Who doesn’t strive for spotless glowing skin? Everyone lives with that secret wish of being flawless at all phases of his life. But acne scars make facing mirror ‘depressing’! If you agree to this, you would also nod your head to the fact that your cabinet is flooded with chemical creams and medications. Although some of them may really be helpful but then being blind to their long term side effects isn’t a good option.
A safer way out is to be close to nature and ask for its help. Just hunt for the ingredients below, in your kitchen and try these easy and effective home remedies to get rid of acne scars.
Home Remedies for Acne Scars
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Aloe Vera
Why worry when your skin’s best friend aloe is ready to help with the recovery. The fleshy part of Aloe Vera is actually the bank of vitamins essential to treat acne and heal those left behind scars. Like a close friend, aloe gently nourishes the skin from within as well as works as an amazing moisturizer to makes it appear softer than ever.
How to use aloe
- Remove the outer layer of aloe leaf to access the fleshy part
- Squeeze out this flesh and apply it onto your scarred skin directly.
- Wait for a good half an hour. Let the goodness of aloe reach the innermost of your skin and do its job.
- Wash your face with water.
- Do it every day until all of the scars fade away.
Also try some homemade face mask for oily skin.
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Coconut Oil
Be it chicken pox scars treatment or bringing back the lost glow of the skin, coconut never leaves knows its job perfectly. Being a natural moisturizer with good smell and well established healing properties, coconut oil deserves to be on the list of home remedies for acne and scars.
Method to use coconut oil
- Wash your face with water.
- Take some coconut oil with your fingers and massage it on your damaged skin for a minute or two.
- Leave it on at least for 30 minutes to let it penetrate down the pores and cause an effect.
- Rinse your face well with a natural cleanser.
Having black heads try these home remedies to get rid of blackheads.
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Essential Oil
Leave about the superficial and temporary solutions, essential oils hit the cause and make sure the positive effects are visible. Few of the most common causes of acne include stress, hormonal imbalance and sleep disorders. Essential oil works on these corners to alleviate them gradually.
Here’s how to use it
- Make a paste by adding 2 teaspoons of raw honey and 3 drops each of lavender oil, tea tree oil, and frankincense oil.
- Wash and dry your face.
- Apply the paste so prepared and let it sit for an hour.
- Finally, rinse your face with an organic face wash.
Note: If your skin is sensitive, dilute the oils in water and eliminate the ingredient that you are sensitive to.
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Castor Oil
Amongst the list of health issues that castor oil addresses smartly, acne hits the top position. It works on skin by wisely drawing out the dirt, bacteria, accumulated and damaged skin cells, thereby unclogging the pores.
Method
- First, take hot water steam to open up your skin pores so that the benefits of oil reach the site of action.
- When done, moisten a wash cloth or a soft towel with warm water and to this, apply castor oil.
- Using circular motions, gently rub this washcloth on the affected areas.
- Let the oil do its job overnight.
- Next morning, rinse your face with cold water to shrink back the skin pores.
- To remove excess oil, you may apply cleanser.
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Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar is full of vitamins, minerals and antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties that make it fit into every list of home remedies. For skin related problems such as acne too, Apple Cider Vinegar is a sure shot solution.
Here’s how to go about it
- Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of honey to a glass of water.
- Stir it well and drink the solution so obtained once a day.
- Squeeze a fresh lemon for more benefits and better taste.
- Remember to rinse your mouth with water to prevent your tooth enamel from getting damaged.
Drinking apple cider vinegar detoxifies the bloodstream, thereby decreasing the probably of acne onset.
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Honey
Just like apple cider vinegar, honey is a multitasker! It has inbuilt antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic agents that make sure that no microbes or any other elements can play with your skin’s health. Additionally, it is home to many of the vitamins and minerals that work towards nourishment of the affected skin.
Process to use honey
- Take some raw honey in a bowl.
- Use a cotton ball to apply it to your face
- Wait for half an hour and then wash it with warm water.
- Repeat the process daily, once a week or twice a week according to the seriousness of your problem.
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Egg White
Egg white is rich in amino acids and proteins that make sure that the skin pores are tight enough not to allow further break off and damage. It even heals the scars and eventually lightens it to up to complete elimination.
Method to apply egg white
- Whip about 2-3 egg whites in a bowl and blend it for uniformity.
- Apply this on your face and let it dry before you rinse it with warm water.
- Repeat the process at least twice a week.
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Baking Soda
Baking soda has its own set of rules when it comes to performing the job of removing scars! Apart from drying out oil and dirt from the skin pores, it encourages the growth of collagen that helps in gentle scrapping of the scarred skin. And finally, it cleanses the pores and aids the regeneration of newer layer of healthy cells.
How to use baking soda
- Add some water to baking soda so as to make a thick paste.
- Apply this paste on the acne and scars affected area (Or even all over the face) and let it settle for 15 minutes or so.
- Wash your face with water thoroughly.
Alternatively,
- Apply baking soda powder directly onto the acne and scars and wash it off after 15-20 minutes.
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Epsom Salt
Epsom salt has all the elements to make you look good and feel good. It is an excellent skin cleanser with fabulous exfoliating properties to remove facial impurities, fade scars and do everything to make you have flawless beauty.
The easiest and the most effective way to use Epsom salt for treatment of acne and scars is to make its paste (or mask0 with water and apply it on to the scars with the help of some cotton.
Method to prepare Epsom salt mask
- Mix about 2 teaspoons of Epsom salt to a cup of water.
- Stir it well and with a cotton swab, apply it on your face to mask all the affected areas.
- Leave for a few minutes before washing it off with warm water, followed by cold water.
There are many other beneficial ingredients that you may add to this recipe. Lemon juice, honey, and olive oil go perfectly with baking soda.
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Green Tea
The world is amazed by the health benefits that green tea imparts. Apart from keeping you in good shape, green tea works towards nourishing the skin so as to provide an overall confident look to your personality. And the credit goes to goodness of vitamins, minerals and certain compounds that not only nourish the skin externally but also works towards eliminating their cause.
Here are some of the ways you can use green tea for acne and scars
- Simply drink 4-6 cup of green tea every day. You may add a teaspoon of honey or squeeze a lemon along with it for better results.
- Prepare a cup of green tea and pour it into a spray bottle. Spray it on the affected areas, let it dry and then rinse it off with water.
- Apply those used tea bags (that are left after brewing green tea) on your acne and scars for 5-10 minutes and wash it off.
Want learn more about green tea – check these health benefits of green tea.
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Garlic
Other than acting as antibacterial agent and antiseptic and being full of antioxidants, Garlic has a wonder sulphur compound named thiacremonon that dries up the oil and makes sure recovery from scars is speedy. It is one of the richest ingredient when it comes to composition of acne combating nutrients.
Process to use garlic
- Extract garlic juice by crushing some cloves
- To it, add a cup of water and blend the mixture.
- Apply it on your skin and let it settle for 10-15 minutes.
- Wash your face with water thoroughly.
- Repeat the process regularly for best results.
Alternatively,
You may make a garlic paste with yogurt and water and use it to mask your skin or massage gently for a few minutes before rinsing it off.
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Olive Oil
Olive oil keeps microbes, toxins and all sorts of infections at bay. Not just this, the ease of use, convenient access and established effectiveness makes it hit this list of home remedies for acne and scars.
All you need to do to use olive oil
- For massaging: With your fingers, take some olive oil and massage it on your skin with gentle pressure for good 5 minutes. When done, let the oil sit and penetrate deep into the skin layers to cause action. Wipe off the excess oil with a warm washcloth.
- For scrubbing: Exfoliate your skin with a paste of olive oil and baking soda. Rub the paste gently over the affected areas in a circular motion for 2-3 minutes and then wipe the mixture off your face.
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Lemon
Lemon works hard with its team of vitamins and exfoliating and bleaching agents in order to bring you flawlessly glowing skin. And the best part is it goes well with many of the other skin care ingredients too such as honey, milk and so on. All you need to do is make a suitable paste and apply on your skin. Let it sit for few minutes and wash it off.
Here are the combos you can try
- Pure lemon juice
- Lemon juice diluted with equal parts of water
- Lemon juice with equal amount of egg white
- Raw honey and lemon juice (2:1 ratio)
- Equal amount of raw honey, almond oil and lemon juice with twice the amount of milk.
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Potato
Potatoes are so versatile and dynamic that they reserve place in all of the recipes. And this time they have opted for a position in the list of home remedies for acne and scars. Their noteworthy bleaching property that treats discoloration of skin makes them efficient enough to fade and finally eliminate those left out scars. So the idea of including potatoes amongst your cosmetics isn’t bad!
Potato can also be used to get rid of dark circles.
How to go about using potato
- Grate few potatoes to squeeze out their juice and apply it on your face. Wait while it dries up and then wash it off.
Or
- Simply rub a slice of potato on your skin.
Disclaimer : The mentioned home remedies are for normal skin. If you have a sensitive skin, consult your dermatologist or test it on your hand before going for application on face.
FAQ
Are Laser treatments good for acne scars and how much do they cost?
There have not been sufficient studies to support either side of the discussion about the effectiveness of laser treatment. But it has been observed that if it specifically, non inflammatory acne such as blackheads laser treatments need to work more to establish effectiveness. Also, it is worth mentioning that laser treatment alone does not do wonders! There’s a whole set of therapies and medications that come along.
On the contrary, if it is some bacterial infection lasers will surely clear up the affected area by killing those causative organisms (but then the risk of recurrence exist)
So long story short, if it is about temporary escape from acne scars, yes laser treatment work to some extent.
The estimated average cost of laser treatment for acne scars is about $2300.
(Source : http://www.webmd.com/beauty/laser-skin-resurfacing)
Is Bio oil effective in acne scars?
As the name suggest, bio oil is a combination of natural oils extracted from plants and made available in ready-to-use form. These oil works towards hydrating the skin and aiding the acne scars healing process.
There have not been significant evidence to establish their effectiveness, safety and efficacy as none of the constituents of the bio oil claim to eliminate the cause of the acne.
So the answer to the question if using bio oils as a treatment for acne scars is good or not, is certainly NO. They won’t exacerbate the existing condition but then they do not promise to help you with the problem significantly. You may happily give it a try but do not expect an improvement in your acne scar condition.
Is Mederma good for acne scars?
The major ingredients of Mederma are Aloe Vera- the wonder herb and Onion while the base is oil-free. This combination makes it work towards making the skin free of dead skin cells and promote the growth ones. Eventually, the skin heals up and the acne scars eventually fade away.
Although the effectiveness of this topical gel varies with the seriousness of the concern, it has received a green signal and people are happy with its results.
Bottom line : Yes! Mederma is good for acne scars.