Most of us have experienced the occasional pimple on our back or chest. Those nasty little guys can break loose from the face and affect skin elsewhere, too.
However, if you have a recurrent problem with body acne, a solution needs to be found. Those pimples are embarrassing and unattractive, not to mention the cysts, which can be extremely painful.
A common reaction is to try to address the problem from the surface, with stronger cleansers, creams and treatments. These might help medicate individual pimples, but they don’t fix the root cause, meaning new ones just keep popping up. This can lead to scabbing and scarring, which last a lifetime.
Others may approach the problem internally, with prescription medication. While these drugs might alleviate the acne, they still have not addressed the imbalance or toxicity within the body that is driving the inflammation and infection in the first place.
We want to help you discover the real cause of your acne so that you can unravel the problem from start to finish, rather than just using a bandaid solution.
Causes of body acne
- Environmental toxins: Perfumes and chemicals from personal care or cleaning products can cause acne, as can toxins from plastics.
- Hormone imbalance: This can result from stress or poor sleep — your hormones might be on overdrive. Taking better care of yourself will help balance them out (see tips below).
- Food allergies: Your body may incite an inflammatory reaction in response to foods that it is not able to digest or use. Some common acne-causing allergens are gluten and dairy.
How to remedy body acne naturally
Healing acne naturally takes a commitment to removing all of the factors that could be causing inflammation and imbalance within the body. Luckily we have natural alternatives and easy swaps to suggest so that you can start living an acne-free life faster and more easily.
Start with an excellent diet consisting mostly of vegetables, high-quality organic meats, eggs, and fish. Add healthy fats such as avocados, coconut oil and grass-fed butter. Small amounts of fruit, nuts and seeds round out a healthy diet.
The next step is to remove allergenic foods. The most common culprits are grains and dairy, although other common allergens are soy, corn, eggs and shellfish.
The pièce de résistance for an acne-fighting diet is the addition of gut-healing foods. Since acne is tied to leaky gut syndrome, you will benefit greatly from consuming homemade organic broth, which heals the gut lining, and probiotic foods, which support the immune system and healthy digestion. Remember that your skin is a reflection of what is on the inside, so if your gut is healthy, your skin will look great, too!
Once a good diet is in place, improving sleep is a must. Robust nutrition provides the raw materials for healing, now you must supply the downtime for that healing to happen. This means adequate sleep on a regular schedule.
Here are some further steps to detoxify your body and get rid of acne:
- Remove environmental toxins such as plastics, conventional self-care products and household cleaners. Instead, use glass containers to transport food and cook in cast iron cookware to replace toxic nonstick items.
- Use baking soda and vinegar to wash your hair, or any of these other clean and affordable shampoo alternatives. Use a pure vegetable soap without fragrance in the shower, and wash your face with raw honey and coconut oil. Honey and coconut oil both provide amazing antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties without drying the skin.
- Baking soda and vinegar-based mixtures can replace almost all of your household cleaners, including laundry soap. Add a little castile soap if needed. These nontoxic cleaners will help remove the toxic load from your body and support healing from the inside.
- Essential oils such as tea tree, lavender and frankincense can be very helpful against acne. Tea tree oil combats bacteria living inside of pimples and helps to reduce infection. Lavender soothes inflammation and supports the healing of scars, while frankincense is a powerhouse against puffiness and irritation. We recommend mixing several drops of each oil with some coconut oil and shea butter to make a soothing salve.
You don’t have to keep suffering with ugly, painful body acne. Give your body a chance to heal with these simple natural strategies, and you’ll find relief, plus beautiful clear skin!
—The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1346-8138.2004.tb00637.x/full
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190962207005658
http://www.jle.com/fr/revues/ejd/e-docs/higher_body_mass_index_is_a_significant_risk_factor_for_acne_formation_in_schoolchildren_268542/article.phtml
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/71702.php
http://www.skinacea.com/acne/body-acne-map.html#.VbAhyflViko
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/acne/basics/causes/con-20020580
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/acne/features/more-than
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/advice/a32686/surprising-things-that-cause-acne/
