Herbal Remedy for Acne

My experience with acne.

I am in my forties. I still get acne. It was terrible during my teens. Acne covered my face, back, neck. It took an emotional toll on me. On some days, I wouldn’t look at myself in the mirror.

The Dermatologist I visited told me hormones play a part -a rise in androgen levels. He also went on to very patiently tell my teenage self that, when the pores of the skin get blocked with oil and dead cells, you get acne. I later found out that these pores are connected to a sebaceous gland, which produces an oily substance called sebum. When extra sebum plugs up pores, it leads to the growth of a bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes or P. acnes. Your white blood cells in turn attack P. acnes, which leads to skin inflammation and acne. Some cases of acne are more severe than others, but common symptoms include whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples.

Several other factors too can cause acne, these include genetics – my mother had acne and has sensitive skin, a trait I have inherited, diet – the dermatologist banned chocolates,ice-creams etc (like I kept the diet). Your emotional and mental state too can cause acne – I find that when I get anxious or emotionally disturbed, I burst out with acne.

One terrible side-effect of acne is the scarring, which can affect a person’s self-esteem.

Below is a recipe for a home-made herbal paste made out of herbal powders (gram flour and turmeric are used to cook in many households in India). I find this paste very effective (since I still suffer from acne) in controlling the acne and mitigating and in most instances preventing the scarring.

The Herbal Remedy for Acne:

Ingredients

1. Besan – gram flour.
2. Sandal Wood Powder
3. Turmeric Powder.
4. Water or Rose Water.

Besan or Gram flour makes up the base of the paste. Put, say a tablespoon of it in a bowl.

Add a pinch of sandalwood powder. You must buy pure sandalwood powder, which is very expensive.

Add a pinch of turmeric. Too much turmeric can burn your skin. Turmeric is nature’s most potent anti-sceptic.

The last ingredient is water. Here, I have used rose-water.

Mix the ingredients and apply it to your face. It will harden and become a paste. Wait for twenty minutes and then wash.

Caution:

If you are allergic to the above ingredients, then, please do not use this paste. Further, these pastes are cooling; thus, I would suggest those suffering from asthma, respiratory diseases, sinusitis not use this paste. I do use this recipe in the cooler months, but in Chennai, the temperature rarely drops below 25C. I am not sure if you can use this herbal paste in a cooler climate, it may bring on a head-cold etc.