This post may contain affiliate links meaning I earn money from companies mentioned in this post at no additional cost to you. Read full disclosure here
There are several effective natural products for acne but for the sake of this post, I will mention 7 that work. Acne is one of the most common diseases worldwide that needs utmost attention. It causes lots of discomfort for people affected by it. There are several treatment options to get rid of acne such as topical creams, herbal remedies, antibiotics, oral contraceptives and much more.
If you have tried benzoyl peroxide and other topicals mentioned in my previous post and it irritates your skin, then natural products sourced from plants or herbs are an alternative option to get rid of acne. You can easily get these herbs in your garden, from pharmacists, at the local market and even in cosmetic stores.
In this post, I will take you through the top 7 natural products that get rid of acne. You can get over the counter. This post is purely informative, please read the disclaimer below.
Important Note: Please don’t ingest herbs without consulting your local healthcare practitioner, most of them are not safe. Although herbs have wonderful chemicals that contribute positively to skincare conditions, they are not sufficient by themselves. Therefore, ensure using herbal remedies with great care. Please read my medical disclaimer.
Table of Contents
Top 7 Effective Natural Products For Acne
1. Mangosteen Rind
Mangosteen is found in Southern Asian countries. Although it may sound like Mango its physical nature is not close to a mango. This fruit is called the “Queen Of Fruits” due to its sweet taste and a pleasant aroma. In addition, It is a really nutritious fruit that is beneficial to the body.
With regards to acne, Mangosteen contains polyphenols known as Xanthone. Xanthone is a known active compound that helps treat several skin inflammatory diseases such as acne. For this reason, scientists concluded that Mangosteen can solve the problem of antibiotic resistance and therefore be useful in the treatment of acne.
Products Containing Mangosteen
2. Tea Tree Oil
If you have mild to moderate acne, tea tree oil is your go-to to self treat your acne. Tea tree oil is an essential oil derived from the distillation of an Australian plant (Myrtaceae). This oil is one of the most extensively studied oil to treat acne. You can find tea tree oil in soaps, shampoos, creams, lotions, cleansers, gel and much more.
Tea tree oil is known to contain a very powerful component called Terpinin-4-ol, which has strong antibacterial properties that kill acne-causing bacteria.
The application of 5% tea tree oil is better tolerated than 5% benzoyl peroxide according to the study carried out by the Australasian Journal Of Dermatology. However, tea tree oil can be irritating when applied to the skin alone. So before using it, ensure you mix it with your favourite carrier oil or use it as a face wash
Products Containing Tea Tree Oil
3. Magnolia Oil
Magnolia oil extract is obtained from the stem bark of the magnolia tree and was first used in the treatment of cough, diarrhoea and allergies. It contains two major constituents; honokiol and magnolol which possess potent antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that kill bacteria causing acne within minutes.
Due to its non-irritating effects, scientists have suggested the use of magnolol and honokiol in the treatment of acne. You can mix it with your favourite carrier oil or use it alone. But always do a patch test before trying out essential oils on your skin.
Magnolia Containing Products
4. Green Tea Cream
Green tea is a very popular beverage that has loads of benefits. It is gotten from the fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis either by steaming or drying. The active component of green tea is called Polyphenols or catechins to be precise. There are four major types of types in the catechin family but the most active and abundant is the EGCG.
According to studies, topical application of 2% green tea is more effective against acne lesions for both inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne compared to oral intake. The application of green tea helps to reduce sebum production which leads to an improvement in acne.
In order to know a good quality green tea, check that the colour is brownish and has a characteristic odour. A quality green tea should contain about 50-90% catechins.
Green Tea Containing Products
5. Aloe Vera Gel
Aloe Vera gel is obtained from the inner part of the leaf and has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, helps to heal wounds and burns and it is also hypoglycemic.
A study has shown that for aloe vera gel to be well effective against acne, you should combine 50% of the aloe vera gel with 2% Ocimum oil (Basil Oil). This increases the activity of Ocimum oil to work effectively against acne. You might experience mild irritation so always test first.
Another study conducted the addition of 50% aloe vera gel with tretinoin cream during 8 weeks trial for 60 different patients suffering from mild to moderate acne. It was found that this combination was well tolerated and more effective than when tretinoin was used alone.
Aloe Vera Containing Products
6. Ocimum Oil (Basil Oil)
Basil oil has been well established in the treatment of acne due to its potent activity against bacteria causing acne. Therefore, you will find this oil present in most formulations.
There was a particular study that carried out different formulations of Basil oil but the best formulation was the addition of 2% basil oil in Certomacrogol cream as the base. This combination proved to be more effective and well-tolerated than 10% benzoyl peroxide lotion.
Another study combined Aloe Vera Gel with Ocimum oil, Aloe Vera gel increased the anti-acne properties of Ocimum oil, and this combination is more effective than 1% Clindamycin in the treatment of acne.
Basil Oil Containing Products
7. Bakuchiol
If you are a big fan of retinol products and retinol irritates your skin, then this plant-based ingredient is very promising and gentler on the skin. Bakuchiol is gotten from an edible seed known as Psoralea corylifolia. It has a very strong antibacterial and anti-oxidant effect against bacteria causing acne.
A pilot study showed that 1% bakuchiol reduced acne by 57% compared to 2% salicylic acid which reduced acne by 48%. But the combination of bakuchiol and salicylic acid reduced inflammatory acne lesions by 70%.
Products containing Bakuchiol
Conclusion
There are lots of treatment options that go into treating acne vulgaris. The first is the topical cream applications which involve the use of benzoyl peroxide, retinoids and the like. However, if these treatment options irritate your skin, then natural or herbal treatment is an alternative option. There are lots of natural products that help get rid of acne but for the sake of this post, I have only mentioned 7 backs scientifically to get rid of acne without causing irritation and problems associated with antibiotic resistance.
Let me know what you think down in the comment box below plus give me more herbs that get rid of acne apart from the ones I have mentioned here. Thank you for reading.
Wow…….I love mangosteen fruit. I don’t know it is good for acne too. I haven’t had mangosteens for quite a long time. Reading this post makes me want to have mangosteens for dessert. Hehehe. Very enjoyable post. Thank you for sharing.
This is very interesting. I never heard of using oils to treat acne. It seems counterintuitive but this information is helpful.
Coconut oil is great for acne. When I was in high school I used to use it and it was great for acne.
Oo, so excited you have done a post on herbal products for acne as I am big lover of natural ingredients and holistic medicine. Tea tree oil is a wonderful thing for the skin but thank you for the reminder to mix it with a carrier oil as it can be very strong indeed!
Green tea is a good liver cleanser in addition to its powers in a cream. I will be looking to add some to the next batch of face cream I make.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Oh wow, I hadn’t heard of Mangosteen Rind before – but I will have to check it out! x
This is such an interesting post. Ive been using tea tree and aloe Vera products for years but its good to hear about other herbal remedies that might me beneficial to my skin.
So many useful information and suggestions on specific products that I must say I am totally convinced to check the tea tree oil products.
thank you for sharing!
I haven’t tried any herbal remedies to get rid of acne before so this was very informative. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you so much for reading
I definitely want to try out Aloe Vera gel, it sounds like a great one for my skin type! Thanks for sharing this 🙂
Aloe Vera gel is super gentle and moisturizing. So it’s great if you want to try it out.
Great post! There’s some really helpful suggestions here. I have superrr sensitive skin so I think I’ll start with the aloe vera gel as I’ve used that before, but I’ll definitely be considering trying the others in the future! Thanks for sharing x
Thank you so much. If you skin is super sensitive then I agree you use aloe vera gel. It is really gentle and helpful to the skin. Thank you for reading
I had no idea there were so many different products that could help. That’s good news if something doesn’t work for us or is too strong. Lovely to see you’re including the tea tree serum from The Body Shop. I’m a Body Shop at Home consultant and we have a whole range of products with tea tree. Same for aloe vera if people find tea tree too strong. I had no idea about mangosteen or that it could be used in skincare. We ate it when we were abroad once!
Awww, that’s amazing. Would love to body shop sometimes. I have always loved their wide range of products
I’ve heard lots of positive things about Tea Tree oil for acne. I need to try it sometime as I’m currently suffering from quite bad acne (or maskne!), and normal exfoliators aren’t doing the trick x
Tea Tree oil is amazing, got a lot of benefits aside from working for acne, I might need to write separately about it. So sorry about your maskne. I would suggest you use a gentle cleanser morning and night, then a non-comedogenic moisturizer before wearing your mask
Lol perfect timing I’m breaking out right now. This is a great list of herbal remedies, a helpful gift for my cousin who suffers mild acne. Love the basil oil and mangosteen rind. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.lifebeginsattwenty.com
So glad it was helpful, thank you so much
I’ve not considered using these products before for the outbreaks I still get as an adult (I was medically treated for cystic acne when I was 16 years old). I will check some of them out — thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing these remedies! I love using tea tree oil, it’s amazing!!
Great suggestions, I didn’t know the tea could help with acne as well. Seem interesting, will look more into
I’ve tried green tea & tea tree oil and they worked wonders for my acne! Loved the post x
Great post! It was nice to learn about all these herbal options to treat acne, I only knew about the tea tree oil and aloe vera. Thanks for sharing!
I”ve tried a couple of these in the past but there’s some I’ve never even heard of! Interesting.
Corinne x
Lovely post! I’ve tried tea tree oil as I feel like everyone recommends it but I haven’t tried a lot of these remedies! I’m actually doing a cream I got from my gp, I forgot what its called because I’m having bad acne rn! Thanks for sharing x
Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Interesting! I love tea tree oil and aloe vera, but I did not know they could be used to treat acne. Thank you for sharing!
Such an interesting read! I didn’t know tea tree oil and basil oil coukld be so helpful for acne, so will for sure give the a try as well as aloe vera gel! Thank you for sharing x