Acne Spot Treatment
Not sure about you, but I am feeling the stress out there. Our world is in upheaval on so many levels – and even if we are seeing positive shifts – it still means stress.
Change is stressful, having difficult conversations is stressful, having to deal with the unknown is stressful and having our health and freedom threatened is stressful. It’s all around us.
And for many of us, stress equals acne. The connection is well-researched – in fact, stress can trigger THREE different pathways in the body that lead to acne.
The effect of stress on acne is truly significant, and we need to talk about this more (maybe even more than skincare and diet) – because solving underlying issues and balancing the body are THE KEY to solving your acne for good.
But right now – while your acne is raging along with the stress – I am here with some serious Acne SOS.
Here are my favourite acne spot treatments, designed to get rid of blemishes FAST. Remember, drying out your skin and going in with an arsenal of heavy-hitting acne destroyers is NOT the best strategy.
Instead, you want to treat your blemishes with love and tenderness. Think about it this way – if a small child falls off their bike and gets a cut or a scrape, you are not going to apply products to the area that damage the skin. Instead, you are going to apply a gentle, healing salve and let the body heal itself. Think of your acne in the same way. Treat the skin tenderly and allow it to heal – this is going to minimize the scarring and hyper-pigmentation.
So, without further ado, here is your Acne SOS Strategy:
The First Step:
When you first feel or see a blemish coming to the surface, this is a critical time to intervene. The magic ingredient is ICE – which can literally stop a blemish in its tracks. Ice is an incredible anti-inflammatory, and when you make an ice cube with green tea it is even more effective. Green tea contains an anti-oxidant called ECGC which has been scientifically proven to reduce acne blemishes by 75% when applied topically.
Spot Treatment Ingredients:
After applying ice to the blemish it is important to apply a gentle spot treatment. My favourite ingredients include colloidal silver, manuka honey, castor oil and tea tree oil.
Manuka honey is anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and excellent at healing wounds.
Castor oil is anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory as well, but it also really stimulates lymphatic stagnation and helps resolves cysts, so it is a good one to use if you are prone to cystic acne.
Tea tree oil is anti-microbial and anti-fungal, but it can also be very drying. Only use this if you have very oily skin.
Colloidal silver is anti-microbial and very gentle. Excellent for sensitive skin.
Spot Treatment Combinations:
You can use any of the following combinations:
– Manuka honey and colloidal silver (best for sensitive skin)
– Manuka honey and tea tree oil (best for oily skin)
– Castor oil and colloidal silver (best for cystic blemishes and sensitive skin)
– Castor oil and tea tree oil (best for cystic blemishes and oily skin)
To make your spot treatment, mix 1 tbsp of either manuka honey or castor oil with 5 drops of either tea tree oil or colloidal silver.
My Spot Treatment Protocol:
1. Wrap a green tea ice cube or a plain ice cube in a piece of gauze.
2. Place the ice cube on the blemish for 60 seconds.
3. Wait 5 minutes.
4. Repeat 3 times.
5. Apply Manuka Honey Spot Treatment OR the Castor Oil Spot Treatment.
6. Repeat this entire process 3-4 times per day.
7. Leave the Manuka Honey Spot Treatment OR Castor Oil Spot Treatment on overnight. Apply a small, round band-aid over the spot treatment.
Sending love,
Dr. Stacey
