ACNE

I literally just saw someone talking about this on TV! They said using turmeric in your food is a natural deterrent and Greek yogurt adds a glow. I used to breakout after softball practice and weights until I started keeping facial cleansing wipes in my bag. It helped a lot!

Try restricting dairy and soy, they commonly contribute to hormonal acne. If that doesn't help I would go on BCPs. I know you don't want to take any prescriptions but its the only thing that helps sometimes because it regulates your hormones (if you find the right one). GL!

look into diy face masks and exfoliating. there are some really good ones on instructables dot com.

this is one I like
rub your affected area with a slice of grape fruit (tons of other fruit can be used instead) or skip this step
mix in the palm of your hand a teaspoon or more of honey and cinnamon
then rub that on your face, back, where ever.

the other one I really like is honey and uncoated aspirin. make sure it's un coated.
make a paste with 1 pill and honey in your palm

with either of these rub it around gently, avoiding the eyes
and wash off as you would anything else.

I also find that using the honey helps to moisturize, i have a hard time finding a moisturizer that
doesn't make me feel greasy or irritated.

either the aspirin or cinnamon help to exfoliate. they are dirt cheap.
it takes me more than a year to use my aspirin, since i only use it for this.
you can also use the aspirin mixed with whatever you like as a spot treatment
just be careful about leaving it on too long, it can be very drying.

the aspirin has salicylic acid in it, commonly found in some of the more expensive acne products.
it also helps with the inflammation.

I also found that putting also vera gel helps with the redness sometimes.

you can also find out more about glycolic treatments
there are some that you can make with fruit.
if you exfoliate and do the right treatment you
can prevent any cysts, if that is an issue.
remember your skin cells are on a 30 day or so cycle
so make sure you're exfoliating at least a few times in that month.
most say once a week, but your mileage may vary.

I am 26 and still break out. I, too, tried every topical remedy (seriously, if it existed, i probably tried it) - even tried an anti-biotic medication that I was severely allergic to, so i couldn't take that, either.

My skin is much better now, however and i only break out once a month. Some of the things I did that ended up helping was not using harsh cleansers - avoid cleansers that claim to exfoliate, especially. I know a lot of products market for exfoliating, but it can agitate your skin quite a lot and make acne much worse. When you wash your face with a gentle soap, don't scrub or rub it into your skin much. The skin on your face is very sensitive. I also moisturize twice a day since sometimes breakouts can occur because your skin creates excess oil due to being too dry.

I do drink a lot more water now, as well. You said you drink enough, so that might not be the problem, but definitely stick to drinking lots of water anyway.

And lastly, I did go on the BC pill. It has regulated my hormones and now, when I do break out, it isn't as bad and it much more manageable.

Everyone is different. I'm not saying what works for me will work for you, but if you haven't tried these things, it couldn't hurt. c:

i'm in my 30's i'm probably going to have it till i'm a hundred.

i wish Clearasil worked for me, benzoil peroxide doesn't really do anything. just dries me out.

Well I'm definitely pro prescription topical (not pills so much), but the one natural that ever kind of worked for me was bee propolis, which I used travelling years ago. Can't recommend a brand, only saw it there. It's supposed to have antibacterial properties, and did actually work on cuts too.

BUT it stained my skin yellow and was hard to take off without using a few cycles of oil and then soap.

Tea tree oil is crap.

I will vouch for the aspirin mask, that worked to calm & settle my skin for a while (found it dulling longer term, but I used it maybe too often).

I tried everything under the sun other than prescriptions to cure my acne. BC, diet changes, OTC cleansers of every variety, proactive, stupid little things like changing pillowcases every other day (which is actually a good idea.) but nothing ever worked. My doctor finally prescribed me low dose retin-a (generic) cream and low dose antibiotic twice a day. I use it at night all over my face since I break out with cystic acne everywhere, it was so bad when I went to the doctor about it a couple of years ago.

I had cystic zits nearly the size of dimes that were clustering together in 2s and 3s, so painful and they always left deep pit scars. But yeah, I know it's not natural but I use that at night along with washing my face gently with Avon blackhead clearing facial cleanser. It works very well as long as I keep up with the regiment properly. Also not eating a lot of greasy foods and trying to keep stress away helps me. I find if I slack in any of these things I do occasionally get a few very small pimples, once in a while maybe a cystic one. But I haven't had any horrible ones since the retin-a started working. It takes several weeks before seeing results, and really dries out your skin so I have to buy some pretty expensive lotion to use with it, and I also use Chapstick Moisture (Original) all the time to keep my lips from drying out. If you use the retin-a near your eyes, nostrils, or lips, the skin dries out really bad and gets raw / painful / chapped.

Olay makes the only lotion I've ever been able to use that doesn't make the acne worse. It's Olay Complete all day moisturizer with sunscreen (SPF 15) for sensitive skin. Make sure whatever you use on your face is noncomedogenic. (Won't clog pores.) And never ever scrub your face!!! It makes acne so much worse... I do hope you can find a natural remedy, but I wanted to share my experience with you in case you change your mind, since it does work for some people like myself. Good luck to you!

I know this is already a really long post, but I wanted to add that there was a man who wrote a book about acne (sorry I can't remember the name.) but said there was a key to preventing it that had to do with the body's waking and sleeping cycles. Basically, it's best to sleep and wake with the setting and rising sun, or at least close to it. So, staying up late at night is really bad and can cause acne to become much, much worse, particularly if you spend that time looking at a computer screen, which I used to do nearly every night. This is supposedly because, when we are looking at a computer screen, doing whatever, our minds are focused intensely on it. The mind numbing zombification, as some might call electronic forms of entertainment, causes some parts of our brains to shut down or stop working as hard so that they can focus more strongly on the pleasure and reward that the computer screen is providing. This is what causes our body's natural defenses to things like acne flare-ups to decrease and stop trying so hard, basically, or at least that is how I've worked it out in my own head.

I try not to do it at all now, but it can't always be avoided. Like right now, it's after 4am, and I'm on the laptop. My skin definitely suffers when I don't sleep well or at normal hours. So I just wanted to add that, you could always try changing your sleep schedule and making it more consistent, just to see if it helps.

I used to have severe acne and now just a pimple at that time of the month. I am 24.
What worked for me was:

Food wise: cut out dairy, drink lots of water.

Skin routine wise: use products that are hypoallergenic and not harsh at all. Seriously this helps. Also, I use a product with salicylic acid and glycolic acid in the mornings and a product with hylaruronic acid in the evenings (vichy normaderm purifying cleansing gel + vichy normaderm hydrating care in the mornings and a gentle hypoallergenic face wipe + vichy retinol night cream at night, to be more specific). Using really gentle stuff and not too many different products has really helped my skin clear up and look much healthier.
I went to an acne clinic, who recommended I use hypoallergenic stuff and salicylic and glycolic acid in the morning and hyaluronic acid at night. Don't use benzoylperoxide. That just ruins your skin.

Meds: get birth control. Seriously, this is the only thing that will really help with hormonal acne.

Other things: get some sunshine and fresh air. A lot of acne comes from just being indoors too much. Off course, if you're spending a lot of time outside do use a (non greasy) sunscreen.
Wash your beds sheets and towels regularly.
Get into the habit of rarely touching your face. I noticed I used to touch my face all the time and anywhere I touched my face a lot, I would break out. For instance, when I was reading or writing at a desk, I would rest my head on my hand and where I always touched my face, I would be covered in acne. Pay attention to this and if you notice you do it too, teach yourself not to.

my sons have never had bad acne till they were 18 and 20 . I too have been on the hunt for what would work. We have bought several products with systolic acid and full line of toners ect. None of them were working great. Both of my sons have gone to the dermatologist , two different ones. In my amazement one said to come off of all of the expensive cleaners that they have so many chemicals it makes it worse. They said to use Johnsons and johnsons Purpose they have at Rite aid Cvs ect. The other son I went to GNC and there was a girl who said she had bad acne and she used I think it was grandma or grandpa's soap but it had sulfur in it . The son with the worst acne all over used it and his face was pretty clear when I saw him last except for the redness left by the acne. You can also buy retin A off of the Canadian pharmacy sites to help dry out and help with scars. The honey mask are great too .

Antibiotics might be worth a try. You only take them briefly.

Is your skin oily? Mine is and I still get minor breakouts in my 40s. It just runs in the family. I stopped using foundation at all at about 17 and that helped a lot. I never found one that was good for oily skin. On the other hand, I don't have the wrinkles I should for my age. Swings and roundabouts really. Dry skin doesn't break out as badly but also isn't as elastic. Just try not to squeeze, witch hazel helps heal the spots, accept that you'll have a few and don't let it bother you too much:)

My triggers are sweets and greasy foods.

Honestly, I've had really, really bad acne. I have the scarring to prove it. I know you want to do it the natural way... I respect that... but what really works for me now is BC and a sulfur-based face wash.

I suppose it all depends on why you're breaking out. For some, it can be food-related (I've noticed the kind I get from food are distinctly difference from TOM ones. The former looks more like a flat rash. It's weird). However, the very worst of mine, I believe, was caused by hormones and my skin's inability to slough itself in a timely manner. I do not think I could've treated those causes with just different food choices.

Anyway, hope you find your causes!