Herbal solutions to teenage acne

Argh. Another pimple, and right before your date with the cute guy in biology class! Acne is very common for teenagers, but somehow it seems that you’re the only one to suffer from it. Acne, especially severe acne, is very hard on teenager’s self-esteem. If you go to the drugstore you can find a lot of products to help, but do you know what the pharmaceutical companies put in them? Often they use toxic, abrasive ingredients that you don’t want on your skin. But happily, there are some natural acne treatments that you can find in natural health stores, specialized skincare stores or even some drugstores.


Photo: ericmcgregor

The first thing you need to do when you start a new acne treatment regimen is to go meet with your doctor. If he or she deems it necessary, they will refer you to a dermatologist who will be able to give you the best advice. So make sure you do this before embarking on any skincare or supplement program.


A few ingredients have proven their effectiveness. Taking a vitamin A supplement can help your skin from the inside. Vitamin A is the ingredient found in the strongest anti-acne medications, but you don’t need to get a prescription. For mild acne, a simple supplement will suffice. To apply directly on your skin, buy products with tea tree oil (otherwise called meulaleuca). Tea tree oil has antibacterial properties that will help get rid of the zit-causing bacterias on your skin. To help with redness and inflammation, you can use aloe-vera based products or calamine powder mixed with a little water. Both of these ingredients will help with redness and inflammation and will make that zit disappear in a pinch.

There are other supplements you can take: zinc and vitamin E have also been proved to help with overall skin health, even though they don’t necessarily counter acne directly. But to help with your pimples, you need to make sure you skin is as healthy as possible, so feel free to use those as well as vitamin A.

There are a few more common sense acne-fighting tips that most acne reviews will mention. First, don’t touch your face. Your fingers carry bacteria and dirt that will cause more pimples. It might be difficult to stop using make-up to hide your imperfections (and I was a big make-up user myself when I had acne), but your acne will heal much faster if you let your skin breathe and be make-up free. Have a healthy diet full of fruits and leafy vegetables, and avoid processed, sugary or fat foods. Sometimes dairy can cause acne breakouts in some people. Exercise regularly; the sweat will detoxify you skin and help make it clearer. Yoga is great to your skin, and there are some breathing exercises specifically for skin clarification.

In conclusion, there are a lot of natural, toxic-free ways to deal with acne. Keep up a healthy lifestyle, use a daily regimen of supplements and proper skin scare, avoid make-up as much as possible, and most of all, learn to love yourself the way you are. If you are like all normal teenagers, the acne should clear up by itself by the time you reach adult age.