9 Simple Ways to Use Aloe Vera for Acne

If you have used everything for your acne and yet you don’t seem to get rid of it permanently, it’s time for you to try aloe vera for your acne. You can see improvement in your skin condition in as less as a week when you regularly apply aloe vera gel to your acne.

Why is Aloe Vera good for treating Acne?

The clear gel present inside the aloe vera leaf has 99% water and the rest 1% consists of glucomannans, amino acids, lipids, sterols and vitamins. If you think it is too little, know that it contains 75 potentially active constituents which include vitamins, enzymes, minerals, sugars, lignin, saponins, salicylic acids and amino acids. While aloe vera is used for a wide variety of conditions, let’s concentrate on its properties that make it useful for curing acne.

• Aloe vera has glucomannan (a mannose-rich polysaccharide) and gibberellin (a growth hormone). These are responsible for increasing collagen synthesis when applied topically or consumed internally. This means you have more chances of healing a wound. Acne does give you a wound. This miraculous gel not only increases collagen content of the wound but also changes the collagen composition and increases the rate of collagen cross linking. This also helps cure and prevent acne scars.
• Due to its anti-inflammatory effects, aloe vera gel is one of the most effective natural remedies for acne. A new anti-inflammatory compound called C-glucosyl chromone has also been isolated from aloe vera gel extracts recently.
• Aloe vera gel also has antiseptic properties. It contains as many as 6 antiseptic agents (Lupeol, salicylic acid, urea nitrogen, cinnamonic acid, phenols and sulfur). All these inhibit fungi, bacteria and viruses and thus you can remain assured about not getting an infectious acne.
• Aloe vera gel also contains magnesium lactate that alleviates the itching sensation due to acne.
• Aloe vera gel also has astringent property. This helps remove excess oil and dirt responsible for causing acne. This also prevents acne breakout.

How to Use Aloe Vera for Acne?

While aloe vera gels when applied to acne have the capacity of healing them, you may make it more effective by adding certain other natural anti-bacterial and anti-septic agents to it. First, we will discuss how to apply pure aloe vera gel to your acne and then we will know about certain masks for acne made by adding aloe vera gel to other natural ingredients good for treating acne.

1. Apply Pure Aloe Vera Gel to Acne Topically

The simplest way of using aloe vera for acne is to apply its gel over the affected skin, the skin where you have acne.

Get this:

• Aloe Vera leaf OR pure aloe vera gel

Do this:

• Wash your skin with mild soap, preferably antibacterial soap, and water
• Pat dry your skin.
• Now cut open the aloe leaf with the help of a sharp knife and squeeze out its clear gel.
• Apply this gel to your acne ridden skin.
• Let it dry for sometime
• Forget it.
• Do this twice a day, preferably in the morning after having bath and at night before you go to bed.
• Apply aloe vera gel to your skin even after your acne heals as this will prevent further acne breakouts.

When you apply aloe vera gel regularly, it helps protect your skin against the ill effects of environment. It also protects you from bacterial buildup that causes acne.

2. Make Aloe Vera- Lemon Mask for Acne

You now know how aloe vera gel works to help you get rid of acne. You also know that lemon has ascorbic acid and vitamin C but did you know that lemon also contains vitamin P and phytoncides that inhibit the reproduction and growth of bacteria? Vitamin P is the uncommon collective term used for flavonoids or bioflavonoids.  Flavonoids are pigments that give yellow or red-blue color to plants and also protect them against insects, fungi and microbes. This only helps you treat your acne by suppressing, killing and preventing bacterial infections. No need to say that these infections, if not treated, cause acne on your skin.

Get this:

• Aloe vera gel- 2-3 tbsp
• Lemon juice- 2-3 drops

Do this:

• You can either scrape out gel from an aloe leaf or buy pure aloe vera gel
• Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice drops to the aloe vera gel and mix well
• Apply this to your affected skin.
• Leave it for 15-20 minutes
• Now wash off   with warm water and pat dry.
• Do this 2-3 times a week
• On the other days, apply pure aloe vera gel without mixing anything, twice a day, as explained in the previous remedy.

3. Make Aloe vera- Honey Mask for Acne

Honey has natural antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties apart from being a very nutritious food. It has antioxidants, minerals and vitamins like vitamin B2, B3, and B5. Like aloe vera gel, honey too has antiseptic properties. So, when you mix aloe vera gel and honey for acne cure, you are doubling the chances of healing your acne faster.

Get this:

• Aloe vera gel- 1 tbsp
• Honey- 1 tbsp

Do this:

• Mix aloe vera gel and honey
• Apply this mixture to your affected areas
• Leave it for 15-20 minutes
• Wash off with warm water and pat dry
• Repeat twice a week
• On other days, apply aloe vera gel twice a day without mixing anything else to it.

4. Walnut-Aloe vera-Honey Mask for Acne

Honey and aloe vera mask is good for your acne prone skin. If you add walnuts to your this mask, it will become even better! Why walnuts? Because it is a rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids that are considered miraculous for skin. This fatty acid keeps skin inflammation away and thus can control your acne excellently. So, apart from adding a handful of walnuts to your daily diet, you can also make a mask by adding it to aloe vera gel.

Get this:

• Aloe vera gel- 2 tbsp
• Walnuts- 4-5
• Honey- 1/2 tsp

Do this:

• Place the walnuts in a blender and blend it to make a fine flour out of it
• Add fresh aloe vera gel taken out from the aloe leaf.
• Blend again and mix them well to get a fine paste
• Take the paste out of the blender and add honey to this. Mix well
• Apply this to your acne affected area and leave for 15-20 minutes
• Wash off with warm water and pat dry
• Repeat 2-3 times a week.

5. Aloe vera-Neem-Honey Face Pack for Acne

There is yet another miraculous ingredient that you can mix with aloe vera gel and honey to get rid of acne and pimples. This is Neem or the Indian lilac. Neem has anti-fungal and antibacterial properties for which it has been used since ages by Ayurveda to treat almost all types of skin diseases. Neem also helps balance oil production in your skin so as to prevent excess oil. This prevents clogged pores that are one of the main causes of acne. Neem leaves also contain a host of beneficial components like carotenoids, fatty acids, ascorbic acid, and vitamin E that not only promote healing of acne but also prevent acne scars.

Get this:

• Aloe vera gel- 2 tbsp
• Neem leaves powder- 1 tbsp OR fresh neem leaves paste- 2 tbsp
• Honey- 1 tbsp

Do this:

• Take aloe vera gel in a bowl
• Add neem powder or fresh neem leaves paste to this gel
• Mix well to get a paste
• Add honey and again mix it well to get the anti-acne face pack
• Apply this to your affected area and let it sit for 15-20 minutes
• Wash off  with warm water and pat dry
• Use this face pack 2-3 times a week

6. Aloe Vera – Cabbage Face Mask for Acne

Cabbage is one of the leafy veggies that can help you greatly when it comes to acne. Not only acne but many other skin problems. Naturopathy has been using cabbage leaves as a poultice to cure such skin diseases as eczema, rashes, insect bites, psoriasis, leg ulcers and of course, acne. All the sulfur present in cabbage helps in drying up the overproduced oil in your skin. Sulfur also assists the production of keratin, essential for healthy skin. Consuming cabbage or its juice detoxifies your body by flushing out the bacteria from your system. The bacteria that cause acne are also eliminated. Cabbage is also a rich source of vitamin C that regulates oil production and also promotes healthier skin cell growth, both essential to get rid of acne. So, mix cabbage with aloe vera gel and make a mask for acne removal.

Get this:

• Cabbage- 1/4 – 1/2
• Aloe vera gel- 1 tbsp

Do this:

• Grate the cabbage and collect its pulp. You need 2 tbsp of cabbage pulp.
• Add the aloe vera gel to grated cabbage and mix well. If needed, use some drops of water to make a paste
• Apply this to your affected area and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.
• Wash off with cool water and pat dry
• Repeat 2-3 times a week.

7. Aloe Vera- Turmeric Mask for Acne

Turmeric has excellent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This helps treat acne effectively. When you apply turmeric to your skin, you take a good step to destroy the P.acnes bacteria that cause inflammation. It also removes excessive oil from your skin preventing sebum buildup that leads to acne. Mixing turmeric with aloe vera gel improves the chances of healing acne faster.

Get this:

• Aloe vera gel- 1-2 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
• Gram flour – 1 tsp

Do this:

• Mix all the three ingredients well and get a smooth paste
• Apply this to your acne prone skin
• Leave it for about 20 minutes
• Wash off with cool water and pat dry
• Repeat 2-3 times a week.

9. Consume Aloe Vera Gel to get rid of Acne

If you suffer from stubborn acne that won’t go away, you must consider supplementing your diet with vitamins and minerals.  Some of the vitamins needed for acne removal include vitamin A, pantothenic acid, niacin and vitamin E. The mineral zinc is also very effective in curing stubborn acne. And the good news is that you might not need to have artificial supplements. You can get all these vitamins and minerals right in the aloe vera gel. Just make juice out of aloe vera gel and consume this every day. Having aloe vera juice internally helps unclog pores, purifies blood, reduces inflammation and prevents infection. All these make an excellent remedy for acne.

How to make aloe vera juice for acne?

You simply need to blend clear aloe vera gel with water to make its juice. However, you can add certain other ingredients to make it a tastier drink along with having additional benefits to cure acne.

Get this:

• Aloe vera gel- 2-3 tbsp
• Water- 1 cup
• Lemon juice (optional)- 1-2 tsp
• Citrus fruit juice like grapefruit or orange juice (optional)- 1 cup
• Honey (optional)- 1-2 tsp
• Vinegar (optional)- 1 tsp

Do this:

• If you are scraping out the pure aloe gel directly from a leaf, cut off the rind and the yellow layer just beneath the rind of aloe leaf. This will give you pure clear aloe gel.
• Take 2-3 tbsp of aloe vera gel and place it in the blender.
• Add water to this.
• If using any other additional ingredients, add them to the water and aloe vera gel.
• Blend the whole thing well.
• Take out the aloe vera juice in a glass and consume it immediately.
• Do this daily.

Precautions: If you consume the yellow layer, it may cause upset stomach and diarrhea. So clean the yellow layer carefully. If you are pregnant or nursing mother, consult your doctor before consuming aloe vera gel. Always drink the aloe vera gel immediately after making it because even a delay of few minutes allows the juice to get oxidized which means you won’t get all of the nutrients of the aloe vera gel essential to remove acne and detoxify your body.