Herbs That Prevent Acne

Age is really not a factor especially in a changing environment. Today, more and more adults are being diagnosed with what we call the adult acne but there is nothing to really fear because it is not a dreaded disease, it is just a skin condition almost like a passing phase in life.

There are different types of remedies available for treatment of acne but nothing compares to home treatments. Home treatments for acne constitute natural therapies, vegetable, minerals, fruits, ayurvedic and herbal treatments. You can buy fresh or frozen vegetables as well as herbs from fuzing.com. Some of the herbs available on Fuzing include Achiote Leaf, Almond Oil, Anethole, Aloe Vera, Arnica Flower, Bayberry Bark etc.

Let us take a look at the various home remedies that you can use for Acne.

The Herbal Mix

Herbs play an important role in preventing and treating of acne. Hence you can take herbs even when you are on a diet or after you have completed your diet program.

A good herbal mix should consist of equal parts of herbal extracts from yellow dock, sarsaparilla, cleavers and burdock. These herbs are potent lymph and blood cleansing agents. If you take half a teaspoon at least three times a day apart from a healthy diet then you will not only have a healthy skin but also prevent acne. Some of the most commonly prescribed herbs are tea tree oil, which is applied to acne lesions to kill the acne causing bacteria and Nigella or fennel flower.

HERB#1: TREE TEA OIL
Tea tree oil is can be obtained from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia by using steam distillation. It is the native herb of Australia and effectively fights acne. You can purchase undiluted or pure tea tree oil from health stores.

* Ingredients: Contains terpinen-4-ol, which has antimicrobial properties.
* Use: It kills bacteria hence should be used on acne lesions to kill Propionibacterium acnes, which is a Bacteria that lives on the skin and causes acne.
* Benefits: Few side effects as compared to benzoyl peroxide.
* Avoid: using undiluted tree tea oil as it may cause skin blistering, redness, irritation, itching and over-dryness
* Concentration: 5% concentration gels should be used. You can also make it at home by mixing 5 parts of tea tree oil with 95 parts of water.

HERB#2: NIGELLA OR FENNEL FLOWER
Nigella or fennel flower is an effective herbal cure against Acne. The fennel flower belongs to the genus Nigella of the sativa species. People or civilizations have been cultivating this plant for centuries for its medicinal qualities and also as a spice.

Ingredients: Nigella sativa consists of Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fatty acids, Vitamins and Minerals

Some of the other complex compounds found in the Nigella are:
arginine, Alanine, tryptophan, campesterol, asparagine, carvone, cystine, cymene, dehydroascorbic-acid, glucose, eicosadienoic-acid, glutamic-acid, iron, glycine, isoleucine, linoleic-acid, leucine, d-limonene, linolenic-acid, lysine, lipase, methionine, nigellin, myristic-acid, nigellone, palmitic-acid, oleic-acid, phenylalanine, potassium, phytosterols, beta-sitosterol, stearic-acid, alpha-spinasterol, stigmasterol, threonine, tannin, thymoquinone and thymohydroquinone.

Benefits: Nigella has some magical properties that makes it such a sought after herb for treatment of various skin and body problems. Some of the common properties of Nigella are:

* Antineoplastic
* Antimicrobial
* Analgesic
* Anti-inflammatory
* Antipyretics


Nigella is a potent natural remedy for strengthening the immune system. It is used for treating acne because acne can get aggravated due to a weak immune system and Nigella makes the immune system stronger.

Chemical Compounds

Apart from the natural diets and applying or intake of herbs, you can also use baking soda to effectively fight against acne. Baking soda is also known as sodium bicarbonate. It is normally available in a fine powder form and is used for leavening food like cake. You can buy it from any food store. On reaction with acid, sodium bicarbonate produces water and carbon dioxide.

Sodium bicarbonate works in two different ways, which are:

Exfoliating agent: Acne can flare up anytime and anywhere and the reason it happens is because of clogging of the hair follicles. When your hair follicle gets clogged then the sebaceous glands will start producing sebum continuously, which will cause the hair follicles to rupture. If a bump appears on your skin with the sebum still inside then it is known as a white head but if the bump comes out of the skin then it is known as a blackhead.

Neutralize acidic environment: Fungal or bacterial infections are also one of the primary reasons of acne. Baking soda in the form of sodium bicarbonate will help in damaging the bacterial cells that help bacteria to grow on your skin.