Health Care

During puberty, an adolescent’s oil-secreting glands go into overdrive. The result, in varying degrees is blackheads and pimples on the skin – usually facial skin, but also skin on the back and shoulders. Usually, acne is just a part of growing up, but can be traumatic if a teen develops a huge pimple two days before the senior prom! It was once thought that acne resulted from eating the wrong foods such as chocolate and French fries, both staples on any adolescent’s food chart. Today we know that acne, in addition to oil glad secretions, has a lot to do with heredity and stress, not food.

Simple adolescent acne responds well to products found in drug stores that control and dry oil secretions. However, cystic acne is a severe form of this condition that can cause serious aberrations and scaring of the face. Dermatologists treat this condition with antibiotics and special cleansing products. The great majority of these products, prescription or over-the counter contain alcohol and/or witch hazel that sting the skin and sometimes dry it to the point of redness and pain.

Natural acne remedies, like other skin problems, have been the subject of non-physician healers for centuries. For acne, natural remedies are not only effective and safe, but they don’t cause skin redness and peeling, nor are they painful. Using the skills of ancient ancestors’ teaching and demonstrating, modern natural healers can work wonders with skin problems. The natural acne remedies contain no alcohol, so they don’t dry the skin, nor do they sting when applied. Herbal healers believe the gentle way is the best way.

Will Natural Acne Remedies Work for You?

When prepared by a skilled practitioner and used correctly, there’s every possibility that natural acne remedies will prove to be safe and effective. The key to these products is choosing the right combination of natural herbal substances for the right person. For example, boys’ skin is coarser than girls’ skin; the practitioner may choose to add some Melissa (lemon balm) to a boy’s product to insure that the product penetrates into deep skin levels.

Natural acne remedies contain a base, plus a combination of oil control and skin soothing plant and herb derivatives. Natural skin cleansers, toners, make-up removers, and lotions can all be formulated to control acne. The product base is usually a hydrosol, which is distilled water infused with the essence of steamed leaves of plants and herbs. With natural acne remedies, neither alcohol nor witch hazel is used, only the gentle hydrosol base of rose, sandalwood, aloe, chamomile or lavender.

Into the base, the practitioner adds a combination of 100 percent therapeutic-grade essential oils. This sounds like a peculiar way to treat acne naturally; using oil to control oil. Pure essential oils are different; not only are they used in very small quantities, but they are oils that don’t clog the skin’s pores as the skin’s natural oils do, so they never cause blackheads and pimples. Favorite essential oils for acne control are burdock root, borage oil, calendula, chamomile, evening primrose oil, red clover, blackcurrant oil, and lavender. Practitioners have high praise for lavender as a general natural acne remedy and the only essential oil that can be applied to the skin undiluted by a hydrosol.

Imagine; a natural acne remedy that works and is gentle to the skin! This is truly, all gain, without pain.