Best oils for an acne fighting soap?

[shunt2011]

Proactive did ZIP for me or any of my family! Both my parents had oily skin so 3 out of 4 of us had breakouts & I had the worst! Actually, I bought a facial steamer & it was AMAZING! I did combine that with some sun exposure as that also helps tremendously & we're talking teenagers here so a bit of sun is not fatal! I really doubt a home made soap will help. Benzoyl peroxide helps too but my younger son had to go on Acutane & it was a MIRACLE! He would of had facial scarring if he didn't plus he was even getting boil like breakouts on his back & legs! He never suffered again & he was on it for less than a year. I'm in my 60's now & still have combination skin!

This post is from 2016. However, you’d be surprised. My soap has kept my skin mostly clear. I’m 60. I tried everything growing up including accutane with no success. You can doubt it all you want but the proof is in my and my girls skin. My 82 year old mom uses my salt soap as well.

 

[cmzaha]

One salt soap helps one of my daughters that has problems with adult acne along with a foaming face wash I make and I make a pine tar with neem and charcoal that has problems with cystic acne. So yes, bar soap can help when nothing else does.

 

[RDak]

Using tea tree oil at 1 tbl per pound of oil in place of any fragrance oil can help.

I have seen some recipes that go as high as 1 ounce of tea tree oil per pound of oil.

 

[dixiedragon]

the only soap I found that really helped with my acne was a salt bar -and even then, it only seemed to help for a month. The biggest help to me is Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle repair. Frustrating to me that as a 20-35 year old struggling with acne (but no wrinkles) I never picked up this jar. It's not with the other acne stuff for whatever reason.

https://www.neutrogena.com/skin/ski...m-fragrance-free-hyaluronic-acid/6811107.html

 

[Arimara]

the only soap I found that really helped with my acne was a salt bar -and even then, it only seemed to help for a month. The biggest help to me is Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle repair. Frustrating to me that as a 20-35 year old struggling with acne (but no wrinkles) I never picked up this jar. It's not with the other acne stuff for whatever reason.

https://www.neutrogena.com/skin/ski...m-fragrance-free-hyaluronic-acid/6811107.html

There are certain ingredients that cream that do a more gentle treatment of acne than salicylic acid. It's not surprising. I started using The Creme Shop cleansers and for the most part, breakouts have been toned down.

 

[dixiedragon]

The mild salicylic helps me a bit. The max over the counter salicylic don't help me more than the mild, and really irritate my face.

With the Rapid Wrinkle Repair, I had to stick it out for 2 months, though. Apparently the retinol brings all of the future pimples to the surface, so for about 2 months I had at least 1 bad, painful zit at all times and a few minor ones. But if I stick with it, it helps more than anything else I've ever tried.

 

[Arimara]

@dixiedragon That's part of why I try to be careful myself. If I lean ever-so-slighty to the right or the left, that would be two months wasted with that cream. Since I tried The Creme Shop's green tea cleanser and a watermelon sleeping mask, I usually get an occasional white head every so often and usually if I slack off.

 

[tractorgrl]

Aesthetician here. As much as I love creating soaps, I never suggest that people use them on their face. Yes, some can handle it, but many many cannot. The pH of soap is too high for fragile facial skin, especially skin with acne, rosacea, etc. So many "acne soap" formulas contain very drying ingredients which is the exact opposite of what you want for acne. You want to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! I suggest a gentle facial cleanser and oil-free cream moisturizer and always SPF. If just being gentler to the skin does not clear it up, I would suggest a visit to an aesthetician (just for a good cleansing, extractions, and moisturizing treatment. Do not let them talk you into anything else!) If this does not work, I'd suggest a derm. So much of acne is hormonal and genetic. Please, please, please no Proactiv, tea tree, vinegar, peroxide or any other drying treatment. Good luck, I've been there and it is no fun!

 

[shunt2011]

I use retinol creams and serum lately and yes, there is an adjustment period. I’ve been using retinol from Sally Beauty for a couple years now thanks to my 83 year old mom. It’s inexpensive but effective on this 60 year old skin. Plus my soaps.

 

[Astro]

With my nieces and nephews I discovered that the more you strip the oils, the worse the acne and blackheads get. Two of them became increasingly allergic to off the shelf treatments as well and went to a dermatologist. After several medications with no lasting relief, he suggested using extra virgin olive oil on cotton wool as a cleanser wiped off with a clean tissue twice a day. After a short period the blackheads started coming out from under the skin and the acne reduced significantly. It worked for them and based on that, if you want to use soap I would go for a simple castille soap that cleans but moisturises.

 

[Arimara]

With my nieces and nephews I discovered that the more you strip the oils, the worse the acne and blackheads get. Two of them became increasingly allergic to off the shelf treatments as well and went to a dermatologist. After several medications with no lasting relief, he suggested using extra virgin olive oil on cotton wool as a cleanser wiped off with a clean tissue twice a day. After a short period the blackheads started coming out from under the skin and the acne reduced significantly. It worked for them and based on that, if you want to use soap I would go for a simple castille soap that cleans but moisturises.

There's a huge difference between using oil on your skin and using a soap. The oil locks in some moisture while also pulling some impurities from the skin I imagine. Soap just strips oil off the skin with no added benefits of moisturizing, contrary to popular belief. Also, a true castile, depending on how it is made, is often harsh within the first few years and would likely worsen a bad case of acne.