If you suffer from sensitive skin, some homemade acne treatments might be too intense for your face and will cause inflammation, burning or even more pimples.

There are many effective natural remedies for acne such as tea tree oil or natural acne medicines with herbs, but these may also cause a skin eruption if you have sensitive skin.

How do you find an effective acne sensitive skin treatment if you suffer from both acne AND hyper-sensitive skin?

We have found that there are two important approaches to clearing acne for sensitive skin that are affordable and simple, and will help you to regain a beautiful and clear complexion.

These homemade acne treatments can be done at home, without a lot of extra expense. You will need to be consistent and to do these each and every day for a period time in order to see results.

Gently Cleanse and Detoxify

One of the most effective natural remedies for acne is to cleanse and detoxify your body. By eating healthier and eliminating toxins, dyes, preservatives and processed foods, your acne will begin to heal naturally.

* Eliminate as many toxins from your diet and from your environment as you can. We are all exposed to countless environmental toxins from the air and water, from our foods and also from our skin care and personal care products.

* The simplest homemade acne treatment is to drink lots and lots of pure water, which will help your body to eliminate toxins more easily.

* Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, which will bring your body many important vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fiber which will help to create a radiant complexion.

* Choose gentle hypoallergenic skin care products that are chemically safe and non-toxic. Avoid product ingredients that are known irritant or allergens. If you are highly allergic, avoid products with botanicals and essential oils.

Homemade Acne Treatments for Daily Skin Care

Pick one homemade acne treatment at a time to try. If possible, do a skin test first by applying one of these natural acne remedies on the back of your arm or behind your ear. Wait for a day to make sure you don’t have any skin reactions.

Then, if your skin is not allergic to the ingredients, try out your new home acne remedy for once a day for a few days. See how it goes, and how your skin feels.

It generally takes a while to see results from an acne home remedy. If after a few days you are not having any adverse reactions, make a commitment to try your homemade acne treatments for at least one week. You may need even longer to evaluate the results. Some people need at least three weeks to see results. Then see how your skin looks and feels!

* Baking Soda Facial Mask - Mix a small amount of baking soda with water to make a paste. Apply to your face and let dry. Rinse with water. If your face is too sensitive for the whole mask, apply the mixture to individual acne sores.

* Oatmeal Facial Mask - This is a gentle, nourishing and cleansing facial mask that soothes the skin and balances the complexion. It is an excellent way to calm down acne eruptions for sensitive skin.

* Raw Potato - Slice a raw, organic white potato into thin slices and apply them to your face, especially on your acne outbreaks. This helps to reduce swelling and inflammation.

* Egg Yolk Facial Mask - use only if you are not allergic to eggs! Beat one egg yolk and use a clean child’s paintbrush to apply to your face. Leave on for 10 minutes.

At the end of a few weeks of using these natural homemade acne treatments, you will not only look and feel healthier, but will be well on your way to a beautiful and clear complexion!

It sure seems like cold sores pop up when you least expect them. They tend to give you pain and can be very embarrassing. And the first you want to do is make them go away. When cold sores appear your body is saying “hey there is something wrong here”. Slow down and take a break. There is something you can do.

Stress is the main impact on your body. It cause damage to your pH balance, hormones and immune systems. So, a cold or flu prompts a cold sore. This is due to the herpes virus hat falls dormant in your nerve cells. It is awakened by a rise in body temperature, increase in stress levels, decrease in immune system or a change in the pH of you body. The virus will make its move to the skin surface through nerve fibers. The cold sore will occur, when it is reached.

In order for you to treat them effectively you need to understand what a cold sore needs to thrive. Firstly, the virus needs lots of the protein arginine in the cell for it to produce new herpes viruses. To counteract arginine you can increase your lysine intake. Lysine is another protein that competes with arginine for absorption, thus decreasing or even preventing the ability of the cell to produce duplicates of the herpes virus. In other words, when the virus reaches the skin surface and finds the cells lacking arginine it will withdraw.

Foods like cheese, milk, yogurt and meats contain high lysine. It is suggested that you take 1000 milligrams to 3000 milligrams of lysine during or before cold sore period and it is also available in supplement form. Avoid foods, which contains high amounts of arginine such as nuts, seeds, grains and chocolates.

The cause of a cold sore, the Herpes virus, develops & like the warmth & moisture environment. So once you even doubt that you have or going to have cold sore, you should try your best to keep the area cold. You can try anything which you feel can create a cold environment.

Thirdly, a pH balance below 7 can cause the onset of a cold sore. Things like stress and colds or too much sun can cause your body’s pH to drop below 7. This results in the perfect environment for a cold sore to develop. When you have a cold sore keep away form any acidic foods such as tomatoes, citrus, carbonated drinks or vinegar, no acid foods should touch the it.

In spite of taking all the precautions it is important to have good personal hygiene through regular washing of hands and by cleaning the cold sore with hydrogen peroxide. This greatly reduces the occurrences of a cold sore.

Having one is not fun and you have just read all you need to know to cure your cold sore quickly. Following all the advice given here will shorten the duration of your unwelcome cold sore by half!

Naturopathic medicine is a discipline that works with the body’s ability to heal itself. Health care providers that practice this medicine are naturopathic doctors (NDs).They have an education similar to medical doctor, however, utilize natural therapies for healing, such as herbal medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, dietary changes and lifestyle counselling instead of drugs and surgery. Naturopathic medicine also works in a health paradigm rather than focusing on disease.

Individuals are encouraged not to wait until they are ill but to be more proactive and start to notice things that may be going wrong in their body or mind before it actually manifests as a disease. Prevention is the key and may be achieved by following daily and seasonal health practices. Being persistent and dedicated to these and other practices over time brings about a better chance for a long and healthy life. Aging does not have to mean living with chronic disease, there are many things that we are able to do to live a good quality of life.

Our symptoms are the body’s way of letting us know that something is not quite right, whether or not it shows up on a lab test. In Western medicine, if lab results are normal, it is assumed that there are no health concerns, which unfortunately is not often the case. Consider if you have symptoms in your appetite, digestion, energy, mood, sleep, sense of well-being and menstrual cycle (if you are a woman), that these are early warning signs that there is imbalance in the system. A naturopathic doctor will look at what is out of balance in the physiology and attempt to bring it into equilibrium. In addition, it may be determined why the symptoms are occurring in the first place.

If a disease already exists in the body, natural remedies are utilized along with principles of bringing about good health. As a result, this process over time stimulates the body’s natural ability to heal itself and balance is restored. Daily self healing practices that enhance the body’s natural metabolic processes are designed to promote elimination of toxins through the digestive tract (including the liver), kidneys, lungs and skin. These include and are not limited to consuming a whole foods diet, taking probiotics (good bacteria), essential fatty acids, apple cider vinegar, using castor oil packs, water intake, hydrotherapy, sleep, laughter, movement, and deep breathing. Please see below more of a description of each of these practices.

1) With respect to digestive health consider consuming whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains and lean meats. These are foods that are not processed in any way and provide the optimum mix of nutrients and have the most life energy.

2) Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that promote good digestive and immune health. They are more like a food, found naturally in yogurt, saurkraut, miso and other fermented foods. Many bacteria are considered beneficial, the most common ones being Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species. Individuals often do not get enough in their diets and therefore require more through supplementation.

3) Essential fatty acids are another important food to supplement. These include Omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids. The body does not make these oils and therefore they must be obtained in the diet. Individuals tend to be deficient in Omega 3 fatty acids that are found in fish, flax and perilla seed oils. They are critically important to the integrity of the cell membranes.

4) Apple cider vinegar (1 tsp) in a cup of water, taken 15-30min before meals, stimulates the digestive tract and prepares the body for food by allowing for proper enzyme release from the pancreas, and bile salts from the liver. A functioning digestive system promotes absorption of nutrients and elimination of toxins.

5) Castor oil packs are health promoting packs using castor oil externally on the abdomen. This enhances drainage of the liver, improves lymphatic circulation, and boosts immune system function.

6) Water intake is important for the filtration of the kidneys and the health of all our cells. The human body is composed of 75% water. Drink at least the equivalent of ? your body weight in ounces. Divide your body weight in pounds by 2. This equals the number of ounces of water you require daily. A glass is approximately 8 ounces.

7) Hydrotherapy in the form of alternating hot and cold showers. Use 5 minutes of hot/warm water and contrast with 30 seconds of cold/cool water, then repeat cycle at least 3 times. End shower with cool water. This redirects blood flow to internal organs, away from the periphery, thereby improving digestion and bringing oxygen to the cells.

Our adrenal glands produce important hormones that help us adapt to stress. To keep them healthy having a routine is important. Have a regular sleep schedule, even on weekends. Ideally, go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. Get to sleep before midnight. Every hour of sleep before midnight is worth 2 hours after midnight. It is recommend to have between 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep in a dark room.

9) Play, do something fun everyday. Laughter is essential for stress management.

10) Daily movement is another part of a healthy lifestyle. Humans are designed to be active. An aid to circulation, it is important to move muscles daily. Engage in regular exercise of 20-45 minutes, 2 to 3 times per week. Find something that you enjoy, ideally spending time outside daily for at least 20 minutes.

11) For the lungs be mindful of your breathing. Take slow, deep regular breaths throughout the day to assist in coping with stressful situations. Do sets of 10 breaths, 3 times a day, or whenever you feel stressed. It plays an important role in physical and emotional health as well as spiritual awareness.

12) For the skin consider something termed dry skin brushing. Use a loofah sponge or natural bristle brush. Brush entire body, stroking toward the heart. It is best to do on dry skin before bathing. Rejuvenates the skin and lymph and stimulates circulation.

These are some important and general features of a naturopathic lifestyle that when followed over time bring about the desired health outcome. It is also important that in addition to these practices that someone be assessed by a health professional including a naturopath to provide more individualized treatment of health concerns.

We live in a society that expects instant results, yet so many things do not work that way. True health takes some effort, which when we are persistent and dedicated to a regime really pays off. It is like being in a yoga asana or a stretch, the first time you tried it there was no getting into it, however over time, day by day, millimetre by millimetre, you are there. Now this becomes your new reality and you are onto the next thing. If you would like more information on the above health practices or would like a Personal Naturopathic Consult, please call health reception at 403.244.7405 ext. 2 to book an appointment.

‘Those who think they have no time for healthy living, will sooner or later have to find time for illness’. Edward Stanley