By blushcon
December 2019

Acne is a condition of the skin which causes oily skin and spots. These spots can appear in many forms including blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples. In its most extreme form, acne can also cause cysts to appear. While it’s a condition that’s most common among teenagers, it can affect anyone at any point in their lives. But thankfully it can be treated quite easily once you know how.   

Causes of Acne

We have tiny glands that are attached to hair follicles located near the surface of the skin. These glands are called sebaceous glands and their role is to lubricate the hair. To do this they produce an oily substance called sebum. Acne occurs when your skin pores become blocked by excess sebum produced.

The reason for this enhanced sebum production is normally down to one of four things: 

  • Bacteria
  • Clogged hair follicles
  • Excess hormonal activity
  • Excess oil production
  • Acne Treatments

Once acne has been diagnosed, it can easily be treated in a number of different ways. Traditional acne treatments include over the counter medications, antibiotics, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, and various therapies.

However, if you’re not too keen on using any chemicals on your skin which could potentially irritate it further, then there is another alternative which has been hitting the headlines a lot recently, and that is to use milk thistle. 

What is Milk Thistle?

While milk thistle is a natural growing plant that’s native to Europe and bought over to North America by early settlers. It’s a flowering plant that’s used to create natural treatments to treat various health conditions. Milk thistle gets its name from two sources: the first is the milky sap that’s leaked from the leaves when broken. The second is that, according to legend, the white markings on the leaves were the Virgin Mary’s milk. 

There are various medical complaints that milk thistle can help with including liver problems, kidney damage, heartburn, cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, and depression. However, more recently, the plant has been found to have amazing skin reviving properties too.   

Why Milk Thistle is Effective at Fighting Acne

Milk thistle has great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and this is mainly due to two active ingredients: Silymarin and Silibinin. These ingredients are both highly absorbable and both have excellent antioxidant properties. 

When it comes to balancing hormones, your liver plays an extremely important role. It acts as a kind of cleaner, producing bile in which to help rid the body of harmful toxins. As well as that, it also removes compounds that have accumulated within the body, such as hormones.

To remain healthy and free of acne, the liver needs to keep hormone levels balanced. A hormonal imbalance can easily lead to acne. One of the good properties of milk thistle is that it has the ability to break down hormones such as estrogen. 

How it Works

The reason why milk thistle is so effective at fighting acne is mainly down to one thing, and one thing alone: it improves the status of the liver. Without a healthy functioning liver, the body is susceptible to a number of health complaints, acne being one of them. However, if taken on a regular basis, milk thistle can help immensely to clear those nasty breakouts.

The way it works is by flushing your liver of any nasty toxins that might be hanging around. This, in turn, will help to cleanse and purify the skin. It doesn’t take a truckload of the stuff either. Just a few week’s worth can really make all the difference. 

Using Milk Thistle to Treat Acne

So now that you’ve read how milk thistle works and why it’s so good at fighting acne, keep reading to discover how best to use this incredible herbal remedy. The easiest and most efficient way to get milk thistle into your body is via supplements which are readily available over the counter in many drug or health stores.  

Because everyone is different, there’s no real standard dose for taking milk thistle. Most people take between 50-400 milligrams per day, with the recommended dose for detoxifying the liver is 150 milligrams per day. 

While there are plenty of these supplements available to buy, it all of them are made by reputable companies. So, before you make your purchase just be sure that the product contains at least 80% pure milk thistle extract. But don’t worry too much about this as I’ll show you towards the end of this article a couple of the best brands out there to buy at the moment.