Acne Treatment From Home
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a dermatologist, I’m merely a mom who has had several teens with acne. These are my opinions from my experiences with them. Consult your dermatologist before trying anything we suggest!
What is the best & most effective home acne treatment for teens without a prescription?
I have 2 teenagers who have been dealing with acne for the past 8 years. After trying MANY, MANY options, here is our REAL WORLD list of what worked for them: just remember that every person is different and their skin responds differently. Going to the dermatologist is the best place to start.
Download a Daily Acne Checklist at the bottom on this post.
A Consistent Daily Routine Is Key:
-Wash the face with a mild soap twice a day
-Pat Dry
-Use an oil free moisturizer
-Dab with Apple Cider Vinegar
-Drink 64 oz of water daily
-DON’T touch or rub your face during the day
-Weekly Washing of pillow cases, sheets & towels
-Exercise Daily
-Deep breathing for relaxation & stress relief
-Don’t pop pimples
-Use Ice on pimples
It’s been hard to know what cleaning product, moisturizer & other items to choose from, when there are SO MANY out there.
Keep reading to see what has worked for our 12-18 year old daughter and 12-15 year old son. Read more about our family here.
In This Article:
- What Causes Teen Acne?
- Food That Can Contribute to Acne
- What Skin Products Work
- Simple Daily Skin Routine
- How to Get Rid of Pimple Fast
What Causes Teen Acne?
The basic answer to What Causes Acne is Clogged Pores.
There are some great articles I have found through the years that answer this question. I list those below.
My favorite article is from HealthLine: What Causes Acne. This has the most information all in one place.
Start with what we know, and how we can act each day to prevent, maintain or manage the health of our skin.
Here is a list of what we know DOES affect Acne:
-Hormones
-Stress
-Genetics
-Hand to face contact
-Pillow cases, phones, ear pods that are not cleaned regularly
-Certain foods
Great Acne Articles:
- 10 Things to Try When Acne Won’t Clear, American Academy of Dermatology
- How to Get Rid of Pimples Fast: 16 Do’s and Don’ts of Fighting Acne, Glamour
- 13 Powerful Home Remedies For Acne, Healthline
Hormones Effect Acne
Hormones are a fact of life, and the beginning of this phase of life is a confusing & frustrating time.
Most teens will experience acne.
You didn’t ask to have hormones or for those hormones to cause your skin to hate you.
Think of you and your skin on the same team!
If you can navigate this time with patience and forgiveness for your body & nature, it can allow your stress level to lessen. This thought process can ENCOURAGE HEALING, and be PRO-SKIN HEALTH. Your hormones are a big part of this “staying-positive” puzzle.
STAY POSITIVE.
BECAUSE, if you take your anger out on your body, you can make your appearance & stress level MUCH worse. This can create a cycle that is not PRO-HEALTHY SKIN, and can create a habit of self-hate, self-blaming that can be hard to unwind.
Stress Effects Acne
Stress is a killer. Literally.
And, it can make your acne worse. Much worse.
Not only can it make it worse, but it makes your “HEALING TIME” much longer than if you reduced your stress levels.
We live in a stressful world. You are taught to add as much as possible to any given day, to strive & earn & be.
This can be a great lesson in how to unwind your anxiety and stress and how to ignore the world around you, and only focus on WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL. That is YOU.
Read more about STRESS REDUCTION HERE.
Genetic’s Role In Acne
If your parents, aunts & uncles had bad acne, you have a high chance of having it as well.
Sorry.
I know this sucks, but it’s true.
Just remember, that you didn’t DO anything to CREATE the acne. You can have healthy habits to MANAGE it, but you didn’t CATCH ACNE, or EAT CHOCOLATE OR FRIED FOODS to create it.
Acne shows up because of hormones and genetics.
Hand To Face Contact Can Effect Acne
It’s hard not to touch our face!! Especially if your hair is tickling it, or you have a runny nose.
BUT, touching your face is a BIG Spreader of ACNE!!!
I hope all of us learned how important hand to face contact can spread COVID19 and other germs.
It does the same with ACNE.
So, become aware of your hands and their relationship with your face, neck, chest, etc. and keep them away.
If you HAVE to touch, use a tissue!! Or the sleeve of your shirt.
Pillow Cases, Phones & AirPods Not Being Regularly Cleaned
This has made the most impact for my son’s acne around his ears, jaw and neck.
For my daughter, her cheek acne gets worse if we aren’t keeping her pillow cases clean.
Keeping these clean, is another example of Independent Self-Care, where you as the teen need to be aware of what is touching your skin. And, keep those things that do touch your skin clean.
You can use a cleaning wipe as the best way to clean your phone or AirPods.
Foods That Can Contribute to Acne
There isn’t enough research to prove these theories, exactly, but it is common knowledge that acne breakouts get worse, after eating these foods.
What I like to lecture my kids on, is that the diet that makes acne worse makes EVERYTHING in your health worse.
**Foods That May Contribute to Acne Breakouts:**
-Fried Foods (especially if you touch your face)
-Dairy
-White Sugar & Empty Carbs
-Dehydration
In my opinion, as a parent of teens, dealing with acne is the first step in dealing with independent self care. The type of self care that your parents can’t do for you.
A parent can stand over you and make sure you are washing your face twice a day, but really, this is the one of the first tests of self discipline that has recognizable consequences.
Acne Skin Products That Work
We have tried many products through the years to deal with acne. Here is the list that has worked best for my teens. Remember that your skin is different, so you need to try different things to see if they work for you.
Have patience, because this entire process takes time. You need to give one routine a good month of daily use before you give up on it.
Patience with the skin care routine is the biggest challenge I saw with my teens and the biggest challenge I hear about.
The following list of products are affiliate links on Amazon.com. FamilyFitnessTravel.com may earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you click on the link and purchase. We recommend only products we like.
The skin products that have worked for us are:
- A Clean Pillow Case (wash once per week)
Daily Simple Acne Routine
Both of my kids had quite severe acne which required going to the Dermatologist to get some stronger topical medicine, which we could only get with a prescription.
Even after you see a dermatologist, you STILL need to have a daily skin care routine
This list is from my 17 year old daughter:
My General Skin Care Strategy:
Keep my skin clean & moisturized
Drinking water every day
Exercise Daily, if even just a walk
Keep Stress and Anxiety down
Some sun helps, too much makes it much worse
Get enough GOOD sleep
Don’t pop pimples
Don’t over wash
Be gentle to my skin
Be consistent with my daily skin routine
See my Daily Skin Care Routine here
How To Get Rid Of Pimples Fast
There are two kinds of care: the DAILY ROUTINE or
PIMPLE MANAGEMENT.
Sometimes you need help for a pimple or blemish that showed up RIGHT before an important event. What should you do to get the skin to look better?? Even for just a little while, during Prom, an interview, a Birthday Party, etc. What can you do to make it look better?
Try these tips, they worked for me:
**Get Rid of A Pimple Fast**
-Wash, Pat dry & moisturize
-Crushed Aspirin paste
-Raw honey
-Drink a BIG glass of water RIGHT NOW!!
-Dab Witch Hazel or Apple Cider Vinegar
-Over-night spot patch
-Press ice lightly on area for 10-30 seconds (not longer!!)
-Try to relax with deep breathing, a nice walk, or sleep
Conclusion: The Best Home Treatments for Acne
Teens get acne. It’s a frustrating & confusing time, and skin health is the last thing on their minds until acne shows up.
The basics are to keep the skin clean & moisturized. Don’t touch your face, be consistent with your skin care, reduce your stress & take good care of your hydration and diet.
There are many products on the market, and the most expensive are not always the best options.
Good luck!
