Aloe vera
The reason why aloe vera is used in numerous beautifying products is that this succulent and mucilaginous plant, distinguished by its green, spear-shaped leaves, is famous for its power to heal, soothe and rejuvenate the skin. In fact, almost every civilization that became familiar with aloe vera acknowledged its essential skin-radiating characteristics over time, and it still continues to be a commonly used natural treatment for skin issues like psoriasis, eczema, rashes and burns.
Anyhow, The Journal of Dermatological Treatment published a study recently which reveals that aloe vera is also beneficial in acne treatment. A group of 60 subjects affected with mild to moderate acne disease were assembled for the research and, over an 8-week trial period, were treated with a formulation of either tretinoin cream and aloe vera topical gel or tretinoin cream and a placebo. When the trial ended, the results were evident: “The combination TR/AVG was well tolerated and significantly more effective than TR and the placebo for the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris.”
If you want to use aloe vera for acne, just apply some aloe vera gel on the troubled spot every day. The gel will relieve the inflammation, swelling, and redness caused by acne, and will also prevent acne development in the future.
Coconut oil
Similar to aloe vera, coconut oil is also much appreciated for its skin-radiating properties, and is used worldwide as an anti-aging cream, moisturizer, massage oil, lip gel and natural sunblock. It showed impressive results in skin disorder treatment, battling successfully sores, rashes, blisters, pimples, and more.Actually, there isn’t any skin issue, including acne, which coconut oil can’t at least soothe. A 2009 Chinese research discovered that lauric acid – the predominant saturated fatty acid in coconut oil, demonstrated even stronger antibacterial anti-acne activity than palmitic or oleic acid. In addition,lauric acid filled with liposomes (vesicles that can produce nutrients) proved to “fuse with the membranes of P. acnes and release the carried lauric acid directly into the bacterial membranes, thereby killing the bacteria effectively.”
The results, published in the journal Biomaterials, indicate that acne can be treated successfully with topical application of coconut oil. For optimal results, choose raw coconut oil that is organic, cold-pressed and extra virgin. This type of oil will smell of coconut, which implies it has undergone minimal processing.
