Whether you are 15 or 50, are always some things you can absolutely guarantee will turn up in your life at some point.
Opportunities to have fun and play yes, but also bills, falling in love (or at least in fascination) with someone, cuts bruises, taxes and pimples.
Acne and pimples seem to be the thing that turns up usually at the absolute worst or most annoying time.
Like for instance, before proms, your (or your best friends) wedding day, right before a job interview,or photo shoot and especially the day before a big first date!
So whatever you call them, zits, spots, pimples, acne, breakouts etc etc – here is a list of 30 really handy but effective home treatments for annihilating those pesky spots and a few recipes for dealing to any scars and redness associated with them too.
36 Quick And Easy Home Remedies For Acne
1. Lavender Tea Tree Oil Spritz
Add a few drops of these essentials oil to a water bottle (or to your face wash/cleanser) and spray on your skin. You can use this recipe for cleaning as well and for treating cuts and grazes too.
2. Almond and Rosehip Oil Scar Treatment and Preventative
These are oils you can use for scars – use after these recipes to help moisturize and prevent acne scars.
3. Aloe Vera Gel Or Juice
If you’ve got a plant handy great, just break off a leaf and apply the gel inside to blemishes to soothe heal and treat skin. If you don’ have a plant, either go buy one and keep it handy for burn and cut relief or go buy some juice or gel from your local health store (or Amazon)
4. Apple Cider Vinegar
One of those tried and true good ole remedies. Its balancing, and great for pimple spots, Add to masks, washes or use on its own. Leave it on for 20 minutes… or until your next face wash/shower/swim even. Also good lender with aloe juice or gel.
5. Apples
Pureed or grated they make a nice acidic remedy for spots and pimples. Or use apple juice dabbed on to your skin with a cotton ball.
6. Aspirin
This is loaded with salicylic acid, a natural or synthetic acne fighter found in many acne washes and creams. Aspirin is the synthetic option and can be crushed into acne masks – or applied direct to nasty spots. Nice as an addition to acne masks and cleansers for an extra pimple fighting kick in the pants!
7. Aspirin and Honey Facial Mask
Crush a tablespoon of honey with an aspirin tablet for a super easy but effective blemish treatment.
8. Banana
This fruit contains potassium, an element acne bacteria fears. It’s the pimples “action movie” version of being tied up to a chair bound and gagged (sorry that’s a bit graphic really – in other nicer words, it stops stop bacteria from growing). Rub the inside of a banana peel on spots or use the pulp mashed – either way you’ll be making those acne bacteria beg for mercy!
9. Basil Leaves Or Basil Tea
Boil a cup of water and add either tablespoon of fresh or dried leaves. If you have some add some green tea (full of antioxidants). Steep for 10 minutes. Apply to oily skin after allowing to cool as a rinse. You can also use a drop or two if essential oils in rinses to give them an extra boost. A great use for this recipe is to freeze leftovers as ice cubes and apply as a soothing spot treatment when needed.
10. Bruise Some Fresh Cabbage Leaves
Crush them, mush them or puree them and use them in masks or direct on skin for 2o minutes. They contain lots of enzymes that help to calm and clear up skin.
11. Castor Oil and Calendula or Lavender Cleanser Mask
Castor oil is drying to skin and calendula oil is healing while lavender in antibacterial and soothing. Simply add 5% essential oils to 95% castor oil – or better still add 20 coconut oil for a great cleanser/mask.
12. Cinnamon and Honey Mask
Add around 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to a tablespoon of honey. Mix to make a paste. Apply to the blemish and allow to sit for 20 or more minutes. Leave on overnight if you like :)
13. Clay Masks
Clays are fabulous as a base for oil and acneic skin treatments . Simply mix 1 tsp of clay with enough distilled water to make a thick paste. You can apply it directly to the blemish on its own for twenty minutes or add a couple of drops of tea tree oil and or lever or neem oil. This is so good it can get rid os spots overnight – yes really I’ve see this my own eyes!
14. Coconut Oil
Naturally high in vitamins, minerals, protective and healing essential fatty acids and it’s power packed with antibacterial compounds as well. Absolutely wonderful for use in an acne pimple cleanser or mask especially when mixed with honey, a splash of lemon juice, yogurt and a little essential oil (tea tree and lavender for extra potent bacteria fighting action and soothing of redness and pain). So potent is this group of ingredients combined I call it the “A team”. You can adapt this recipe depending in what you’ve got at home using any of the ingredients on this page as substitutes. If you read more about all the things coconut can do – you’ll want to keep a jar of this stuff at home. (Make sure its virgin cold pressed and preferably organic like Banaban or Nutiva).
15. Coconut Oil Honey Wash
This ridiculously easy to make mask involves a tablespoon of coconut oil (or coconut cream) and a tablespoon of honey. For oily skin add a squeeze of lemon juice to make a wash you can use twice daily for acne. Add 5% essential oils to boost it’s potency.
16. Colloidal Silver
It is extracted from water and its one of naturals natural “antibiotics”. Spray on skin to kill bacteria and take a teaspoon morning and night to let it work it’s wonders from the inside!
17. Egg White Mask
Whisk it up and add a little turmeric powder or a crushed aspirin and dab on spots with a qtip.
18. Essential Oils
Essential oils are antibacterial in general, but some are very potent like tea tree and neem – or use soothing lavender oil to calm irritated skin and redness. Add a few drops of these to any recipe for a powerful treatment.
19. Garlic and Onion Them Out
I know I know – you’re thinking “what ,are you nuts? making me put stinky stuff on my face!” Well yes a little – but this is only on behalf of those of you who have just had enough and just want to throw the full arsenal at those spots! Mash a little garlic and onion together with some yogurt and honey (see nice ingredients can be friends with stinky things) and apply to skin. Now to remove the stink – rinse your skin with grapefruit juice and rub some celery or basil on your skin. Not so bad after all was it? But this REALLY works and if you combine these nasty herbs with essential oils – that pesky acne doesn’t stand a chance!
20. Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus is very effective on blemishes. Either rub hibiscus flowers between fingers to bruise out the juice and apply, or make a brew of crushed hibiscus flowers by steeping 3 or four flowers in boiling water, then apply to skin when cool.
21. Honey
Honey (especially UMF “active honey”) is natural anti bacterial and known as another one of natures antibiotics. Not only does it target bacteria but its also moisturizing and healing for sore red or scarred skin. I use it almost every recipe because its so good for skin in general.
22. Lemon Squeeze It
The astringent properties of lemon and limes help to dry out oily skin and remove impurities. Its also rich in fruit acids (and we know these are one of acne’s mortal enemies).
23. Make Your Own Skin Cream
Using coconut oil and Almond oil (half and half). Melt these oils together with 10% beeswax (more for a thicker cream). After cooling a little add a couple of drops of lavender and/or tea tree oil. Apply it to pimples as necessary.
24. Mint
Grab a leaf from a sprig of fresh mint, bruise it between your fingers then bub the “juice” on effected areas. You can also add this crushed leaf to masks and washes.
25. Neem Powder
Neem powder is another great thing to add to clay and other masks for blemishes. Its antibacterial and soothing.
26. Nutmeg and Clove Milk
Simmer 2 teaspoons of whole cloves and 1 tsp ground nutmeg in 1/4 cup of milk on low for 10 minutes. Be careful not to scald the milk then allow to cool and apply to skin with a cotton ball. Wash off after 20 minutes or leave to dry.
27. Rosewater and Lemon Juice
Yummy yum yum. Rosewater calms and hydrates skin helping to repair it, while the lemon juice is astringent and drying. Mix 2/3 rosewater with 1/3 lemon juice and apply with a cotton ball.
28. Rub a Slice of Potato on Zits
Rub raw freshly sliced potato on until dry – wash off if you like or leave on.
29. Rub an Orange Peel Directly on to Skin
Squeeze and bash an orange to remove the oil from the skin then apply with a cotton bud. If this sounds a little too mean – buy some Orange essential oil and add it to a nice mask instead.
30. Salt and Citrus Wash
Mix 1 teaspoon of salt with a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of lemon juice. This is an easy but effective acne wash.
31. Strawberries
High in salicylic acid and lots of fruit acids too giving your skin an antioxidant acne destroying treat. Rub a cut strawberry all over your skin or mash a couple up and include it in an acne mask with other yummy soothing scar preventing ingredients (that’s yummy enough to eat).
32. Tomatoes
Like strawberries these are high in salicylic acid. Use tomato juice on your face on its own and allow to dry. You can add glycerin to make a peel off mask using tomato juice or use in other masks.
33. Turmeric Powder and Baking Soda
Turmeric is one of the Indian (or Ayurvedic) cures for bacteria. So is Neem oil, both of these fabulously effective bacteria fighters can be used in masks, washes, serums. Turmeric is potent so you really don’t want to apply it direct to your skin without combining it with yogurt or honey.
34. Willow Bark
Another rich source of salicylic acid. You can buy willow bark powder to add to a clay mask (see further down the page for clay mask info) for a super duper acne treatment face pack.
35. Witch Hazel
Witch hazel is natural astringent – it can be used direct on skin applied with a cotton ball. Alternatively use hydrosols of lavender, yarrow or neroli. They smell divine too (just in case you are still recovering from the garlic onion mask concept)
36. Yogurt
A natural probiotic meaning it contains good bacteria thats bigger and stronger than pesky acne bacteria. Use it masks to assist the other “active” ingredients – oh and its also soothing and calming and helps lighten acne scars too.
With this list of ingredients and recipes – you can deal with just about any blemishes and prevent scarring too.
So where can you get these ingredients (apart from your garden or kitchen cupboards)?
I have included quite a few links to various products on this page (and yes they are affiliate links so I do get a small percentage of any sales) but they are all great products and are really great value (the best and cheapest place to get what you need). Lots of these oils and powders last a LONG time, so once you have them, you won;t need to go buying more stuff anytime soon. Long after your acne has disappeared into the dust – you can keep using these ingredients for lots of other handy things.
If you want some really effective acne recipes, you can find over 20 of them in my book Natural Home Made Skin Care Recipes: Rejuvenating Renewing Masks & Treatments For Beautiful Skin (it’s $10.35 on Amazon) or you may be interested in reading my review on Fix Your Acne by James Jenick (it’s a very comprehensive guide to dealing with acne permanently).
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