It’s been said time and time again: you can only cure acne from the inside out, not the outside in.
It’s completely true that diet and lifestyle should be your main focus, but what if you’re not a fanatical dietary purist? What if you don’t care about dedicating five minutes of your morning to meticulously applying an oil? In that case, natural topical treatments are a great bonus weapon for showing your acne no mercy at all.
There’s roughly 4 commonly overlapping styles. Firstly, there’s antibacterial secrets, such as raw honey, royal jelly, and tea tree oil. By killing p.acnes, these remedies prevent a ferocious inflammatory response from ever targeting your skin pores.
Secondly, we have the direct anti-inflammatory remedies, for reducing pro-inflammatory chemicals like IL-6, IL-8 and neutrophils on the surface of your skin. Aloe vera, rose water, and witch hazel reign supreme.
Category three is plants and oils rich in topical antioxidants, including rare phytonutrients like curcumin and important vitamins like vitamin E. The goal is reducing squalene peroxide and its clogged pore consequences, and the best treatments include witch hazel, grapeseed oil, and raw honey.
Finally, we have the secret plants, herbs, and compounds for oily skin. The most famous sebum-slasher is green tea, featuring the well-researched antioxidant epigallocatechin 3-gallate, which binds to sebaceous gland receptors and inhibits them with monstrous effect. Elsewhere, a topical turmeric paste lowered sebum production by 25% in one study…
…and now we have a new contender in this category. We have sea buckthorn oil, which has slowly gained popularity in the 21st century before accelerating massively since 2010, when Dr Oz recommended it for acne on his famous TV show.
Sea buckthorn oil improves oily skin by 45%
Since then, sea buckthorn oil has moved from the realm of wild speculation into hard fact, thanks to this promising 2010 study.
A team of Pakistani scientists started by gathering 500 grams of sea buckthorn berries (H. rhamnoides) and grinding them into a fine powder.
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Then they prepared two recipes. Firstly, they prepared a mixture of paraffin oil, water, ABIL EM 90, (an emulsifier) and drops of lemon oil to add a pleasant scent. The second formulation also contained a 1% concentration of sea buckthorn berry. This was the only difference between the formulations, so the comparison was clear. The other ingredients were neutral to acne, being a simple vehicle base for delivering the tested substance.
Next, 10 healthy males aged 20-35 were chosen. Every day, they rubbed the placebo into one side of their face, and the sea buckthorn formulation into the other.
Neither recipe irritated or inflamed the skin. The sea buckthorn version increased the skin’s softness and shine, which was due to the added fatty acid content, according to the scientists…
…but the most interesting result was a huge decline in sebum production, which started at 17% after one week. By week two, the reduction only intensified, reaching 18%. By week three, it was 23%, by week four, 27%, and by week six 37%.
After the full eight weeks had elapsed, the sea buckthorn side of the acne patients’ faces created 45% less sebum compared to the placebo side.
The latter actually increased, reaching 15% higher than baseline after three weeks. The placebo continued along a plateau of oiliness, staying 13% and 12% higher after 4 and 6 weeks. This could have been simple natural variation, or the recipe’s paraffin oil base could have been responsible.
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These benefits all came with zero side effects. The PH of the placebo and sea buckthorn formulations were 5.61 and 5.18 respectively, close to the ideal human skin PH of 4-4.5. The scientists themselves praised the healthy PH.
What’s more, each volunteer was asked to self-observe their irritation and itching. Outstandingly, every single rating was a zero. This was a double-blind study too.
Undeniably, 10 was a fairly small sample size. Get a group of 50 and you might see an allergic reaction. However we can safely say that sea buckthorn oil is a low risk treatment for humans. Meanwhile, it’s a high risk treatment for our arch enemy, pimples, and they don’t get a choice in the matter.
What is sea buckthorn oil?
At the centre of this epic tale is the lava-coloured sea buckthorn berry.
Despite the name, the berry only actually grows near the sea in Western Europe. Its heartlands are mountainous areas of Asia, particularly China, Russia, Canada, and Northern Europe. In fact, it was believed to have originated in the Himalaya.
Along the winding trek to Mount Everest base camp, Nepali villagers are apparently hustling money from passing mountaineers by selling them smoothies made of sea buckthorn. The berries are also sold to tourist bars down in Kathmandu, to make a unique cocktail.
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Raw, the berries are said to taste disgusting, sour, bitter and astringent. However, when you press them, the resulting fresh juice tastes like a mixture of citrus and peach.
Overall, the berry is well-equipped for life in the mountains, surviving in thin soils and cold climates. Why? Because the berry is bursting with strengthening antioxidants and phytonutrients.
Sea buckthorn has a long medicinal history. It grows widely in Mongolia, and Genghis Khan must have eaten it at one point; he supposedly recommended sea buckthorn berry in the 13th century for keeping an army strong and savage, and giving them mighty endurance. It was once fed to horses everywhere for keeping their hair shiny, smooth and glossy, and curing blindness. The Chinese consider the berry to be a holy food.
As for the oil, the berry is cold-pressed in a powerful expeller, giving with three layers. The bottom layer is the bitter sediment and tasty juice used for food, but the upper two layers are rich and creamy, filled with fats.
When separated, it’s these fats which become sea buckthorn berry oil. Importantly, there are two types widely available on the market.
The seed oil is extracted from the seeds (duh) the plant uses to propagate itself. The berry oil is extracted from the rest of the fruit. You can tell the difference instantly; the seed oil is an egg yolk shade of orange, while the berry oil is an intense shade of red.
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However, the visuals aren’t the only difference. The nutritional qualities vary massively. For example, the seed oil is comprised of 34% linoleic acid (omega 6), while the berry oil is comprised of 12.4%.
For acne, we are interested in the berry oil, because that’s what the excellent study above used.
Why sea buckthorn oil reduces sebum production
The scientists’ explanation was also interesting: that sea buckthorn oil can decrease 5-alpha reductase. That’s the enzyme which converts testosterone into its more potent form, DHT, an expert at stimulating your sebaceous glands.
However, there’s another explanation staring us right in the face. It’s vitamin A, the number one nutrient for lowering sebum production. Vitamin A binds directly to sebaceous gland receptors, lowering both oil production and the differentiation of sebocytes, sebum-producing skin cells. Widely prescribed topical retinoids like tretinoin or retinoic acid work in the same way.
Oily skin is why addressing a dietary vitamin A deficiency is so vital for acne. Topical vitamin A is simply an excellent bonus.
The relevance for sea buckthorn? It’s one of greatest berries for vitamin A in the known world – 100 grams of the berry oil contains 300-870 mg (RDA is 900mg). Some report the berry to have 4 times more vitamin A than carrots.
It easily beats the seed oil, with 30-250mg. Sea buckthorn beats any commercial berry with ease, since strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries contain only negligible amounts.
Just look at its colour – the orangeness is a sign of abundant carotenoids, the plant-based form of vitamin A. Then look at the oil; the berry derived-form is much darker.
The main vitamin A-producing carotenoid is beta-carotene, but there’s also lycopene (found in tomatoes and watermelon) and zeaxanthin. The carotenoids in sea buckthorn extract are almost certainly responsible for the sebum reduction, at least partially.
As for other acne oils, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, and olive oil all contain no vitamin A. Rosehip seed oil is a rare rich source, but sea buckthorn oil still contains more.
Vitamin A has secondary benefits as well; it gets absorbed into your outer skin cells with a gravitational pull-like force, building their defences against sunlight.
Beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol are promising
What’s more, the 5-alpha reductase theory is also a valid one, thanks to beta-sitosterol.
This natural compound is a phytosterol, or plant sterol, which is structurally similar to cholesterol. Beta-sitosterol forms roughly 57-83% of sea-buckthorn’s total plant sterols and a good chunk of its total bioactive compounds. It’s so effective at reducing 5-alpha reductase that acne patients using it as a supplement (bad idea) are complaining about a crippled sex drive.
Topically, it’s far safer, and studies have confirmed its powers. This one tested saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol on males aged 23 to 64 with AGA, a form of hair loss where the androgen-sensitive hair follicles shrink and become inactive.
Both compounds inhibited 5a-reductase and consequently, the transformation of testosterone into DHT. 60% of patients taking beta-sitosterol were judged to have improved, versus only 10% of the control patients.
Next there’s a study on benign prostatic hyperplasia, a slightly swollen prostate, caused by unbalanced DHT. 100 patients were fed 30mg of beta sitosterol 3 times a day for 6 months, and compared to the placebo group, they ended up with much lower prostate symptom scores.
In a similar study on hamsters, scientists injected testosterone directly into hamsters. Somehow, beta-sitosterol blocked DHT formation as effectively as the pharmaceutical hair loss drug finasteride. Interestingly, the beta-sitosterol failed to bind to androgen receptors, suggesting that the compound targets 5a-reductase directly.
This miracle compound can be obtained in a simple bottle of sea buckthorn oil. Beta-sitosterol is gathering enough steam as a 5-ar inhibitor that hair loss forums everywhere are discussing it fervently. The connection is that both hair loss and acne can be caused by poor ratio of testosterone to DHT. Note that DHT is important for sex drive and vitality, which is why I only recommend localised topical usage.
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In fact, beta-sitosterol was also theorised to be behind turmeric’s topical oily skin properties. Likewise, beta-sitosterol is a key player in the monstrous anti-androgenic power of the saw palmetto berry.
As for sea buckthorn, this time it’s the seed oil which contains more. There’s 746mg of b-sitosterol per 100 grams, versus 522 to 576mg in the berry oil.
However, the vitamn A still makes the whole berry version superior for acne. Plus, sea buckthorn berry oil contains 6 to 10 mg of stigmasterol, another active sterol compound which the seed oil lacks. Stigmasterol is again said to inhibit DHT conversion.
Both stigmasterol and beta-sitosterol have strong anti-inflammatory properties as well. They’re said to soothe reddened and inflamed acne as effectively as the pharmaceutical drug cortisone.
The only miniscule flaw is the lack of studies testing sea buckthorn oil on 5a-reductase directly.
Bonus benefit – palmitoleic acid
The story doesn’t end there, because sea buckthorn oil is the number one source of an incredibly rare fatty acid.
It’s palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, found in low levels in many foods but high levels in few. Palmitoleic acid gets little attention from fitness masterminds and skincare gurus, but its roles in human skin are numerous.
Firstly, palmitoleic acid was confirmed in one study to be the most antimicrobial of all mono-unsaturated fats. Some believe it to be the most antimicrobial fatty acid full stop. Consequently, palmitoleic acid pops up as a preservative in skincare and cosmetics manufacturing.
Meanwhile, this study found potential sun protecting properties. Palmitoleic acid dose-dependently decreased the melanogenic enzymes MITF and TRP-2, which increase dark pigments in skin cells in response to UV radiation. The scientists concluded that “palmitoleic acid is a candidate anti-melanogenic agent, and it might be effective in hyperpigmentation disorders”. Palmitoleic acid also caused no cytotoxicity (cell death), which they tested with an eye to future cosmetics recipes.
The most interesting study, however, was on acne bacteria. Palmitoleic acid exerted a “synergistic bactericidal activity against gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, including propionibacterium acnes”. It also blocked the growth of candida, one of the worst pathogenic yeasts.
Palmitoleic acid has very little research, but alongside linoleic acid, it’s currently the most interesting fatty acid for acne.
It’s also known as omega 7, but compared with the omega 3 of fish and the omega 6 of nuts and seeds, good sources are hard to come by. Many skincare websites insist that the increasingly popular macadamia nut oil reigns supreme…
…but they’re wrong, as it’s only second best. Sea buckthorn berry oil contains 36.3% of its total fats as palmitoleic acid, while macadamia oil contains 19%.
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After those two, it’s a wasteland. The top 8 sources are sea buckthorn berry oil (35,000mg/100 grams), macadamia nuts (15,000mg), whale blubber (6800mg), anglerfish liver (3900mg), lard (2300mg), baker’s yeast (1700mg), eel (1400mg), butter (1200mg), and Pacific herring (1000mg). Way down the list you have avocado, olive oil, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, blue cheese and breast milk, all in hundreds of milligrams or less.
Once again, the berry oil beats the seed oil. Here are the complete fatty acid contents of both oils:
Berry oil – 35.5% palmitic acid (C16), 36.3% palmitoleic acid (C16:1), 1.1% stearic acid (C18), 10% oleic acid (C18:1), 12.4% linoleic acid (C18:2), 1.2% linolenic acid (C18:3), 0.9% nervonic acid (C24:1).
Seed oil – 37% linoleic acid (C18:3), 35% linolenic acid (C18:2), 13% oleic acid (C18:1), 7.2% palmitic acid (C16), 2.4% stearic acid (C18).
Seed oil contains no palmitoleic acid. That said, it’s far from useless. It has a high percentage of linoleic acid, the standout fatty acid of grapeseed oil which strengthens the skin’s ceramide proteins.
Then there’s the extra beta-sitosterol, and the seed oil’s superiority for vitamin E, with 207mg per 100 grams to the berry oil’s 171mg. Both oils have big acne potential.
Speaking of which, the vitamin E is yet another bonus for acne. It’s the most potent fat-soluble antioxidant, and can prevent the birth of squalene peroxide, which stimulates both oily skin and the adhesive protein keratin, which glues dead skin cells together into pore-clogging clumps.
The sea buckthorn berry is so hardy and nutritious that it’s packed with countless obscure bonus compounds. Phytonutrients include zeaxanthin, lycopene, tocotrienols, tocopherols, phenols, terpenes, and glucosides.
The berry itself contains a massive 600mg of vitamin C per 100 grams, although vitamin C is water-soluble and won’t be retained in the oil. If you’re trekking to Everest base camp and the local villagers start harassing you with berry juice, then say yes!
Overall, sea buckthorn berry oil has the potential to be a pretty monstrous acne treatment. The best brand is easily this US Organic Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil.
Is it plagued with side effects?
Another potential threat is the 10% concentration of oleic acid, a common monounsaturated fat. Oleic acid has strong antibacterial activity, but sadly, it strongly damages the human skin barrier.
The result is increased sensitivity to ultraviolet light and increased rates of TEWL, trans-epidermal water loss, which itself translates to dry, cracking and inflamed skin. That’s why I recommend against topical olive oil, despite it being a “superfood” when eaten…
…but fortunately, a 10% concentration is easily safe. 10% doesn’t compare to 70% in olive oil, which frequently cause rashes when used as a rubbing oil in massage parlours.
Topically, sea buckthorn oil seems totally side effect free. Just don’t eat it! As I said earlier, it’s rich in potent anti-androgenic plant sterols. That’s great at reducing oily skin, but also ruining your sex drive, giving you brain fog, stealing your energy, and removing your determination.
The berry would probably be OK, since the fat portion containing beta-sitosterol is in far lower proportions. But always remember: excellent topical treatments aren’t automatically miraculous when eaten.
Conclusion
Our verdict is simple: sea buckthorn oil is one of greatest natural topical treatments for oily skin. Its anti-inflammatory properties and vitamin E are excellent too, but if your oil genetics are legendary this is the treatment for you.
Both men and women can benefit. Men have higher levels of DHT, but women are ten times more sensitive to it. Only a moderate imbalance can turn female skin into an oil slick.
If you cannot scrape together enough animal derived vitamin A, perhaps because you’re a vegan, then the benefits will be big. If you want an alternative to Accutane without the hair loss and pregnancy disruption then sea buckthorn oil is fantastic.
It won’t be fantastic if you’ve already jumped on the green tea bandwagon, since that’s another topical DHT slasher. It won’t work if your skin isn’t that oily and you mostly suffer from numerous tiny, red and inflamed pimples.
You also won’t notice shockingly clear skin instantaneously. The 45% reduction was achieved after 8 weeks. After 1 week the reduction was just 17%. In fact, slowness is an interesting feature of sebum-reducing treatments generally.
Scientifically, binding to sebaceous gland receptors and inhibiting 5-alpha reductase and DHT should occur quickly, even if your actual pores take weeks to unclog. But no, topical turmeric, licorice, and green tea all take time.
Always apply sea buckthorn oil for at least two weeks every day before you give up. Apply it to your entire face too. It’s not a treatment for eliminating an individual pimple; it’s a preventative treatment like grapeseed oil.
For now, the berry oil is the ultimate choice, since the sebum study tested the entire fruit. However, the seed oil has great potential for future studies.
A cleanly produced and affordable product is this US Organic Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil (amazon link). Warning: avoid spilling the dark red colour.
Recently, some hype merchants have labelled sea buckthorn oil as “a complete health food store in a bottle”. It sounds like marketing claptrap, but for once, this is a topical treatment which lives up to the hype.
NEXT: learn the root causes of acne, clear your skin permanently
Thanks for reading!
Hi, I read your blog and it’s a great source of info. I was looking in particular for an article relating to dry facial skin. Does a high level of insulin cause open pores & dry skin on face?. I would be really nice if you could help me providng info regarding that. Thank you very much for writing such informative articles.
Not a well-researched area, but zinc, reduced carbohydrate consumption, and cold showers seem to do the trick (in particular, avoid hot water at all costs, warm is OK, but not hot). Submerging your face directly into cold water is particularly powerful; best strategy is four doses of thirty seconds underwater per day.
Would applying carrot juice/peels be similarly effective? I’m a poor uni student. I’ve run out of money for any more magic potions and pill. I really liked the article on breathing. Ha-ha!
A carrot ointment won’t have the full benefits because sea buckthorn oil’s benefits are partly down to the beta-sitosterol as well as vitamin A. Carrots also contain fucomarins which increase sensitivity to sunlight when applied topically. However, if your skin isn’t particularly sensitive then the vitamin A is still a big bonus, particularly if you combine it with an oil of some sort to enhance absorption. Carrots do in fact contain some beta-sitosterol, but how much, and is it enough to reduce oily skin? Who knows, because carrot’s have never been tested on acne before. Maybe you could be the first. If you DO decide to then you would have to combine it with an oil base though, which is more money. Overall the way forward for you is to simply eat the carrots.
Hello, I have skin that is genetically prone to cystic acne, so prone, in fact, that I have completed the Accutane treatment twice and my skin is still not “cured”. It has been about three years since my last cycle with Accutane and I have been using benzoyl peroxide religiously twice a day for almost every day since. I did try to delve into more natural methods last August and was met with disastrous results as I quit BP cold turkey and turned to an essential oil blend (geranium, frankincense, lemon, rosemary, copaiba, lavender, and tea tree) in jojoba oil in the hopes of balancing my oily skin and treating my clogged pores and acne. My skin did not appreciate this at all and after a few months I returned to my original regimen of cetaphil, BP, and cerave moisturizer, though now with two additional Dermalogica products (the precleanse and daily microfoiliant) in my nightly regimen. I do not like using BP, I feel like my skin is too accustomed to it and that it is not the most effective or healthy option to treat my skin. I’m interested in natural remedies and I have read a few of your articles but there are so many options that I don’t know which would be best. My skin is oily, reacted poorly when denied BP, and inclined to produce some killer cysts every so often but more commonly micro comedones that pepper my face. I shy away from honey because I have always been taught that honey and sugar provide food for bacteria and can cause breakouts (probably untrue, given your articles). Seabuckthorn berry oil seems good, but so does the green tea, and I don’t know how I would incorporate either with aloe vera or grapeseed oil. Would these be as effective if mixed or what might be the best options,
It sounds like you’re focussing on topical treatments but diet and nutrition comes first. Sea buckthorn oil and green tea are the second line of defence. Read this article: https://supernaturalacnetreatment.com/real-causes-of-acne/
What would be a good light carrier oil to mix sea buckthorn berry oil with? I got the one you recommended and it’s working wonderfully on my skin, but I am pale and the strong pigment of the berry oil rests on top of my skin. So I use it undiluted at night, but I would like to use it during the day. I don’t know what would be a good oil to mix this with so my face isn’t a yellowish-orange for however many hours until it fully absorbs. Thanks for your help!
Grapeseed oil will work well; it’s one of the more effective penetration enhancers.
I read about sea buckthorn oil . Its very informative. I have acne prone skin.
I have cystic acne and bumps on my face.
One of my friend told me to apply garlic,
So I apply garlic paste but that burn my skin so bad.
Now I have brown spot on my cheek. I tried many home remedies, but nothing is working.
I read that sea buckthorn oil can heal the wound.,cuts,and even burn too.
It will work for my burn mark ???
Argan oil might do the job, if the brown spot seems to be permanent.
Hi,
Just wondering whether the high vitamin A content in the seabuckthorn berry oil could make the skin more sensitive to the sun?
Also, what is your opinion about the safety of using oils containing a high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids on the skin, as these oils can oxidize?
Vitamin A reduces sensitivity to sunlight, particularly in the plant based carotenoid form, so you have nothing to worry about. The rules with oils: higher polyunsaturated fats (particularly linoleic acid) are better for your skin, but yes, keep them stored correctly so that rancidity doesn’t kick in.
Hi,
So the oils don’t oxidize on the skin too?
Also, why is it that plant based vitamin A is ok but retinol creates sun sensitivity?
Thank you!
Technically yes, a high linoleic oil like grapeseed oil is more likely to oxidise on the skin than a high saturated fat oil like coconut oil. However, the oils I recommend are usually very rich in natural vitamin E and often vitamin A, which give oils built in resistance to oxidation. Also, the greatness of linoleic acid for skin barrier function and moisturising outweighs a little extra oxidation compared to something like cocoa butter. About vitamin A: because plant vitamin A is in beta-carotene form, and dietary carotenoids are strong natural sunscreens (including others like lycopene in watermelon).
It made me and my wife break out instantly. We both woke up in the morning with pimples. Then used it again and the next morning even worse.
The strange thing is that I have very oily skin and she has very dry skin. How could it be that it had the same effect on both of us.
Should I just dilute it with castor oil (since it’s the one i already have) or because after 1 week it’s still horrible.
P.s. I’m following your suggestions like a maniac taking zinc picolinate, Vit E, A, NAC, MSM, multivit, fish oil, brazil nuts, and I mix cream of tartar in water for the potassium, so the only thing left was to include a topical moisturizing organic oil.
There’s no specific reason why but it’s still a relatively unresearched oil. The normal factors are OK, the comedogenic rating is just one out of 5 while the fatty acids consist of palmitic acid and palmitoleic acid in high quantities. Perhaps you had a bad batch, or perhaps sea buckthorn oil has a hidden irritant which we’re unaware of. Thanks for the story. Try something else is my advice. Rosehip seed oil can accomplish similar things.
Hi Richard,
I am looking into Helichrysum Oil to help my daughter with acne scarring. I need to find a carrier oil to mix with and wanted your thoughts on if it would be better to use Sea Buckthorn Oil or Grapeseed Oil as the carrier? Please keep in mind my daughter has oily skin. Thank you.
Hello,
What are your thoughts on carrot seed oil? Also high in beta carotene..