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Hi guys,

I have acne, not a serious ailment I know but still rather embarassing at my age.

Anyway, I get Zineryt provided from my GP for it which is so full of chemicals I feel it burn my skin as I apply it, it's awful stuff to have to use especially when I try to avoid putting any chemical on my skin when possible.

So, I was wondering if anyone knows of any natural, chemical-free ways to manage & / or treat acne?

Would really appreciate your advice!

Hi WH
Drinking two or three mugs of nettle tea each day might help. IMHO The shop bought stuff tastes more acceptable than home made but I still have to give each mug a spoonful of honey for taste.

I prefer a tea tree oil cream. Holland & Barrat used to do a really good one but they discontinued it. You can still get it there but it's not as good. Pop a little bit on a spot when it appears and it dries it out nicely. Aloe vera lip balm works well on those irritating spots that come up around the lips.

Zoe

Thanks guys... at the moment I'm washing my face with honey and thyme which cleans the face wonderfully, its' chemical free so it doesn't irritate the sore areas which is certainly helping and it seems to be improving with this, albeit slowly but surely. I thought it would have made it worse, but I gave it a try and I'm really impressed with it!

CM, I'll give the nettle teas a try never had it before... Had nettle soup before which was a pleasant surprise :D Shame, I just got rid of a load of nettles from my garden, didn't think to use them... wish I had now... ahh well with this weather there's bound to be another forest of them out there in a couple of weeks lol!

Thomzo thanks, I'm going to holland and barratts this week I'll have a look at what they have :D

Hi Wolfhazel

I developed acne as an adult after having a Mirena coil fitted, I also later found the minipill does the same for me as i am sensitive to artificial hormones. I was given long term antibiotic treatment by the doctor which was not ideal. Then I found the answer - for me at least. I stopped eating processed foods. No white flour, sugar, ready meals and the acne went. Not always the easiest diet if you are out and about a lot but it really worked for me. Hope you find the solution for you

JuzaMum

Hi Juza,

Thanks so much for the info! I think mine is caused by the implant... I'm hopefully getting a copper coil fitted soon which will hopefully get rid of the problem as it doesn't have an artifical hormones.

In terms of the white flour what time of flour did you use instead and was it that you had now sugar or that you used brown sugar. I don't eat ready meals I tend to make as much of our food as I can. So that should be ok.

Appreciate your help.

Wolfhazel xx

I find bergamot essential oil really good for drying out and healing spots (recent discovery though I've been fighting them for almost 20 years now, grr). Just be careful if going out in the sun as it can make your skin more photo-sensitive, so more likely to burn. Smells amazing too!

wolf hazel

is the honey and thyme you mention a bought or home made preparation ? if the latter...whats the recipe?
if the former what does label say re contents and proportion'

Niknik, it's home made you can just use honey on its own to wash your face with. I add a bit of thyme just to act as a mild scrub but you just add as much as you want I have a mini marmalade jar which I filled with honey and added a teaspoon of dried thyme it tends to float but I just mix it in each time I take some. Its worked for me my skin is much smoother.

Hi Wolfhazel

I cut out all added sugar - so no homemade cakes . I ate ryebread and oatcakes instead of bread and didn't use flour in cooking. Naturally occuring sugars seemed not no cause a problem.

JuzaMum

If anyone's still interested in this, have a go with sulphur soap - it DOES contain sulphur and can be used for various skin complaints. I ordered some sort of Far Eastern bog standard brand off eBa, but there might be fancypants types available from special shops or brands on the High Street. The additonal benefit is that you don't have to do anything special, just use it as you would soap. More benefit is got by leaving it on for a few minutes before rinsing, though, but you can use that time easily by brushing your teeth, combing your hair, etc. It's very drying on unaffected skin though so don't leave it on that unless you want to moisturise afterwards.

If anyone's still interested in this, have a go with sulphur soap - it DOES contain sulphur and can be used for various skin complaints. I ordered some sort of Far Eastern bog standard brand off eBa, but there might be fancypants types available from special shops or brands on the High Street. The additonal benefit is that you don't have to do anything special, just use it as you would soap. More benefit is got by leaving it on for a few minutes before rinsing, though, but you can use that time easily by brushing your teeth, combing your hair, etc. It's very drying on unaffected skin though so don't leave it on that unless you want to moisturise afterwards.