Through out the majority of my life my skin was fine - until puberty struck! Now, my skin, by any standard is actually very good in comparison to people with actual acne. I'm so lucky in that respect. No dermatologist visits or acne treatments or anything for me, but I do have a annoying consistent condition on my face. Red/ pink cheeks, large pores (on cheeks mainly, where the redness lies), oily skin,blemishes all over and permanent (until I gouge them out with a extractor at least) blackhead armies on my nose and chin. Honestly, I am sure some of those black heads have been there for years, and when I squeeze my nose, the amount of tiny white dots that appear just makes me roll my eyes in defeat.
Constant clogged pores now seem a permanent part of my face, which I know isn't meant to be the case! Not to mention the occasional white head. These things are huuuuge, and when they arrive they leave marks and those take months to fade as well. Despite this graphic description, my skin on the outside really doesn't look that bad, it is very far from causing me real upset and I could probably cover it up with make up easily if I could be bothered. I have a definite feeling that my skin problems are underneath the surface, and I need something that can really penetrate my skin and murder the cause.
I'm under the slight suspicion that I MIGHT have a very mild form of acne, but I've yet to see a doctor or dermatologist, and in reality I don't really want to. I understand that if I do have mild acne, I might have to take various medications or creams despite it not being that bad, and that is terrifying considering I have no idea what may lie in those products, and I'm only relying on some else's word. I need to take time to analyse and break down what's good and bad for my skin, and understand my body better.
So, I've been looking at natural remedies, and I've come under the impression that they all have some common attributes with each other.
- They're cheap
- Edible
- Generally found in kitchens or easily bought at super markets
- Come in large quantities so you hardly need to stock up
I mean, there's nothing to lose with all of these treatments. If they don't work as cleansers and exfoliators I can at least bloody eat them so I don't waste anything.
So, from what I've gathered, here are the ones I'm interested in the most that I'm going to try in the coming months:
Organic Extra Virgin Coconut oil - there's a lot of information and blogs relating to this one. For some, it's a MIRACLE product. It's destroyed acne, cleared skin, some people have even stopped using cleansers, moisturisers and toners and use coconut as a replacement for EVERYTHING. People cook with it instead of using other oils, they eat it on toast, they take a tablespoon day, they shave with it, use it as lubricant (?!?!?!?!) and they steam it off with facial steamers or hot towels. Oh, and it makes a great hair mask apparently.
BUT! The side effects vary. For some, they say it clogs their faces like nobody's business and makes them even worse and it takes months to clear out the clogged pores. But there are those who strongly advocate that these breakouts after using coconut oil are necessary as the oil brings out impurities to the surface and after a week or two, it clears up. After all, it is anti bacterial, and anti fungal. By the way, make sure it's an organic extra virgin coconut oil brand - other types will definitely clog you up.
Summary on coconut oil:
- Coconut oil can be used for acne, some swear by it, some stay away after use. People are different, so the only way I can know is if I try.
- No matter what happens, I will try it for at least a week, and if I do have a break out I will keep using it until the week is over. If it's a no go, then I'll just eat the stuff or use it on my hair or legs or whatever.
- It can be mixed with other oils for the OCM method (oil cleansing method, whereby you mix oils in varying amounts and use it on your face - there's science behind this one, but to sum it up, oil beats oil.)
Lemon juice - An old favourite. Never cleared blackheads out for me, I would use it as a after cleaning toner and sleep with it on. You can certainly feel it working (stings like heck) and some say that it's too harsh to use like a toner, and that you should wash it off when you've let it set a little. I never found that my skin went insane after I used it, if I put on too much it would go red certainly but then I would just wash it off. It certainly faded scars for me, not so much on the miracle blackhead cure though. I need to go back and use this stuff some more. Bottled juice is fine by the way, I can't use real lemons all the time at university so I just have a bottle of the stuff in my room. I wrote a post dedicated to lemon juice HERE.
Summary on lemon juice:
- It's not bad stuff, but if you have really sensitive skin you can use a few tablespoons in a mask or scrub and it should be fine. Not a miracle cure for me, but the blackheads I have are the deep rooted kind, so I was hoping for a little too much maybe?
However, after a bit more research on the internet, some people have said that oatmeal has helped their acne a lot, which I think is mainly due to the calming properties of oatmeal on the skin. It's not "fighting" the acne aggressively per say, but the cleaning certainly aids in calming the face. Oatmeal mixed with yoghurt and other natural ingredients seem very popular as masks, so do try.
Summary on oatmeal:
A good cheap cleanser, gently exfoliates, can be used all over the body and calms redness and could possibly help out with angry red acne. I would recommend this for anyone who has a low tolerance to harsh chemicals, it's really nourishing.
Baking soda - Now this one is one I really need to try. My current exfoliator claims to have the maximum concentration of Salicylic Acid, and while it certainly ex foliates it really hasn't made a noticeable difference. Oatmeal doesn't ex foliate my skin enough, and my recent try with ex foliating gloves on my face was a no go - waaay too harsh and despite my skin feeling smooth afterwards it did not look good. All of my blemishes felt raised and my cheeks looked redder. Whether I had finally removed a necessary amount of skin so my spots could breath or whether I went overboard I'll never know. Either way, looking red ain't a great look.
There are a few points to note about baking soda. For some it's a miracle worker, and for others it was too harsh or it burnt or it dried up skin like nothing else. This won't stop me from trying it, it does have 4.1 out of 5 on Make Up Alley, but I think I'll be wary in that I will only use it for a short amount of time, not leave on the scrub to let the ingredients sink in! Also, I think the general consensus is that you use a TINY amount in GENTLE motions and for a short amount of time, and only ONCE A WEEK since it's pretty abrasive.
Summary on baking soda:
- A small amount, mixed with a tiny bit of water and in gentle motions, once a week. The stuff is darn cheap, and if you really need that little of an amount it should last you a long time. This can also be mixed with oils to combine a exfoliant with a moisturising oil (like coconut). If you have very very sensitive skin you must be cautious, test a bit of this stuff on a small patch of skin before going the whole way - you may be one of the people who can't do with baking soda. No worries there, you can always revert to oatmeal for something milder.
The Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) - Another one I'm very interested in! This one links back to coconut, but rather then using one oil on its own, the OCM mixes two oils and you apply it on the skin. After you rub it in like you would any cleanser, you remove the oil. A better post on it would be found HERE. I can't say I know too much about this one, but the idea remains simple in that oil beats oil. Also, there are different ratios of oil for different skin types, e.g. an oilier skinned person could use more of one oil than another in comparison to a dry skinned person. *UPDATE* click links below about the OCM method, it goes into specifics about the method on what to use and what not to use!
Summary on The Oil Cleansing Method:
- Really interesting, and potentially less risky than coconut oil since coconut oil can be too heavy for some. However, like coconut oil the routine established with OCM will take a a week or two to adjust to. But I'm definitely interested in this one and I'm definitely going to research some more.
*UPDATE* Link here for my review of the OCM!
http://thesilverpocketwatch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/natural-spot-treatments-natural-acne.html
LINKS (No copyright intended!It's a really great blog to follow, highly recommended):
http://www.crunchybetty.com/nitty-gritty-on-the-oil-cleansing-method
http://www.crunchybetty.com/trying-and-troubleshooting-the-oil-cleansing-method-tips-for-flawless-oil-cleansed-skin
http://www.crunchybetty.com/when-your-extra-virgin-olive-oil-isnt-so-wholesome
Please note, there are SO many websites talking about the OCM method, many conflicting with each other on different types of oils and in reality the only way to trust the method is to experiment and research yourself, everyone has different skin so there's no foolproof method regardless of what you try - some things are more reliable than others, but you may find yourself in a minority when it comes to certain products and methods.
ALL IMAGES TAKEN FROM GOOGLE - NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED
