With the heat of this summer having me sweating more than ever, leading to more clogged pores, more stress on my body, more dehydration, and thus, more acne, it was time to turn to nature to help deal with it. These are remedies I use when I see a spot is going to come up and want to stop it in its tracks. These remedies, for me personal skin type (normal – dry with rosacea), help reduce the spot that would have otherwise taken over my face. When it comes to skin, different things work for different people, so this may not work for everyone, but if you haven’t tried them before it’s worth giving it a shot!
- Tea Tree Oil
- Tea Tree oil has antibacterial properties which means it can help kill one of the specific types of bacteria that causes acne
- Tea Tree oil also has anti-inflammatory properties, which helps reduce swelling of acne
- This means tea tree oil is both good when acne first starts to appear, as well as when it already comes up and you want to get rid of it quickly and effectively
- Just take a small dab of a high quality tea tree essential oil and put it directly on the acne spot 1-2x per day until it disappears
- Frozen Strawberry
- Strawberries are great for acne because they contain Vitamin C, which is anti inflammatory, as well as salicylic acid which gets rid of dead skin cells that may clog your pores, and reduce the overall size of your pores. Therefore, strawberries are great both for preventing and treating active acne.
- Ice is known to be anti inflammatory as well, and reduce redness and pain in acne.
- I personally take a frozen strawberry and spend a couple minutes 1-2x per day rubbing a frozen strawberry on the active acne. You may feel like you look a bit funny with this one, but it personally really works.
- Making at home face masks with strawberries can also be beneficial for preventing acne and potential anti-aging properties. The anti-aging properties are due to the strawberries containing ellagic acid, which prevents UV damage, and thus collagen breakdown.
- Aloe Vera
- Most people know that aloe vera is brilliant for treating burns and wounds, but did you know it can also help with acne breakouts? This plant is also antibacterial and anti-inflammatory.
- With the several properties it contains it is both great for prevention of acne, and healing active acne.
- My suggestion would be to use this as a daily night time moisturizer to help overall skin health.
