Chamomile for acne

[Sunny]

I was thinking of making an acne soap bar and read that chamomile is great for acne. If I use a chamomile/lavender EO blend to scent my soap, will the effects of the chamomile come through, or will the lye do away with it?

Would this be an effective acne treatment? Any other chamomile advice?

 

[Overthemoon]

Lye eats EOs. The scent will come through, but anything theraputic properties will be lost during the saponification process. I find the oils used to make the soap are what actually make the difference in an acne bar. For me, a soap high in coconut, up to 100% is best, as well as either salt or clay.

 

[dagmar88]

I make soap with 50% of the water replaced with pureed carrot and tomato.
It has really helped me out quite a bit!

 

[Sunny]

Overthemoon, I was reading last night from a link that I THINK dagmar had posted about non-comedogenic oils and coconut oil was one that it said may clog pores.
I'm sure it's different for everyone but I am making this soap for a close friend who has very severe acne. I was thinking of making her one with olive and castor (which both were on the low comedogenic side). What do you think?

What oils does everyone else recommend?

(thanks dagmar for the carrot/tomato rec... I will have to research that)

 

[ToniD]

I make soap with 50% of the water replaced with pureed carrot and tomato.
It has really helped me out quite a bit!

Do you use canned tomato puree from a grocery store? Does tomato paste work? (available in smaller cans)

 

[Overthemoon]

Coconut oil is high cleansing when used in soap. I don't use it in moiturizers or lotions because then it does clog pores. I have no body or facial acne after having cystic acne for years now that I use my high coconut soap.

 

[carebear]

that's interesting. i moisturize my face with straight coconut oil every night and my adult acne has gone away. a big part of it is clogged pores - which dry skin essentially does, so keeping skin supple and non-flaking seems to be the key for me.

otoh, I cannot use 100% coconut oil on my face (tho I can use a 75% CO one if I superfat at 20% - but still I have other soaps I like better on my face). but it seems that the key to MY skin is to not over-cleanse.

 

[dagmar88]

I make soap with 50% of the water replaced with pureed carrot and tomato.
It has really helped me out quite a bit!

Do you use canned tomato puree from a grocery store? Does tomato paste work? (available in smaller cans)

Yes, you can use canned tomato puree

 

[dagmar88]

Overthemoon, I was reading last night from a link that I THINK dagmar had posted about non-comedogenic oils and coconut oil was one that it said may clog pores.
I'm sure it's different for everyone but I am making this soap for a close friend who has very severe acne. I was thinking of making her one with olive and castor (which both were on the low comedogenic side). What do you think?

What oils does everyone else recommend?

(thanks dagmar for the carrot/tomato rec... I will have to research that)

It wasn't me, but here it is:
http://www.soapnuts.com/noncomo.html
http://www.beautymagonline.com/pages/co ... metic_.htm

 

[Healinya]

Coconut oil is higher on the comedogenic scale than other oils. But since most of it becomes soap, I assume you're concerned with the superfat left over. Oil emulsifies with oil, and as long as you rinse the soap off you shouldn't have a problem at all. The problem, tho, is that it's very easy to strip your face of all oils which are needed for the skin to be healthy. Your brain will rapidly produce more.. In the long run your acne gets worse, but you wouldn't realize the culprit because of the instant gratification effect to it.

For your friend with severe acne, I don't know anything about her, so this is just a hunch. But if she cut back on the dairy, wheat and gluten (if she is an indulger) she may notice a big improvement. Acne is usually diet related. I doubt you will ask her this, but if she deals with chronic bowel/constipation problems then there's a good chance it's related to a food allergy (most of us have them, we just don't notice)

 

[dggriffi]

tea tree

My understanding is that Tea Tree has been shown in studies to be as effective, if not more, than benzoilperoxide in killing acne. Acne is a bacteria that feeds on some naturally produced facial oils.

tea tree is a strong anti-bacterial so it will knock the acne down. Stopping the production of the specific oil in question is probably dealt with through aging or diet.

 

[Overthemoon]

CB: I have super greasy skin if a soap isn't high in coconut oil, my skin remains like a deep fryer. My fave facial soap right now is olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, and castor oil (in that order of quantity) with clay. I tried using castile for a week earlier in the month, just to see what would happen and it was break out city. I went back to my facial soap and it's clearing up nicely.

Everyone's skin needs something a little different. I don't believe essential oils add anything but scent. I think treating acne with homemade soap has much more to do with finding out what works to keep your pores clear.

PS. It's soaping day! Yay. I've been in withdrawl for a while.

 

[Sunny]

Healinya: I was thinking this myself! Yes, she is a MAJOR junk food lover, eats a lot of whatever, whenever. She is very embarrassed about her acne so even talking about making a soap with her was difficult (more for me than her I think, I'M embarrassed to bring it up because I know it bothers her so much).
I will work the diet thing into a conversation but she's a real "foodie" which makes me think sticking to a healthy diet - okay maybe not healthy, but any kind of diet restriction - is almost an impossibility for her. I really think it would make a difference though.



I'm kinda stuck between three ways - doing a salt bar (was reading about it on a past thread about acne), or a 100% coconut bar, or just starting with a regular bar.

I was thinking I should probably start out with a normal soap recipe (OO, CO, PO, castor) with a 5% sf and add some tea tree oil and clay.
Does this sound like a good idea?

Either way, I'd like to do the tea tree oil and clay. How much should I add ppo?

 

[Healinya]

Well, you could always suggest that she do an experiment and stop eating gluten for two weeks and see if it improves. It's easier to hear the term 'food allergy' lol.

I would just start with a regular bar. But really, there's a good chance that anything you make will be better than what she uses (which sounds like it isn't working)

I'ved tea tree at .25oz ppo - some may prefer more tho. I like 1t ppo clay in facial soap - also, some may prefer more, up to 1T.

 

[Sunny]

She uses Proactiv now.

Does it matter what kind of clay? I have a little french green clay and some bentonite (and the bentonite is easy for me to buy - it's at my natural foods store) but I read that a lot of people use kaolin clay.

 

[Overthemoon]

I've used different clays and they all worked about the same in my facial soap, keeps the acne at bay for me nicely.

That doesn't mean it'll do anything for your friend. Everyone works different. No handmade soap, no soap has ever made a difference to my roommate's acne. The only thing that has ever worked for her is Proactive and it works nicely for her.

 

[dagmar88]

She uses Proactiv now.

Does it matter what kind of clay? I have a little french green clay and some bentonite (and the bentonite is easy for me to buy - it's at my natural foods store) but I read that a lot of people use kaolin clay.

That is what my neighbour used to use too. I gave him a couple of bars of soap months ago and since he started using those he doesn't want anything lese on his face.
Those are just my 'plain' bars of soap, no special ingredient exept for one bar made with buttermilk.

 

[Sunny]

Well, I'm excited. I'm going to get started on this tonight I hope. I'll do a regular oo, co, po, castor bar with tea tree and clay. I have everything I need, it sounds like Thanks for your tips!
I think I may even try this myself and ditch the Neutrogena! The worst part is waiting for it to cure... lol