So you’ve got acne but getting a good acne treatment is not in your budget right now, or maybe you’ve run out of your acne treatment, you need home remedies to help with pimples, blackheads or dark spots or you’re like us and you’re totally in love DIY remedies.
Here are 10 home remedies that may help treat acne, they are everyday items you probably have lying around in the house.
Whilst these are not one-time miracle solutions, consistency will go a long way in getting noticeable progress and you probably have to do a bit of experimenting to find what would work best for you.
So let’s go, get ready for some #skingoals.
Banana Peel.
Don’t we all love bananas, and to think you don’t have to throw away those peels! Banana peels are filled with antioxidants-vitamin C and vitamin E and they also contain potassium, zinc, iron, and manganese. These items are very effective for reducing acne, blackheads, and inflammation of the skin.
It’s also pretty easy to use banana peels for acne treatment, just rub the banana peels all over your face, let it sit for about 45 mins and rinse off.
Ice
It’s Saturday morning and you have planned to slay at a party, you notice an inflamed pimple on your face. With a few hours to go, you need something to reduce that inflammation asap.
Ice is a great remedy to reduce inflammation temporarily. All you need to do is wrap a paper towel around cubes of ice. Place this over the pimple or inflamed area for a couple of minutes. This will help reduce the swelling temporarily. The longer you hold it over the area, the faster the swelling will go down.
Green Tea Bags
Green tea is one of those things are probably very effective for almost anything. This might be because they contain plant-based antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic compounds called catechins. They are also rich in epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), research shows that they are very effective in treating acne. Follow this routine to effectively use them to treat acne.
Remove leaves from the tea bags in some warm water, you want to get it moist.
Mix the leaves with aloe vera or honey. (These both have great anti-inflammatory properties)
Add a little baking soda. (This is optional if you want it to be somewhat thicker to make a good facial mask that will sit nicely)
Spread the mixture over your face
Let it sit for 30mins.
This home remedy for acne is so good that it can be an add-on to your acne treatment, you also need to do this twice a week for effectiveness.
Lemon Juice
If you are on a diet, you have probably heard a lot about the benefits of Lemon Juice for dieting, it’s also a natural astringent and exfoliator.
Squeeze out some juice out of one lemon, use cotton buds to dab the juice on trouble areas only. Lemon juice is very acidic and can cause irritation to other areas of the face, so you should be careful to only dab the juice on the trouble areas. Lemon juice contains citric acid and vitamin C, these are very effective in lightening and brightening the skin over time, so you know your dark spots will also thank you!
Papaya (Paw-paw)
Papaya or Paw-paw as it is called in parts of Africa has enzymes that help reduce inflammation, it is also a natural exfoliant.
It is also pretty easy to apply, using a fork mash up the fruit and apply all over your face as a mask. Let it sit for 40minutes, rinse and enjoy the benefits of this healing fruit.
Tomatoes
Save a tomato next time you are cooking some stew, they are very effective in treating acne. Tomatoes are very rich in Vitamin A and C which are antioxidant agents. They also contain antibacterial and Lycopene properties that work very well in reducing inflammation, redness, treating blackheads and shrinking pores. Lycopene contains the highest antioxidative property, it is an excellent natural astringent.
Cut a slice from the tomatoes and rub it all over your face, leave for an hour before rinsing. Just like lemon juice, tomatoes are also highly acidic and can also cause irritation to your face, you want to be sure this is the right treatment for you, so the advice is to test it first on just the acne areas and see how your skin reacts to it. Rinse off immediately if your skin gets irritated.
Yogurt
Yes, you read that right! In addition to having antibacterial properties, plain yogurt also soothes the skin. They contain probiotics that help fight inflammation.
Apply a thin layer all over the face and let it sit for 20mins before rinsing.
To also help deal with sunburn, dark circles under the eyes or heat rash, add honey to yogurt and use it as a face mask. Let it sit for about an hour before rinsing.