(Newswire.net — September 2, 2015) — Acne is a problem that affects a lot of people, and one many struggle to find an effective way to manage. While doctors know how acne occurs – excessive sebum is created in the follicles of the skin – they don’t always know what triggers a given case, and so finding the best treatment can be tricky. Acne most commonly occurs in teenagers as a result of hormonal changes due to puberty, but can also affect adults. Often, again, the causes are hormonal, which is why adult acne is much more common in women, and can appear at times of significant hormonal change like during pregnancy or when a woman has her period, but not at other times.
Natural Remedies
For acne sufferers, it is not uncommon to have to try all kinds of different preparations to find something that works, and in some cases this can involve prescription medications such as steroids. Most people would rather not use things like this given the choice, or have to rely on regular trips to the doctor to control their acne, and so research into natural cures is a popular area of scientific study. One such study conducted recently in New Zealand, showed natural honey to have beneficial effects when used directly on acne afflicted skin.
What Did the Study Discover?
In research sponsored by the developers of a honey based skin product in New Zealand, 135 patients with acne were tested. Half of the group were used as a control, and were instructed only to use an antibacterial soap twice a day. The other half used the same soap, but also a honey based face mask twice a day. Those who used the honey were found to have a marked improvement in their acne, and as a result of their clearer skin reported that they were experiencing greater confidence and a better quality of life.
Why Does Honey Help with Acne?
Honey has long been used as a home remedy for wounds and burns due to its antibacterial properties, however this alone is not why it is thought to help with acne – after all, the antibacterial soap the control group were using would also have had this effect, and they did not see nearly the same improvements as the honey group. As well as being antiseptic, honey also has anti-inflammatory properties, which the scientists believe helped reduce the appearance of acne. Additionally, honey can be used as a non-greasy moisturizing agent, so it helped to keep the skin soft and supple without introducing more oil to the acne patients’ skin.
Trying Honey
If you have acne, then there are a number of ways to try and use honey for your own condition. You can invest in a good raw honey face wash for acne, which will be a convenient way to get the benefits of honey without having to deal with the sticky texture of honey on its own, or you can try applying some ordinary raw honey to the skin a couple of times a day and rinsing it off.
It is interesting to see how natural things that many people already have in their homes can sometimes be proven as effective as prescription treatments for certain common complaints!