by Amanda Box, N.D.

The acne treatment business is a multi-million dollar industry, but there are many acne scams promising to get rid of acne on your face, leaving clear and beautiful skin. Even celebrities endorse the latest acne claim on the market and boast amazing results while appearing on television.  Unfortunately, not all these claims are true, and you may be surprised to know a number of these products don’t even work.

Most acne treatments on the market today are not anything special or new, but rely on deceptive advertising strategies to persuade you to buy their products. In fact, a new “scientific breakthrough” may be a false claim when they have been using the exact same main ingredients for over 15 years! The sales pitch includes new and improved packaging, so you simply cannot say NO, but the results will be far from real.

Detox for Clear skinEvery acne sufferer wants to know how to get clear skin, but what are you willing to risk in the process of trying to attain it? Are you currently using prescription medication for your acne treatment? Have you taken the time to read up on the side-effects that come from using these acne treatment drugs? Have you weighed up the risks of treating acne with these?  There are two acne clearing ingredients that are far from natural, and can outweigh the risk of treating acne with these.

Benzoyl Peroxide Dangers

Benzoyl peroxide is a chemical compound that is part of the peroxide family. Its primary function in treating acne include:

Although it is considered to be the Holy Grail of acne products, benzoyl peroxide has its fair share of side-effects.

In fact, the FDA doesn’t even consider benzoyl peroxide safe anymore. In 1995, the FDA changed benzoyl peroxide from a Category I (safe) to a Category III (safety uncertain), ingredient.  This decision was based on information that benzoyl peroxide produced cancerous tumors in mice.

Manufacturers were given the responsibility to pass this safety information on to their consumers, but have failed to do so. Unfortunately, there are no warning labels regarding the potential side-effects on acne treatments that contain benzoyl peroxide.

Additional reasons to avoid using benzoyl peroxide based acne treatment include:

  • It produces free radical in the skin.  These free radicals cause premature aging of the skin, slow the healing of wounds (including acne), and can even cause cancer!
  • It is extremely drying to skin.  Many people report extremely dry, flakey skin with excess redness when they use benzoyl peroxide products.

Furthermore, the free radicals that are produced from benzoyl peroxide damage the structure of your skin. As a result, your skin ages quicker and heals much slower.  Who wants to use a skin product that actually makes them look older?  Benzoyl peroxide will do just that.

Salicylic Acid Warning

Salicylic acid is a popular beta hydroxy acid used as a skin exfoliator in many acne formulas.  It essentially sheds off dead skin cells.  Although found to be safer than benzoyl peroxide, it can cause:

  • Dryness
  • Redness
  • Peeling
  • Burning of the skin

Many people claim the salicylic acid actually made their acne worse by irritating their skin!

Getting to the Root of Acne

Getting rid of acne safely and effectively takes getting to the root of why it’s there –  in the first place!

Acne_bentonite Clay mask People struggle with acne for a variety of reasons.  Some of the more common reasons include:

  • Hormones, both in puberty and adulthood
  • Prescription medications, like birth control and corticosteroids
  • Makeup, skin creams and hair products
  • Touching your face with unclean hands or

    a dirty cell phone

  • Poor diet and improper intake of fluids

Something as simple as switching to an all natural makeup or going off birth control pills can clear up your acne.  Imagine that acne problem controlled – and the only side-effect is smooth and pretty skin; without the risk of dryness, flaking, redness, irritation or peeling.

Bentonite Clay Skin Detoxification

People may have no idea that our skin is actually an eliminatory organ. Skin is the largest eliminatory organ in our bodies!  Just like our bowels and kidneys get rid of waste products, our skin does as well.

Many times acne results from the skin trying to dump the multitude of toxic waste that has accumulated in the body.  These toxic compounds start coming out of the skin through our sweat and sebum gland to clog our pores, resulting in pimples, blackheads and whiteheads.

One of the best ways to get rid of acne on the skin is to help it detoxify more effectively!  One of the greatest tools in doing that is using something called bentonite clay.

Bentonite clay is a powerful detoxifier both externally and internally.  Most clay is great at absorbing other matter.  However, bentonite clay is special in that it carries an electric negative charge. This charge acts like a magnet, pulling positively charged toxic material into itself.

Many people take bentonite clay internally to absorb toxins in the gut.  However, bentonite clay works amazing at pulling toxins through the skin as well! Some people bath in bathwater with a cup of dry bentonite clay added.  This is a great gentle detox, and is extremely relaxing.

Its amazing drawing power will help to open and clean out the pores.  It removes excess sebum and is an excellent exfoliant.  Calcium bentonite clay has natural antibacterial properties as well, and will dramatically speed the healing of the pimples.

Those who struggle with acne can make a facial mask out of bentonite clay allowing it to pull toxins, bacteria and impurities out of the skin.  It’s very easy to do and just takes:

  • 1-2 tsp of bentonite clay
  • Water

Directions:

Mix the clay with enough water to create a spreadable paste in the palm of your hand.  Spread the mask on your face.  You will be able to feel it gently “pulling” on your skin.  You can spritz your face with water to keep the mask wet longer.  Once it’s dry, it can no longer draw out the toxins.  Rinse your face after about 10-15 minutes and apply a moisturizer that doesn’t clog pores.  I suggest a tiny dab of coconut oil.

Take Control of Your Acne Naturally 

Before you buy some more Clearasil, Neutrogena or Proactiv with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, give bentonite clay a try. I have not bought any acne products since discovering this recipe and I don’t think I ever will.

Instead of the latest acne treatment fads that don’t offer any results and only damage your skin, allow your skin to breathe with natural help!  By gently detoxifying your skin, you will see it begin to change for the better and become clear skin.  You will have less blemishes and your skin will have a youthful glow again!

And remember, you are what you eat!  You can’t expect positive, healthy and healing results if you continue to add toxic material to your body through your food choices.  Adopt a clean diet, full of fresh fruits and vegetable and void of sugar, processed carbohydrates and fast foods!  Keep your body clean on the inside, and it will show on the outside!

You may want to consider recommending this article to a friend so they can make an informed choice regarding the risks of commercial acne products and permanently treat acne naturally.

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