Question:
Most herb books I've read recommend "blood purifying herbs" (burdock,yellowdock, dandelion, chaparral and echinacea for example) I even know anumber of adolescent boys who notice enough difference to buy this stufffrom their own pockets. And they are often hard cases. Also, Tea Treeoil just dabbed on the eruption is supposed to help a lot.

Answer: That's what I do, the tea tree oil - since I started treatment forhypothyroidism, my face has exploded. I have worse skin at thirty thanI did at fifteen (combination of so-dry-it's-scaly and acne... lovely!Means I can't use any of the normal topical acne treatments, which aresort of dependent on having oily skin. Holistic-MD says it's anot-uncommon side effect of thyroid hormone supplementation). When Ibegin to notice a spot of redness, even before it becomes an actualzit, on goes the tea tree oil. A good part of the time an actualpustule never even develops.

My husband has cystic acne for which he has been on Accutane and largedoses of antibiotics for years on end in the past, but the sideeffects of both were miserable. The other option his mainstreamdermatologist suggested was altering his hormone balance, since hisacne is linked to very high levels of testosterone. Not something wewanted to screw around with just to improve his looks for the mostpart. Primarily it's on his cheeks and chin, and we have been able tocontrol it with an aftershave-cum-aromatherapy treatment based onwitch hazel and grain alcohol loaded with tea tree oil, sandalwood,lavender, black pepper, and lime (plus a couple of other things thatjust plain smell good... the whole concoction has been nicknamed his"f***-me scent"!). He hasn't had a cyst since he started using itearly last spring, and the little pimples arrive one or two at a timerather than twenty or thirty at once. Those are even rarer since hebegan using a 100%-olive-oil soap I made that contains rosemary andthyme oils (which are antibacterial) and oatmeal (which is generallyregulating for the skin, moisturizing dry skin and de-greasing oilyskin).