History of Herbal Remedies in the fight against acne

Herbal medicine has been used for thousands of years to combat acne, as it was the first form of medicine ever adopted by our world. Throughout the years, generations have narrowed down which herbs are the most effective against pimples and now they can be conveniently purchased from the local health shop.

The most common herbs used for acne

Some of the most commonly used herbs for acne are milk thistle, burdock root, neem, basil, sandalwood, elm bark, dandelion root and olive leaf. These herbs are usually blood cleansers and all work in slightly different ways. Milk thistle, for example, boosts liver action which consequently increases your body’s cleansing. Olive leaf extract act in a way that is similar to antibiotics and hinders the bad bacteria in your body so that your immune system can naturally cleanse it out.

• Milk Thistle
• Burdock root
• Neem
• Basil
• Sandalwood
• Elm bark
• Dandelion root
• Olive Leaf

Herbs are powerful for short periods of time

Although herbal acne treatments are powerful, your body will quickly become accustomed to the herbs being used and after 2 weeks, the effects will beging to die down. Within 3 weeks, human bodies get used to herbs and the effects fade away. In this sense, herbs are to be used as a temporary boost to your system and are not a permanent solution.

A recommendation when using herbs to cure acne

One way to increase the effectiveness of the herbs is to switch the type of herb every 2 weeks.

This way, your body will not get used to them as quickly. Even with this technique, acne herbal remedies are not a permament solutions.

As we all know, having a clear, well functioning system is good for acne. So I imagined that having an all fruit diet for my acne would be a good thing. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, too much of anything is not good.

Too Many Fruits Can Cause Acne

What happens when you eat too much fruit is that you get a lot of sugar which promotes candida growth. Not only that, but having a high fruit diet makes your body very acidic. This is completely the opposite of what we want! Since this discovery I have opted to eat more green vegetables, which do not produce candida overgrowth and alkanize your body instead.

Here’s a list of fruits that have been known to be especially helpful for acne:

• Avocado
• Kiwi
• Apples
• Oranges
• Grapes / Raisins
• Pears
• Grapefruit

Just make sure you don’t add sugar!

Adding fruits to your daily regimen is one of the most beneficial things you can do. It improves digestion, cleans out your system, hydrates you and provides you with many vitamins which are essential. The trick is not to overdo it. I usually try to eat 2 portions of fruit per day, usually apples or oranges. If you’re going to eat fruits for acne, make sure to balance it with a lot of green vegetables as well.

Zenmed’s herbs

In terms of usage, I have found that Zenmed’s herb capsules are the best ones and are the most efficient (seriously, they were good stuff). However, they are pricey and only worked for me for about 2 weeks. Afterward, the effects wore off.

If you do venture off in the Zenmed zone, remember that you really don’t need to buy the whole system, just the capsules will do. I have found they they are better than the arcadia herbs for acne and skin conditions.

Nature’s way AKN did help but wasn’t as strong as Zenmed’s.

And finally, Skin & Hair helped a lot and I was able to use it for a longer period of time. I suspect it is because one of the main ingredients inside is MSM and this is actually something that our body needs on a regular basis.

“I’ve been taking Nature’s way Skin & Nails supplement for a while now, the main ingredient is MSM and I really didn’t think it would help that much, but to my surprise, it has A LOT. MSM is responsible or a lot of things happening in your body and this whole formula has helped me tremendously. Also, I’ve been taking it for 4 weeks and the effects don’t die off like other herbal supplements I’ve taken. I suspect it’s because it’s providing me with more than just herbs.“

My recommendation is, if you’re going to try to take herbs for acne, first start by researching them. You’ll hear a ton of people talking about how great they are… but remember that the effect is temporary. The last herb for acne that I haven’t mentioned yet, but is extremely useful is milk thistle. I’ll have an entire post dedicated to it shortly, that’s how good it is.

Regular bowel movements and acne

A heavy meal like that would just sit in my stomach, and I could actually FEEL it clogging me up. I had just blocked my digestive track. Having good digestion is critical; otherwise waste builds up in your body and the result it acne.

This was a huge deal for me because I would eat very little during the day and then eat a huge meal at night, therefore clogging me up all night until I finally had some other big meal to ‘push it down’.  Learn from my mistakes, make sure you have a proper digestion and it will help your acne.

I first noticed this when I was working late night shifts, a bad habit that stayed with me even when I changed jobs. Now I tend to stay up late at night in front of the computer, and I have to constantly remind myself that sleep has a serious effect on your overall health, including acne.

So keep in mind, if your body is not rested, it’s more prone to acne!

Sleeping on your back

I have noticed that sleeping on my back helps me a lot. This took a lot of getting used to because I used to sleep sideways like many people do. However, after forcing myself to sleep on my back, I noticed a huge reduction in new pimples in the morning!

The downside to this was that I started noticing a few pimples on my upper back when I did this. But if you’re anything like me, then having 2-3 pimples hidden away on your back is a hundred times better than having them on your face for everyone to see!

“Sleeping on my back helped my acne so much, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner!”

Now instead of calling it beauty sleep, I call it acne sleep. It’s more motivating for me that way!

Every day I take 1 1000mg vitamin C and it really seems to help. I can’t remember the last time I was sick, even when everyone around me was coughing up bricks.

ps. Speaking of vitamins, you should know that vitamin B5 is never prescribed by doctors for acne.

Acne and colds

The idea came to me because whenever I was sick, I would take a lot of vitamin C… and for some reason; my acne would always fade away 4-5 days after taking regular doses of vitamin C.

Effects of vitamin C for acne

So sure enough, I decided to try it without being sick and it helps! However, I’ve been warned not to take TOO much vitamin C as it gives you diarrhea and could potentially cause ’stones’ to develop. However, taking 1 vitamin C per day with a lot of water has been great for me. Lastly, if you can get an abundance of vitamin C through foods, then all the better! It’s better that way.

*UPDATE* Well apparently taking too much vitamin C can cause stones to develop. This is bad! So although I still recommend taking vitamin C to give yourself a little boost from time to time, you really shouldn’t take it on a daily basis like I used to do.

Instead of taking vitamin C in the form of pills and supplements, I recommend getting your daily dose of vitamin C from fruits and vegetables. Oranges, kiwis, lemon all have high concentrations of vitamin C which will help your acne.

First few days taking milk thistle

When I was doing my research on acne, this term kept on re-appearing every few days. I would see people claming to have taken milk thistle for a year and suddenly having their acne fade away. Others claimed that it rebuilt your liver. I was intrigued.

So I began taking milk thistle capsules from Nature’s Way 3 times a day. Immediately within 2-3 days, my acne began to dramatically fade away. This was the only alteration to my diet and it really had made a huge difference. Immediately, I thought that this was the miracle solution, wondering why no one had mentioned it before.

Milk Thistle, 7 days later…

Wow, after a week of taking milk thistle religiously for my acne, I noticed that my face was looking much better. Acne had stopped from cropping up, life seemed good. In my mind, I had finished my journey, all I needed was this one bottle. I was ready to spam messageboards to tell everyone about this miracle cure.

Acne fights back when you least expect it.

Pimples slowly started coming back. Less than before, but they were definitely starting to crop up, I could feel them coming. In the second week, I had 3-4 pimples crop up, which was bearable, compared to what I previously had. But wanting to go back to the perfect clear I had in the first week, I decided to raise the dosage.
More is better?

Milk Thistle Effects on Acne

I started taking 2 extra capsules per day, I figured that this would help get me through this rough week, and that the week after I could go back to my normal dosage. Unfortunately, taking these extra supplements created a slight pain in what seemed to be my liver. (very hard to tell where the pain was coming from, but there was definitely a pain in my body near my liver) As soon as I felt that, I stopped taking milk thistle entirely. I do NOT like having pains that I can’t explain. It could be dangerous. This never happened when I was taking the regular dosage, but of course, I had to try more when the regular dosage stopped working.
To my dismay, after stopping to take milk thistle, I broke out worse than before. My body had adjusted to the extra milk thistle and when I took it away, it completely collapsed.

When I first started taking milk thistle for my acne, my body went into overdrive. It was working harder than it normally would of because of the milk thistle. This purified my body and caused the acne to go away. After a while, my body adapted to the dosage of milk thistle and its effects faded away. Finally, when I took the milk thistle away, I broke out. I was taking something away that my body had gotten used to.

I’m not sure if it would recommend milk thistle for acne sufferers. Its a good experiment to go through, and its nice to see your skin improve for a week or two. After that however, it goes back to normal. I suppose taking lower dosages might help, but as with all herbs, the effects fade away after a while. If anything, I would take milk thistle for acne if I knew I was bout to breakout.

So what I do now is that in the middle of the afternoon (well, basically anytime between 10am and 4 pm) I go outside and lay down in the sun for about 15-25 minutes. When I lay down in the sun, I make sure my FACE gets sunlight.

Sun’s effects on your acne prone skin

I don’t put any sunscreen. Sunscreen has always made me break out and for some reason, and the whole point of me going to get sun is to actually… get sun, not block it. Also, I figure that 15-25 minutes isn’t much, if we ever get to the point where we can’t be outside for 20 minutes without protection… well let’s not go there. Oh yeah, the ozone layer is actually regenerating itself now (Thanks to banning CFCs) and it’s predicted that by 2050 we should be back to ‘normal’ levels. Yeah it’s a long time, but at least its one thing that’s going in the right direction!

Sunlight and acne bacteria

Sun makes my skin feel great, research papers that I have read show that the rays of sun kill the harmful bacteria on the skin, but I suspect there’s more to it than that. Our body uses sunlight to produce vitamin D, which is great, but I suspect it also does other things which are beneficial but not completely understood today.

Obviously, I try to avoid burning at all costs! I never stay in the sunlight for too long and if I ever feel too hot, I go inside to take a break. Being in the sun should be enjoyable

Update! April 28th news reporting confirms my recommendation

“But research into vitamin D is suggesting both a plausible answer to this medical puzzle and a heretical notion: that cancers and other disorders in rich countries aren’t caused mainly by pollutants but by a vitamin deficiency known to be less acute or even non-existent in poor nations.”

It continues ” But perhaps the biggest bombshell about vitamin D’s effects is about to go off. In June, U.S. researchers will announce the first direct link between cancer prevention and the sunshine vitamin. Their results are nothing short of astounding.”

And finally, “Only brief full-body exposures to bright summer sunshine — of 10 or 15 minutes a day — are needed to make high amounts of the vitamin. But most authorities, including Health Canada, have urged a total avoidance of strong sunlight or, alternatively, heavy use of sunscreen. Both recommendations will block almost all vitamin D synthesis.”

Read the whole article about acne and sun here

One of the foods that can benefit acne the most is salmon. Integrating salmon into your diet will eliminate any further acne from producing, and minimizing the effects if any does.

Food compared to pills for acne

Although I have tried many supplements, herbs and medicines in the past, nothing comes close to eating the real thing on a regular basis. Not only is it cheaper, but I would imagine it’s much healthier to eat foods rather than to take anything in pill/powder format.

Salmon

My special food number one that I integrate whenever I go on my ‘anti acne’ regime is wild smoked salmon. Every time I start eating good salmon on a regular basis, my acne goes away within days.

Wild salmon for acne

Now the choice of salmon is very important, I haven’t tried the ‘regular’ smoked salmon, but I hear that unless it’s specifically written “Wild” salmon, its fish that comes from a fish farm. These usually are more toxic than wild salmon. Also, they seem to have a different color… which indicates that there really must be a difference, at least at some level.
Foods to avoid to prevent acne – Fish toxicity

I have heard many cautions of toxicity in fish, so I would *strongly* recommend getting the wild one. Yeah, it may cost $2-3 more, but it’s worth it. Anyhow, I usually buy Wild Sock Fresh Salmon at Loblaws/Publix and it costs me $10-15. Then I eat a nice healthy slice every day until my acne completely goes away. Usually one pack of Salmon will last me 4-5 days.

Afterwards, when my acne is gone, I eat a slice of Salmon every 2 days, making it last about 10 days.

The first thing I that went through my mind when I was buying this Salmon was…”Wow, this is so expensive, I can’t do this forever!”

However, when I realized that I’m going to spend money on food anyways, it’s not like I’m buying a supplement, pills, or anything like that. It’s FOOD. I spend a lot more than this whenever I eat out, and if this helps my acne, then it’s much more worthwhile than my meal at a fast food place.

So I added the second most useful thing to combat acne, and that is, Apple Cider Vinegar. I usually mix a VERY small amount of ACV in a 500 ml bottle of water.

How to drink ACV

For starters, if you make it too strong, it will be impossible to drink. When I started mixing apple cider with my water, I really didn’t like the taste, so what I did was I reduced the amount until it was ok to drink. In fact, at the start, I was putting in only a few drops and the color would barely change, but it was enough for me! Then I got used to the taste, and now I put just enough to see a slight color change in the water.

Mixing Apple Cider Vinegar with water

My personal guidelines are:

• If it burns when you drink it, you put WAY too much ACV
• If you can’t taste anything, then you didn’t put enough.
• If you can’t drink it completely, then you put too much.
• If you feel like you could drink the whole thing in one straight shot, you probably need a bit more.

Usually I’ll take big sips of the ACV / water mixture, and I forget that I’m drinking it because it just tastes normal.  Apple cider vinegar will clear up your acne problems in no time!