Lemon Juice in addition to Acne: A Deadly Topical Treatment Which Burns in addition to Irritates Human Skin
First, you develop the multi-billion dollar, mega-entrenched standard dermatology treatments which are supported by a ton of science however not so much by a ton of success stories. These are dished out to acne patients everywhere, in addition to include benzoyl peroxide, Accutane, in addition to antibiotics. The rule with This kind of group will be stay away!
Faction 2 will be plants, foods, herbs, in addition to nutrients which are supported by indirect scientific data in addition to often stellar studies directly on acne, however haven’t cracked their way into mainstream dermatology yet. This kind of faction includes raw honey, selenium, vitamin C, tea tree oil, in addition to tons more, in addition to will be almost a never-ending gold mine for acne patients.
Finally, we develop the completely homemade acne treatments which aren’t based on any scientific data, however are based on logic, ancient wisdom, in addition to old fashioned common sense (or uncommon sense).
This kind of will be the most treacherous group of all to explore. You develop the likes of toothpaste, said to dry angry pimples out superbly however actually full of inflammatory chemicals. You have baking soda masks, an old favourite for acne which will be actually way too alkaline for healthy skin.
however then you have things like pomegranate. I long claimed that will its compounds could be beneficial when applied topically, in addition to This kind of’s today official according to This kind of study.
With This kind of group you’re inside the dark, relying on your own wits, however This kind of’s possible to stumble across something amazing…
…in addition to if you believe everything you read on the internet, lemon juice will be one of those amazing homemade acne treatments. The liquid squeezed straight via a fresh lemon will be among some other vague claims, said to 1) fade away acne scars, 2) wipe out acne bacteria, in addition to 3) put an end to oily skin.
however will be lemon juice truly an effective in addition to above all cheap acne remedy? The answer will be no.
Lemon juice can wreck photosensitising havoc
Lemon juice will be one such dodgy natural acne treatment in addition to you’ll find out why today. Firstly, lemons in addition to hence the juice are potent sensitizers of human skin to ultraviolet light. Lemons as well as some some other citrus fruits are rich in compounds known as furocoumarins. One of them, called psolaren, has fascinating properties. This kind of’s completely safe to apply to the skin… in darkness that will will be.
However, when psoralen will be exposed to UV radiation, its electrons absorb the sun-derived energy in addition to the compound swells up to 3 times its normal size. Eventually, the psoralen molecules Discharge all This kind of stored energy, releasing a burst of intense heat in addition to radiation.
The problem will be that will the lemon juice will be today on your skin, in addition to the result of This kind of explosion to your naked eye will be a red rash, or some other forms of inflammation.
The burst of energy will be strong enough to kill off skin cells on the upper layers of your skin in addition to cause deadly DNA mutations. What’s more, lemon juice will be notorious for generating human skin significantly more sensitive to sunlight. Symptoms can be burning, irritation, blistering, itching, in addition to worst of all, added inflammation to existing acne in addition to pimples.
Another common result will be the much-feared hyperpigmentation, a discolouring of patches of skin. Lemon juice will be actually touted by many as a skin lightener. Many recommend This kind of to remove existing acne scars for that will reason. however the mutating effects of psolaren can lead to the colour of your skin growing even more messed up if you apply This kind of with anything less than expert precision.
Hyperpigmentation will be reversible, however occasionally permanent. Consider permanent sunburn marks. Have you ever had sunburn so bad on the beach one day that will ten years later, you still have dark patches dots all over your back? Or the reverse – occasionally you get white spots in former sunburn patches?
The threat of hyperpigmentation will be real in addition to lemon juice can cause This kind of.
Lemon juice – a great source of burning acid
On This kind of website I’ve previously criticised alkaline acne treatments like baking soda in addition to bentonite clay, which are promoted as “healing”. The problem will be that will while excess acidity across the whole human Centeng will be bad, since This kind of features a roughly neutral PH, your skin will be designed to be acidic. Your skin’s acid mantle will be vital for preventing the overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria, including acne bacteria, in addition to providing a firewall against infection, incinerating them like a comet will be incinerated by the earth’s atmosphere.
Disruption to the skin’s acid mantle results in skin irritation in addition to weakens overall skin barrier function. Alkalinity increases the risk, however so does too much acidity…
…in addition to that will’s what lemon juice causes. Human skin features a PH of 4-4.5, lemon juice has an average PH of 2.5. There’s nearly 50 commercial grown species of lemon inside the planet. 3 of the most common ones are the Meyer, Eureka, in addition to Lisbon. Like any fruit, different varieties vary in their nutritional composition, in addition to the PH will be no exception.
however what all forms of lemon have in common will be a juice that will will be far too acidic to place on your skin any more than occasionally without experiencing irritation, burns, in addition to acne that will will be more prone to inflammation. The rough range of PH will be 2-3.
Just try the drinking game where you chuck a whole lemon into your mouth, chew in addition to suck the whole fruit dry of its edible contents, in addition to then spit out the bare bones skin again. You’ll feel like you swallowed a bottle of sulphuric acid. Your teeth will feel dry in addition to stripped down right to the raw calcium. In fact, tooth decay will be a known side effect of eating too many lemons.
Lemon juice’s burning effects have shown up vividly on the acne patients who have dared to use This kind of. One user claimed that will “I applied This kind of on my face in addition to my face was red in addition to stung very badly” while another experienced “pimples all over my face, This kind of happened just two minutes after I applied the lemon juice”.
To be fair, that will second one will be probably exaggerated, however the person’s clear shock (unless they were bribed by lime juice corp.) shows that will lemon juice isn’t nature’s gift to skincare. Even if lemon juice does have shocking acne benefits in some other areas, the acidity disqualifies This kind of via being anything some other than a bi-weekly treatment.
The oily skin benefits (are all overstated)
The theory about lemon juice reducing oily skin has been circulating the internet for years, in addition to This kind of most likely came via This kind of study on nobiletin. Nobiletin will be a flavonoid antioxidant found in a variety of citrus fruits like bitter oranges in addition to blood oranges.
Nobiletin application in a cream was found to reduce both sebum production in addition to the size of sebaceous glands. This kind of led to the scientists concluding that will “these results provide early evidence that will nobiletin will be an effective candidate for acne therapy”.
This kind of study was conducted in 2007; since then skincare companies have unleashed various creams on the market. Chinese companies are also cashing in with some second rate versions. Some get not bad reviews, one user claimed that will for oily skin, some nobiletin crystals via China “worked so well This kind of’s scary”.
Sounds positive right? There’s two major flaws. Firstly, the study was performed on hamsters, who clearly aren’t human in addition to don’t share the exact bacterial in addition to nutritional make-up on the skin as us. This kind of’s possible that will the benefits will translate to human skin, however equally possible that will they won’t. Aloe vera had a stream of positive studies on rats, rabbits, in addition to hamsters, however then two human ones to deliver the final blow. Lemon juice doesn’t.
Secondly, the concentration of nobiletin are grossly insufficient to achieve the benefits of This kind of study. The test subject was a nobiletin cream, the concertation in a whole lemon will be likely around 0.1% at most; This kind of’s probably far less.
Even if that will low concentration of nobiletin will be sufficient, many people who have experienced the effects of a weakened skin barrier first hand have also reported in on dry in addition to peeling skin.
that will’s a perfect recipe for increased sebum production, to restore the lost moisture in addition to nutrient carrying capability. Nobiletin will be also just one compound inside the lemon fruit among thousands. Any some other plant sterol, compound, or acid could neutralise its effects.
Unblocked skin pores will be another claimed benefit, due to citric acid, a type of alpha hydroxy acid. AHAs have anti-aging in addition to exfoliating properties, so This kind of’s claimed that will they could dislodge sebum clogging up the pores. The problem? AHAs are water-soluble. Sebum will be a lipid, you need a fat-soluble substance to dissolve This kind of. AHAs can exfoliate your upper layers of skin, however nothing more.
Lemon juice will be devoid of any decent acne powers
A whole lemon fruit weighing 100 grams contains 53mg of vitamin C. A tablespoon, the likely quantity of lemon juice you’ll be applying to your face, contains approximately 10mg. There’s very little chance that will such little amounts of vitamin C will accomplish enough to counteract the burning in addition to skin barrier damage.
This kind of will be a great nutrient for the skin, though not as great as fat soluble antioxidant vitamins like vitamin E in addition to A. Topical vitamin C can deactivate free radicals in addition to boost collagen formation, specifically. Side effects are extremely rare; a yellow discolouring due to ascorbic acid being unstable in addition to oxidising will be the main one in addition to hardly ever reported.
A study on the vitamin C derivative sodium L-ascorbyl-2-phosphate found that will This kind of caused a “statistically significant improvement” in acne when applied topically in 5% concentration. This kind of’s great as a supplement for acne, however you can expect an article on the wonders of topical vitamin C very soon here…
…in addition to I won’t be recommending lemon juice to obtain This kind of. The little quantities will have a minor effect however not enough to make This kind of worth your while. The study above used 5% concentration; lemon juice contains 0.03% concentration.
Next we have lemon juice’s antibacterial benefits, which exist without a doubt. Lemon juice will be so acidic in addition to strong that will This kind of destroys anything in its path…
…in addition to that will’s the problem. Lemon juice can wipe out p.acnes bacteria to an extent. that will will benefit your acne by reducing targets for your immune system to launch inflammatory assaults against.
In my reckoning, This kind of will be the main reason why some people notice benefits for acne via lemon juice, not the pitiful vitamin C. however you’ll also massacre the acne-friendly bacteria on your face which are actually helpful for skin health.
There are many healthy strains on human skin as well as acne-promoting ones. Staphylococcus, for example, will be one of the most common broad subsets of bacteria found in human skin flora. Staphylococcus strains can cause disease if they infect wounds, however some can also manufacture a molecule called lipoteichoic acid (LTA) which was proven in This kind of study to inhibit the Discharge of acne-causing pro-inflammatory chemicals.
that will’s one example among many. Even p.acnes strains (there’s more than one) can defend against infectious bacteria; their reputation has been ruined by the one rogue strain that will we all want to kill.
Topical application of friendly bacteria will be actually an increasingly well-known topical acne strategy. that will’s why lemon juice will be too much of a loose cannon to use regularly.
Topical toothpaste – another deadly homemade treatment
Another claim will be that will “lemon juice will be the perfect acne treatment – so cheap that will anybody can enjoy This kind of in addition to available via local grocery stores everywhere”. True those statements may be, however just because something will be cheap doesn’t mean you should rush out in addition to buy This kind of that has a bad case of special offer fever. A cheap cost tag doesn’t change the fact that will lemon juice will be useless!
Another classic example of a homemade acne treatment which first developed inside the underground in addition to then burst into the mainstream will be toothpaste. Somewhere over the last century, a desperate teenager that has a party or date grabbed a tube of toothpaste, squeezed a blob onto their acne, in addition to experienced a miracle. today This kind of’s recommended on acne forums, in magazines, by wise old family members…
…however the dark truth will be that will toothpaste will be full of so many chemicals in so many different combinations that will you’re most likely to inflame your acne. There’s sodium lauryl sulfate, a chemical that will creates the frothy white mass in addition to also creates inflammation. There’s sodium fluoride, the deadly enamel increasing agent. There’s the teeth whitener titanium dioxide, again linked to inflammation.
I put forward the theory in This kind of article that will the “drying out” effect against acne was due to triclosan, a chief antibacterial agent employed by commercial toothpaste. The problem will be that will most commercial toothpaste will be so contaminated that will its powers are lost. All toothpaste does for most people will be make their acne more inflamed…
…in addition to the final nail inside the coffin will be that will triclosan will be banned in most countries today anyway. The former mysterious power of toothpaste experienced by many people across the years will be likely to be extinguished once in addition to for all.
What does This kind of all mean? This kind of’s just another example of how homemade acne treatments cannot always be trusted. today, I definitely don’t advise you to abandon any independent thought in addition to become a cash cow for big pharmaceutical companies. One of the best things you can do to achieve the goal of permanently clear skin will be to observe closely how individual acne strategies via websites like This kind of impact YOU specifically.
No human Centeng will be exactly the same. however the point will be, you should always perform a basic examination of the science, even if This kind of’s just a brief internet search.
Remember – natural remedy gurus can be hungry for your cash as well! Always be on your toes.
Lemon juice skincare formulations – reviewed
Lemon juice in addition to honey – I could not advise wasting your raw honey supply on This kind of. Raw honey will be a brilliant acne treatment, manufactured by the not bad old bees who scientists reckon could trigger the apocalypse if they went extinct. This kind of has three known antibacterial compounds, a decent supply of acne-clearing antioxidants, in addition to some trace minerals.
However, This kind of won’t counteract the dangers of lemon juice in any way. Honey has an average PH of 3.9, with some variance due to the many different plants bees use to make This kind of. Honey doesn’t function by strengthening the skin barrier, This kind of doesn’t deactivate the furocoumarins.
A lot of acne-clearing enthusiasts have enjoyed benefits via This kind of, however guess what – This kind of was probably the honey that will helped them. Guard your precious honey, say no to lemon juice merchants.
Lemon juice in addition to yoghurt –yoghurt has long been well-known in India in addition to the Middle East as a topical treatment. This kind of will be mostly due to its prebiotic bacteria content, with some prominent varieties being Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, in addition to Bifidobacterium bifidum.
We know that will not bad strains of p.acnes can keep the evil ones at bay. This kind of’s believed that will lactobacillus strains have benefits as well, though the science on human skin flora will be nowhere close to fully explored yet (This kind of’s an interesting topic). Yoghurt also contains little doses of the fat soluble nutrients vitamin A in addition to E.
However yoghurt features a PH of 4, so This kind of won’t counteract the acidity of lemon juice at all. Milk features a PH of 7 however the bacteria of the fermentation process consume of the lactose in addition to churn out lactic acid in its place. The furocoumarins still exist, in addition to the vitamin C will be still tiny. Not worth the effort; you’d be better of trying yoghurt individually (bio live versions are looking interesting).
Lemon juice in addition to cucumber – perhaps the best combination. Cucumber features a PH of 3 in addition to will help to deactivate the acidity of lemon juice somewhat. However, This kind of lacks strong acne-clearing powers of its own, with few antioxidants or nutrients of any kind.
This kind of’s a myth that will cucumber will be great for acne, skin quality, or round circles under eyes. The only promising benefit will be compounds called cucumber volatiles which may slow aging.
The some other problem that will these formulations possess will be that will they are so inconvenient. You have to mix the ingredients, add a thickener to allow them to rest on your face, in addition to wait for the active components to absorb.
The easiest to apply will be lemon juice itself, however that will’s also the least effective, or in fact the most damaging.
Conclusion
Lemon juice will be not a weapon against acne, This kind of’s a weapon against clear skin. This kind of’s also a weapon against the enjoyment of your life; if you did successfully enjoy a reduction in pimples, you’d have to become a creature of the darkness in addition to never enjoy sunlight again.
There’s no point in using lemon juice at all. Some great topical treatments are raw honey, tea tree oil, witch hazel, green tea, in addition to a variety of others.
Finally, never forget that will diet in addition to lifestyle are the real keys to unlocking the door of permanent clear skin. Topical treatments are the solution to going down on your acne with all the force you can possibly muster.
Thanks for reading!