You, or someone you know, has been terribly affected by acne. Acne happens when pores are infected (or clogged) with bacteria on our faces. This results in a horribly disgusting breakout that can be hard to treat, if you’re not careful.
Thankfully, here are a few easy home remedies you can use to treat your breakouts. Though there is not a lot of scientific evidence supporting these remedies, a lot of people (myself included) swear by them.
1. Sweat, Blood and Tears
Exercise is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves. There is no person alive who can argue that. Even though exercising constantly can be a chore—especially if you’re not used to it—sweating heavily is a phenomenal way of quickly taking care of your breakout. This is because sweat is anti-bacterial.
Sweating makes the top layer of your skin softer – releasing trapped sebum. Sebum is that oily secretion from sebaceous glands, which are tied in to hair follicles. Sebum is entirely responsible for lubricating the skin. When sebum is trapped and has nowhere to go, your skin gets oily as a result and makes your face look hardened and greasy. Your lymphatic system (which clears your skin) is also dramatically stimulated.
2. Tea Tree Oil
I can’t tell you how many people swear up and down about the many benefits of tea tree oil. From being a deodorant, antiseptic, inflammation reducer, mouthwash and more… it can also be used to eradicate bad bouts of acne.
This is because it’s anti-inflammatory and antibacterial – therefore reducing the swollenness and redness of irritated pimples. You can use essential oils, modified gels or creams – all through the use of applying tea tree extract. Feel free to use an essential oil diffuser for magnificent aromatherapy benefits.
3. Green Tea
Green tea has been touted as one of the best liquids you can take for maximising your health – and for good reasons. Green tea contains flavonoids and tannins, which reduce inflammation and go to war against bacteria. These are significant antioxidants—as well as epigallocatechin-3-gallate—that fortify your health. It is similar to fortified acne serum that gets your oily face clean in a jiffy.
4. Jojoba Oil
Jojoba’s natural oil has waxy substances that repair damaged skin. This is because seeds from the jojoba shrub are extracted to reduce skin inflammation. Jojoba essential oils can be mixed into gels, creams and clay face masks.
5. Honey and Cinnamon
Honey and cinnamon combined work together extra hard to fight the factors that trigger acne. This is because both honey and cinnamon are rich with antioxidants, which has shown to reduce acne more effectively than benzoyl peroxide and retinoids. Mix 2 tablespoons of honey with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon until you form a paste. Cleanse your face and apply the mixture to your face for 15 minutes. Rinse and pat face dry.
Conclusion
For maximising the battle against breakout acne, be sure to incorporate vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) into your diet. It enhances the skin barrier, calms redness and inflammation down, and moisturises your skin naturally from the inside, where inflammation starts.
By tackling the inside layer of your skin (as opposed to focusing on the top layer), you will take care of acne breakout faster. Foods high in this nutritious vitamin include mushrooms, avocados, sunflower seeds, milk, sweet potatoes and lentils.
It is important to consume B5-rich foods instead of constantly drying out the top layer of your skin. Doing so merely irritates the top layer and acne, which is useless.
