Acne home remedies
Acne home remedies are nearly limitless in number and range from tips from grandma to Ayurveda inspired remedies. Not all of these remedies work for everyone and a certain amount of trial and error to find your favorite is required. Not included are remedies that contain hard to find or expensive ingredients.
The fundamental first step is to drink lots of water to flush toxins from the body and hydrate the skin. How much? Divide your body weight in half and drink at the least that many ounces of water a day. Also, include daily exercise to oxygenate your cells.
For pimples, apply toothpaste (not gel) or ice before going to bed to reduce the swelling. Other overnight remedies to reduce swelling include putting strawberry leaves on the acne, applying fresh mint or lemon juice and washing off in the morning. Applying aloe vera gel twice daily will speed up healing of a breakout. Proper cleansing will speed healing and prevent future problems.
Several things to try to reduce oiliness include washing your face twice a day in warm salty water or vinegar diluted 1 to 10 with warm water. Treatment with masks can help resolve breakouts. Mix the juice of one lemon with an equal quantity of rose water and apply this mixture to the affected area and let it remain for about half an hour before washing with water. Or just clean face with cotton wool dipped in rose water two to three times daily.
A refreshing, cooling mask that is also good for sunburn is a cucumber blended to a pulp and applied for a half hour. Topical treatment that can be applied directly to the acne can be as simple as gently rubbing a garlic clove on each spot. A less smelly application is a mix of 1 ml each of witch hazel, tea-tree and sweet fennel essential oils plus 300 mls of water. Shake before use, as the oils will float to the top of the water during storage. Dab affected areas with cotton wool two or three times a day. The oils will clean and unclog giving antibiotic-like protection to the skin.
A very effective favorite is to grind orange peel with some water into a paste and apply on affected parts. For some, nutmeg mixed in a small volume of milk and applied directly to the spot clears it up quickly. Finally, in addition to a good diet and vitamin supplements, you can nourish your skin from the inside by drinking four cups of nettle tea daily.