14 Proven Acne Fighters

Dr. Axe: Hey, guys. Dr. Josh Axe, and Jordan Rubin here.

On today's episode, we're going to be talking
about how to have clear, glowing, healthy skin. And Jordan, I know this is something that
so many people are suffering with today, issues like acne, breakouts, actually acne scarring
for adults, and adult acne. We're also going to be getting into even things
like age spots and sunspots and how to have clear, glowing, beautiful skin. And Jordan, I know, one of the biggest problems
today when people have skin issues is that it can really harm their self-esteem.

So Jordan, talk about what are some of the
main causes today of acne and aging skin and some of these issues? Jordan: Absolutely. First, we have to understand this is not simply
cosmetic. This is not skin deep. This is much deeper.

In fact, if you got acne blemishes, breakouts,
etc., You've got something wrong internally. And I can tell you from experience having
gone through acne as a teenager, it can be devastating. And it is something that not only harms your
self-esteem but it really is a major bummer. And I know some people out there are 30, 40,
50, we all get pimples, right? Everybody has pimples but you're still dealing
with it.

Now, certain people are more prone to acne
than others but I'd say 80% to 90% of Americans have pimples occasionally if not more. And those that have acne or cystic acne are
often prescribed dangerous antibiotics that not only fail to help but they make matters
worse. Dr. Axe: Yeah, absolutely, Jordan.

When you look at some of these psychotropic
drugs, and I wouldn't just say psychotropic, but when you look at a lot of the things like
tetracycline and some of the other medications that are prescribed, they cause issues with
the brain. I mean, they really affect the body's neurology. In fact, the side effects, if you go online
and just look up acne medication side effects, they are shocking and scary. And so we're going to talk about today some
natural ways to reduce skin inflammation, support the gut health, which we know is so
tied to the health of your skin.

Jordan, let's dive right in and talk about
step number one, GAGS, glycosaminoglycans. Talk about how can those help the skin? And by the way, these things can also not
just help the skin Jordan, they can help other areas of the body as well. Jordan: Absolutely. If you want the latest and greatest beauty
treatment or acne treatment, glycosaminoglycans particularly, hyaluronic acids are absolutely
key.

So if you look at your skin you've got collagen,
you've got elastin, you've got glycosaminoglycans include glucosamine, chondroitin, and hyaluronic
acid. You get them from consuming bone broth. Actually, hyaluronic acid is found in chicken
skin. So if you get organic pasteurized chicken,
eating the skin can be very, very good for you.

If it's conventional, not so much. Hyaluronic acid is also found in bone broth,
if I didn't mention it. So that is an amazing acne fighter taken orally
and topically. So when you think skin, if it's acne, age
spots, wrinkles, think hyaluronic acid in a food form from turkey or chicken bone broth
or chicken skin from organic chickens is a first acne fighter we're going to talk about
today Dr.

Axe: You know, Jordan, I think everybody
growing up has the white meat or dark meat that they have an affinity to. And for me, like I love doing chicken legs. I love the skin, that dark meat was one of
my favorites. By the way, let us know what is your favorite? Are you a white meat person or a dark meat
person? When you're eating chicken if you're a meat
eater out there.

Jordan: This borders on political incorrectness,
Josh. Dr. Axe: Well, I know, I know. Jordan: All chicken is the same.

Dr. Axe: So we do have chicken skin as you
mentioned because a lot of times people just discard the chicken skin, they think it's
not the best part. As Jordan is saying, think about this, in
Chinese medicine eating the area of the animal actually supports that organ of the body. So what Jordan is saying, when you're eating
the skin, if it's organic, if it's free range chicken that's going to support your skin
there as well.

And while you're at it, eat the chicken liver
by the way, it's great for your own detoxification. Jordan: And that's also great for the skin. We didn't mention it, but liver is one of
the highest sources of retinol or vitamin A, which is absolutely huge and it's even
a prescription medication for acne, Retin A.
Dr. Axe: Wow.

Jordan: But make sure to consume the skin. Back in the Jewish culture they consume crispy
chicken skin called gribenes. If it's good chicken it's good for you. That's number one.

That's the first proven acne fighter. Now, we have 14 today because there are so
many good remedies for the skin. But guess what, if you're dealing with gut
issues, liver issues, or brain issues, immune system issues, they're all related. If you've got skin stuff you've got stuff
inside.

So stay tune, tell anyone you know who is
using cover-ups, who is using acne medications. Some of the best selling infomercials of all
time, some of the biggest celebrities have been on some of those. Acne is everywhere and it causes much more
than damage to your self-esteem. Dr.

Axe: Let's jump in here into step number
two. I'll touch on this first, a grain-free and
dairy-free diet. Listen, this is so important. So many people today have food sensitivities,
intolerances, or food allergies.

Now, that's not the only case, but Jordan
I, over the years, worked with a lot of patients and had them do IgG test. And what came up more than anything was gluten
and different types of dairy products, casein, and so we saw a lot of reactions to that. I mean, this food is, I know you're a big
Superman fan as I am. We're fans of superheroes and comet books
and those types of things, but everybody has their kryptonite.

And imagine this, for a lot of people, especially
dairy products and wheat products those can be the biggest things that are going to flare
up your skin causing that inflammation. So again, you might be eating your kryptonite
every single day. And so one of the things you want to consider
is, as Jordan put up here, going grain-free, especially gluten-free for a period of time. We know these grains and starches can cause
inflammation of the gut.

They also feed yeast. Jordan: Absolutely. Dr. Axe: As we talked about starches breakdown
into sugars, feed additional yeast and Candida within the system.

And then also, dairy specifically beta casein
A1 sometimes potentially lactose for some people, but I would say casein more than anything
from conventional cow's milk is going to wreak havoc on the skin. Jordan, looking back as a kid when I was a
teenager I would struggle sometimes with acne, but for me, my kryptonite looking back over
the years I recognized that when I was in college that it was dairy. When I drink milk I got phlegm in my throat,
I got sick, I got acne issues. When I got off milk, for me, that was literally,
just doing that completely cleared up my skin and helped heal my body.

Jordan: For me it was different. I grew up in a home where we didn't consume
dairy, so mine was grains and lots of them. So gluten and beta casein A1 are really dangerous
if you're wanting clear skin. And Josh mentioned this, there are some dairy
products that can be really, really good for you, pasture-raised raw cultured dairy, yogurt,
kefir, from goat milk, sheep milk or A1 free cows, and butter and ghee are really good.

But when it comes to milk, ice cream, etc.,
Those can cause problems with your skin. Dr. Axe: Cheese on pizzas. Jordan: Absolutely.

But here's the deal, if you're seriously afflicted
with acne or if your child is, and even adults, they deal with it, I would go off all grains
and all dairy for a period of time, because you will see amazing, amazing results and
you want to stick with it very likely. Dr. Axe: Jordan, fatty fish, I just got back
from a trip to Florida. I ate a lot of groupers, some mackerels, some
snapper, absolutely love fish.

In fact, my wife, Chelsea, complains whenever
I make, especially . . . I love doing mackerel for breakfast.

And my dogs the entire time I'm eating mackerel,
they're like trying to jump up on the counter and get at it, so they love mackerel as much
as I love beef bacon. Anyways, talk to us a little bit about the
compounds in fatty fish that help with acne, and how does that work? Because a lot of times people think, "Oh,
I'm getting these oils." How is oil or fat actually going to help the
skin? Jordan: Absolutely. It's pretty simple, and we're going to talk
about two powerful compounds later that helps support skin health and reduce acne, age spots,
wrinkles, etc. But when it comes to fatty fish we've got
sardines, we've got herring, we've got many fatty fish, swordfish has a little bit of
fat in it, but salmon's really the best, sockeye salmon in particular, for two reasons.

It has omega-3 fats and astaxanthin, which
is an antioxidant, and a little vitamin D. So when you are looking to reduce acne, you
want to reduce inflammation, omega-3 fats particularly EPA are very anti-inflammatory
and astaxanthin is an anti-inflammatory antioxidant. Salmon has them both, but any fatty fish. Sardines are great.

They're very affordable. If you consume them with the skin and bones
you've got lots of calcium, that's amazing. Yeah, they don't smell great, let's just call
a spade a spade. But they are powerful and sardines have ribonucleic
acid.

They're one of only a couple of foods that
have it. So fatty fish three times a week minimum is
great for your skin. And I know what you're going to say, teenagers
don't like to eat fish. Here's the bottom line, you either want to
get better or you don't.

That's what I say to my kids. I've got a son who turned 12 and he's starting
to have some challenges with pimples and we are taking it head on. He's like, "Dad, if I got to go off all high
carb foods, I'm ready to do it." And I have a daughter who's going to be 13
very soon and an older son as well. Everybody is different, but most kids deal
with acne occasionally.

Adults, I still get pimples but I know what
works, and fatty fish is a great answer. It's a great acne fighter. Dr. Axe: And I want to mention this about
fatty fish, a few things Jordan mentioned or sort of the theme of what we're going on.

It is so important that you treat the root
cause of the disease. Jordan, here's the problem, I have so many
patients coming in over the years who said, "Dr. Axe, I went to . .

. " And you've experienced
this, "3, 5, 10 different doctors, they just give me a medication or put my kid on a medication,"
and that's all the help you're getting. You've got to get the root cause. So all these things that Jordan and I have
been talking to you about, one thing that's so important is reducing inflammation.

You're got to do that in the gut and the skin
to heal. You've also got to repopulate the good bacteria
in your gut with probiotics. And the other thing is, Jordan, keeping insulin
levels balanced. Jordan: Absolutely.

Dr. Axe: I mean that's why we're talking about
getting rid of the grains and actually casein in some cases, and sugars, all of these things
can cause insulin imbalance and cause other hormone imbalances. We know hormones are so important when it
comes to balancing these things out. So again, few things here Jordan, I love doing
salmon patties as a healthy recipe.

You can find that on draxe.Com. Let's talk about fermented foods Jordan, some
of the benefits there. I know, obviously, when we're talking about
things that we love, sauerkraut, kimchi, kvass, even kefir and things like that. The probiotics in there, specifically lactobacillus
plantarum, we're talking about certain Japanese fermented foods, bacillus subtilis, and some
other fermented soil-based organisms or general probiotics.

But probiotics act as . . . And I remember
Jordan you're telling me these years ago that we were talking about soil-based organism
and you kind of uses the analogy, actually, I'll let you tell it, of kind of like a, not
a backhoe, but a bulldozer, sort of clearing the land, right? Jordan: Absolutely, or a Pac-Man we like to
say.

Dr. Axe: There you go. Jordan: When you consume fermented foods you're
not only benefitting from the probiotics but the organic acids. So sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles or pickled
cucumbers, pickled ginger is wonderful, miso is really good, and kefir can be great especially
if it's from whole goat milk or sheep milk, raw is really good or amasi which is A1 beta
casein-free.

Make sure to consume fermented foods every
day. Acne really is very linked to the gut. So if you get your gut straight you get your
skin straight, it's an external sort of look to your internal health. Fermented foods are absolutely awesome, and
greens.

We talked about this often here on Ancient
Medicine Today, but greens and green juices contain chlorophyll and beta carotene. Beta carotene converts to vitamin A which
is one of the top anti-acne nutrients. And, in fact, today we are talking about 14
proven acne fighters. Acne medications, acne over-the-counter creams,
there are some of the bestsellers in America if not the world, because people are desperate
to get rid of their blemishes.

And if you're not prone to acne and you're
a little bit more mature let's say, you might have age spots, wrinkles, all of these tips
are going to help your skin look beautiful. But especially if you've got a teenager at
home we want to help you transform your skin from the inside out and we're even going to
give you some tips on how to make an amazing acne fighting poultice. Dr. Axe: So I'll talk about a few herbs here,
Jordan, that I love for overall helping the skin, and some can be used in a food form,
some can be used in supplement form.

As I talked about earlier, there are a lot
of different things that can cause skin issues. It can be more gut-related, it can be more
hormone-related, and we're talking about hormones for some . . .

If you're a woman, in between
the ages of probably 18 to 40 sometimes considering an herb like vitex can be very, or also known
as chasteberry, can be very, very beneficial for acne than hormones
Now, Jordan this isn't necessarily . . . Well, it is an herb but oftentimes it used an oil,
sometimes even evening primrose oil and borage oil, those can be beneficial if it's more
hormone-related.

But also looking at insulin, doing cinnamon
on a regular basis can help out with blood sugar levels, can be great as well. So again, those are some that are beneficial. And we're talking about gut. If you've got inflammation in your gut I really
like using ginger root extract.

Also, I think actually licorice root can be
beneficial as well. Jordan: You're stealing my spice thunder here,
but we try to delineate between herbs and spices here on Ancient Medicine Today. But on the herb side, there are several. In fact, so many work.

Some people respond really well to the mints,
so peppermint and spearmint. Others, more of the, I would call Italian
herbs such as oregano, marjoram, or thyme. All of them are proven antimicrobials. When you lower the microbe levels you begin
to have better results because acne is caused by bacteria that are in the oil glands in
the skin and it is really important to get to the internal issues.

Holy basil is a great, great herb for acne
and beautifying the body. And then you look at something we're going
to talk about, let's go right into it, adaptogens. Now, Josh mentioned hormones being an issue. One of the major issues for acne, dry skin,
or even oily skin is an imbalance between cortisol and DHA.

If you've got too much cortisol, stress hormones
you are going to be more prone to breakout. Some people say, what are they, the old days? French fries, chocolate, and stress, right? You're partially right there, and certain
allergens can be triggers. But stress or cortisol can cause your skin
to look older, more blemished, and definitely lead to acne. So adaptogenic herbs such Ashwagandha, Rhodiola,
Schizandra, and others are critical.

In fact, I believe Ashwagandha combined with
Amla berry or Indian gooseberry or Amalaki is one of the greatest beauty tips on the
planet. In fact, clinically studied extracts of Ashwagandha
and Amla berry have shown to visibly reduce signs of aging, improve collagen and elastin,
really, really amazing. So if you've got acne or stress or need energy
adaptogenic herbs are awesome. Dr.

Axe: Yeah. I totally agree as we've talked about Jordan
and I know in working with patients, and you might be one of these people out there, when
you eat something bad you're acne flares up or skin issues. But a similar thing if you are really worried
or studying for an exam or you've just got a stressful life or family situation going
on that flares up whether it's a health issue or acne or any of those issues as well. So keeping stress levels low as Jordan mentioned,
getting those adaptogenic herbs can be key.

The next thing here we'll talk about is spices,
and, man, there's a lot of great things here Jordan. I'll have you jump in then I'll touch on a
few spices I love. Jordan: Well, licorice is sort of in between
an herb and a spice. It's kind of like an adaptogen but licorice
is great to reduce cortisol levels and it's known as a beauty tonic.

I think ginger and turmeric, I know you're
probably sick and tired of hearing us say ginger and turmeric, turmeric and ginger,
it's good for everything, isn't it? Well, pretty much. Antioxidants, reduce inflammation and reduce
visible signs of aging. So turmeric, ginger, galangal root, garlic
is actually an antimicrobial spice, cumin, all of these spices, their all antimicrobial
and they will all help your skin. But ginger and turmeric are awesome.

And we're going to talk about it all the time. Cinnamon, you mentioned earlier is a powerful
spice for controlling blood sugar, which can improve your skin because if your blood sugar
fluctuates inflammation does as well. So what doesn't benefit from turmeric, ginger,
cinnamon, and clove, that's a powerful foursome right there that I would recommend, antimicrobial,
anti-inflammatory. I'm going to say it again, ginger, turmeric,
cinnamon, and clove, I make it almost all the time and some type of dairy or non-dairy
base and I love it.

Decoction, take some almond milk or coconut
milk or dairy milk, boil it with some of the spice. You can use powder but I like to use whole
herb turmeric, ginger, clove, and cinnamon, then strain it off, it'll be a nice yellowish
brown color, it is powerful for your skin. If you use coconut milk you're going to get
antifungal benefits as well. In fact, I can easily put coconut oil up here.

Essential oils, vitamins, and minerals, I
don't think anything can be more powerful for acne. So what you can do topically, vitamin E is
really good for scars. So a natural vitamin E gel is really good,
I'm going to throw out an oil combo, lavender and frankincense, and again, my favorite go-to,
but frankincense, boswellia is a great anti-inflammatory and is great to reduce not only inflammation
but also bring back the integrity of the skin. You know what else is a really good internal
and external oil? Sea buckthorn.

Sea buckthorn is a great source of omega-7
and antioxidants, also known as sea berries. So if you can . . .

It's a berry that's loaded
with fat, really, really cool. Sea berry, sea buckthorn is great. You can get it as a CO2, you can get it as
a supplement or you can get it frozen and eat them. So vitamin E, frankincense, and sea buckthorn.

You'll be a little red in the face but . . .
Dr. Axe: Yeah.

Well, I think one of the interesting things
about sea buckthorn from what I've read is that it really helps with balancing out your
skin secretions in terms of the oil. So whether you're dry, too dry or too oily,
actually sea buckthorn can help bring your body back into balance. A couple of other essential oils I love are
geranium and myrrh. Germanium or geranium rose is fantastic.

That family of geranium and rose together
are really natural anti-inflammatories topically for the skin. It has a calming effect. Jordan: And tea tree oil is the bomb for acne,
but you need to use very small amounts because if you put it close to the eyes, because you
can get pimples all over, it is pretty powerful. Tea tree oil, melaleuca oil is amazing and
it is part of our special poultice and actually our poultice can be adapted to your liking.

You know what else is a great oil for acne
is rosemary. Dr. Axe: Yeah, absolutely. Jordan: So rosemary is closely related to
mint but rosemary, tea tree, they're really great externally, but remember it's also an
internal issue.

Essential oils, herbs, adaptogens are so powerful
for the skin but so our nutrients. And if you're watching today we're talking
about 14 proven acne fighters. So if you've got blemishes, you had blemished,
or you're about to get a blemish it's time to tune in. Tell your friends, tell everyone you know
we're giving you 14 proven acne fighters including a special poultice at the end.

Internal recommendations for external beauty
and a bonus if you have wrinkles age spots, if you are aging prematurely this is going
to help you as well. And if you've gut issues, and if you've got
brain issues, you see we're not treating the symptoms, we're treating the cause here at
Ancient Medicine Today. Dr. Axe: Well, I'll talk about a couple of
vitamins and minerals here and then hand it off to you Jordan.

When it comes to your skin I think B vitamins
are essential especially biotin. Biotin is a great B vitamin which really helps
directly support the skin, the hair, and the nails, being used as building blocks there. And then also when we're talking about vitamins
as Jordan talked about earlier, the fat soluble vitamins are critical. Every single one here.

Jordan, I read a recent study, I was actually
creating an online nutrition course and when I was reading it, one of the things I went
and looked at is different populations, and they did a study on children. And they actually went and ran, they did analysis
on them on all of their average deficiencies and they found by far in kids their number
one deficiencies were in fat soluble vitamins more than anything else. Jordan: So vitamin A, not necessarily beta
carotene, although beta-carotene is really good, vitamin A retinol combined with beta-carotene. I remember years ago somebody recommended
when I had acne as a teenager, 25,000 IUs of beta-carotene a day, and you can get beta-carotene
in green foods, spirulina and chlorella are really high, and we talked about chlorella
having RNA.

It's a nucleic acid building block as well,
but beta-carotene which is a precursor of Vitamin A which is provitamin A retinol and
you want to be careful on the dosage. Vitamin D is amazing. Vitamin E is amazing, and vitamin K is amazing. But you know what? I think the number one skin nutrient is really
a mineral and its zinc.

And it's a rampant deficiency around the world
particularly if you eat mostly a plant-based diet. If you avoid red meat, you can lack zinc. But zinc is as good a skin booster as there
is and zinc, and I left something out here, zinc combined with polyphenolic herbs, green
tea. Green tea is amazing, grape seed is amazing,
those and zinc are really, really powerful and any fat soluble antioxidant, we're going
to talk about one later, but lycopene from tomatoes is similar.

So many good nutrients, fat soluble vitamins,
B vitamins which are water soluble, and minerals particularly zinc are very, very important
for skin in general, but certainly to reduce acne. Dr. Axe: Jordan one of the things I talked
about in my book "Eat Dirt" is all about having a healthy gut lining and this condition "leaky
gut" which we know the gut is linked to your skin health. Jordan: Absolutely.

Dr. Axe: And so in order to repair that gut
lining, and actually even have healthy microbial balance and absorb zinc. Actually, that's the whole another thing,
absorption, you've got to have a healthy gut lining and zinc actually helps with gut repair,
so does bone broth powder. That's why getting bone broth as a soup or
a bone broth powder in your diet, that's something we didn't put up here either, Jordan.

Jordan: Well, I covered it here in the GAGS
section. But there you go. Fourteen is a lot, 14 proven acne fighters,
follow just three of these and you're going to get results. Dr.

Axe: There we go, so some great stuff
there, Jordan. So let's talk about omega 3's-and astaxanthin. Now, we did touch on these as we talked a
little bit about wild-caught salmon but talk to us about the benefits here of omega-3's
and astaxanthin. Jordan: Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation
and I know DHA gets a lot of press.

But when it comes to acne, I do recommend
a high potency fish oil that's high in EPA. Now you can get benefits from chia and flax
oil, but you need a lot more. I highly recommend a good quality omega-3
fatty acid, high in EPA, and there really is a powerful omega-3 called ETA which is
found in fish roe, also in green lipped mussel. I don't eat green lipped mussel because it's
not part of what you call a biblical diet.

But ETA is a very underappreciated omega-3
fatty acid that is very anti-inflammatory. I think you need between 1 and 3,000 milligrams
of EPA and DHA a day if you're trying to reduce acne. And astaxanthin is the red pigment that makes
salmon pink, red, or orange, 4 milligrams a day of astaxanthin is a powerful fat-soluble
antioxidant for your skin and also your brain. Dr.

Axe: Jordan, let me ask you a question. What would be an ideal juicing recipe for
somebody who's trying to have beautiful skin? What are a few things you'd put in your personal
juice? Jordan: Now, just understand, I do think carrot
juice is amazing because of the beta-carotene but it is high in sugar, so that's sort of
a double-edged sword. But I put a little bit of carrot and I will
put lots of greens. I always like celery because sodium and potassium
are really good for the skin as well, help with intra and extracellular fluid balance
and some of the best acne fighting vegetables, parsley and cilantro.

And I'm not a huge cilantro fan from taste,
but I'm going to do it. So I would do carrot, parsley, celery, cilantro,
and zucchini. And now what I've done to really boost the
skin is I would take that juice and combine it with blended cucumber. So I know this is a two-part process but you
juice then you fill your blender with juice, peeled cucumbers are great sources of silica
which is absolutely awesome for the skin.

Those are all really, really good. But carrot juice and cream pretty hard to
beat if you find a good source of raw cream. Dr. Axe: Yeah, I love that idea Jordan.

Again, as you mentioned cucumber, high in
silica. That's great for the skin. I used to wonder in movies, I remember when
I was a kid, I'm like "Why do these women have cucumbers on their face?" Jordan: Yes. Dr.

Axe: Yeah, there you go, silica. All right, guys, let's talk about SBO probiotics. Jordan, I'll talk about this and I'm going
to have you talk about your poultices. Jordan: Super duper poultice.

Dr. Axe: Your super duper cleansing poultice,
Jordan: You're giving air quotes, so that must mean it's like mysterious. Dr. Axe: Well, it is.

It's a Jordan Rubin special, so there you
go. All right, SBO probiotics, so we know that
today most of us, Jordan there's a lot of different popular probiotics out there, probably
one of the most popular if not the most being, you know, acidophilus, and different types
of probiotics in that nature. Most probiotic supplements today, unfortunately,
don't have the most durable strain that you're missing on a daily basis. And for all of us Jordan, in my book I wrote
about there was a tribe to where they eat food but they get a little bit of dirt when
they eat.

And so when you're shopping at the local farmers
market and you have a little bit of those things that are embedded in the carrots, I
mean those are SBO probiotics found in the soil. Today we know that SBO probiotics are so beneficial
to the gut health, things like bacillus subtilis, bacillus clausii, bacillus coagulans, also
different types of yeast like saccharomyces boulardii. But look for some of those probiotics, not
that are just found in food but that they're also known as soil-based probiotics today. And when you're buying a probiotic look for
the one that has organic ingredients and it has things like bacillus subtilis, bacillus
clausii, and also fungi as well.

These things that actually live in the earth
are so beneficial. Jordan, it's time to unveil your secret poultice. Jordan: So if you're dealing with acne, this
is really a night time treatment, and keep in mind there are lots of ways to do it. I'm going to give you two ways.

One is more oil-based, one is clay-based. And I'm also going to throw in a tip if you
get boils or cysts. Now, I inherited this from my dad but I used
to get a recurring cyst on my shoulder, they even call it a bible cyst because people used
to hit them with big books and have some disgusting splat. So let's get started.

A clay-based poultice is amazing. So get some type of bentonite clay or you
can get a tube clay that is more of a liquid and you start with that. And then you add essential oils to it and
then you can add some aloe era to it. But this is not an oil-based.

It's a clay-base. So you're going to use some type of clay,
if it's not already hydrated use some water and then go ahead and put some essential oils. Now, if you're dealing with skin blemishes,
I like what we talk about, use geranium rose. Use frankincense, use lavender, use rosemary,
and a little bit of tea tree.

So use maybe one drop of tea tree oil, a few
more of the others and mix it up. It will be a paste and apply it lightly. You're going to look like you're wearing a
mask but I've been doing this with my son, Joshua, the last couple of weeks because my
little boy is now growing up and he's hitting puberty. And I being the father who wants him to look
his best, I'm always helping him out.

He probably says, "Dad, stop pointing out
my pimples," but I've just seen amazing results in the last few days. One thing that people ask all the time, "Jordan,
how do you and Dr. Axe, come up with this stuff?" We do it out of necessity, patients, family
members, friends, and ourselves, and we look at every healing opportunity or every challenge
as a healing opportunity, and we get to share it with you. And we deal with things all the time.

This morning I was dealing with my nine-year-old
son, Samuel, who got bitten by some type of insect and had an allergic reaction. So before I left I was giving him something. So soon we're going to talk about on our allergy
program how to deal with that. But when it comes to acne, clay, water, or
aloe, aloe is a great addition, essential oils such as geranium rose, rosemary, lavender,
frankincense, and a little bit of tea tree, it dries out the acne or the pimple and you'll
see really, really great results in the morning.

Wash it with some warm water and they'll come
right off. You don't want to wear a mask all day. But this is a night time treatment. And if you are more prone to dry skin you
can use coconut oil as a base, rosehip seed oil is an amazing oil, we talked about that,
shea butter, something like that and then go ahead and put the oils again.

I like rosemary, lavender, frankincense, geranium
rose, and a little bit of tea tree, and you can mix and match. You don't have to use the same oil all the
time. And I would often put oils on pimples neat. So in other words, lavender can go right on
a pimple, frankincense can go right on a pimple, but I like to use a carrier oil because you're
going to get some better penetration.

And then last but not least someone asked
earlier, "I got cysts, is oregano oil okay?" Oregano oil is great for cysts but you don't
want to put it on any delicate areas of the body. But here's what I recommend, take the same
clay, add some water or a hydrated clay, and put a little bit of oregano oil in there,
maybe some tea tree and put it on. Now, what will happen is it'll cause the cyst
to bust. So you want to cover it.

And then soon you're going to have a scab
and some new skin. It's amazing how it does it. It literally, I mean oregano oil will get
a cyst to open up. It's not always a pretty picture.

That's why I like to put clay on it because
clay absorbs and adsorbs the toxins. So this poultice is great for so many things. You don't want to use it though on an open
wound particularly the clay. You know what's interesting? When you read the bible, the story of the
good Samaritan, you talk about or you read about the fact that when the good Samaritan
was going up to the man who was bloodied and beaten they didn't say that he used sort of
antimicrobial sanitizing .

. . Oils, right? Oils are healing to the skin. And when you combine them with clay you get
that benefit of sucking out moisture and oils but also supplying the healing to your skin.

And that really to me is the best topical
acne fighter there is. Dr. Axe: Yeah. I totally agree, Jordan.

I love that idea. Clay is so cleansing. We know these oils are so great at fighting
pathogenic bacteria in the body. One of the other things that I love to do,
just a simple thing, is using a little bit of manuka honey with tea tree oil, like you're
talking about, just sort of, it's a .

. . Jordan: It's a little sticky. Dr.

Axe: But you've got a little spot area,
you need to treat manuka and tea tree together directly on the area. Jordan: I got to tell you that manuka honey
and manuka oil combo for acne is going to be awesome. Dr. Axe: Yeah, most people haven't heard of
manuka oil.

It's a very unique essential oil out of New
Zealand and I think it's great. Very similar to tea tree in nature and some
of its benefits. A couple of questions here guys, a question
from Alison. She says, "Anything for a topic eczema that
is severe on the face area only.

It's swollen, it's red, it's oozing." You know what I would recommend Alison? Is first off, if this is you or a child, I
would really do cleanse for a short time of bone broth. I would just drink bone broth or just do a
bone broth soup for a meal, so just bone broth and cooked vegetables, maybe a small amount
of meat. But ideally, it's just bone broth for several
days. And on the skin, if it needs to be soothed,
I really like myrrh oil.

I love lavender, and geranium, and frankincense
as we've talked about. Those are the four oils I would consider using
topically there. But again, for the most part I would say,
it's going to be on the inside. It's really starting off doing that broth
cleanse, it's a great place to go.

Jordan: And you want to make sure with eczema
that you are limiting or eliminating A1 beta casein, so from cows milk dairy unless it's
otherwise stated as A1 free and gluten. Gluten and A1 beta casein are really strong
triggers for eczema. And the challenge is when it's oozing or weeping
you can't put a lot of things on there like clay. You certainly don't want to do that.

But put a little bit of oil, aloe can be really
good as well. But add essential oils to the aloe or the
coconut, or rosehip seed would probably be a real gentle one too. I like rosehip seed oil if you can find it. It's really good.

Dr. Axe: Yeah, absolutely. Hi, Dr. Axe here.

I want to say thanks so much for checking
out this YouTube video and also don't forget to subscribe if you want to get more great
content on things like herbs, essential oils, natural remedies, and how to use food as medicine. Also, check out more of our content on my
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