Noone like any kind of blemishes on their skin, particularly on the facial skin. Facial skin reflects our personality as well as our health.Skin with blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, acne is reflection of hormonal imbalances, improper nutrition and bad personal hygiene.
Pimples or acne is a very common problem of all ages around the world. Millions of people around the world particularly the teenagers suffer from pimples the most. These pimples can be mild or severe cases. They may be painful or not depending on the severity, but definitely are unsightly.
You don't have to hide them under cosmetics or even use conventional methods to get rid of pimples. There are a range of natural home remedies for acne that can help you to get rid of these unsightly bumps on your face.
These home remedies for acne are far superior than harsh chemicals for nurturing and maintaining your skin health.
What Causes Pimples?
Sebaceous glands are minute oil glands in the skin that produce sebum to lubricate the skin and hair. These glands are available all throughout the Skin of your business except under the non hairy area of palm of your hand and sole of your feet.
The greatest concentration of sebaceous glands is in the facial area and that is why when the hormonal balance is disturbed particularly during puberty sebum is overproduced.
The sebaceous glands inside our skin pores and the external skin which normally sheds itself regularly sometimes pushes the dead skin cells into the pores.
As a result the pores may get clogged due to dead skin mixing with the excess sebum.
Other dirt and impurities can also clog these pores. This blockage then gets the attention of undesirable bacteria.
A usually harmless bacteria called propionibacterium acnes which lives on our skin gets multiplied when this clogging occurs. The inflammation becomes visible as spots known as acne, pimples or zits.
If the sebum clogging is stopped by proper personal hygiene then you can reduce instances or breakouts of pimples.
If the pimples are not treated well then they can become severe acne that may leave scars and damage the skin permanently.
Use of heavy oral antibiotics and harsh chemical topically can do more harm than the benefits, therefore to get rid of these pimples you should use natural home remedies.
Use the Following Plan to Get Rid of Your Acne
Treating acne requires a commitment to a disciplined overall approach. You have to work on the following two aspects simultaneously.
- Reducing Sebum Production
- Fighting Bacteria to get rid of Pimples
This is not easy for everyone and that is why some of you are not successful in getting rid of your pimples by natural methods. If you follow the required discipline and deal with these 4 aspects on daily basis, then you will smoothly transition from acne ridden face to a smooth glowing beautiful face with ease.
It is also important that you do not look for quick fixes. Outbreaks of acne is an indication of a long-term problem which needs to be dealt with proper care, so that your skin remains without any scar.
You have to monitor your skin condition daily and take natural actions that help you to get rid of these nasty spots without leaving any permanent scar.
Now let us look at each step in detail so that you can develop a disciplined routine to deal with your pimples as long as they remain on your face.
A. Reducing Sebum Production
First of all you have to understand that sebum production is necessary to keep your skin and hair healthy. You can’t stop sebum production, but you certainly can reduce its secretion.
Sebum is a complex mix of lipids including glyceride, cholesterol and free fatty acids.
The production of sebum is regulated by a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). During puberty and occasionally some other times DHT can put sebaceous glands into overdrive to produce excess sebum.
Another cause of increased sebum is diet. So we need to deal with the excess sebum production in two different ways.
One is by eating the right kind of diet and the other is to remove excess produced sebum.
You have to learn to deal with the excess production so that the pores do not get clogged and don't get infected.
The first step is to cut off the supply of those items that help in friction of sebum.
Diet Control
Duet control means following a disciplined of what to eat and what not to eat.
Stop eating all oily foods. Say goodbye to the junk food.
Eat Vitamin A rich foods. It is a fat soluble Vitamin. This will not let your fat intake convert into unhealthy fat. Include bell peppers, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, carrots, dried apricots, dark leafy greens, winter squashes, lettuce, fish, liver, and tropical fruits in your daily diet.
Facial Cleaning
The second aspect of sebum control is to keep the facial pores clean so that pimples are not formed. This is more challenging than it appears. However, you can do it, and if you do it well then you will see less pimples on your face.
a. Cleansing
This is the first step and you have to do it twice daily or if you workout and do any strenuous work then do it after the workout. Over doing or not doing it gently will be counterproductive. Dampen your face and neck with warm water by massaging it gently. Rinse your face and pat it dry.
There are a number of other ways to cleanse your face, but this is the best if you have pimples. If you decide any other method then make sure it is mild and gentle.
b. Toning
Toning is important to get rid of residue if any after cleansing your face. Apple cider vinegar is a very good natural toner. Use it after every cleansing during the day. It will help you to get rid of pimples, blackheads and whiteheads.
c. Exfoliating and Facial Mask
In addition to regular daily cleansing and toning you should also exfoliate your skin and apply facial mask to get rid of the dead skin and making smooth skin. Both gentle exfoliation and facial masks should be used once or twice a week, not more than that. Use a natural moisturizer such as aloe vera gel on a daily basis to keep skin moisturized and healthy.
B- Fighting Bacteria - 7 Effective Home Remedies for Pimples
With the above measures taken your acne outbreaks would already have reduced significantly. You may still get acne if your sebum production is not reduced or your home and/or working environment is polluted. Air pollution can take its toll on the sebum rich pores. Following remedies have been found effective in getting rid of pimples.
1. Tree Tea Oil
Tea Tree oil tops the list of effective remedies for acne. There are many inherent properties of tea tree oil that makes it suitable to deal with the excess sebum production and its management. It’s excellent antiseptic, anti-fungal and antibacterial capabilities makes it an excellent replacement of the harsh chemical based treatments for acne.
An antibacterial compound terpinen-4 in Tea Tree Oil destroys the skin dwelling bacteria to heal and control acne. Tea tree oil deeply penetrates the skin to clean up the pores and unblock the sebaceous glands.
You just need a very small amount of tea tree oil to clear pimples from your face by clearing the glands. It will disinfect the pores and conditions like blackheads, whiteheads and pimples are resolved.
Pour a few drops of tea tree oil to a cotton pad and gently dab on your pimples or spots with any blemishes. Do it daily and you will see that your pimples will disappear soon with =out leaving any traces.
2. Turmeric
Turmeric has been used as a skin remedy since ancient times. Due to its antibacterial and antifungal properties it kills the bacteria that cause pimples and other skin blemishes. An enzyme called curcumin with anti-inflammatory properties helps to reduce swelling, inflammation, redness and pain.
Turmeric is also antiseptic; therefore it helps to clear the infection from the pores. You can use turmeric along with many other natural products to get rid of your acne. Olive oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, sandalwood and milk are generally used with turmeric to cure pimples.
We will use milk with turmeric powder to treat pimples as this combination is one of the most effective combinations for acne and other blemishes on your skin. Milk is a natural moisturizer also.
Take one teaspoon of turmeric powder. Add some milk gradually to the powder to make a thick paste. Apply the turmeric milk paste on the acne affected area of your skin. Leave it there for 20 minutes and wash it off with warm water. Do it daily until your pimples completely disappear.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is one of the most powerful remedies for acne. It kills bacteria, controls the excess produced sebum and balances the ph value of the skin. It acts like an astringent to dry up the excess oil from the skin.
Take ½ teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a crucible. Add 2 teaspoons of water to dilute it. This diluted apple cider vinegar will not be harsh on your sensitive skin.
Apply the diluted apple cider vinegar toner on your face. Leave it for 20 minutes and rinse it off with water. You can do it twice a day until your acne is completely wiped out
4. Lemon Juice
Lemon rich in vitamin c is antibacterial and antimicrobial which easily fights bacteria causing acne and pimples. It also prevents future outbreaks of acne.
Citric acid in lemon helps remove sebum from the pores reducing inflammation. Since lemon contains astringent capabilities it cleanses the skin surface and pores by getting rid of dirt and other impurities.
Due to its mild bleaching properties it reduces the redness caused by acne. Its antioxidant properties fight with free radicals to reduce inflammation and future breakouts.
You should use lemon juice both by ingesting it and by topical application on the skin.
Squeeze juice of one lemon and add to 1 glass of water. Stir it well and drink it. It will detoxify the body from within. Drink it every day in the morning.
Wash your face with warm water. Apply lemon juice on the pimple affected area by cotton ball before going to the bed. Rinse it off in the morning. Do it every night.
5. Honey
Milk and honey together make a very good mask for acne and getting rid of acne scars. Antibacterial properties of honey are useful in dealing with acne and milk is good for toning the skin.
Honey also is a moisturizer and smoother wrinkle. It is used in many skincare products. Milk also is a moisturizer and cleanser. Milk also contains fat soluble enzyme lipase that helps to remove excess sebum from the pores.
Take good quality raw honey. Manuka honey is good but other varieties will also do the job. The milk you use should be full fat milk to get the maximum benefits of the enzyme lipase.
Mix one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of milk well. Your acne mask is ready. Apply it on the pimple affected area or entire face with the help of a cotton ball. Leave it on the face for 30 minutes.
If you want to make a thick paste for the mask, then use milk powder instead of milk. Add ¼ teaspoon of milk powder to one teaspoon of honey and mix it well. Apply the mask and rinse after 30 minutes with warm water.
You will begin to see the results within a week.
6. Papaya
Papaya is a very powerful and cost effective treatment for pimples. Every part of papaya is useful for skin care. The skin, the seeds, the leaves and the fruit itself are all useful to make your skin smooth and glowing. The enzymes in papaya are responsible for its restorative properties. A topical application of these enzymes help to heal and prevent acne.
Enzyme Alkalide papain in the leaves and enzyme cericin in the seeds are such powerful skin restorative compounds in the papaya plant.
We are going to use papaya pulp which contains papain enzyme. This enzyme effectively dissolves protein and fat. It cleanses the skin
Mash 50 grams of papaya pulp to make smooth paste. Generously apply this paste on the acne affected skin area. If you want you can apply it to the entire face as a facial mask. Leave it there for 20 minutes. Rinse your face with the cold water. You can apply this papaya mask daily on your acne affected area.
Juice of raw papaya can be used for treatment swollen pimples. It reduces inflammation and the
7. Banana Peel
You have perhaps always considered banana peel as useless and thrown it. Do not discard it if you have acne. This perhaps is one of the cheapest (almost free) home remedies for your pimples.
You need the skin of a ripe banana. Overripe bananas or under ripe banana peels will not be very effective. The yellow banana skin with dark spots is the best.
Wash your face before going to bed. Take out a banana peel. Cut a 2 inch piece and rub the inner side of the peel on your acne affected area. If required, cut more banana pieces and use it.
Leave it overnight and rinse it off in the morning with warm water. You should see your pimples reduce within a week. Continue doing it until your pimples are completely gone.
If you use one or more of the above remedies for pimples regularly, then you will get rid of your pimples soon. These methods are not only cost effective but harmless cures for pimples, whiteheads, blackheads and other facial skin blemishes. Regular use will also prevent future outbreaks of pimples so continue using them for some more time even after the spots are completely disappeared.