Acne is the most common skin disease in the United States, according to the Acne Resource Center. More than 85 percent of teenagers and 20 percent of adults suffer from active acne. While eating proper foods and maintaining healthy habits are the first line of defense in promoting clear skin and blocking blemishes, many free and effective acne treatments are available to lessen the severity of this wide-spread skin condition.
Soap and Water
Washing your face with soap and water not only is the simplest method of treating acne, but also the most effective. Use your fingers to thoroughly cleanse your face with mild soap and warm water. Soap works as an astringent, gently removing excess oils and reducing blackheads and pimples. Rinse your face with cold water to close the pores. Splashing the face five to ten times with fresh cold water removes “any debris, dead skins cells and all traces of cleanser,” reports Dr. Francesco Fusco in the book “The Doctors Book of Home Remedies.”
Steam Facial
A bi-weekly steam bath helps to open and drain your pores of impurities, draws out blackheads and dries up excess oil secretions, according to Jason Elias, a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, in the book “Alternative Cures.”
Boil a pot of water and pour it into a basin. Holding a towel over your head, lean over the basin of steaming water for five minutes while your face sweats out the dirt. Splash your face with cold water five to ten times to close the pores.
Sugar
While the biochemical toxins ingested by consuming refined sugar often dump impurities into the skin’s oil-secreting glands, clogging pores and causing blemishes, a topical sugar treatment can yield significant results in treating acne, as per naturopathic physician Dr. Andrew Rubman in the book “Alternative Cures.”
Natural-HomeRemedies.com suggests a recipe of two parts white sugar mixed with one part brown sugar. Add enough water to form a thick paste, and use it as an exfoliating facial scrub.
Ice
Ice is cost-free, inhibits redness and helps to control acne inflammation, according to Acnetalks.com. Simply rub ice onto your pimples and whiteheads before going to bed at night.
Eggs
Look no further than your refrigerator for a free flare-up fighter. Egg whites work as an astringent as well as containing proteins which provide anti-inflammatory effects, reported Dr. James Fulton, a dermatologist in Newport Beach, California, in the book “Home Remedies What Works.” (See Reference 5)
Cleanse your face with soap and water. Crack an egg open, and separate the white from the yolk, discarding the yolk. Soak a cotton swab with the egg white, and dab it onto your pimples. This natural acne eradicator yields particularly beneficial results on new outbreaks.
