Cheap and Easy Adult Acne Treatment

So, adult acne. Yuck. I did this stuff already. In 7th grade. I’m in my 40s now so it should be buried in those Junior High yearbooks. But for whatever reason, the skin fairies decided to bring it back and it was completely different from the tiny pimples of my fabulous 13-year-old skin. In the years after I turned 30 (which coincides with having babies), these pimples decided to grow up too. And they became volcanos compared to their tiny red dot friends of years past.

It was not a welcome experience after birthing kids. Wasn’t that enough? I birthed two kids. It was hard and those 50 pounds of nesting weight gain took forever to move out. The difference between my teens and this time around with adult acne is,  it wouldn’t be a face full of pimples. It was one or two mountainous, hard lumps that were under the skin.

Not only were they hard and painful, but they didn’t just stick to my face area. Nope. Especially while pregnant, they loved my back and shoulders too. Attractive, huh?

My Super Cheap and Easy Cure for Adult Acne –

I’ll show you what I found that finally cured my adult acne.

Imagine you’re expecting a gorgeous pregnancy glow and what you get is hard, painful, red lumps that want to stay the whole gestation period. The baby came out, the adult acne stayed. For years!

Over the years after kids, I tried it all – creams, spot treatments, antibiotic cleansing pads, tretinoin cream – nothing seemed to keep it gone. Coupled with the fact that they lasted for what seemed like an eternity, it was super frustrating. It seemed like one would finally go away and its friend would move in a few weeks later.

And these are the kind you can’t pop. I know it’s super gross to think of popping zits, but people do it. And when they’re tiny, it sometimes works (though not recommended). But these were unpoppable mounds of grossness that I had to sit back and wait them out. These also tend to be full of bacteria.

Seriously, it sound so yucky even writing about this, but I wish I’d found my miracle cure years earlier.

A little background:

My skin type is what you’d call a mix I suppose. My body is dry and I use lotion year round, but my face tends to be oily. I’ve been to several dermatologists in my life and I’ve tried it all. For a short while, the tretinoin cream was the most effective, but I couldn’t tolerate it. My skin developed such dryness and irritation, even with only using it every 3rd night. So that was out. Which is a bummer because tretinoin is good for wrinkles.

So what’s the cure for adult acne??

Well, it may not be everyone’s miracle cure, but it’s cheap enough that it’s worth trying!

Coconut Oil

Yep! Coconut oil. What the what?? Oily face and you want me to put coconut oil on it?  Trust me. Yes. You won’t be slathering your face in coconut oil several times a day. You’re only going to wash your face with it. That’s right – it’s a fantastic cleanser. And this isn’t special coconut oil. It’s not separate from what you find at a grocery store in the cooking aisles. Same stuff. This is what I use:

Viva Naturals Organic Coconut Oil

Not only is it super affordable (hello ten spot), but it lasts forever. I buy maybe two jars per year! Year, not month. So around $20 for face wash for a year. Yes please.

How to Do It:

Each night, get your coconut oil and use it just like you would a cleanser. I use about a tablespoon and wash my face with the oil. Coconut oil becomes liquid at high temps and solid when it’s cooler. It doesn’t matter if it’s liquid or solid. Get some on your hands and wash your face. One added benefit is coconut oil is an amazing makeup remover.

I use a wash cloth and hot water next. Get the cloth wet, wring it out and then wipe the oil and makeup from your face. Rinse, repeat. I don’t rinse afterwards – just pat your face dry with a clean towel. Then apply a moisturizer. Done.

Admittedly, it feels a bit weird when you do it the first time. I don’t even bother removing my eye makeup with special remover first. Coconut oil takes it all off.

Why does it work?

Coconut oil has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties thanks to lauric acid which is a medium chain triglyceride. The other predominant substance that contains lauric acid is breast milk. If it’s good for tiny babies, it’s good for washing your face! If you google “health benefits of coconut oil”, you’ll be overwhelmed at the responses. I don’t have any first hand experience in any other uses of it, so we’re sticking to adult acne here.

How do I know it works?

Because I’ve used it for several years and it keeps the giant red mountains from invading my face. If I skip a few days of face washing with coconut oil, I’ll feel one starting to rear it’s ugly, painful head on my face. That’s all. It’s not rocket science. I use it – the adult acne stays away – Without fail. I skip a day or two and they might come back.

Cons?

Are there any cons of washing my face nightly with coconut oil? Nope. It’s effective, it removes my makeup, and it keeps the acne gone. I know there are people with way more skin care experience than me that don’t recommend using wash cloths to clean your face. I’m not scrubbing away like a maniac. Just enough to remove the oil. That’s all.

Will it make my skin oily?

Doubtful. I have a pretty oily face and it doesn’t make it worse. In fact, I think it helps. I feel like I’m not over producing oil in my face because it’s adequately moisturized from the coconut oil.

What do you have to lose?

It’s around $10 for this one or you can find it at your local grocery store. Try it for a month and see if it helps. I can guarantee you’ll spend more on specialty treatments. And it’s not harmful to try. Simply wash your face with coconut oil, clean the oil and makeup off, and moisturize. Done! And hopefully say goodbye to adult acne!