Powerful Home Remedies For Acne
Acne is one of the most common skin conditions in the world, affecting an estimated 85% of young adults .
Conventional acne treatments like salicylic acid, niacinamide, or benzoyl peroxide are proven to be the most effective acne solutions, but they can be expensive and have undesirable side effects, such as dryness, redness, and irritation.
This has prompted many people to look into remedies to cure acne naturally at home. In fact, one study found that 77% of acne patients had tried alternative acne treatments .
Many home remedies lack scientific backing, and further research on their effectiveness is needed. If youre looking for alternative treatments, though, there are still options you can try.
This article explores 13 popular home remedies for acne.
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Building A Skin Care Routine For Hormonal Acne
While we wish there was a one-size-fits-all routine we could give you to take care of hormonal acne, unfortunately, its not as simple as that.
I would recommend a personalised skin care routine from a doctor to begin with, especially if the acne is recurrent or persistent, says Dr. Joshi.
A personalised and effective skin care routine for use at home is important to avoid exacerbating the problem. Especially if the acne is recurrent or persistent, says Dr. Joshi. It may include gentle cleansers, antioxidant moisturisers, and daily use of high strength SPF as many of these make the skin more susceptible to sunburn, she notes.
On top of your personalised skin plan, Dr. Joshi also recommends you stay very on top of cleaning your makeup brushes and any beauty tools, and always wash your makeup off at night before bed. Deal? Deal.
How Are Acne Papules Diagnosed
Acne papules are easy to recognize visually, so you dont necessarily need a healthcare professional to diagnose them. However, your healthcare provider can diagnose and help treat acne papules during a skin exam.
They may ask if youre undergoing significant stress or if you have a family history of papules, which are risk factors. If you menstruate, your healthcare provider may ask about your menstrual cycles, as the appearance of acne papules is sometimes related and may flare with your menstrual cycles.
If you have severe papules, see a dermatologist for treatment. Dermatologists are doctors who specialize in conditions that affect your skin, hair and nails.
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Low Dose Birth Control Pills
These tablets and devices are low in Estrogen and, therefore, tend to increase the bodies Androgen levels as the Estrogen drop. Think of a teeter-totteras one goes down the other goes up.
As a general rule of thumb, those with the potential for higher androgenic symptoms should be avoided for people prone to acne because they promote breakouts. As an acne sufferer, it is critical to speak with your doctor about selecting a form of birth control that is higher in estrogen and lower in androgen potency.
SOLUTION: Take out the IUD or come off the low-dose birth control pill and switch to a safe tablet if you are on birth control for a said reason. Here at Natural Acne Clinic, we are not proponents of using birth control pills or devices to balance hormone levels or to clear acne. With that said, it is ok to be on certain types of birth control to prevent pregnancy and keep your skin clear.
What Is The Best Topical Treatment For Women With Hormonal Acne
The same as for teen acne adult acne treatment should be personalized to the skin type and acne and acne severity type. The best topical ingredient for mild hormonal acne is salicylic acid, retinol, niacinamide, and benzoyl peroxide for moderate acne. Benzoyl peroxide is regarded by the American Academy of Dermatology as the best FDA-approved single anti-acne ingredient. It is frequently more effective than any other over-the-counter prescription acne medication. Unlike adapalene , they are often very irritating new preparation of micronized benzoyl peroxide 2.5% can be used on acne-prone and sensitive skin without significant side effects.
The best cleansers for women with hormonal acne include a low percentage of salicylic acid. Salicylic acid at a concentration of 0.5% can help unclog the skin pores without over-drying the skin. Plant-based ingredients can further help fight skin inflammation and reduce the dryness and redness frequently associated with regular anti-acne cleansers.
Choosing the right moisturizer is crucial for women with hormonal acne. Anti-wrinkle moisturizers can increase the risk of acne breakouts. For best results, look for moisturizers oil-free and specially formulated for acne or acne-prone skin people. Women with normal oily skin can benefit from an active moisturizer with niacinamide, and women with drier skin can befit from a more hydrating moisturizer.
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What Is Fungal Acne Vs Hormonal Acne
Fungal acne and hormonal acne are often confused with each other because both types of acne start in the hair follicles. Fungal acne occurs when excess yeast develops, whereas hormonal acne is caused by excess sebum. Fungal acne can result in whiteheads, itchiness and often becomes red, irritated and inflamed.
How Can Hormonal Acne Be Treated
Treatment is a challenge, says Dr. Joshi, explaining that hormonal acne is known for recurring even after oral or topical treatments have been used.
Beginning with a clear and correct diagnosis is key, she says, noting that a simple, effective home skin care routine is another important part of the treatment puzzle.
Everyones skin is different, so personalised advice from a trusted skin specialist is the best way to begin managing your hormonal acne. Lifestyle changes, topical and oral prescription medications, personalised at-home skin care products, and in-clinic treatments such as chemical peels are all often used within treatment programs, says Dr. Joshi.
Commonly doctors would choose a mix of treatment options, simply because this type of acne is so hard to treat and to keep at bay and tends to recur with hyperpigmentation and scarring risk, she explains.Results can take anywhere from a few weeks to months to appear, so dont be disheartened if the healing process takes time. Check back in with your skin care specialist, and they can help guide your treatment program moving forward.
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Natural Ways To Treat Hormonal Acne Scars: Honey And Lemon Mask
You can also make homemade masks by using simple ingredients. These masks can also help to eliminate hormonal acne naturally. In this case, we suggest making a honey and lemon mask, since both these ingredients are anti-acne products. Honey cleanses the skin deeply, reduces impurities and provides hydration, while lemon is a great natural astringent that reduces fat, dries out pimples quickly and prevents acne marks.
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Why Do Androgens Such As Testosterone Cause Acne
Androgens cause changes in the skin and directly drive inflammation. Here are the three reasons why androgens cause acne:
This diagram shows the complex effects of androgens in the skin that cause acne:
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What Are The Causes Of Hormonal Acne Breakouts
Hormonal levels can trigger hormonal acne breakouts during the menstrual cycle, higher amounts of a specific hormone in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome , hormonal changes before and during menopause, and increased androgen levels.
The hormones that influence hormonal acne are estrogen, progesterone, which fluctuates during the menstrual cycle month, testosterone , and cortisol that rises in periods of stress. These hormones can also fluctuate during pregnancy and breastfeeding and cause acne flare-ups.
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Mild Moderate And Severe Acne
Although there are structured systems for grading acne such as the Global Acne Grading System , Feldman et al. provided a concise and simplified definition of each severity of acne as follows
Mild acne
Appears as few red papules and pustules mixed with comedones . Less than half of the face is involved.
Moderate acne
Appears as many papules and pustules mixed with prominent scarring. More than half of the face is involved.
Severe
Appears as red papules and pustules as well as several deep seated nodules that are extremely inflamed. The entire face is involved. And when it is very severe, the entire face is very inflamed with nodules
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Treat Sensitivity + Inflammation
While youre getting to the bottom of things, maintaining a strong, hydrated skin barrier and treating inflammation is key.
- For daily maintenance:Naturopathicas Calendula Essential Hydrating Cream accelerates rejuvenation and cell repair.
- For a weekly treatment: Tata Harpers Hydrating Floral Mask efficiently and effectively hydrates the skin while fortifying the skin’s natural moisture barrier function.
What Are The Basic Types Of Acne
Several attempts have been made to categorize acne but they all fall into the following
1) Adolescent acne: Also referred to as teen acne depending on your source of information.
2) Persistent, Recurring or Late Acne Onset: These are used as references to whether adolescence acne is persistent into adulthood or whether acne remits in adolescence and then re-occurs in adulthood or whether acne occurs for the first time in adulthood.
3)Adult Acne Affects both male and female in adulthood but mostly female (termed adult female acne or hormonal acne.
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Wash Your Pillowcases More Often
As much of a no-brainer as it may seem, most of us don’t wash our pillowcases as often as we should. If you have acne-prone skin, anything that touches it can make the problem worse. That means hats, towels, headbands, phones, makeup brushes, and sheets should all be kept clean and free of harmful bacteria. We touch our phones all day long, so not cleaning it could transfer lots of germs and bacteria to your skin.
Experts recommend changing your sheets every week and your pillowcases two or three times per week and using a detergent that’s geared toward sensitive skin, if you can. Wipe your phone down as often as you can or, better yet, use headphones when chatting, to avoid skin contact altogether. Wipe makeup brushes down once per day, if possible, with a more thorough soak once a week.
What Is Hormonal Acne
One definition of hormonal acne is acne caused by genetic and hormonal factors that cause breakouts well past puberty and the teenage years, or basically after someones early 20s.
The specific hormones that contribute to this type of acne include reproductive hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. While adult acne can affect both women and men, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, its more common among women, in part because its commonly tied to menstrual cycle changes along with menopause and pregnancy.
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What Commonly Occurs During Acne Formation
Whether you have adolescence or adult acne, or your acne is triggered by hormonal surge , genetic predisposition, lifestyle factors such as diet, stress, medications as so on, what is basically taking place in your skin is as follows
- excess oil production in your pores
- clogged skin cells in your hair follicles
- and increase in acne causing bacteria called Priopionibacteria acne (more recently called Cutibacterium acne.
I Wash A Lot But Still Get Blackheads Why
Washing your skin canât get rid of blackheads or acne. Why? Blackheads form below the skinâs surface, when oil, also called sebum, reacts with air in a partially clogged pore. When the pore is totally blocked, you get a whitehead.
Wash your face twice a day and after sweating, using a mild cleanser and warm water â not hot water. Do not scrub your skin as that can worsen acne.
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How To Treat And Manage Hormonal Acne According To A Skin Expert
Hormonal acne is one of the topics that, without fail, continues to pop up in Go-Tos DMs.
Its not surprising. Hormonal acne is a notoriously tricky, and oftentimes very frustrating, skin condition to treat. Its also very common! With that in mind, weve tapped skin wizard and owner of Skin Essentials, Dr. Imaan Joshi to help explain all things hormonal acne and hopefully simplify your skin journey at the same time.
What Causes Hormonal Acne
Most breakouts happen when the oil glands in the skin become more sensitive to a group of hormones known as androgens, explains Natalia Spierings, a consultant dermatologist and author of Skintelligent: What You Really Need to Know to Get Good Skin.
Androgens drive the enlargement of oil glands and increase the production of oil in the skin. All people have some level of androgens and these increase during puberty.
Some women are more sensitive to androgens throughout their lives than others, and hormone sensitivity also changes as we get older, Spierings explains.
Sometimes lifestyle choices can worsen the problem too.
The use of multiple skin care products contributes to this problem by irritating the skin, leading to redness and often an underlying predisposition to acne vulgaris, says Spierings.
I certainly didnt expect to still be experiencing hormonal breakouts in my 30s. Surely by the time I hit menopause, my problem skin will be a thing of the past, right?
Unfortunately, Spierings says this isnt necessarily the case.
Theres no age at which necessarily stops or starts, she says.
Every woman is different and unfortunately it isnt possible to predict if or when a woman will develop acne. Some women never do.
For some, hormonal acne can continue well into later life.
In my clinical experience, women who have oily, acne-prone skin throughout their 20s and 30s continue to have it even after menopause, Spierings says.
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Amp Up Your Skincare Routine
There are certain topical ingredients that work wonders when it comes to hormonal acne. Reading product labels is your best bet for choosing the right products for your skin. Try to incorporate these into your routine:
- Benzoyl peroxide: one of the most effective OTC ingredient to help treat acne, kill bacteria and remove excess oil
- Salicylic acid: works to unclog pores , exfoliates, anti-inflammatory
- Alpha-hydroxyl acids: exfoliates dead skin that can cause clogged pores, stimulates growth of new skin
- Tea tree oil: natural anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory
- Clay: calming, anti-inflammatory
- Sulfer: decreased oil production, removes dead skin cells
Maintain A Preventative Skincare Routine
“Even when your skin is doing well, you should continue your preventative skincare routine,” says Melissa Kanchanapoomi Levin, MD, board-certified NYC dermatologist and clinical instructor at Mount Sinai Hospital. “That means in addition to regular daily sunscreen or sun protection,continue using your topical retinoid, such as Differin Gel. And if your skin is not irritated and can tolerate an exfoliator, try alpha-hydroxy acids or salicylic acid two to three times weekly.
“In addition to clearing existing acne, Differin Gel will also help to prevent future breakouts from forming by increasing skin cell turnover to minimize clogging of pores.” Additionally, Fenton recommends using an OTC acne wash and non-comedogenic moisturizer regularly.
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Do Birth Control Pills Cause Or Cure Acne
Birth control pills may help some women control acne. The hormones in birth control pills can help block androgen hormones. Androgen puts oil glands into overdrive. Some birth control pills, though, can make acne worse. So even if you take birth control pills, youâll still need a good acne skin care routine.
Retinoids And Other Topical Products
Natural products like green tea may have some positive effects on mild acne. However, theyre usually not powerful enough to produce any improvement in moderate to severe outbreaks of hormonal acne.
Retinoids, on the other hand, can be powerful tools for controlling your hormonal acne. Made using a derivative of vitamin A, retinoids work by speeding up your skins growth process and causing your skin to turn over more quickly than normal.
This faster turnover process means sebum doesnt have as much time to build up inside your pores, resulting in fewer pimples and milder hormonal acne outbreaks.
Retinoids can be applied topically or taken orally. The most common topical retinoid is tretinoin, a retinoic acid that you can find in our acne and other skincare products.
Using tretinoin is simple all you need to do is apply it daily. Studies of tretinoin for acne usually show that it takes three to six months to control most acne, making topical retinoids like tretinoin a mainstay of medical acne treatment.
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Whats The Difference Between A Boil And A Pimple
Boils are pus-filled bumps that develop deep in your skin. They usually begin as discolored bumps, which quickly increase in size and fill with pus. The bacteria Staphylococcus aureus causes boils and staph infections.
The following tips can help you tell the difference between a boil and a pimple:
- Boils dont respond to typical pimple treatments.
- Boils usually form around cuts or scratches on your skin.
- Pimples arent usually as painful as boils.
Buying A Bag Of Oranges When You Have Acne Could Be Helpful
For moms around the world, handing their kids an orange when theyre sick with a cold is pretty much standard though as it turns out, the touted ability of oranges and vitamin C to cure the sniffles after theyve started may be mostly a myth, according to GoodRx. But the vitamin C lurking inside an orange may be good for your acne. Vitamin C is especially good for skin health, with antioxidant properties and the potential to fight against free radical damage, as well as reduce discoloration, and promote the growth of collagen . For acne specifically, its vitamin Cs anti-inflammatory effects, which help to reduce the visible damage caused by the skin condition, that put it ahead of the pack, WebMD says.
Its worth bearing in mind that oranges are not the only fruit that contains vitamin C its also abundant in cantaloupe, kiwis, guavas, and even blackcurrants, according to Healthline. If you want the best results, however, its advisable to get yourself a vitamin C serum, as topical application of the vitamin appears to have the best results for the reduction of acne symptoms. Keep in mind, though, that if you have sensitive skin already, applying products containing L-ascorbic acid might cause further irritation.
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