Who knows natural acne cures?

[Kristina]

My skin is soo bad right now. I am a 29 year old nursing mom and have had acne since I was 11. I have tried commercial acne products like mary kay and most recently Body Shop. The Body Shop did seem to work well, but I was pg and my skin actually gets crystal clear during pg! But for the past few months it has been awful, I cant remember the last time my skin was so full of breakouts. I have tried a baking soda/water paste and have not noticed any improvements. I really would like to try a natural remedy or even a home made one. I don't want to look like a teenager with kids any more, (a store clerk actually thought I was 19!) TIA

[jaam]

well my skin got WORSE during pregnancy! but a little bit of diluted tea tree oil worked pretty well. I also periodically steamed my face over a bowl of hot watre and green tea. I think that helped a little, too... it felt good if nothing else.

[girlndocs]

This Oil Cleansing Method has improved my skin to no end. Now I use it about once a week, steaming my face beforehand. The other nights, I use a gentle homemade oatmeal-lavender scrub, water, or nothing.

The things that helped the most were learning to treat my skin gently, not fearing its natural oils, and drinking lots of water. I've been on prescription acne meds & everything in the past.

Good luck!

[Kristina]

Originally Posted by girlndocs

This Oil Cleansing Method has improved my skin to no end. Now I use it about once a week, steaming my face beforehand. The other nights, I use a gentle homemade oatmeal-lavender scrub, water, or nothing.

I am so excited to try this! How do you make the oatmeal-lavender scrub? I am guessing it is something like a small handful of oatmeal and a few drops of LO with some water to moisten.
Oh, and do you wear much makeup? I don't wear it every day so on those days I can see water would be okay.
And I am going to try the OCM tonight! I hope it works great for me!

[KarmaChameleon]

Just FYI, we have a tribe in tribal areas for "mamas with bad skin" and there's lots of support and ideas for clearing your skin flowing through our thread.

Some of us have had success with some things, others with other things.

Please join us if you need a little support!!!!!!

[Kristina]

Originally Posted by KarmaChameleon

Just FYI, we have a tribe in tribal areas for "mamas with bad skin" and there's lots of support and ideas for clearing your skin flowing through our thread.

Some of us have had success with some things, others with other things.

Please join us if you need a little support!!!!!!

COOL!! I will definitly check it out, thanks so much

[hrheka]

My husband and I both have had bad skin, we're in our late 20's. We use the Oil Cleansing Method and our skin has never looked better. I can't believe how dramatic the change has been either!

[camprunner]

I've just been using Dr. Bronner's baby mild and it has worked wonders for me.

[girlndocs]

Originally Posted by Kristina

I am so excited to try this! How do you make the oatmeal-lavender scrub?

I use 1c oatmeal, 1/2c dry lavender, a handful of dry chamomile, a little wheat bran usually, and about 2 tbsp brown sugar. I blend it all up very fine like flour in an old coffee grinder. I might throw in a couple teaspoons dehydrated milk and/or powdered marshmallow root, too. I used to add dried Gallica rosepetals, but they were from my garden and my supply's run out now. Really, everything but the oatmeal is optional. You can blend it up in a blender, too, probably.

It makes about a pint mason-jar full, which I keep tightly sealed in the bathroom. To wash my face, I put a tsp or so in my palm and mix to a paste with water (sometimes I use milk, kefir, yogurt or coconut milk). I massage it all over gently and rinse. To date, it hasn't clogged my bathroom drains, which was something that worried me.

It also makes a gentle mask mixed thicker than usual. That's especially nice if you use honey and/or yogurt/kefir to mix it with.

Oh, and do you wear much makeup? I don't wear it every day so on those days I can see water would be okay.

The extent of my makeup collection is some silver glitter, a tube of mascara, clear lip gloss, and blotting papers for in the summer Depending on the makeup (like mineral brands) I wonder if just warm water, with thorough fingertip massage, mightn't be enough anyway? Ponder, ponder.

And I am going to try the OCM tonight! I hope it works great for me!

I hope it worked out well! I found out I had better results using plain coconut oil than the castor/olive mix, and others have liked different oils & blends, so don't be afraid to tweak it.

[charmarty]

: these are great!thanks!!



charmarty_skin not so clear since pergnancy.........

[Zanymom]

ohh, I am going to have to try the OCM. My face always breaks out when I am prego. I have a third eye right now and some ppl are coming over to visit tonight. I hate hiding my face.

[Kristina]

Well, I have been doing OCM for a few days now and my skin does seem a bit better. I will post back in a few more days as to where I am then....

[Galatea]

I use a Rx cream (Azelex) that according to kellymom is safe for pg and bf. I didn't use it when pg, though. : Actually, it is an acid that is naturally found in breastmilk and wheat, among other things.

[hrheka]

I should say that when i started OCM, a few days into it I had a few terrible pimples in areas that had been very troubled. I noticed that a lot of black heads that I thought had become a permanent fixture on my face were coming up but getting a little irritated on the way.

I tried the oatmeal scrub above and it was really nice. I can't use OCM everyday because it seems to really dry my skin, the oatmeal was really soothing though and with the lavender smelled so nice!

[Kristina]

You know its odd, I have noticed a distinct pattern on my face of acne. It starts high on my cheek bones below the hair line and travels down my cheek towards my chin. It does this on each side. In fact it is nearly exactly the same on each side of my face. I wonder why???

[JessicaS]

I used to get that turns out it was the hairproducts I was using that caused that.

Maybe see if you can switch to different hair stuff, even a fragrance in conditioner can irritate my skin.

I use soap with tea tree and peppermint and witchhazel on my skin.

[Kristina]

update:

Okay, it has been several days and while my skin does seem to look better overall, I do have new breakouts. I have revised my system to this:
Morning, wash with oatmeal scrub, finely ground and then I treat breakouts with diluted TTO.
Nighttime, OCM with 75/25% EVOO & CO. Both a.m and p.m. I use a bit of burts bees apricot oil on any spot that feels dry. I am going to stick with this a few more days and then revise it to see what may improve, hopefully.
Any more input is very welcome.

[girlndocs]

Hey guys, if your skin feels dry you just need to be a little less vigilant about the steaming/wiping afterwards. I had that problem too at first. Leave a lil film of oil on your skin.

[oneotamama]

i use a tea tree oil bar soap from dr. bronners

[AngelBee]

I used TTO straight out of the bottle right on blemishes and they were nearly gone in the morning. Is that bad to use it straight if you didn't have a reaction. Also playing aroung with olive oil washing. Seems to work well.

I would suggest a clay mask maybe once a week also.