Skincare plays a vital role in acne treatment, it matters what you apply to your skin and how you treat it. As I keep on dealing with acne flare-ups myself (not much now thankfully), I know how much we are in need of a natural skincare routine for acne.
I vouch for natural skincare routine for acne treatment because I find it very gentle on the skin, combats acne prevents new breakouts and more importantly, doesn’t irritate the skin.
Although I keep experimenting with popular skincare products for acne as well, my main routine remains unchanged for the past 4 months. And believe me, it’s amazingly effective!
My skin cleared for good, it is not red anymore, no red marks, and it keeps getting better day by day. So I thought I must share this routine with my readers so they know their options for a natural & organic skincare routine that is 80% DIY or homemade.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Natural AM or Morning Routine For Acne Prone Skin
Double cleansing with Jojoba oil
Jojoba oil is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-fungal that responds well to acne-prone skin. Its texture mimics the sebum that our oily skin produces to become, well, oily. So if you apply this oil on your skin, it balances the oil production. I kid you not, It has been proven (source)!
How to Apply
- Take a few drops of jojoba oil in your palm
- Apply it on the face, neck and ears
- Massage gently
- Remove the oil with a piece of cotton
Face Ubtan or Face wash with Chickpea flour and Wild Turmeric
Are you still there? Well, hold on, it may sound like rocket science but it’s not. It’s super easy and once you make this powder and keep it in a bottle, you are good to go for more than a month.
Also, it takes just 2 minutes to assemble all the ingredients and make this DIY scrub & facewash.
Chickpea flour has cleansing properties, curcumin in wild turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties and sandalwood powder calms the skin by soothing it.
Add jojoba oil to it and make this DIY winter acne facewash.
How to Make & Apply
- Mix one tablespoon of chickpea flour, one tablespoon of sandalwood powder and half a tablespoon of wild turmeric powder.
- Mix all three in an airtight jar and your facewash is ready
- After oil cleansing with jojoba oil, take 1 teaspoon of powder in your palm, add a few drops of water and mix it in between your palms.
- Apply this paste on your face and massage gently
- Don’t rub much if you have active acne.
- Wash your face with water and we are ready for the next step.
DIY Apple Cider Vinegar Toner
This one is super smelly but super effective as well.
You must try this if you want clear acne-free skin, works well in hormonal acne too. Apple cider is known for keeping the pores clear, and acne at bay due to anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties.
How to Make & Apply
- In an empty bottle, take half part drinking water and half part apple cider vinegar.
- Mix well, and you can add a few drops of any essential oil of your choice to tone down the smell.
- After using the ubtan facewash, take a few drops of this toner in your palms and apply it evenly by gently dabbing it on your face.
- Don’t worry about the nasty smell, it will go away within a minute.
- More info about apple cider vinegar toner for acne scars
- You can also use mint water for acne as a toner if you are really bothered about the smell of ACV
Aloe Vera Gel as Moisturizer
Something I can’t do without is aloe vera gel, My personal favourite and the hero ingredient in any natural skincare routine for acne.
I have a big-big aloe vera plant at home but I buy a 95% pure aloe vera gel because I really can’t go through the ordeal of extracting it fresh every 3 days. If you want to use natural aloe vera as a moisturizer for acne treatment, read this.
For active acne You can use Bakuchiol gel for acne treatment and skin benefits like retinol
How to Apply
- Take a coin-sized aloe vera gel in your palms after you have applied the toner.
- Rub it in between your palms and apply it gently on your face.
- Make sure every nick & cranny of your face gets slathered in it including neck and ears
- Massage gently and you are done.
- Now please don’t get angry that I don’t use sunscreen, as I am an Indian, I have normal wheatish to fair skin, I work indoors and Aloe vera gel has sunscreen properties as well.
- So it works for me. But that doesn’t mean that it will work for you too, if you are very fair or not an Indian, then you need a non-comedogenic sunscreen for acne-prone skin.
Natural PM or Evening Routine For Acne Prone Skin
Multani Mitti or Fuller’s Earth Facewash
I buy a big block of Multani Mitti / Fuller’s Earth from my local vendor and use it as a soap for my evening face wash.
Fuller’s Earth is anti-acne, removes acne scars and absorbs extra oil from the face while still keeping it a bit moisturized.
How to Apply It
- Take a block of fuller’s earth, wet it under water.
- Apply it on your wet face just like a bar of soap but gently
- Give it a minute to work
- Wash off with plain water
- If you have active acne, you can keep it as a cooling face mask as well.
Pure Rose Water as Toner
You can also use the same apple cider toner you used in the morning but as I like variety in my natural skincare routine for my acne-prone skin (can’t help it ), I am using pure rose water from just herbs these days.
Rose water tightens pores, hydrates, plumps the skin and calms the senses too with its mild refreshing fragrance.
How to Apply
- Either spray the rose water directly from the bottle all over your face.
- OR you can spray it on a cotton ball and apply it on the face
- I personally feel spraying it is much better, as it saves both cotton & the product.
- Let it sit on your face and dab it gently
Retinol Night Moisturizer
This is why I said that my routine is 80 % natural or homemade. This one product I can’t switch to the natural one is retinol. I use Dot & Key Retinol & Ceramide Moisturizer at night.
I haven’t found any natural ingredient till now that works like this for acne. It smoothens skin texture, helps in cellular turnover, removes dead skin faster and prevents wrinkles.
I am yet to find something natural to replace retinol. Although I have read that bakuchiol also shows the same effects as retinol, I am yet to try that.
However, efforts are going for many other retinol options too, whenever I will find that option I will share it with you all.
So please subscribe to the newsletter to keep the good things coming (just once a week), I am too lazy for an everyday newsletter I guess. So I won’t spam you for sure.
How to Apply
- In the case of retinol, less is more.
- So take a pea-sized amount on your finger and apply it evenly on your face
- Save the eyes, they won’t like it
- You may feel a bit of heat on your face for a minute but it will settle down within a minute.
- Always do a patch test on your inner elbow before using a new product, so don’t forget that. Here are the other Affordable moisturizers for acne-prone skin we can choose from.
Natural Skincare Weekend Routine For Acne
Weekends are to relax and unwind, whether you get two days off or a mere Sunday, your skin deserves some TLC too.
Apart from giving a weekend reset to your home and making a long-awaited recipe, treat your acne-prone skin with some anti-acne and anti-ageing face packs as well.
- Honey Mask – Honey is one thing that never spoils or gets expired or something of that sort. This is why it rehydrates and boosts collagen, and cleans and hydrates pores too. Just take a teaspoon of honey and apply it to your clean face. Let it sit for 20 minutes and wash it off. You don’t have to apply a moisturizer if you feel hydrated.
- Honey & Cinnamon Mask – To Make it more effective for acne treatment, adding a generous pinch of cinnamon in it will do the trick. Apply it for 20 minutes before washing it off.
- Fuller’s Earth (Multani mitti) & Neem Water Mask – Something that has worked wonders for me, take a few neem leaves and boil them with one cup of water. When the water reduces and changes colour, strain it and let it cool. Once cool add a small block of Fuller’s Earth to it and let it soak for 10 minutes. Apply this paste on your face for 10-15 minutes or until 70% dry, and wash off. Neem is proven to treat acne (source)
- Ice Facial – This calms down active acne to a much greater extent. The ice facial thing became too easy for me after my sister gave me this ice roller. You just need to fill water in it through the hole and close it tightly. Let it sit in the freezer overnight. Remove the cap by keeping it under tap water. Roll the ice directly on your face in circular motion, till your face turns pink. It reduces acne and shrinks pores as well. Ice literally stops ageing too! Here is how to use the ice massage for pimples.
Apply a moisturizer afterwards.
Another CTM Skincare for Breakouts
Do’s & Don’ts While Following a Natural Skincare Routine For Acne
- Always do a patch test before starting even natural or DIY products
- Apply the product on your inner elbow and see for any reaction for up to 24 hours
- Don’t let the product enter the eyes
- Don’t rub excessively as it can increase acne
- Keep the product bottles tightly closed and make small batches only
- Use non-comedogenic Products only if buying from outside
- Don’t use retinol products if you are pregnant or breastfeeding
Best Actives to Include in Active Acne Cases
- Peptides
- Salicylic acid
- Niacinamide
- Hyaluronic acid
- Benzyle peroxide etc
When using any actives, consult a dermatologist or skin cosmetologist before starting those.
I hope this routine will help you get rid of acne and you can use some of the recommendations with great results. Whatever you do, just be patient and have faith, things work out better when we are positive about them.
