A Holistic Approach to Blemished & Acne-Prone Skin

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Acne can be one of the most emotionally and physically challenging of all skin ailments.

As with all skin troubles, it’s important to remember that skin is a messenger and a communication channel our body uses to tell us when something is out of balance, whether that be internally or emotionally. More often than not, chronic acne is a signal of a deeper, systemic imbalance, and is the body’s effort to communicate internal disharmony.

For those individuals who struggle with chronic acne, hitting wall after wall and finding no relief despite their efforts, we recommend working with a natural practitioner to help you discover the internal root of the imbalance and addressing it from there.

The origins of acne are some of the most varied and complicated in the realm of skin health. Many factors play a role, including:

  1. Stress
  2. Hormone Imbalance
  3. Food sensitivities and digestive imbalances
  4. Systemic inflammation
  5. Repressed emotions that are trying to find release

Remember: the skin is a messenger. Patience, presence, and compassion will teach you its language.

It’s true that acne can be very distressing. But if you take a step back and look at the big picture, you will be able to see it is actually an incredible opportunity. An opportunity to reach a deeper understanding of our bodies, to listen more carefully, and access greater levels of health as a result.

Cultivating a relationship with our bodies and our skin centered around listening, compassion and gentleness can be one of the most transformative and empowering experiences of our lives. And ultimately, you may even end up seeing your path with acne as a gift.

Emotions, Constitution + Personality

Those with blemish-prone skin are often deeply sensitive individuals. This can be a sensitivity to energy, to other people, and even to food. They are often very empathetic towards others and the world, and can be shy, and self-conscious. And as with all inflammatory skin conditions, acne can be a picture of unexpressed emotions trying to find an outlet through the skin.

Ayurveda recognizes acne as an imbalance of Pitta Dosha, the fire element. So with acneic-types repressed emotions — whatever the original emotion may have been — frequently convert into those of a strong and fiery nature. Expressed (or repressed) as anger, resentment, frustration, etc.,

To address the emotional elements of acne, you must have a willingness to process and be present with your feelings, even when it pains you. Self-reflection and self-analyzation can be key in understanding and addressing the root emotions tied to the skin flare up. However, the goal is not just to be aware, but to accept. Cultivating a healthy, loving relationship with oneself through gentleness, compassion, self-acceptance and self-awareness is the emotional foundation of harmonious skin, and healing the emotional root that may be tied to acne.

We use flower essences in our formulas to help support emotional balance, growth and well-being. A custom blend of flower essences crafted in a collaboration with Evan and flower essence practitioner Alexis Smart is used in nearly all of our emulsion products. The Blemish “personality” blend can be found in our Tea Tree Gel Cleanser.

Caring for Acne-Prone Skin

While chronic acne is generally the result of an internal imbalance, it is still important to support skin harmony with topical care.

These are the essential factors in supporting acne topically:

  1. Rebuild and support the skin's protective barrier
  2. Simplify ritual and products
  3. Calm irritation and inflammation
  4. Prevent scarring
  5. Hydrate & nourish

Contrary to popular belief, acneic skin is actually a form of very sensitive skin. And it is often made even more sensitive by over-processing in an attempt to address the issue. If someone has undergone harsh treatments to ‘battle’ their acne — like prescription topicals, accutane, stipping procedures that damage barrier function like harsh acid or exfoliation treatments, etc., — then the first step needs to be re-establishing the skin’s essential, protective hydro-lipid barrier that these types of treatment destroy. Luckily this is easily done by simply eliminating the harsh, stripping treatments and introducing a daily application of Oil Serum and HydroSoul. During a break-out we may want to throw everything but the kitchen sink at our skin in an attempt to pacify the flare up, but this is ultimately counterproductive as it leaves the skin overwhelmed, inflamed, and usually worse off than it was to begin. When the skin is at its most reactive is when it requires the most simplicity. Instead of doing it all, pare down your approach, focus on simplicity and choose nutrient-dense, calming, restorative and purifying plant ingredients. In our world this looks like simply choosing one Oil Serum and HydroSoul pairing, and leaving it at that.

One of our favorite uber-simple, yet powerfully effective rituals for acneic skin (especially skin that is at its most stressed and reactive) is to choose one oil to use as both your cleanser and your moisture, and pair it with a HydroSoul. Our favorite oil for this highly minimalistic approach is Neem Immortelle Purifying Infusion. This special, multipurpose product is a blend of two infused oils and one essential oil and is formulated to be remarkably decongesting, calming, heat-pacifying and balancing.

Our top two HydroSouls for this ritual are Lemon Thyme, or Lavender if skin is especially irritated, hot, reactive, or sensitive. Alternatively, if there’s another plant you have a special affinity with — Rose Geranium or Frankincense, etc., — you can use that HydroSoul instead. All of our HydroSouls support blemish-prone skin.

Neem immortelle infusion lemon thyme hydrosoul and lavender hydrosoul

A Simple Daily Ritual for Troubled and Blemish- prone Skin

Acne prone ritual image

Et Voilà. This is your morning and evening routine.

You may also incorporate a weekly clay mask. Our clay masks are a potent yet gentle way to detoxify and purify congested pores, support healthy lymph flow, mineralize, and revitalize the skin. For acne-prone skin, our first choice is Green Tea Clay.

Top Acneic Skin Allies

Acne-prone purifying ritual products

Our Favorite Products for Blemished Skin

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