Ayurveda Acne Skin Remedies

One of Ayurveda’s fundamental concepts is that health and disease are holistic-that is, whatever happens in one part of the body happens to the whole body. There are no isolated health problems. Any physical or psychological symptom of imbalance indicates an imbalance in the body-mind unit. Keep this holistic picture in mind as you look over the common skin problems below.

Listed below are external remedies for the most common skin problems. (Several of them are the contribution of Dr. Kirit Pandya, one of India’s foremost Ayurvedic physicians specializing in skin disease.) But please be aware, even a topical ointment or detoxification treatment is only a temporary remedy. If you continue with unhealthy lifestyle choices, new toxins will soon appear.

ACNE VULGARIS (CYSTIC ACNE)

Description: Very oily skin, large pores, blackheads, large pussy pimples, deep scars.
Imbalance: Pitta or Kapha.
Aggravated by: Overconsumption of sweets, fats, oils, red meat, seafood, coffee, alcohol, tobacco; emotional stress and attachments (inability to “let go”), inactivity, feelings of possessiveness, depression, and purposelessness.

Treatment:
• Exfoliate skin with Tej or Bindi herbal powders.
• Take steam baths using rosemary or eucalyptus essential oils.
• Take weekly detoxifying bath using Epsom salts or ginger + rock salt.
• Exercise vigorously for 1/2 hour 3 times a week to achieve sweating.
• Apply Tej Soothing Lotion on pimples, and do a pimple “mask” once or twice a week.
To make, mix 1/2 tsp crushed cumin seed + 1 tsp coriander + a few drops water, and apply paste over pimples. Leave on for 20-30 minutes, then rinse.
• Do soothing weekly facial mask using red sandalwood + neem + lodhra powders.
• For stubborn, large cysts, apply piece of warm onion 2-3 times a day to break it, but do not squeeze.
• Supplements: Take daily 10,000 units beta carotene, 1,000 mg vitamin C, and 15-20 mg zinc. Increase dietary fiber, including bran, fresh fruit and produce. Drink fresh carrot, beet, or apple juice. Drink detoxifying herbal teas of burdock, goldenseal, echinacea, neem, or turmeric. Drink 1/2 glass warm water every hour. In morning, take aloe Vera gel: 1 tsp for Pitta; 2 Tbsp for Kapha.

ACNE ROSACEA (”RED” ACNE)

Description: Red rash on nose and cheeks that may be very sensitive or burning. Excessive oiliness on T-zone, broken capillaries, and thickened skin on nose.
Imbalance: Pitta.
Aggravated by: Anger, frustration, disappointment, anxiety, overambition, stress and pressure, unsatisfying or acrimonious relationships, overactivity, hot weather, sun, hot spices, sour fruits, fermented foods, tomatoes, seafood, canned or preserved foods, soda, pastry, chocolate, pizza, french fries, sweets; antibiotics and harsh chemical peels.
Treatment:
• Do not use astringents, toners, or any harsh substances on skin. Use only gentle, soothing treatments.
• Wash with milk + white sandalwood, manjista, and neem herbal powders.
• Soak towel in cool herbal tea of comfrey or nettle, and apply wet compress to face.
• Grind fresh cilantro + mint. Add water to make paste, and apply to face as a mask. Lie down for 10-15 minutes, then rinse off. If condition is very dry, red, or burning, apply soothing lotion of ghee +juice from crushed dried neem leaves, or use neem herbal oil. Additional internal and external remedies are available from Tej.
• Supplements Take daily 10,000 units beta carotene, 1,000 mg vitamin C, 15-20 mg zinc, 400 units vitamin E, and daily recommended dosage of B-complex.
• Drink detoxifying herbal teas of burdock, goldenseal, echinacea, neem, or tumeric.
• Drink a glass of water (at room temperature) every hour. In morning, drink aloe vera juice.

Benzoyl Peroxide and Tretinoin

When applying antiacne drugs to the skin, people should be careful not to get the medicine in the eyes, mouth, or inside the nose. They should not put the medicine on skin that is wind burned, sunburned, or irritated, and not apply it to open wounds.

Because antiacne drugs such as benzoyl peroxide and tretinoin irritate the skin slightly, users should avoid doing anything that might cause further irritation. They should wash the face with mild soap and water only two or three times a day, unless the physician says to wash it more often. They should also avoid using abrasive soaps or cleansers and products that might dry the skin or make it peel, such as medicated cosmetics, cleansers that contain alcohol, or other acne products that contain resorcinol, sulfur, or salicylic acid.

If benzoyl peroxide or tretinoin make the skin too red or too dry or cause too much peeling, the user should check with a physician. Using the medicine less often or using a weaker strength may be necessary. Benzoyl peroxide can irritate the skin of people with skin of color and cause darkened spots called hyperpigmentation on the skin. Benzoyl peroxide may discolor hair or colored fabrics.

ORAL DRUGS. Oral antibiotics are taken daily for two to four months. The drugs used include tetracycline, erythromycin, minocycline (Minocin), doxycycline, clindamycin (Cleocin), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra). Possible side effects include allergic reactions, stomach upset, vaginal yeast infections, dizziness, and tooth discoloration.

The goal of treating moderate acne is to decrease inflammation and prevent new comedones from forming. One effective treatment is topical tretinoin, used along with a topical or oral antibiotic. A combination of topical benzoyl peroxide and erythromycin is also very effective. Improvement is normally seen within four to six weeks, but treatment is maintained for at least two to four months.

Special Conditions

People who have certain medical conditions or who are taking certain other medicines may have problems if they use antiacne drugs. Before using these products, the physician should be informed about any of the following conditions.

ALLERGIES. Anyone who has had unusual reactions to etretinate, isotretinoin, tretinoin, vitamin A preparations, or benzoyl peroxide in the past should let the physician know before using an antiacne drug. The physician should also be told about any allergies to foods, dyes, preservatives, or other substances.

PREGNANCY. Teens who are pregnant or who may become pregnant should check with a physician before using tretinoin or benzoyl peroxide. Isotretinoin causes birth defects in humans and must not be used during pregnancy.

OTHER MEDICAL CONDITIONS. Before using antiacne drugs applied to the skin, people with any of these medical problems should make sure their physicians are aware of their conditions:
• Eczema. Antiacne drugs that are applied to the skin may make this condition worse.
• Sunburn or raw skin. Antiacne drugs that are applied to the skin may increase the pain and irritation of these conditions.

In people with certain medical conditions, isotretinoin may increase the amount of triglyceride (a fatty-substance) in the blood. This may lead to heart or blood vessel problems. Before using isotretinoin, adolescents with any of the following medical problems should make sure their physicians are aware of their conditions:

• alcoholism or heavy drinking, currently or in the past
• diabetes or family history of diabetes (Isotretinoin may change blood sugar levels.)
• family history of high triglyceride levels in the blood
• severe weight problems

Using antiacne drugs with certain other drugs may affect the way the drugs work or may increase the chance of side effects.

Acne Types and Treatment

Benzoyl peroxide and Isotretinoin

Benzoyl peroxide is found in many over-the-counter acne products that are applied to the skin, such as Benoxyl, Neutrogena Acne, PanOxyl, and some formulations of Clean & Clear, Clearasil, and Oxy. Some benzoyl peroxide products are available without a physician’s prescription; others require a prescription. Acne treatments that can dry the skin should be used with caution by people with skin of color.
Tretinoin (Retin-A) is available only with a physician’s prescription. It comes in liquid, cream, and gel forms, which are applied to the skin. Isotretinoin (Accutane), which is taken by mouth in capsule form, is available only with a physician’s prescription. Only physicians experienced in diagnosing and treating severe acne, such as dermatologists, should prescribe isotretinoin.
Recommended Dosages

The recommended dosage depends on the type of antiacne drug. These drugs usually come with written directions for patients and should be used only as directed by the prescribing physician. Teens who have questions about how to use the medicine should check with their physician or pharmacist.

Patients who use isotretinoin usually take the medicine for a few months, then stop for at least two months. Their acne may continue to improve even after they stop taking the medicine. If the condition is still severe after several months of treatment and a two-month break, the physician may prescribe a second course of treatment.
Precautions

Isotretinoin

Isotretinoin can cause serious birth defects, including mental retardation and physical deformities. This medicine should not be used during pregnancy. Females who are able to bear children should not use isotretinoin unless they have very severe acne that has not cleared up with the use of other antiacne drugs. In that case, a woman who uses this drug must have a pregnancy test two weeks before beginning treatment and each month she is taking the drug. Another pregnancy test must be done one month after treatment ends. The woman must use an effective birth control method for one month before treatment begins and must continue using it throughout treatment and for one month after treatment ends.

Females who are able to bear children and who want to use this medicine should discuss this information with their healthcare providers. Before using the medicine, they will be asked to sign a consent form stating that they understand the danger of taking isotretinoin during pregnancy and that they agree to use effective birth control.
People using this drug should not donate blood to a blood bank while taking isotretinoin or for 30 days after treatment with the drug ends. This will help reduce the chance of a pregnant woman receiving blood containing isotretinoin, which could cause birth defects.
Isotretinoin may cause a sudden decrease in night vision. If this happens, users should not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until vision returns to normal. They should also let the physician know about the problem.

This medicine may also make the eyes, nose, and mouth dry. Ask the physician about using special eye drops to relieve eye dryness. To temporarily relieve the dry mouth, chew sugarless gum, suck on sugarless candy or ice chips, or use saliva substitutes, which come in liquid and tablet forms and are available without a prescription. If the problem continues for more than two weeks, check with a physician or dentist. Mouth dryness that continues over a long time may contribute to tooth decay and other dental problems.
Isotretinoin may increase sensitivity to sunlight. Patients being treated with this medicine should avoid exposure to the sun and should not use tanning beds, tanning booths, or sunlamps until they know how the drug affects them.

In the early stages of treatment with isotretinoin, some people’s acne seems to get worse before it starts getting better. If the condition becomes much worse or if the skin is very irritated, they should check with the physician who prescribed the medicine.

Anti-Acne Treatments

Anti-acne drugs are medicines that help clear up pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, and more severe forms of acne.

Benzoyl peroxide is found in many over-the-counter acne products that are applied to the skin, such as Benoxyl, Clear By Design, Neutrogena Acne, PanOxyl, and some formulations of Clean & Clear, Clearasil, and Oxy. Some benzoyl peroxide products are available without a physician’s prescription; others require a prescription. Tretinoin (Retin-A) is available only with a physician’s prescription and comes in liquid, cream, and gel forms, which are applied to the skin. Isotretinoin (Accutane), which is taken by mouth in capsule form, is available only with a physician’s prescription. Only physicians who have experience in diagnosing and treating severe acne, such as dermatologists, should prescribe isotretinoin.

Acne is a skin disorder that leads to an outbreak of lesions called pimples or “zits.” The most common form of the disease in adolescents is called acne vulgaris. Antiacne drugs are the medicines that help clear up the pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, and more severe forms of lesions that occur when a teen has acne.
Different types of antiacne drugs are used for different treatment purposes, depending on the severity of the condition. For example, lotions, soaps, gels, and creams containing substances called benzoyl peroxide or tretinoin may be used to clear up mild to moderately severe acne. Isotretinoin (Accutane) is an oral drug that is prescribed only for very severe, disfiguring acne.

Acne is caused by the overproduction of sebum during puberty when high levels of the male hormone androgen cause excess sebum to form. Sebum is an oily substance that forms in glands just under the surface of the skin called sebaceous glands. Sebum normally flows out hair follicles onto the skin to act as a natural skin moisturizer. The glands are connected to hair follicles that allow the sebum, or oil, to empty onto the skin through a pore.

Sometimes the sebum combines with dead, sticky skin cells and bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) that normally live on the skin. The mixture of oil and cells allows the bacteria to grow in the follicles. When this happens, a hard plug called a comedo can form. A comedo is an enlarged hair follicle. It can appear on the skin as a blackhead, which is a comedo that reaches the skin’s surface and looks black, or as a whitehead, which is a comedo that is sealed by keratin, the fibrous protein produced by the skin cells and looks like a white bump.

In addition, pimples can form on the skin. Types of pimples include:
• papules, which are small, red bumps that may be tender to touch
• pustules, which are pus-filled lesions that are often red at the base
• nodules, which are large, painful lesions deep in the skin
• cysts, which are painful pus-filled lesions deep in the skin that can cause scarring

Pimples form when the follicle is invaded by the P. acnes bacteria. The damaged follicle weakens and bursts open, releasing sebum, bacteria, skin cells, and white blood cells into surrounding tissues. Scarring happens when new skin cells are created to replace the damaged cells. The most severe type of acne includes both nodules and cysts.

Acne cannot be cured, but antiacne drugs can help clear the skin and reduce the chance of scarring. The goal of treating moderate acne is to decrease inflammation and prevent new comedones from forming. Benzoyl peroxide and tretinoin work by mildly irritating the skin. This encourages skin cells to slough off, which helps open blocked pores. Benzoyl peroxide also kills bacteria, which helps prevent whiteheads and blackheads from turning into pimples. Isotretinoin shrinks the glands that produce sebum. It is used for severe acne lesions and must be carefully monitored because of its side effects. Antibiotics also may be prescribed to kill bacteria and reduce inflammation.