Introduction: Acne Treatment Home Remedies
Acne is the most common skin disease of teenagers and young adults, sometimes persisting into adulthood. The condition can result from occlusion of pores in the skin. Acne includes pimples of several types including whiteheads, blackheads, cysts and can result in scarring. Acne may cause individuals to become self-conscious and develop social anxiety. Before considering acne treatment home remedies, anyone with acne should obtain referral from their primary physician to see a Dermatologist. The reason for seeing a Dermatologist is to seek as much information and treatment options as early as possible to treat the condition.
Sponsored: Acne No More, Healing Acne Since 2003!
Basic Acne Prevention
Acne treatment home remedies starts with washing. Wash the skin gently with a mild moisture conserving soap such as Dove once or twice per day especially before bed and after perspiration or physical activity. Do not scrub as this can worsen acne and inflammation. Also, do not prick or squeeze pimples which can cause infection, enlargement or scarring. Some overlooked acne treatment home remedies include a warm moist cloth used as a compress to help pat the area and help drain pores.
Sponsored; The Coconut Oil Secret- Natures Best Healing Superfood
Changing Lifestyle Habits
Prevent occlusion of pores is one of the acne treatment home remedies. Occlusion of pores may occur from using headbands or hats, and by washing off makeup at night. Avoid touching or wiping the face as much as possible. A small amount of sun exposure may help, but excessive amounts will worsen acne.
Sponsored: Skin Whitening Forever
Dietary Associations With Acne
Avoiding all milk consumption: is another one of the acne treatment home remedies. Adebamowo et al (1) performed an observational study linking milk consumption to acne after reviewing the dietary habits of 47,355 adolescent women. Among participants who had been diagnosed with severe acne as teenagers, those with the highest level of total milk intake (>3 servings per day) reported having acne more frequently, when compared with individuals with the lowest level of intake (≤1 serving per week). Skim milk was associated with the highest risk of acne when comparing it to intake of whole milk and low fat milk. The study concluded that fat content was not the determining factor for acne risk. Researchers also hypothesized that the hormones found in milk played a role in acne risk. Therefore, avoiding milk products may be one of the useful acne treatment home remedies.
The same author Adebamowo et al (2) also examined the association between intake of milk products and acne among 4,273 teenage boys. Results indicated that young men were more likely to experience severe acne if they consumed ≥2 servings of milk per day when compared with boys who consumed ≤1 serving of milk per week. Researchers again found a positive association between skim milk and acne. Adebamowo et al (3) also looked at 6,094 girls aged 9 to 15 years who were followed for up to 3 years. An acne outbreak was found to be positively associated with the consumption of total, whole, low-fat and skim milk. Again, this reinforces the avoidance of dairy products as one of several beneficial acne treatment home remedies.
Acne and Phototherapy:
There is home blue light therapy equipment which uses LEDs for acne treatment home remedies. The blue light therapy and some other light therapies can be effective for inflammatory acne. Participants (n=30) received blue-light therapy on a lesion on one side of the face and then placebo on another lesion on the opposite side of the face. Compared to placebo, lesions receiving blue-light therapy had a significant better response in terms of size reduction, redness of the skin (erythema), and overall skin condition. Benefits of blue-light therapy were reported after just 2 treatments. Signs of improvement were observed as early as post 2 treatments. Blue-light therapy was also associated with a shorter time to clearance of acne lesions than placebo. (4)
Home-use of Light Plus Heat
In a placebo controlled study by Sadick NS et al, home light and heat therapy was shown to be one of the effective and safe acne treatment home remedies. It may be used for mild-to-moderate inflammatory acne. Participants received either light plus heat treatment (n=29) or placebo (n=32). In patients receiving treatment, an improvement was reported in 92.24% of lesions in a median time of 1 day. In the placebo group only 75.78% of lesions improved in a median time of 2 days. After 24 hours, improvement rates were at 76.72% and 15.63% for treatment and placebo, respectively. Lesions were reported to be resolved in 51.7% in the treatment arm compared to 36% in the placebo group.
Systematic Review on Light Therapy
A systematic review is a research study typically done using the findings of multiple randomized control trials. A systematic review on treating acne by using light therapy and/or topical cream activated by light (known as photodynamic therapy) was done by Hamilton FL et al (6) on 25 randomized controlled trials. These trials including over 600 subjects using light and laser therapies for acne vulgaris concluded that some forms were beneficial for treating acne. The authors compared the results from trials of light therapy alone, trials of blue light and trials of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Red-blue light was found to achieve better results in the near term over 5% benzoyl peroxide. According to the author, most trials of PDT showed some benefit especially in those suffering from non-inflammatory acne lesions. However, when compared to topical 1% adapalene gel (a topical retinoid prescription medication), no significant difference in improvement of acne lesions was reported for PDT. Additionally, side-effects of PDT therapy were not well tolerated.
| Supplement Facts | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| ^At time of manufacture.
Non-GMO Benegut® is a trademark of Vital Solutions. |
||||||||||
| Dosage and Use | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Acne Treatment Home Remedies Includes Probiotics
Saccharomyces, a species of yeast, is one of the effective probiotic acne treatment home remedies. A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was done by Weber G et al on 139 acne patients followed for 5 months. The trial demonstrated that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hansen CBS 5926 (Perenterol), also known as Saccharomyces boulardii healed or substantially improved acne. This probiotic yeast improved acne in over 80% of the treatment group, compared to 26% in the placebo group. Doctors rated the results as very good/good in 74.3% of the patients receiving the treatment, as compared with 21.7% in the placebo group. There were no serious adverse side effects reported in the 5-month study.
Acne and Vitamin B12
Kang D et al (8) studied the relationship between vitamin B12 and the bacteria Propionibacterium. The authors wished to determine why vitamin B12 seems to worsen acne in some individuals. The authors found that vitamin B12 supplementation increased the production of porphyrins which are responsible for inflammation in acne. It is unclear why vitamin B12 induces acne in some individuals, but not in others. In individuals with acne, it may be a good practice to avoid vitamin B12 supplements over the recommended daily allowance.
Conclusion for Acne Treatment Home Remedies
- Prevent occlusion of pores by washing with a mild moisture conserving soap such as Dove once or twice per day before bed and after perspiration or physical activity.
- Do not scrub, prick or squeeze and avoid contacting the face with hands and hair
- Warm moist cloth (compresses) to help drain pores as needed.
- Avoid drinking milk and consider elimination of all milk products.
- Saccharomyces boulardii yeast is a probiotic available in oral capsule seen in one study was found to heal or improve acne. The dose used in the study is unclear. Saccharomyces boulardii should not be used by immunocompromised patients, patients who are chronically ill, or hospitalized patients. See the section on Saccharomyces boulardii for more information.
- Home phototherapy using red and blue light together or blue light alone was effective for inflammatory acne.
- Dermatology referral for review of all options based on type and severity of acne.
- It is unclear why vitamin B12 induces acne in some individuals, but not in others. In individuals with acne, it may be a good practice to avoid vitamin B12 supplements over the RDA.
References for Acne Treatment Home Remedies
1.Adebamowo CA, Spiegelman D, Danby FW, et al. High school dietary dairy intake and teenage acne. J Am Acad Dermatol 52(2):207-14 (2005 Feb). http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622%2804%2902158-9/abstract
2.Adebamowo CA, Spiegelman D, Berkey CS, et al. Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys. J Am Acad Dermatol 58(5):787-93 (2008 May). http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622%2807%2902402-4/abstract
3.Adebamowo CA et al. Milk consumption and acne in adolescent girls. Dermatol Online J 2006;12(4):1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17083856
4.Gold MH, Sensing W, Biron JA. Clinical efficacy of home-use blue-light therapy for mild-to moderate acne. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2011 Dec;13(6):308-14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22091799
5.Sadick NS, Laver Z, Laver L. Treatment of mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris using a combined light and heat energy device: home-use clinical study. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2010 Dec;12(6):276-83. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21142737
6.Hamilton FL, Car J, Lyons C, Car M, Layton A, Majeed A. Laser and other light therapies for the treatment of acne vulgaris: systematic review. British Journal of Dermatology 2009; 160(6): 1273-1285. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19239470
7.Weber G, Adamczyk A, Freytag S. [Treatment of acne with a yeast preparation]. [Article in German] Fortschr Med. 1989 Sep 10;107(26):563-6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2530145
8.Kang D, Shi B, Erfe MC, Craft N, Li H. Vitamin B12 modulates the transcriptome of the skin microbiota in acne pathogenesis. Sci Transl Med. 2015 Jun 24;7(293):293ra103. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26109103