10 Best Home Remedies For Acne And Spots (Discover The Most Effective)

For many, the appearance of spots goes beyond being an annoyance and becomes a condition that impacts self esteem, emotional health and overall wellbeing. However it can be treated. In this post you’ll find easy and effective treatments with the ten best home remedies for acne and spots.

Thankfully help is at hand. There are effective treatments even for the most stubborn spots! Acne is not a condition that you need suffer with.  You can achieve the clear spotless skin you want, and deserve. Starting with the use of some very effective home remedies

So take some time, grab a cup of tea, and settle comfortably to discover the 10 best home remedies for acne that you can implement today!

Our content is reader-supported. When you buy through links in our posts we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We do not accept money for reviews. Learn More

What Causes Us To Develop Acne?

The condition of our skin is a reflection of our overall internal health. Glowing, beautiful skin reflects proper care, hydration and eating a balanced and healthy diet. Skin that is impacted by whiteheads, blackheads and other spots can indicate issues with “oxidative damage”, poor nutrition or hormonal imbalances.

Occasional breakouts, and for some those that are chronic, plague tens of millions of people, of all ages every year. The most severe of cases can cause painful and unsightly outbreaks on the face, back, chest and even the arms. If left untreated the condition can cause scarring, leading to issues with self esteem and body image.

First Identify The Primary Cause.

To enable the successful treatment first we need to identify the root cause!  Below is a list of common causes. Take some time to read through the list and identify any potential causes which could be a factor for you.  This will help identify which of our home remedies for acne and spots will best work for you.

Which of the following Relate To You?

  • Clogged Pores (Blackheads)
  • Bacterial Infection (Broken Skin without back or white heads)
  • Excess Oil Production (whiteheads)
  • Dry skin Acne (flaky and red)
  • Hormone replacement
  • Poor diet
  • Stress
  • Birth Control Pills
  • Corticosteroid based medications
  • Androgen based medications
  • Lithium based medications

The National Center for Biotechnology Information have produced an excellent research paper that looks at whether sleep deprivation, stress and other aspects of modern life are linked and the root cause of adult female acne. Being able to identify the cause is important.

Commonly regarded as a condition mainly associated with teens and young adults.  However now we find it affecting millions of adults, and of all ages.  In most cases the women who participated in the study stated that they had never had previous issues with pimples or spots.

When You Make The Connection You Unlock The Remedy.

Acne in adult women is most often linked with:

  • hormonal imbalance during the menstrual cycle;
  • entering menopause;
  • increased stress levels;
  • prolonged lack of sleep;
  • poor diet.

An estimated 85% of young adults, of both genders, suffer from acne. In teens and young adults, both women and men acne is linked with:

  • genetics;
  • adolescence (changing hormone levels);
  • stress;
  • friction from sports equipment and backpacks;
  • poor hygiene;
  • cosmetics.

Why I Believe Home Remedies Is A Preferable Treatment.

Simply put, over the counter and prescription acne medicines can often make the issue worse! These treatments can actually cause further skin irritation and can intensity skin problems.

home remedies for acne and spots - the easiest and most effective

Top Ten Home Remedies for Acne And Spots.

1. Acne Busting Honey Face Bath.

To rid yourself of those annoyingly stubborn pimples, blackheads and whiteheads this solution is awesome.  Easy to make and extremely effective. To start give your face a thorough and gentle wash in warm (not hot) water. Dry your skin with a face cloth.  This removes impurities and dry skin cells. Follow this by using our Acne Busting Honey Face Bath (recipe follows)

After the wash and dry again dampen your skin with warm water.  Now massage the honey mixture into your face and neck. Once massaged into the skin use warm water and rinse well. Gently pat your skin dry. As standard you should apply the face wash in the morning and evening.  It is also advised to do this after any prolonged exercise.

Acne Busting Honey Face Bath.

honey - best home remedies for acne and spots
Honey – One of the Best Home Remedies For Acne.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil,
  • 3 Tablespoons Honey,
  • 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar,
  • 20 Drops Melaleuca Essential Oil,
  • 2 Capsules of Live Probiotics.

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients into a bowl or hand blender.
  2. Blend until fully mixed and combined.
  3. Pour into storage container and keep in a cool dry location.

2. Natural Toning, No Acne!

Toning is a hugely important part of skin care. By regularly toning your skin you help remove the residues left behind after cleansing.  It also helps restore your skin’s natural pH levels. One of the best natural home remedies for acne is a simple toner – apple cider vinegar.  Use this natural product as your toner both morning and evening (perfect to use after the acne busting honey face bath).

Using a cotton ball to apply simply smooth the apple cider vinegar over your skin.  Ensure you pay attention, and gently apply, to any active breakouts and areas prone to acne. Apple cider vinegar benefits your skin for many reasons. The main being it is loaded with:

  • potassium;
  • magnesium;
  • acetic acid;
  • enzymes that kill the bacteria on the skin.

Note: Many cases of chronic acne are due to bacteria and fungi.  Even after cleaning they can continue to spread and grow on the skin.  They can not do this after being treated with apple cider vinegar used as a toner!

3. Amazing Healing Masks.

These masks will hydrate and heal your skin. For maximum benefit apply a mask twice per week. The active ingredients of cinnamon, yogurt and honey are known to hydrate skin and fight our common causes of acne.

Yoghurt And Honey Mask.

yoghurt and honey - best home remedies for acne and spots
Yoghurt and Honey For Acne And Spots

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon Natural Yoghurt,
  • 1 Tablespoons Raw Honey,

Directions

  • Mix raw honey with yogurt.
  • Apply to face, pay attention to hairline, jawline and other acne prone areas.
  • Relax for 10 minutes.
  • Gently wipe off with a warm damp cloth.

Cinnamon, Coconut and Honey Mask.

coconut oil - best home remedies for acne and spots
Coconut Oil – Best Home Remedies For Acne And Spots

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil,
  • 2 Tablespoons Raw Honey,
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Directions

  • Mix the raw honey, coconut oil and cinnamon together in a bowl.
  • Smooth over face, keeping away from eyes, cinnamon can be an irritant.
  • Relax for 5–10 minutes.
  • Gently remove with warm damp cloth. 

    Note: Honey and cinnamon used together helps to fight acne because they both have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial properties.

Top Tip: Add a couple of drops of tea tree oil to either of the masks. Tea tree oil is one of the most effective remedies.

Healthy Natured

4. Natural Gentle Exfoliation.

Clogged pores and dead skin cells are a major contributor to acne.

It is therefore extremely important that you exfoliate properly.  One of the best acne treatments is the following all natural recipe.  This is far superior to any commercially made face scrubs. Commercial treatments are often jam pack full of chemicals which can further irritate your skin.

The following base mix enables you to create as many scrubs as you wish, all of them having maximum impact.  To make you simply need to choose 1 dry ingredient and 1 base ingredient. Try as many combinations as you wish and test which works best for you.

Dry Ingredients:

  • Sea Salt;
  • Brown Sugar;
  • Ground Oatmeal;
  • Sand.

Base Ingredients:

  • Coconut Oil;
  • Kefir;
  • Honey;
  • Olive Oil;
  • Natural Yogurt.

The dry ingredients provide a texture that help to unblock pores and remove dead skin.  The base ingredients all have properties that fight bacteria, fungi and Candida overgrowth.

  1. Mix together 2 tablespoons of the dry ingredient and 1–2 tablespoons of the base ingredient.
  2. Rub the mixture into your skin in a circular motion.
  3. Starting from the forehead and working down.
  4. Pay particular attention to problem areas.
  5. Remove with a damp warm cloth.
  6. Rinse well with warm water.

5. Tea Tree Spot Treatment.

To clear acne quickly then you can’t beat Tea Tree, or as it is also known, Melaleuca. Tea Tree oil is used all over the world as an antiseptic and to treat wounds. It is in the same category as coconut oil, honey and cultured milk products for its properties for fighting bacteria and fungi. An easy choice and effective, which is why it is in our best home remedies for acne and spots guide!

Tea Tree Treatment – Best Home Remedies For Acne and Spots.

tea tree - best home remedies for acne and spots
Best Home Remedies For Acne.

Ingredients

  • 4 to 8 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil,
  • 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil or Jojoba Oil.

Directions

  1. Mix Tea Tree oil and Coconut oil or Jojoba oil.
  2. Dab lightly onto problem areas.
  3. Slight tingling is normal.
  4. Note: Always use the carrier oil. Essential oils applied directly to the skin can be too harsh.

6. Fight Bacteria With Herbs – Home Remedies For Acne And Spots.

Sweet Basil and Holy Basil essential oils are effective healers. They are proven to help in the fight against the acne types caused by bacterial infection. It is reported that Sweet Basil oil is slightly more effective than Holy Basil oil in topical applications.

Of significance when looking to treat acne is the maintenance of healthy blood sugar and hormone levels.  Both of these, when out of balance, are linked with acne.  Luckily there is a truly simple and effective answer.

Drinking Herbal Teas:

Holy Basil oil herbal tea or Tulsi tea has positive impact on blood sugar and hormone levels. Simply consuming this herbal tea on a daily basis will balance hormones naturally, and fight acne from the inside out. This makes herbal teas one of the contenders on our 10 best home remedies for acne and spots.

Both Holy Basil or Sweet Basil Essential Oils can be applied topically as a toner to acne-prone or problem areas. They can both be added to the mask recipes, cleansers or exfoliating recipes already offered above.

7. Make Moisturizing Meaningful.

Acne prone skin still needs moisturizing. When we use topicals for drying out the skin we must also ensure we regain lost skin moisture.  If we only apply topical treatments our skin notices this dryness and will actively attempt to preserve moisture. It does this through producing oil.  These oils increase the acne. So if we apply drying topicals we must also apply a moisturizer that prevents the skin from producing the oils that contribute to acne and spots.

Coconut oil is an excellent choice.  The lauric acid found in coconut oil helps fight bacteria commonly associated with acne breakouts. It is one of the most versatile and healthy choices of all oils and an excellent addition to our best home remedies for acne and spots toolkit.

Coconut Oil Anti-Acne Moisturizer.

coconut oil - best home remedies for acne and spots

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Teaspoon Coconut Oil.

Directions

  1. Warm Coconut Oil in the palms of your hands.
  2. Smooth the oil over your face and neck.
  3. Relax for 5 minutes and allow the oil to soak into the skin.
  4. Gently wipe off any excess oil with a soft dry cloth.

    Note: Ensure you wipe the coconut oil off after 5 minutes. Your skin will have absorbed what it needs. Any excess left on the skin won’t be of benefit and could cause another breakout.

8. Probiotic Supplements Help Beat Breakouts!

When planning your action against acne you can implement a dual benefit approach.  Severe acne breakouts require both an external treatment and an internal treatment. Live probiotics do many things.  They are known to support healthy digestion and immune system functioning, however they also improve our skin health which in turns helps in the fight against acne. One of the easiest of all our best home remedies for acne and spots.

9. Cystic Sufferers? Get Yourself Guggulsterone.

Individuals diagnosed with and suffering from the cystic form of acne are recommended to include Guggul as part of their treatment plan. A controlled clinical trial found that the usage of Guggul supplements (Guggulsterone is another term) outperformed the usual, and most often turned to product, 500 milligrams of tetracycline.

25 milligrams of Guggulsterone, taken twice daily for three months, resulted in a significant reduction of Acne. Perhaps more important was that 50 percent fewer participants had acne relapses than those who used traditional tetracycline. Of great news to those battling with oily skin related acne is that the participants in the study, who had identified clearly as oily skin acne sufferers, responded remarkably better to Guggul than others in the study.

eat healthy - best home remedies for acne and spots
Eat Healthy – Best Home Remedies For Acne And Spots

10. Eat Healthy, Be Healthy

A major part of an acne treatment plan is to treat it from the inside out. In terms of diet this means it is highly important that you eat foods which do not cause blood sugar spikes.  These spikes lead to the production of insulin. Insulin can have a negative impact on acne.

Focus your diet on:

  • leafy green vegetables,
  • berries
  • non processed forms of protein.

Increase consumption of:

  • Non processed organic fish,
  • Grass-fed organic meats,
  • Free range chicken.

Good skin health is vital to treating acne.  One element of good skin health is to ensure intake of healthy fats.  This is easily done by including foods rich in omega-3 such as wild-caught salmon. A recent BioMed Research International study indicated a clear correlation between low zinc levels and the severity of acne. Boost zinc to beat acne.

Add zinc-rich foods such as:

  • Kefir,
  • Yogurt,
  • Lamb, Pumpkin seeds,
  • Chicken.

Foods which must be avoided to maintain acne-free skin include:

  • Hydrogenated oils,
  • Gluten,
  • Wheat,
  • Sugar,
  • Conventional dairy products,
  • Known allergens, including gluten, soy, peanuts and shellfish.

I hope that you try some or all of our best home remedies for acne and spots. If you do I would love to hear of your results.  What worked best? What would you recommend to others?

10 best home remedies for acne and spots (discover the most effective)
Photo of author
Author
HolisticJB
Educator and International Leadership Consultant with over 20 years experience, and still loving it! Qualified and Licensed Reiki Master Teacher, Hypnotherapist and Chakra Energy Health Body Worker. A traveler, a foodie and a knowledge seeker with a passion for all things healthy, herbal and energy holistic!

Leave a Comment