Herbal Acne Treatments That Work

In the United States alone, there are over 40 Million people who struggle with acne. Many of these people treat acne using chemicals such as antibiotics, prescription drugs, benzoyl peroxide, and salicylic acid.

However, there is a growing number of people who choose herbal acne treatments over traditional medications. Usually, herbal medications have far fewer side effects, and are not as dangerous as some of the prescription drugs.

The problem however, is that the United States does very little to regulate the herbal supplement industry. Unlike traditional chemical medications, herbal medications are not required to be clinically proven to work, or even to be safe. An example of this lack of regulation recently came to light with ephedra related deaths, and ephedras subsequent ban.

This lack of regulation results in many different acne products on the market. All of which claim to heal, prevent, or even cure acne with few, if any, side effects.

The truth is, there are very few herbal acne treatments that are scientifically proven to work. Traditional chemical treatments are still the most effective in stopping acne.

There are only 2 herbal treatments that have been clinically proven to help stop acne, tea tree oil and green tea cream.

Tea tree oil is a natural oil, derived from the Melaleuca alternifolia, a particular type of tea tree found exclusively in Australia. While it has been used from hundreds of years by the native aboriginals as a treatment for just about anything, it has only recently been accepted by modern medicine as being a viable anti-bacterial agent.

Even though tea tree oil has been suspected as an anti-bacterial agent for some time, A groundbreakings study was conducted in 1990 by I.B. Bassett, which compared tea tree oil to benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of acne. It was found that tea tree oil is as effective as a 5% benzoyl peroxide solution. It takes longer (6 weeks) for the tea tree oil to be as effective, but participants in the study reported none of the side effects associated with benzoyl peroxide, such as redness, skin irritation, or dry skin.

This study has helped tea tree oil become a recognized and legitimate herbal acne treatment. However, there is no need to purchase an expensive cream that contains tea tree oil. Just applying several drops of the oil directly on the acne has shown to be the most effective way to apply tea tree oil.

This was the only herbal acne treatment that had been proven to work until recently, when Dr. Jennifer Gan-Wong conducted a study that shows green tea can also effectively fight acne.

Dr. Gan-Wong compared a green tea cream with 3% green tea, to a 4% benzoyl peroxide solution, and found that the results in treating acne where the same for both the tea and the peroxide. These results were recently presented at the 2003 annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

These findings are relatively recent, and are not yet corroborated by additional independent studies. However, this evidence does demonstrate that the natural anti-bacterial properties of green tea can be effective to treat acne.

For those of you who are confused by the plethora of herbal acne treatments available, there really are only 2 that have been proven to be effective in fighting acne. Green tea cream, and tea tree oil. While many other herbal acne treatments may be good to moisturize the skin, or reduce oils, these are the only two that should be considered truly effective acne treatments.

Greg Podsakoff is a former acne sufferer, and editor of http://www.acne-treatments-guide.com

---

Is Milk Giving You the Zits?

A study published in the February 2005 edition of the... Read More

Body Acne Questions & Answers

What Causes of Body Acne?Body acne can range from the... Read More

Information on How to Treat Adult Acne

Although most teenagers get some form of acne, adults in... Read More

Remedying the Silly Ways Women Get Acne When Applying Makeup and Moisturizers

Women spend thousands of dollars to create a flawless face.... Read More

How to Use a Smoothie to Eliminate Acne, Improve Skin, and Keep Regular

Fruit smoothies provide you a different way to eat fruits.... Read More

Proactive Facial Cleanser For Acne

Acne can be a tough problem to fight but it... Read More

An Acne Home Remedy Does Exist, Will It Work For You?

Have you tried an acne home remedy? There are an... Read More

Over The Counter Acne Treatments ? Do They Work?

Over the counter, sometimes referred to as otc for short,... Read More

Adult Acne Treatment ? To Treat a Condition That No-one Talks About

Acne is the most common skin complaint in the world.... Read More

An Acne Fetish is No Laughing Matter

While it may be easy to scoff off an acne... Read More

Which are the Best Acne Treatments? It Depends

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but... Read More

Acne Scars ? Cause, Prevention and Treatment

Acne affects as much as 80% of teenagers and others... Read More

Acne Scar Treatment and Removal

Beautiful skin, without acne scars, is every woman's dream (and... Read More

Acne Skin Savers Your Mom Never Told You About

Undoubtedly your mom told you about the straw that broke... Read More

Proactive Skin Care Products ? a Real Answer to a Difficult Problem

Acne is often seen as something of a trifling problem,... Read More

Zits - What Do I Need To Know About Them

Zits, or pimples, affect almost everyone at some stage of... Read More

Shopping for Sensitive Skin: A Guide for the Acne and Rosacea Conscious

Acne and rosacea patients take note- you must know about... Read More

Acne Program- Step 3: Relieve Your Constipation with a Three Day Mini-Juice Fast

Getting your bowels moving and cleaning out your colon is... Read More

A Look at Laser Acne Treatment

Laser acne treatment has been around for a few years... Read More

Distressing Acne and Its Probable Causes

If you are on your teenage years, pretty good chances... Read More

Deep Peels for Acne: What it feels like to get burned

There I was. I had paid just under $400 dollars... Read More

What is Milia - Whiteheads-Acne

MILIA (whiteheads)Milia are deep seeded white bumps that form when... Read More

All Natural Acne Treatments

At some point in your life you will probably suffer... Read More

Acne

One of the most popular skin disorders, Acne, is the... Read More

Treating Adult Onset Acne With Anti-aging Moisturizers

The development of anti-aging alpha hydroxy acid moisturizers is promising... Read More

An Acne Herbal Hand and Footbath

In a book I read by William L. Fischer called... Read More

Why You Will Never Achieve Long-Lasting Acne Free Skin With The ?External? Acne Treatments Today

Most of the acne treatments out there just don't have... Read More

Acne Cure, How to Cure Acne

Acne is a common skin condition that is not restricted... Read More

Natural Acne Treatment

Apart from physician's medications, Acne can also be treated very... Read More

Silver Bullet for Acne? - I Dont Think So!

I read a report recently discussing the success of the... Read More

The Best Acne Treatments

The best acne treatments may be the ones that help... Read More

Acne Can Be A Problem At Any Age

Adult, teenage and baby acne have something in common; no... Read More

How To Alleviate Your Acne Problem

Acne brings huge problems to teenagers. Teenagers who have acne... Read More