like your skin is getting dry.
Use of egg whites
Egg whites are an easy and affordable way to help reduce acne and fade scars left by unfortunate blemishes. The reason people have found egg whites to be helpful for their skin is because they’re full of proteins and vitamins that both combat acne, and help to rebuild your skin cells. They also soak up excess oil, which means excess sebum, just make sure to use a good moisturizer afterwards, as they can dry your skin out a bit.
Directions
Rinse your face with water and pat dry. Separate the whites from the yolks. You can use as many as you like, but normally 2 to 3 is enough. Whisk the whites until they’re frothy, and let them sit for a few minutes. Cover your face with the mixture (applying with fingertips is easy) focusing on problem spots. Allow the mask to sit and dry for about 20 minutes before rinsing off completely with warm water and a patting dry with a soft washcloth. Apply moisturizer appropriate for your skin type.
Papaya for the acne prone skin
Papaya is an essential ingredient in a lot of beauty products on the market today, but there’s no need to go out of your way to gain its benefits? Plain raw papaya is an all-natural acne remedy that removes dead skin cells and excess lipids from the surface of the skin, leaving it soft and smooth. Lipids are a general term for fats, of which oil is a form of. Papaya also contains an enzyme called papain, which reduces inflammation and helps prevent the pus from forming.
Directions
Rinse your face with water and pat dry. Mash up the flesh of the papaya well, until it is of a consistency that can be easily applied to your skin. Leave it on for 15-20 minutes, and then rinse off completely with warm water. If your skin has a tendency to get dry after you cleanse it, use a moisturizer appropriate for your skin type afterwards.
Make an orange peel paste
Oranges taste rejuvenating and refreshing, and our skin may find them just as appealing as our taste buds do. Acne that is caused by bacteria and extra oil/dead skin cells clogging up pores may improve with the use of an orange peel face mask of sorts, thanks to the vitamin C, citric acid, and its astringent properties. The vitamin C is particularly helpful because it promotes the growth of new healthy cells, keeping your skin in better condition overall.
Directions
Rinse your face with water and pat dry. Grind/pound up your orange peels (you could use a blender, mortar and pestle, whatever gets the job done) and add a little water to create a paste. Add a little at a time, as too much will make it too thin and runny. Once you have the right consistency, apply it to your face and/or problem areas. Wait for 20-25 minutes. Ideally the mask should be firm, but it can still work if it isn’t. Rinse off completely with water, pat your face dry, and apply a good moisturize.
Banana peel better for the face than for tripping a friend
Bananas are full of all sorts of goodness-even the part we don’t eat. Their peels contain something called lutein, an extremely powerful antioxidant that reduces swelling and inflammation, and encourages healthy cell growth. So…rubbing a banana peel on your face can reduce the redness, obviousness, and discomfort of acne.
Directions
Peel your banana and eat it- it’s not cool to waste, and they’re good for you. Take the peel, and rub in a circular motion all over your face. When you feel as though you’ve covered all of your face, let it sit for at least 30 minutes before rinsing it off.
The wonders of sodium bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate makes itself useful in too many ways to count. In the case of acne remedies, this fabulous substance (also known as baking soda) is useful thanks to its mild antiseptic properties, as well as its uncanny ability to fight off fungus and bacteria and dry up excess oil, all while exfoliating your skin and making it soft and beautiful. I know-I get star struck too now whenever I see a box of baking soda.
Directions
There are two ways to go about this-making a facial mask, or a straightforward scrub. For a facial mask, mix equal parts baking soda to water to form a thick paste. Massage the paste on in slow circular motions for a 2 minutes. Leave the mask on for around 15-20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with warm water, pat dry, and moisturize. For a scrub, mix a half a cup of baking soda with one eighth a cup of water. Apply the paste to your face, massaging it in well. After 5-6 minutes of this, rinse your face thoroughly with warm water, pat dry, and moisturize.
Dab some lemon juice on it
Lemon juice can help get rid of breakouts for a number of reasons. It is rich in vitamin C, which is good for all types of skin, and it’s a citric acid, so it helps ‘exfoliate’ the skin as well. Most importantly though, it is an astringent. An astringent will cause a contraction of body tissues, and will therefore dry out the blemish itself. It helps reduce redness. If you misplace a dab you may get a little white spot, but don’t panic- it will go away on its own accord. Rinse off any lemon juice before going out in the sun, as it may make you more sensitive to it.
Directions
Rinse face gently with water and pat dry. Dab fingers, or a cotton ball, in lemon juice and apply to pimple. If it stings, try mixing it first with a bit of yogurt.
Sugar scrub
Sugar, white or brown, helps get rid of the excess skin cells clogging up your pores by acting as gentle exfoliator. Mix it up with honey, olive oil, or just plain water, and you have a sweet scrub to help rid you of your acne problems
Directions
Mix 5 cubes of sugar with little water to form a paste, gently massage into your skin, leave for 30 minutes and wash off.
Wash your pillowcase
Technically, a pillowcase should be washed at the very least once a week. While most of us don’t practice this, when it comes to keeping your skin fresh and healthy, it might help to get a little picky about your pillowcase. If you never wash it, all the stuff that gets rubbed onto it then comes in contact with your face for around 6-8 hours every night, and can increase your acne. Keeping a clean, comfy place to rest your weary head is worth the hassle, isn’t it?
It is important to keep the skin clean and free from oil. Do not squeeze acne spots as they may become infected and leave scars.
Try as much as you can to limit refined sugar and foods. I know it isn’t easy, but try. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, they are powerful antioxidants. Stay Beautiful, Think healthy.
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