Using Sea Salt to fight Acne, my 6 month update.

In July I wrote about how I had started using Sea Salt to fight my daily acne problem, and I just wanted to do an update and share this information with anyone who didn't read it back then.

I've had moderate acne since I was about 10-11 (I'm now almost 21). I've used Pro Active and a lot of drugstore products but nothing reduced my acne more than 20% if I was lucky. In June I read about using sea salt on your skin to fight acne. I didn't really think it would work but since I already had loads of it at home I thought why not try it.

Within a week I could already see that I wasn't getting as many breakouts a day as I usually did. Old breakouts were healing more quickly and my foundation looked better because I was exfoliating my skin every day.

After about 6 weeks 95% of my acne was gone. I wasn't getting more than 1-2 pimples a week and they were usually half gone before I noticed them. After two months I generally only broke out the week before or of my period.

My skin still isn't perfect but it hasn't been this nice since before puberty. I'm not ashamed to go around my house at night after I've washed my makeup off and have my family see my skin. I still wear foundation every day but I don't have to wear as much of it. I get a pimple every once in a while (mostly just when I forget to use the salt) but they don't get as big as they use to and they heal more quickly.

How I use it:

Its so simple, at night in the shower after I've used my regular face wash to remove my make up I put 1/2 a teaspoon of salt in my wet palms. I then gently scrub my face for 10-15 seconds and wash it off. Sometimes I'll do this in the morning too. I'm actually saving money because I don't use face wash in the morning anymore like I use to.

If my skin is acting up I'll put the salt on and leave it for 5 minutes. You can mix it with honey or your face wash and use it as a mask if you want a more intense treatment.

Also I've gotten one of those small travel size spray bottles from Target and mixed a tablespoon of salt with water and I'll spray that on my face at night every so often. This is good if you have body acne and can't reach some areas like your back or shoulders. Sometimes I'll add 1/2 a cup of salt to my bath just because I breakout on my legs.

Generally its better to use Sea Salt rather then refined salt because it has more 'nutrients,' for lack of a better word, but refined salt will work in a pinch. Try it out, its cheap and doesn't take much effort. I hope it works for any of you who have the same problem I did.

Using Sea Salt to fight Acne

I've had constant moderate acne for about 8 years and I've tried a lot of different products. Most of them were quite expensive, and very few of them made any difference in my skin. Ironically the most effective thing is just about dirt cheap and has been sitting in my house all this time.

Why salt? Salt is a natural anti-bacterial. Its been used as a healing agent throughout history, and our bodies simply could not survive without it. Note: table salt is stripped of most of its healing minerals, and therefor may not be as effective. Sea salt, or salt crystals, is best.

I read about using salt masks to treat acne a few weeks ago. I started using it in the mornings as a cleanser/scrub, and when I can I'll use it as a mask in the evening. It can also be used as a toner over night, and as a body scrub if you have body acne (and even if you don't).

You can adjust the amount you use to whatever your skin needs, but I use

-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-1 teaspoon water (warm preferably)
-cotton ball

I mix this together in a small bowl, soak it into the cotton ball and gently scrub it on my face. The first few times I used this it stung after a few minutes so I washed it off quickly, but after a few weeks it doesn't sting anymore and I can leave it on for a long time if I want a more intense treatment. If it stings a lot or you have sensitive skin use less salt in the beginning and wash it off sooner. Right after using the salt your skin will be a little red, but that's natural after using an exfoliant.

For overnight let the salt dissolve in hot water and apply it like you would a toner or put it in a spray bottle to spritz on your face. In the bath add half a cup to treat body acne (use moisturizer after). I also love adding this to St Ives apricot scrub, aloe vera gel, and a few drops of olive oil and scrubbing my skin (I do it quite hard) to make it super soft.

After 3-4 weeks of doing this my skin has improved a lot. I have very few breakouts, my skin tone is much more even, and my face is so much softer. Using it in the morning makes my foundation look better too. I'll need a few more weeks to see if this is 100% effective as my acne has good/bad cycles but so far I've seen good things and would recommend everyone try it.

To read more about the internal health benefits of salt visit WorldWideHealth.com

Target brand Up & Up Baby Wipes as Facial Wipes

If you are looking for some affodable but amazing make up remover or facial cleaning wipes check out the Target brand (now called Up & Up) unscented baby wipes.

-hypoallergenic real-cloth wipes
-alcohol free
-natural aloe and Vitamin E
-cushiony texture for superior cleaning

I saw this idea from someone else on a make up board and forgot about it until we ran out of baby wipes for my nephew. I promply thought of these and ran off to get them. I think everyone uses make up wipes at some point, but a lot of brands do run kind of expensive for these tiny packs of only 20 or 30 wipes, or super expensive for packs of 100.

The Target brand baby wipes comes in packs of 88 for $1.97. I believe there is a jumbo pack of around 300 for about $4 and small pack of 40 for $1.27. Each cloth is really long, one side is textured the other is smooth. The unscented kind have no smell at all. I've used them on my eyes with zero irritation. I've used them to take off lip products and there is no taste left over. What I love most is that there is no residue left over on my face. Any other wipe I've used leaves my skin feeling damp and tacky like I didn't rinse off my cleanser all the way. These Target wipes leaves my face feeling very clean like I just got out of the shower. I also use these to clean my make up brushes and wipe down any powder from my vanity area.

Easy Flacky/Itchy Scalp Fix

All my life I've had oily hair. About 24 hours after I wash it it's greasy and gross again so I usually wash it every night. However there are days when I get home too late or I'm just too tired to wash it so I'll put it off for a day. You'd think with all the grease I wouldn't have a problem with flakes but it actually creates them because the extra "moisture" on my scalp makes that skin come off and I end up with white bits in my hair. The extra oil makes my scalp itchy too so scratching it makes even more flakes.

There are plenty of products out there that are marketed towards this problem and its hard to know whats going to work for you, but there is something so simple that my mom's been using on me since I was a kid that I always come back to: Apple Cider Vinegar.

Yup, the smelly brown stuff that anyone with a nose should fear.

When ever I start getting a flaky or itchy scalp I get a big cup and fill it with 1/3 Vinegar and 2/3 warm water. I put it on in the shower and let it sit while I wash my face. Then I rinse it out and use my usual shampoo and conditioner. This totally cures the itching and stops the flakes. It does leave your hair smelling for a while so don't do this if you're going out in a few hours.

I believe you can get this at most grocery stores. Be sure to use a organic/natural brand like Bragg's as others can be dilluted and have added chemicals which may make them less effective. You want the purest form you can get.

Apple Cider Vinegar is also good for curing ring worms (soak a cotton ball and tape it on), relieving a sore throat (gargle & spit, don't swallow), and many other things (my mom uses it to clean our bathroom and kitchen floors).