Natural home remedies to replace or complement conventional acne treatments: some are simple to prepare, while others require a little more effort, but they all contribute to achieving clearer skin.

Acne treatments with benzoyl peroxide, retinoids, and salicylic acid can leave your face sore and stressed after a month or so of use. When this happens, give your skin a break with something milder that uses natural ingredients.

Such ingredients can also complement conventional treatments. For example, jojoba oil can be used as a pre-shave lubricant, cleanser, and moisturizer to prevent skin from flaking, which is often a side effect of harsh prescription and over-the-counter treatments.

Jojoba, by the way, is the stand-alone ingredient for the first two of our eight remedies listed below.

Do Home Remedies Clear Skin Faster?

Claims, however, that natural remedies with ingredients like apple cider vinegar, honey, and sage are a fast cure and can even work overnight are untrue. Anecdotal evidence suggests that such ingredients can indeed help, and may actually work better for some people than conventional treatments, but a miracle remedy hasn’t yet been found.

It will always take at least four to six weeks to establish how effective a remedy is, homemade or not. And even if you notice some improvement, it’s unlikely that you’ll achieve a perfectly clear complexion in such a short space of time.

It’s a question of perseverance and experimenting to find out what works best for you.

You’ll find various natural remedies at health stores, but why not prepare your own? It’s fun, and you’ll know exactly what you’re putting on your face.

Natural Ingredients for Clearer Skin

These are the main ingredients included in the eight home remedies that follow:

• Jojoba oil, which imitates natural sebum as well as being noncomedogenic (meaning it won’t clog pores or exacerbate acne).
• Therapeutic-grade tea tree and lavender oils, known for their antiseptic properties.
• Sage, either fresh or dried, which has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. You can also use sage oil in conjunction with tea tree and lavender oil.
• Parsley, a known antioxidant and rich in vitamin A, which is widely used in prescription and over-the-counter treatments.
• Organic apple cider vinegar, which restores the skin’s pH level and acts as a mild exfoliant. This is due to malic acid, which is an alpha-hydroxy acid.
• Brewer’s yeast and clear honey, both known for their antibacterial properties.
• Chamomile, which is anti-inflammatory and may help prevent scarring.
• Milk, an excellent cleanser and exfoliant due to its lactic acid, which is also an alpha-hydroxy acid.
• Wheat bran, which is nutritionally rich and another great cleanser.

1. Noncomedogenic Pre-Shave Oil

Skin problems develop at about the same time we begin to sprout facial hair. Unfortunately, shaving lubricants are an acne irritant.

So wouldn’t it be good if we could keep shaving soap, foam, and gel away from our skin without having to walk around with a downy beard that probably looks worse than our acne?

As a 15-year-old, I was able to grow a pretty thick mustache, enabling me to avoid shaving that area from which the acne soon cleared up. But the rest of my facial hair wasn’t yet substantial enough to be of any help, and I don’t think anyone had ever heard of shaving oil back then.

Shaving oil is great, because it forms a protective barrier between the lubricant and the skin, as well as acting as a moisturizer. As such, it may turn out to be the only home remedy you need to achieve clear skin, especially if spots appear mainly in the beard area.

As mentioned above, jojoba is the ideal oil for this, so there’s no need to buy a manufactured pre-shave treatment.

How to Use Pre-Shave Oil

1. Wet your face
2. Massage the oil into your beard area
3. Apply your shaving lubricant
4. Shave as usual, but keep the razor wet at all times
5. Rinse your face
6. Remove excess oil with a cotton pad
7. Follow up with your usual treatment

You can give the oil an antiseptic quality by adding a drop or two of tea tree or lavender oil.

In case you’re wondering why I don’t suggest dry shaving, I tried this and found the wet shave to be more hygienic. And, like many men, I enjoy lathering up.

Source: Pixabay

2. Oil and Water Cleanser

Cleansers for acne sufferers are usually highly aggressive and strip the skin not only of dirt and excess sebum, but also of its natural barrier. As a result, the skin compensates by producing more sebum, which causes more clogged pores and more spots.

This home remedy can halt that vicious cycle, enabling your face to clear up.

Because of its noncomedogenic nature, jojoba oil is an ideal cleanser and moisturizer for the acne-prone.

Just massage it into your face and neck, add a little water, and work up to an emulsion. Rinse thoroughly, then gently wipe with cotton pads.

Follow up with a tonic, or, if you’re certain your face is completely cleansed, let the oily residue function as a moisturizer.

Jojoba is also a great conditioner for beards and mustaches.

3. Chamomile Tonic

This is the first of our tonics and the easiest to prepare.

Apply it in place of your usual acne lotion and/or as an aftershave, the use of which is unadvisable since fragranced products are a major irritant of acne-prone skin.

Ingredients

• 2 fl oz. chamomile infusion
• 2 fl oz. organic apple cider vinegar

For the chamomile infusion, use distilled water and, ideally, dried flowers, which are available online. Alternatively, teabags would suffice, organic being the better choice.

Method

1. Prepare the infusion, steeping for at least 15 minutes.
2. Pour the two ingredients into a bottle and shake.

How to Use

Apply to a cotton ball or pad, and swipe across your face mornings and evenings after cleansing and/or shaving, depending on your regimen.

In case you’re perturbed, the vinegar smell dissipates within minutes after using.

4. Sage and Parsley Tonic

If the above remedy has done little or nothing to clear your face, try this one, which is a slightly more elaborate.

It takes two weeks until it’s ready for use, but is not difficult to prepare and could prove as effective as commercial acne lotions.

Apply in the same way as the chamomile tonic above.

Ingredients

• 1 handful sage leaves
• 1 handful fresh parsley
• ½ cup organic apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup distilled water
• 1 teaspoon clear honey

You’ll also need a sealable jar that holds at least one pint of fluid, and a bottle that holds at least one cup.

Method

1. Clean the sage and parsley under running water and chop finely. If using dried sage, break it up instead of chopping.
2. Place in the jar and add the vinegar and water.
3. Close tightly and leave in a cool, dark place.
4. After two weeks, strain the fluid into the bottle, add the honey, and shake well.

5. Yeast and Honey Face Mask

An antibacterial mask that draws out impurities is paramount if you want clear skin. Try this as an alternative to the popular clay mask.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons powdered brewer’s yeast
• 2 tablespoons clear honey
• A little chamomile infusion to mix (see the above “chamomile tonic” recipe)

Method

1. Prepare the chamomile infusion, steeping for at least 15 minutes.
2. Mix the brewer’s yeast with the honey.
3. Add just enough chamomile infusion in order that the mixture forms a spreadable paste.

Apply the mask once or twice a week to your face and neck, avoiding the eye and mouth areas.

Leave on for 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Milk Bath with Sage and Wheat Bran

Breakouts on the back and shoulders are sometimes referred to as “bacne” and are a cause of great embarrassment when stripping off to swim or take a sauna. For older sufferers, it may even stand in the way of romantic relationships.

A milk bath works well in conjunction with prescribed and over-the-counter treatments. In fact, you may find this home remedy to be the missing factor to achieving clearer skin.

Ingredients

• ½ lb wheat bran
• 1 handful sage leaves
• 4 pints milk

Method

1. In a pan, bring the wheat bran, sage leaves, and milk to the boil.
2. Leave to steep until the milk has cooled.
3. Strain directly into your bathwater using muslin or a clean j-cloth placed in a sieve.

How to Use

Lie in the milky water for 15 to 20 minutes, allowing the milk’s lactic acid to exfoliate, while the wheat bran cleanses and draws out impurities.

Source: Pixabay

7. Tea Tub

If you’ve no time for the above recipe, try this simple but soothing remedy.

Just throw three to six bags of chamomile or lavender tea into your bathwater and add a few drops of jojoba.

You can use ordinary teabags or reusable muslin bags with a drawstring.

Another remedy for bacne is baking soda, which can also be added to bathwater.

8. Tea Tree Oil as a Spot Treatment

Known for its antiseptic qualities, tea tree oil is among the ingredients of most commercially available natural remedies.

You can add a few drops to any of the above recipes, or use it neat.

In this case, apply the oil to a cotton pad and dab on individual spots after cleansing. You might want to keep a bottle handy for whenever you feel a spot “coming on”’ during the course of the day. It will sometimes cause it to recede before breaking out.

© 2024, J. Richardson. All rights reserved.

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