About Me

Hello,

 My name is Cris Oakley, and I was once among the millions of people around the world who, at one time or another, have had to deal with the embarrassment of acne. I've been acne free for over 20 years thanks to my mom, who I call an intuitive herbalist.

 My mom never had any formal education in herbalism, but somehow she has an innate knowledge of plants, and their curative properties. When acne first started to break out on my face- around the age of 12,  my mom's only intervention was to give me a concoction of pure lemon juice and olive oil every morning upon awakening.  At times, this seemed to work, and my face would be clear of acne for a period of time.

However, by the time I was 15, the acne got worse, and instead of the cluster of pimples and blackheads that would break out around my nose chin and forehead, now I was having big bumps filled with puss pop up all over my face. That's when my mom went on the attack, and upgraded her lemon, and olive oil treatment, which she claims is a liver cleanser, to a total detox which consisted of weekly doses of castor oil and wild senna - not to be confused with the strong purgative Cassia senna.

On the days when I had the castor oil detox, I had to fast for 24 hours. During the fast, I could only have soursop, a well known fruit throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and many other tropical regions around the world, tamarind in any form, and lots of young coconut water.

She also made a paste of cola nut, nutmeg, and cocoa butter then, she'd apply the paste to the pimples, and bumps, the cover my face with pepper leaves that she heated over the stove. This was like a facial mask that I'd leave on for about 30 minutes. During this time, I could actually feel a slight throbbing sensation on my skin as the paste did it its job of pulling the infection to the surface.  Once the pepper leaves were removed, you could see the white stuff from the pimples, and the blackheads right there on my skin. All I had to do was wipe, or gently squeeze the pimple to get everything out. After I rinsed my face, my mom would have me apply some cold Witch Hazel to close the pores.

Well, in just about a month, the acne was not only gone, but my face has no leftover signs of it. In fact, today  my skin is one of things I love looking at in the mirror, and I usually get a lot of compliments about it.

Naturally, as it is with most teenagers, we tend to take things for granted so, I really never fully appreciated the full scope of what my mother had done for me, until I saw my godson's beautiful smooth, velvety skin erupt into the oily bumpy mess we know as acne.

At first, I took the easy route by resorting to over the counter acne medications people would recommend; however, I soon realized that acne medications such as Benzol Peroxide only provided a temporary fix with the detrimental side effect that it was drying my son's skin. That's when I sent out an SOS to my mom, and she came loaded with her arsenal of herbal goodies.

Today, my godson is 20 years old, and acne free. Another positive outcome from this experience that I notice is that on the rare occasion that he would have a mild acne breakout, usually during mid-terms and finals, or after a weekend of partying, and eating junk with his friends, he himself would ask me to prepare one the herbal cleansing drinks he's gotten used to, and guess what? Within a couple of days there would be no more bumps on his face.

Acne is an ugly condition for the simple fact that it's right there in front of all to see. You can neither hide it, nor mask it. To make things worse, acne usually appear during the teen years when our self esteem, and self image are so vulnerable.

Here in the US, Americans spend over $100 million every year on acne products that only give temporary relief. Acne is a big business for a few, and a royal pain for those of  us who have to live with it, but why should we continue to spend so much money on products that do not promise any permanent solution?

Yes, I know that as you surf the net looking for something that will help you get rid of your acne, you'll find  a lot of controversy about how to treat it. It can be very confusing and overwhelming at times, but do not lose hope.   It is my belief that there's no one cure that fits all; however, whether you are a parent looking for a solution for your child's acne, or an adult desperate to rocover your smooth, soft acne free skin, I want to encourage you to seek a natural treatment.

You may have to try more than one treatment before finding the magic one that's just right for you, but one thing you can be sure of, is that a natural acne treatment will not cause you any of the side effects you get from prescription, or many over the counter acne medications.

So go ahead, bookmark this site, and come back often.  I'll do my best to keep you updated with the best acne home remedies, and natural products that are safe, effective, and  affordable.