For years, we’ve said that a natural cure for acne is hiding in some distant corner of the world, and now, that prophecy is coming true.
Miracle plants are being discovered everywhere. For example, tamanu oil comes from nuts growing on sunny tropical islands like Fiji in the South Pacific. Argan oil comes from parched trees in the rocky deserts of northern Algeria. The sea buckthorn berry, saviour of oily skin, grows in rugged Himalayan valleys and is sold to passing mountaineers.
Our latest cure, meanwhile, grows at the grassy bases of rocky cliffs in South Africa. This is a plant unknown to Western dermatologists, let alone acne-covered teenagers, but it now has an extremely promising study to its name. If accurate, 2025 will probably see a great pilgrimage where 10s of millions of acne patients descend on KwaZulu-Natal with such fever that it’s like Elvis has been sighted.
This may be a cursed acne remedy, as the plant is used in ancient African rituals, burnt to communicate with ancestors. Christians consider the plant to be primitive black magic, while traditional shamans vigorously defend the old ways.
The plant is impepho, or Helichrysum odoratissimum, a 20 to 50cm tall shrub.
Facts about the plant
At countless herbal marketplaces in South Africa, you can find fragrant sticks of impepho, wrapped bundles of the stems, leaves, and occasionally flowers.
Helichrysum has 600 species globally and 242 in Africa, but only 8 are burnt to summon ancestors and hence qualify as impepho. The odoratissimum species has yellow flower heads, and small silvery leaves at the very tips of the branches.
Its favoured altitude is 100-3500m, preferring grassy slopes, but also growing in wooded grassland, forest edges, and by roadsides. It’s widely distributed in Africa, including in Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Rwanda, but South Africa is easily its stronghold.
The bushes are heavily branched; it’s a species you wouldn’t want to fall into from a helicopter. The plant tends to grow in large clumps, so once you’ve stumbled across one bush in the countryside, you’ve hit the jackpot.
Helichrysum translates to gold, referring to the leaves, while odoratissimum references its strong odour. This powerful smell is the key, as when burnt, impepho is theorised to attract the attention of ancestors.
The rituals surrounding impepho could fill a whole book. The “imbeleko” ceremony is a classic one. After a child is born, the women will brew Zulu beer, and begin the ceremony by offering a small pot of the beer, a “umancishana”.
Simultaneously, they burn impepho, to flood the room and invite the ancestor’s attention. The goal is for the ancestors to welcome the newborn baby into the world. A female must prey to the ancestors while the child strokes a goat’s hair, so that the ancestors associate the goat with the newborn. Finally, the goat is sacrificed, as an offering to them. Its skin is turned into a bracelet called a isiphandla, which the child must wear on his right wrist.
Goat sacrifices and impepho go hand in hand. In a girl’s coming of age ceremony, the grandmother takes the fat of the slaughtered goat and smokes it in a pipe to send the ancestors a meal. South African households commonly have an umsamo, a special corner set aside for rituals. Only the “umnumzane” the head of the family may burn impepho; strangers are strictly forbidden. Impepho is burned to seek the ancestors’ assistance during thunderstorms, bad dreams, or even everyday problems like a son’s bad behaviour at school.
While all this is interesting, South Africans have arguably been so transfixed by the intoxicating smell, and so distracted by the debate over black magic, that they’re missed a more ordinary power: clearing acne.
Impepho – South Africa’s resident acne slayer
Firstly, the one flaw with today’s study is that it didn’t test acne directly. Impepho hasn’t immediately leap frogged honey and tamanu oil and entered the rare hall of proven remedies, but our study did test nearly every root cause.
There was no grand experiment gathering 1000 students from Johannesburg high schools. Instead, scientists started by applying H. odoratissimum extract to propionibacterium acnes in a petri dish. P.acnes is the acne bacteria we know and love. It’s our sworn enemy, the microorganism perfectly adapted to living in clogged skin pores.
The good news: impepho leaves and stems inhibited p.acnes superbly. It outdid 3 other Helichrysum species tested on p.acnes in older studies (2018, 2017), H. pallidum, H. splendidum and H. aureonitens.
The scientists theorised that pyrone, phloroglucinols, and diterpenes were responsible, antibacterial compounds known to be abundant in the plant. Furthermore, in previous studies, H. odoratissimum was supposedly stronger against gram positive bacteria (which p.acnes belongs to) rather than gram negative.
The impepho wasn’t an unstoppable juggernaut, as it was easily beaten by the antibiotic tetracycline. However, one battle where impepho was victorious was in destroying p.acnes’ biofilms.
A biofilm is when bacteria cells become tightly organised and packed, developing an intricate structure using glycolax slime which is nearly impossible to remove. Bacteria even use “quorum sensing” to cooperate in social structures, handing each other fuel (although they don’t kick back and watch TV in the evening).
Every concentration of impepho slowed the biofilm formation of p.acnes. It also weakened existing biofilms. Impepho easily beat tetracycline, a finely crafted pharmaceutical antibiotic. They stated that “tetracycline was not as effective as the HO-MeOH extract (impepho) with regards to the inhibition of bacterial cell adhesion“.
Here’s the interesting part: when assessing antibacterial remedies, scientists usually use the Minimum Inhibition Capacity (MIC), the lowest concentration at which bacteria starts to die. To weaken p.acnes’ biofilms, impepho needed less than the MIC for simply killing bacteria. That’s a first for natural remedies; we’ve covered anti-biofilm plants before, but not ones where the power beats its normal antibacterial properties.
One result was particularly interesting. In small amounts, impepho massively decreased the quantity of benzoyl peroxide needed to inhibit p.acnes, from 31.25 µg/ml to just 5.47.
Just like animals, bacteria commonly manufacture enzymes to protect themselves against free radicals. Because benzoyl peroxide works by breaking down into free radicals, the scientists theorised that impepho weakens p.acnes’ oxidative stress defence mechanisms. Make no mistake that I don’t recommend benzoyl peroxide for acne, due to the risk of premature ageing, but this is another great sign.
At higher levels, impepho flipped a switch and started weakening BP’s powers, which was probably because its own antioxidants started interfering.
Impepho – its two rarer powers
Ultimately, p.acnes creates acne by triggering a ferocious inflammatory response in the skin pores. However, if your immune system is constantly haywire like a bumblebee on ten cups of caffeine, then even normal amounts of p.acnes will redden and swell.
This is chronic inflammation, the root cause of acne, and our study found that impepho leaves and stems blocked the inflammatory response to p.acnes infection. Two immune system chemicals directly linked to acne plummeted: interleukin 1a (study) and interleukin 8 (study).
Next, they turned their attention to COX-2, the powerful inflammatory molecule targeted by painkillers like paracetamol. The COX-2 gene didn’t change, but COX-2 still fell, suggesting that impepho works its magic later down the road. Its anti-COX-2 power was similar to another impepho species called Helichrysum kraussii.
While impepho reduced p.acnes overall, the surviving stragglers also became weaker. P.acnes’ favourite fuel is sebum, your skin’s oil, and to digest it, p.acnes churns out lipases. However, these lipases have a nasty consequence: massive inflammation. The digestion process also produces toxic waste metabolites, all lingering on your face at a microscopic level.
In our study, impepho strongly inhibited p.acnes’ production of these lipases. Tetracycline failed even at the highest concentrations, just like it failed for biofilms. Tetracycline is clearly just a blunt instrument of death, where impepho craftily swoops in at p.acnes from multiple directions. Impepho joins lactobacillus bacteria from your gut as a rare lipase-inhibiting remedy.
Similarly, impepho blocked the hyaluronidases churned out by p.acnes. Maybe that term rings a bell: hyaluronidases are enzymes which destroy hyaluronic acid, the popular moisturising ingredient found naturally in human skin.
Acne bacteria likes to snatch away your hyaluronic acid as a secondary food source. Again, it generously returns the favour with inflammatory waste products. Hyaluronidases also help p.acnes to burrow deeper into tissues. If anything, hyaluronidases are worse, just on a lower scale, because at least lipases don’t steal your youthfulness and glow. The deadliest p.acnes strains, in family 1a, are confirmed to manufacture more hyaluronidases.
Impepho put a stop to this nonsense, blocking bacterial hyaluronidase production in a dose dependant manner. Its flavonoids and diterpenes were deemed to be responsible.
The best part is that hardly any plants have this power, apart from licorice root. As they put it: “there are currently no identified acne therapies focused on hyaluronidase inhibition“. For example, the human body also manufactures its own hyaluronidases, to replace old and decaying hyaluronic acid with a fresh supply. The popular herbal remedy boswellia serrata can reduce these ones, but it isn’t proven for bacterial hyaluronidases.
Does H. odoratissimum have other acne studies?
So were these excellent results expected? Only by clairvoyants, because this is the first study investigating acne specifically.
There were great studies in the past, but none on acne bacteria.. This 2015 study tested impepho extract on various tooth decaying gum bacteria. Concentrations of 0.01%, 0.1% and 1% could inhibit microbial villains like s. mutans, P. gingivalis, and A. actinomycetemcomitans.
This 2001 study switched to difference species, applying impepho to staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus pumilus, B. subtilis, Micrococcus kristinae, Enterobacter cloacaeg, and noticing big reductions. The extract wasn’t flawless, as K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, and S. marcescens failed to fall. But this, this and this study again observed reductions in s. aureus.
Firstly, s. aureus is a secondary acne villain itself, hiding in the shadow of p.acnes but churning out plenty of inflammation in its own right. Secondly, these great results illustrate impepho’s general antibacterial power.
As for antioxidants and inflammation, one study floating around the internet found an abundance of flavonoids, but it tested the flowers. Luckily, these three studies tested the leaves and stems’ antioxidants (2006, 2016, 2017) using the classic DPHH free radical assay, and the results were decent to great.
A 2017 study on cancer cells matched today’s perfectly: H. odoratissimum strongly inhibited the inflammatory chemical interleukin-8. In 2019, compared to three other medical plants, including a 10 meter tall tree called Heteropyxis natalensis, impepho inhibited 5-lipozygenase most effectively (study). 5-Lipoxygenase is the hardworking factory employee of inflammation, coverting fatty acids into leukotrines to give rise to the whole army of inflammatory chemicals. Impepho might have strong anti-inflammatory powers outside of blocking p.acnes.
The study tested two impepho samples; sample 1 calmed inflammation most strongly, and simultaneously, it was 3 times richer in the compound β-caryophyllene, hinting at the potential hero.
Anecdotal evidence
As for tales from the vast archives of history? Apart from summoning the watchful eye of ancestors, H. odoratissimum’s classic folklore use is for wound healing.
South African villagers have a special recipe for an impepho-infused cleanser, to disinfect the wound. Then, to encourage healing, they dress the wound in a ground up paste of the leaves.
Sleep deprivation is also popular, but here, we’re edging towards ritual territory again. The theory is that by burning impepho leaves and inhaling the thick smoke flooding the room, your mind will be freed from anxiety and you will sleep like a baby. However, Zulu tribes also consider impepho to be a “oneirogenic”, a plant similar to African dream root (Silene capensis) which enhances dream recall, dream vividness, and even allows lucid dreaming, where you become aware that you’re dreaming and take control of the story yourself. Some Zulu diviners even place the leaves under their pillows at night.
Dreaming is one of the least understood phenomena ever, so this is perfectly possible (and kind of tempting). It could originate from a legitimate power to boost melatonin production, but that wouldn’t impact its topical powers whatsoever.
Some tribes use impepho as an insect repellent, but this power probably originates from its overpowering smell, like how organic farmers use garlic. The most promising tradition is wound healing.
The verdict – another promising acne plant
Impepho is the classic object of acne fantasy; a random plant in a faraway country with immense skin-clearing abilities. Impepho wasn’t tested for oily skin, but it’s excellent for nearly everything else.
You’ll probably see this shrub in adverts soon, boasting of the “essence of impepho” with the “spirit of Zululand”, which actually containing one drop. It’s possible that impepho will fall into the same fraudster trap as lavender oil and tea tree oil and be synthesised in laboratories to cut costs.
Regardless, impepho is currently inaccessible, but has great potential if a natural skincare company ever brings it to store shelves. It seems like every other week now that scientists test an exotic plant with no presence in western dermatology and find mouth watering acne powers. The list keeps on growing, including asian hornbeam, java tea and red reishi mushrooms. My hope is that soon, we can write an update article saying “FILL IN BLANK becomes viral acne craze”, but sadly, the eye of obsession is currently fixed on celery juice and snail slime.
Impepho still isn’t tested directly on human skin, so maybe its penetration into skin cells is weak. Maybe it causes painful rashes and sensitivities, just like lemon juice. Maybe p.acnes bacteria adapts to impepho after only 6 weeks. But overall, impepho is a hard natural remedy to pick holes in.
There’s one question though: are there really perfect acne remedies hiding in remote corners of the world totally unawares? Or like impepho, are they already heavily worshipped remedies, inevitability gaining attention because of their extraordinary powers? Impepo isn’t famous for skincare, so maybe the vast accumulated widsom of local tribes isn’t infallible. Maybe amazing acne plants are still hiding.
If you live by a grassy South African cliffside, I wouldn’t hesitate to experiment with topical H odoratissimum.
One piece of advice: 8 different subspecies are sold at markets as impepho, so make sure to purchase the right one. Also, don’t forget to sacrifice a quick goat before using it (just joking).
Thanks for reading!