Diet and lifestyle are almost always more effective for treating acne than topical treatments; that has been proven by science.
However, topical treatments can still be extremely useful and if you do use them, then the best products are almost always natural ones like raw honey and jojoba oil, rather than harsh chemicals such as Benzoyl Peroxide.
This raises a very important question. Because the elite natural products like raw honey, grapeseed oil and sea buckthorn oil are almost always more expensive, how can poor people enjoy the benefits that such products have without instead resorting to cheap and harsh chemicals?
The answer is lurking right under your nose. It lurks in your kitchen already.
The answer is… fruit peels. Peels and juice from fruits and vegetables have not been proven by any studies to cure acne, but there is enough scientific reasoning behind them that it’s an experiment you should definitely try.
How fruit peels help your skin
First let’s start with how a product such as aloe vera works. Aloe vera is an ancient natural acne treatment that has been used for beauty purposes for thousands of years. Egypt’s Cleopatra used it, and ancient carvings of Aloe Vera have been found.
One of the main reasons it achieves these benefits is its extremely varied range of natural compounds, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The ones that have massive benefits for your acne are the saponins, a highly antibacterial and anti-inflammatory class of substances.
Therefore you apply aloe vera to your skin, and those compounds calm your acne down…
…but the big question is: how do those compounds get into your skin? You may have used numerous face washes in the past but have you ever stopped to consider how the substances actually get the opportunity to work? It’s not like you inject them into your skin.
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The answer is that your skin has an extremely powerful ability to absorb anything that comes into contact with it. We’ve discussed before how a human’s skin is like a giant sponge, and that term fits well. Almost all enzymes, nutrients and other compounds can enter your body if you touch them.
Topical treatments don’t just penetrate to a certain depth, to the depth in which your acne lies; your skin can actually absorb substances directly into your bloodstream.
Consider the case of the infamous BPA. Studies have repeatedly shown that if you touch a store receipt, which are usually full of BPA, then your blood content of the chemical can increase by over four times (which is a disaster for your skin). Such substances can penetrate deep into your body. That makes it very easy for them to at least reach the acne close to the surface of your skin, and that’s how fruit peels work.
What to do with a fruit peel
If you use a fruit peel on your skin then the compounds in it will be absorbed just like with any other treatment. That is excellent news because most food peels contain plenty of the nutritional goodness that the fruit itself does.
Therefore if you simply keep a fruit peel in contact with your skin until your skin absorbs all the nutritional goodness, you can theoretically achieve a good reduction in your acne.
Consider the case of the potato. The skin of the potato is traditionally peeled due to it containing mild toxins known as glycoalkaloids, which can cause bad reactions in people.
However that only applies to the tough outer skin; the fleshy inner part of the peel will contain plenty of the potato’s nutrients such as vitamin C, magnesium and B-vitamins. If you hold this part of the flesh to your face for long enough, then plenty of this should get absorbed just like the nutrients in aloe vera do. You will obtain the following benefits…
1. The vitamin C will act as an antioxidant in the skin. This prevents your sebum from oxidising, which is one of the most important causes of acne. The vitamin C will also strengthen your skin as it forms a key part of collagen, your skin’s structural protein.
2. The magnesium will get absorbed into your bloodstream, and there it will do its acne clearing work such as reducing levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Magnesium is extremely well absorbed through the skin so fruit and vegetables peels are an excellent way to get more.
Those are just two examples; there are countless others. Other antioxidants will have the same benefits, so the peels from fruit are particularly useful. Fruits with plenty of vitamin E will work excellent as that is one of the most important nutrients for preventing acne.
Fruits and vegetables contain a highly varied range of nutrition, so there’s tons of potential. In theory, any food that is known for being nutritious, and is associated with health benefits when eaten, should also be very effective when applied topically. Some potentially great options are…
Pomegranate juice – pomegranates contain an extremely high amount of antioxidants, even by fruit standards. Your face will absorb all of them from the juice and this will prevent your sebum from oxidising. You can also use these antioxidants to prevent damage from free radicals. Air pollution is a massive source of free radicals and therefore you can neutralise the harm they do if you apply pomegranate after a day of work in the city.
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How to do it: there’s no need to actually buy pomegranate juice from the supermarket. Buy a real pomegranate, cut it into it, and take some of the seeds out. Each one contains a lot of juice, and if you press it against a pimple, plenty will burst out. Their jewel-like shape makes them perfect for doing this. Make sure that the juice doesn’t run off your face, and wait for a while until the juice gets absorbed. Aside from the antioxidants, you will also enjoy a decent amount of vitamin C and other complex substances (pomegranates contain plenty).
Sweet potatoes – an excellent source of beta-carotene, a form of vitamin A and also an antioxidant. Applying this to your face can have similar benefits to pomegranate. How to do it: simply peel the sweet potato, and hold the orange underside to your face. The peel will contain a decent amount of water and hopefully this water will transfer some of the nutrients to your face. Note that sweet potatoes are also a fantastic food to eat.
Red grapes – an excellent option as they are very high in resveratrol, something of a miracle substance for acne. Resveratrol has been shown in studies to improve acne and red grapes are the simplest way to get it (no need for supplements). How to use it: squeeze a red grape against a pimple until the juice comes out, and let your skin absorb it.
As well as those there are tons of others that could work well. You’ll also notice that we discussed fruit juices rather than peels. The reality is that peels are the tip of the iceberg; you can use any part of a fruit or vegetable that is likely to contain a high content of nutrients. You could use the skin of fruits such as grapes, the juices, the flesh itself, or the peel.
Why not just eat the fruit?
In theory simply eating the fruit is a much easier way to get the nutrients inside your body, and it is, but far less reaches your face compared to if you use it topically.
If you eat a potato then you will consume a lot more vitamin C from one peel, however the vitamin C will be used throughout your entire body. It will be used for functions such as strengthening your immune system and healing wounds; very little of it will reach your face.
If, on the other hand, you apply the potato directly to your face then a far greater proportion of the nutrients will be able to improve your acne. It’s your face that absorbs them and it’s your face that reaps the benefits.
I do recommend that you eat the fruit as well; in fact that is more important. Acne is a condition that starts inside the body, so getting plenty of nutrients throughout your entire system is important.
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However it’s an even better idea to use fruit peels alongside eating the fruit, as an extra boost. You’ll get vitamin C to protect your skin from free radicals, and you’ll put plenty of vitamin C inside your body to keep your cortisol levels healthy.
The possibilities are endless
There are literally tons of fruits and vegetables that you could try this out with. Any fruit or vegetable that contains high amounts of nutrients and antioxidants could have great effects.
Also, if a food is more nutritious then it has a higher chance of containing other complex compounds. One fact you have to understand is that no food is completely documented and understood. A strawberry does not just contain vitamin C and its other nutrients and antioxidants; it is full of complicated enzymes and compounds, all of which can have unique effects in the body.
Science is nowhere near fully understanding all of these compounds, so what this means is that you should experiment with lots of different foods. It’s possible that any food could have acne-curing properties that we didn’t know about in the past.
Could beetroot juice be an effective acne killer? Possibly, and the only way to find out is to try it for yourself. Experiment with many different fruits and vegetables and you could be the first person to discover a whole new acne-curing secret.
Conclusion
The use of fruit peels, fleshes, and juices on your skin is not proven by any scientific study, but there’s solid scientific reasoning that it could improve your acne.
There’s also tons of anecdotal evidence. I highly recommend that if you cannot afford the greatest acne treatments like raw honey, grapeseed oil and sea buckthorn oil, then you make use of a powerful fruit such as the pomegranate. There’s no need for a topical antioxidant when pomegranates contain tons of them anyway.
Once again, I urge you to experiment because there are all sorts of uses you could discover. Imagine how great it would be if you found a fruit (strawberries, for example) that was excellent when applied to the skin, but was also extremely cheap. Also remember that diet is the most important cause of acne; topical treatments are only an extra factor.
Within the realm of topical treatments however, fruit peels are an excellent strategy to use for curing acne.
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Thanks for reading!
Hi there, what juice would you suggest using (from fruit or veg) to be used as a topical application for skin? For example, would orange or pommegranate juice help skin if it was added to a face lotion? Thanks :)
Hey TW, as I said in this article, the beauty of it is that you can experiment with anything. But the ones which likely work best are ones high in natural compounds and antioxidants, which pomegranates and oranges are, so they’re good choices. Yes, it would certainly work like that and could enhance the product. Or you could add it to a carrier oil such as coconut oil for a paste that really sticks well to the face (so you can leave it overnight to exert its powers).
Do you see any potential for onion juice as a low cost topical remedy?
I would recommend against it actually because onions are closely related to garlic, which is notorious for skin irritation when applied topically (partially because of the compound allicin, which onions share).