When approaching acne, there are two methods to take. Acne is an inflammatory skin disease noted by pimples and breakouts. While there are numerous prescriptions for acne, many people prefer to stick to home and herbal remedies. If you are looking to cure your acne naturally, want to know what kinds of herbal remedies are available and how effective these remedies are, read on. Below is a basic background on the herbal remedy alternative to prescription drugs.

- What are the different types herbal remedies or alternative herbs available?
- Why alternative herbs are gentle and good for long term treatment
- What topical home remedies are available to treat acne?

Herbal acne home remedies are an effective addition to any treatment routine that your dermatologist has recommended. While they are good for long term effectiveness, they are by no means a miracle cure or quick fix. Instead, they are supportive adding to the body's natural capacity to metabolize carbohydrates and fatty acids encouraging elimination of toxins through the lymphatic system.

There is a class of herbs called alternative herbs which are essentially body cleansing and are considered detoxifying herbs. While they eliminate toxins, they don't take the usual channels including kidneys, colon or lungs. As a result, western medicine has long ignored their benefit to acne treatment. They address the internal condition of the body, and work to rectify imbalances in the internal structure of the human body. While they are not traditional over the counter acne treatment, they provide benefits and work indirectly on the causes of acne breakouts.

Alternative herbs are gentle and differ from prescription remedies in that they are all natural and work in conjunction with prescribed medicines. In other words, they don't get in the way of what drugs and topical ointments are being prescribed by your physician. These herbs include burdock, cleaver, red clover, poke root and echinacea as well as blue flag. By combining and infusing blue flag, burdock and yellow dock along with echinacea, they make a lovely tea that you can drink 2-3 times a day.

In addition to internal herbs can be used for topical home remedy. Take tea tree oil which can be directly applied to breakout areas, and should be diluted for more sensitive skin. There is also fresh cabbage juice which can be applied to acne blemishes that works quite well. calendula and chamomile can be used as skin wash for acne and can be sprayed, misted or dabbed on the affected areas. A very popular home acne cure is a skin wash made from yarrow, lavender and elder flowers. It smells nice and works on affected areas quite well.

If you are looking for home remedies to use in addition to the prescriptions you received from your dermatologist or doctor, look towards home acne remedies that are topical, work from the inside out or can be diluted and made into a skin wash for sensitive skin. These don't replace dermatologist's recommendations but they certainly will ease the stress of breakouts and help to eliminate them quicker.