Natural Acne Remedies: Aromatherapy and Essential Oils.
Article by Dr. Danny T Siegenthaler
Natural acne remedies are a dime a dozen, however, only very few are actually effective and have been scientifically shown to work. The use of essential oils as a natural acne remedy have been show to be effective and of benefit in treating mild to moderate acne.
Acne affects almost everybody at one stage in their lives or another and there are hundreds if not thousands of different products that supposedly work. Chemists and health food stores are full of products that claim to be affective in the treatment of acne.
Acne results when a collection of dried sebum, dead skin cells, and bacteria clog your hair follicles, partially or totally blocking the sebum from leaving through the pores. If the blockage is incomplete, a blackhead develops; if the blockage is complete, a whitehead develops. More severe cases of acne may result is cysts. And that’s how acne lesions develop.
As you can see, acne is not a hygiene issue and over-washing the skin can actually irritate it and actually cause a flare-up of acne lesions.
Using natural acne remedies is a far safer, effective and non-toxic way to manage acne and causes few, if any, side effects. The use of essential oils as a natural acne remedy has long been utilised by alternative health care professionals with positive short- and long-term results.
There are however only a few scientific studies that have investigated the effectiveness of essential oils on Acne. One such study looked at the effectiveness of Malaleuca alternifolia (Tee tree oil), which showed that the use of tee tree oil was effective against Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes).
However, there is considerable information about the effectiveness of essential oils as a natural acne remedy in the Aromatherapy texts including texts by Tisserand, Wormwood, Valnet and others. It is suggested that the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic properties of these essential oils will help to reduce infection and scar formation.
A key aspect of using natural acne remedies such as essential oil preparations is that of patient compliance. Only 11% of people suffering from acne will actually seek medical advice or treatment of some type for their acne and few of these will fully comply with the treatment regime. This is why many treatment approaches are said to have failed.
If any treatment regime is to work, patients need to comply with the treatment regime otherwise there is a high likelihood of failure. Lotions, gels and therapeutic creams are generally pleasant to use and have a slightly drying effect
In addition to such lotions and gels, exfoliation is a necessary step, because is assist in the shedding of cells from the upper-most surface of the skin. However, it should not be used excessively or vigorously, as it may lead to an aggravation of the pilosebaceous ducts and thus stimulate excessive oil secretion.
Other natural acne remedies, based on alternative medicine, that have been shown to be affective include: Acupuncture, Chinese herbal preparations, Homeopathic preparations and of course dietary measures. Whatever form of natural acne remedies you choose to use, the key to success is to follow the treatment regime to the letter and not to give up too early.
About the Author
Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.
They practice Herbal and Chinese medicine at their Wildcrafted Cottage Clinic.