Acne.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Re: acne
From: MS nobody.nowhere
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 95 21:15:49 GMT

trowan.ivory.trentu.ca (I Kan't) wrote:
>I have a relatively mild case of acne. That is to say that I get a pimple every once in a while, but always have at least one ya know? I have been taking tetracyclene and it worked great with little side effects. But with all the medication i have been taking for my asthma it would be nice to stuff my body with one less thing. Does any one have an herbal experiences wtih acne? I used to take red clover. It worked fairly well. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Get off of the Tetracyclene. I was placed on this drug 30 years for mild acne. Unfortunately, it was the drug of choice and over prescribed. Assuming my doctor knew what he was doing, I kept taking it. I am now allergic to this antibiotic as well as others. Over use can deplete your bodies natural ph, cause a host of medical problems down the road (if you are pregnant, antibiotic use during pregnancy can cause bone malformations as well as discolor your child's teeth), yeast infections and eventually cease to work all together. I wish I had a quick cure for you -- a healthy diet which eliminates processed foods, extra fat and reduced or no animal protein is the best way to live. If you wish to take a good multi-vitamin as a supplement, okay.

From: crazyshell.aol.com (Crazyshell)

Try zinc. I never had acne in teens, and all of a sudden in my late twenties my whole face was a mess. My doctor recommended 30mg. twice a day and my skin cleared up in a few week.

From: ecoli.cix.compulink.co.uk ("K N and P J Harris")

My son, now well past the problem, absolutely ERUPTED with acne when about 18. As we had had a relative who was left permanently scarred by the application of various vastly overpriced concoctions we were very wary of ANY proprietory product. He invented his own treatment (which should appeal to you). He gave up soap. He just used lots and lots of clean water and boiled his face cloths pretty regularly. OK you get through lots of water, and face cloths and energy but you preserve you skin microflora and it worked for him. It really will cost you nothing to try.

I'll bet I've really upset the "Herbs for whatever perturbs" gang now !
Peter, Reading, UK.

From: Julia Greene <jgreene.visi.com>

Try taking GLA, an essential fatty acid. You can find it in gelcaps at your health/vitamin store. Plants high in GLA are borage, evening primrose, and black currant.

I had severe acne for several months. The GLA gelcaps (get the highest dosage possible) significantly reduced my acne in three weeks. In two months it was gone altogether.

From: trowan.ivory.trentu.ca (Tangerine)

someone emailed me a suggestion for an acne "cure" . he told me to use a tea tree oil creme. i bought some at the health food store the other day and used it right away. i lost your email address and i just wanted to tell you how wonderfully this stuff worked. my skin looks great!

i also tried something this morning: i mixrd some sea salt and lemon juice into a slightly watery paste and scrubbed my face with it. Wow, my skin was so smooth. Give it a try

From: david.gallagher.bnr.ca (David A. Gallagher)

> someone emailed me a suggestion for an acne "cure" . he told me to use a tea tree oil creme. i bought some at the health food store the other day

I tried pure Tea Tree Oil for acne, and it didn't seem to help. Perhaps there is some critical difference in the creme formulation vs pure oil?

As well, I do have oily skin as well as scalp/hair, so I tried it on my scalp but that didn't seem to help either. I person working in the local health food store told me that Tea Tree Oil would dry out my scalp too much, causing my sebaceous glands to over-react, thus exascerbating my problem. Any comments/suggestions from the net???

From: sisterjoe.aol.com (Sisterjoe)

>i also tried something this morning: i mixrd some sea salt and lemon juice into a slightly watery paste and scrubbed my face with it. Wow, my skin was so smooth. Give it a try

That's a good mix for people who have oily skin -- all that acid! For sensitive and/or dry skin, switch the salt and lemon for oatmeal and aloe juice. I've found that aloe juice, either out of the bottle or out of the leaf works great to soothe dry skin, and clear up acne at the same time.

From: cw.bbs.ausom.net.au (Christie Wragg)

: That's a good mix for people who have oily skin -- all that acid! <snip>

The mind boggles! I use salt and lemon juice to clean ivory keys on old pianos...it's gentler than hydrochloric acid!

From: mera.decisionsys.com (MC)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 12:12:22

>The mind boggles! I use salt and lemon juice to clean ivory keys on old pianos...

We always used white vinegar to clean our piano keys. -M.

From: trowan.ivory.trentu.ca (Tangerine)

>I also use cream of tartar and lemon juice to clean my silver -- smells a lot better than most commercial silver cleaners. But on the flip side of that, something that I use to clean my silver with -- I don't want it on my face, especially if I have an acne breakout -- ouch!

it didn't sting one bit. I had a small scab on my chin and it tingled slightly but other than that it was just a nice, stimulating facial massage.

From: trowan.ivory.trentu.ca (Tangerine)
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 16:38:35 GMT

so i posted earlier about the miracle of that tea tree creme. Well, my face has been breaking out steadily for the past three days. I am under slight stress, but that has never really been a huge factor. I was wondering if it is posible that the oils or such in the tea tree creme are causing my skin to break out. Would perhaps the oil itself be better? (The oil itself is severely allergenic - don't go there. -Henriette)