Acne affects an estimated 85% of men and women at one point in their life. As a result, it rightly deserves the spot of being one of the most recurring and common skin conditions worldwide.
Unfortunately, conventional acne treatments can be expensive, and it sometimes leads to irritation, redness, and other nasty side effects. On the other hand, acne home remedies are popular natural herbal extracts and practices that help with acne.
Before You Start Using These Remedies
Before we start on the different home remedies for acne scars and home remedies for acne, it is crucial to understand what causes acne.
Acne occurs when the skin pores are clogged with dead skin cells, dirt, and oil. Each pore is connected to an oil gland that produces sebum or oil substance.
The substance is effective against drying the skin; however, overproduction of the oil can cause dirt and dead skin cells to latch onto the oil and clog the pores.
With the pores clogged, bacteria referred to as Propionibacterium acnes have the perfect breeding site for multiplication. When the white blood cells attempt to attach the bacteria, it results in inflammation, and ultimately acne—however, acne cases range in severity from one person to another.
Acne can also be due to fluctuations and imbalances in hormones, especially during puberty, menstruation, and menopause. For this, hormonal acne home remedies are an ideal way to treat the conditions with less likelihood of side effects.
Acne is incredibly delicate in a baby, and it is best to use baby acne home remedies. The condition develops a few weeks after birth and usually disappears after a while.
Acne scars home remedies that work fast are mostly naturally-derived or from an improvement in our lifestyle. For example, sleeping more, eating a balanced diet, not smoking, and a host of other healthy routines that we can adopt.
Acne occurs in different parts of the body and is of different types. Non-inflammatory and inflammatory acne are the two major classifications of acne.
However, regardless of the class, nodular acne home remedies and the home remedy for acne overnight are ideal ways to rid of acne from your home’s comfort.
Home Remedies for Acne Scars
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Reduce How Often You Stress Yourself
Stress is one of the possible causes of breakouts on the skin since it causes specific acne-causing hormones, like androgen, to increase and stimulate the oil glands and follicles. Not just this, stress often slows down the skin’s healing process and makes it hard to repair lesions.
Hence, you should attempt to avoid stressing yourself out. Although there are stress-reduction treatments, you can also adopt a healthy routine by sleeping more, meditating, and eating a balanced diet.
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Use The Right Skincare And Beauty Products
Cleansers and products with high acidity can irritate the skin and make your breakout worse. On the other hand, the right one can help with natural skin repairs and heal your skin. Oil-free products, for example, won’t block the pores and cause acne.
Hence, it will help if you avoid comedogenic or oily skincare products that contain ingredients that block the pores.
It is also essential to keep your skin hydrated to prevent overproduction of oil and irritation. Although there is no recommended water intake, you should adjust for the right quantity based on the temperature and how active you have been during the day.
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Don’t Touch Your Spots
Although tempting, you should not attempt to touch your sores and spots. This is because it can make the situation worse and lead to further breakouts.
The spots often contain bacteria and pus. When you pick it, you risk bursting the inflammation and spreading the bacteria to other healthier parts of the body.
Besides, frequently touching your face can cause you to infect the site with more bacteria. If the sores are too large, then it would be best if you speak to a dermatologist for ways to remove them effectively.
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Exercise Regularly
Exercise is an excellent way to ensure adequate blood circulation. It also increases the nourishments to the cells through increased blood flow. Plus, exercise helps to regulate hormones and is an ideal method to decrease anxiety and stress.
Hence, it would help if you exercise frequently. You can stick with the less engaging routines of meditation, yoga, deep breathing, or adopt other routines like jogging and running over long distances. Nonetheless, it would be best if you were consistent with it, say 30 minutes daily for up to five times a week.
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Exfoliate Regularly
Removing dead skin cells is another effective homemade acne treatment. By removing the cells, you won’t risk them clogging the pores. It also makes other acne treatments more effective as it allows them to penetrate deeper into the skin after removing the top layer.
You can either use a mechanical brush, scrub physically, or use a chemical to remove the dead cells. Although there are several exfoliation products for sale in stores, you can make your scrub from home. After all, our focus is on how to get rid of acne at home.
Mix coconut oil and sugar or salt and use it to scrub the skin. Rinse after exfoliating and repeat the process until you are satisfied with the result.
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Reduce Dairy Consumption
Studies and researchers have found a link between acne and milk consumption. Hence, it will help to cut down on your consumption of dairy and dairy products, especially if your skin is acne-prone.
Dairy products often cause hormonal changes that may cause you to risk acne breakouts; hence, they should be avoided.
Like milk, you should cut down on your consumption of sugar and other oily foods. When you consume too much sugar, your body produces more insulin, and insulin can lead to the overproduction of oil and inflammation.
Therefore, it would help if you reduce your consumption of sugar and dairy products.
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Use Tea Tree Oil
Spot treatment with tea tree oil is another effective home remedy for treating acne. The oil has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties that can help in the fight against acne. It can also reduce the swellings and redness of your breakouts.
However, you should know that tea tree oil is potent. Hence, it would be best if you dilute it before you use it on your skin. You should mix it in water and use a cotton swab to apply it to the affected skin areas. You can apply a moisturizer if you want.
Repeat the process once or twice a day. You can also mix the oil into your essential oils or creams.
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Use Zinc Supplement
Zinc is crucial to immune functions and metabolism, hormone production, and cell growth. Hence, it is regarded as one of the natural ways to get rid of acne. Oral zinc intake reduces the chances of a breakout.
Zinc is available in different forms, and each contains a varied amount of zinc. However, zinc oxide contains 80% elemental zinc.
You can take 40 mg daily, but under a physician or doctor’s supervision since too much zinc intake can cause gut irritation and stomach pain.
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Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil, like Tea Tree oil, is another natural oil that will help as a home remedy for acne. The waxy substance in the oil helps repair damaged skin and helps with a faster skin healing process.
It also helps with inflammation and reducing swellings around the site.
Like you did with the Tea Tree oil, you can mix Jojoba oil into your face mask, gel, or cream. Another way is to use a cotton pad to transfer the oil over the spots and rub it gently.
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Moisturize Your Skin With Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera leaves produce a clear gel that you can add to soaps, ointments, and creams. When applied to the skin, it works against inflammation, burns, and aids the skin’s healing process. It is also used to treat abrasions, rashes, and other skin conditions.
Aloe Vera contains sulfur and salicylic acid; both ingredients are used to treat acne. What you can do is scrap the gel with a spoon and apply it directly onto your skin to do the work of a moisturizer.
Feel free to repeat the process until you get the result you desire. However, be careful not to use Aloe Vera gel that has been mixed with other ingredients.
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Use Honey And Cinnamon
The use of honey for treating skin conditions has been around for thousands of years. Honey contains antioxidants that are handy for cleaning debris and waste from the pores.
It is also used in dressing wounds thanks to its healing and antibacterial properties.
Like honey, cinnamon can help with inflammation and fighting bacteria. Use a cotton pad or your finger to rub a bit of honey or cinnamon into your acne site.
Another way to use it is to mix the two to form a paste and apply it as a mask on your face. However, be sure to rinse it away from the face to keep it dry.
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Use Green Tea
Green Tea contains a high concentration of catechins, a group of polyphenol antioxidants that help break down waste products and chemicals. It also contains tannins and flavonoids that help to reduce inflammation and fight bacteria. Thanks to its rich content, green tea helps clear out waste build-up on open sores and reduces oil production.
You can boil the Tea for a few minutes and spray or apply it to the skin. Wait for a while and rinse your face after it dries.
Alternatively, you can drink the Tea as it lowers insulin levels and your blood sugar.
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Use Garlic
Traditional practitioners often recommend garlic for treating infections and helping your body fight infections and germs. The reason is that garlic contains elements of organosulfur and has natural anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. It also boosts the immune system for fighting infections.
You can add garlic to your diet. Better still, you can make it into a drink or chew the cloves. You can also buy the capsules or powders from health stores around you. Be careful, though, as applying it directly to the skin can cause further irritations.
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Coconut Oil
Like other home remedies for acne, Coconut oil contains antibacterial and anti-inflammatory compounds that can reduce swelling and redness of pimples.
It also destroys acne-causing bacteria and is handy for speeding up the skin’s healing process and open sores.
You can rub the oil directly onto the site or mix it with your cream or gel and apply it.
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Fish Oil Supplement
Fish oil supplement is high in omega-3 fatty acids. Although fats should be present in foods, we often don’t get the required amount. However, fish oil contains docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), two types of omega-3 fatty acids.
EPA and DHA decrease inflammatory effects on the skin and help with oil management. By implication, it helps to maintain hydration and prevents acne.
Like zinc, there is no specific recommended daily intake; however, most organizations recommend between 250-500mg for adults.
If you don’t want the medication, you can get omega-3 fatty acids from sardines, salmon, walnuts, ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, and anchovies.
Conclusion
There are several ways to answer the question of how to treat acne naturally. However, what we have shown you is how to get rid of acne at home. Quick acne home remedies work for different parts of the body, depending on the condition’s severity.
Read Next: How to use these remedies to make homemade face masks for acne scars.
For example, nose acne home remedies are not always different from neck acne home remedies.
Therefore, this underlines the fact that good acne home remedies are handy for treating acne. As a result, you don’t have to deal with the uncertainty of spending too much on prescriptions and medications that could have side effects.
Not just for prevention, there are homemade acne scar remedies that help to correct the wrong and injustice of scarring caused by poking at the site of the infection.