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A recent study, widely publicized, shows that THYME is more effective than prescription creams (containing benzoyl peroxide) at treating blemishes caused by an acne bacterium.
Yes. Thyme. Scientifically proven. Better. Than. Prescriptions.
How cool is that? There are hundreds of reports out there on this study, but I thought this one from the Washingtonian was the funniest. After delivering all of the good news, they end the article with this (by the way, no where else have I seen that “researchers caution” …):
Still, researchers caution that you shouldn’t start rubbing thyme all over your face next time you have a zit. More tests using the thyme mixture on actual skin are needed to see how effective thyme really is.
Uh, yeah. Okay. We won’t take our skin health into our own hands, experimenting harmlessly with nature, because it’s safer and less toxic. Sure. Yeah. No probs.
HAHAHAHAHA.
So how are we going to do this? Well, let’s look at how the researchers conducted the study first.
They created a tincture of thyme with alcohol (in addition to studying marigold and myrrh), steeping it in the alcohol mixture for “several days to weeks.” They found that the most effective tincture was simply the thyme, even when studied against benzoyl peroxide creams. In fact, the thyme tincture killed the bacteria within 5 minutes of application – that’s how effective it was.
However, and this is my humble opinion, I think using a pure alcohol tincture straight on your skin is asking for other troubles (mainly irritation and dryness), so after a lot of consideration, I went about things slightly differently.
And, remember, this is all our own experiments. At the end, I’m going to give a few other ideas of how to sneak thyme into your skincare routine in ways that may (or may not! who knows?) control your acne and blemishes.
Create Your Own Blemish-Controlling, Gentler Thyme Tincture
After much thought, I really think this is the quickest and easiest way to test how well thyme will improve the clarity of your skin and help eradicate the bacteria that’s causing your acne and blemishes.
You only need two things:
- Dried thyme
- Witch hazel
It’s important to note, many witch hazel preparations actually include a small amount of alcohol in them – not all, but many – and that’s not necessarily bad, but it may cause a bit of dryness or irritation.
Creating a Thyme/Witch Hazel Infusion
This is so simple. And, actually, I think you can start using it right away. Here’s what you’re going to do.
- Sterilize a small jar or bottle by boiling it in water for 10 minutes. Dry it well.
- Add 1 Tbsp dried thyme to the jar/bottle.
- Pour 3-4 Tbsp witch hazel over the top. Shake well.
- Within 20 minutes, the witch hazel should start to look like a light brown tea. This is good. It means your thyme is steeping well. You can actually use it right away, but continue to let the thyme steep in the witch hazel for a few days before straining the thyme out.
- Store it in a cool, dark place for up to a month, using when needed.
How to use it: Use this as a toner once a day (or once in the morning and at night if you’re really concerned about your blemishes). Just pour a small amount on a cotton round or reusable facial pad and swipe over a clean face.
Frankly, I have no idea how soon you can expect to see results. This is your experiment! You tell ME how long it takes.
Other Ways to Sneak Thyme Into Your Skincare Routine
These are just a few little ways – and I bet money (lots and lots of it) that YOU can think of even more. Don’t be afraid to experiment, my lovelies!
Make the toner, create small masks
This is just an idea for small breakouts or giant pimples that really have you down. The toner above may help stave off breakouts, but this is a way to utilize it for more hard-hitting situations.
Grab yourself some cosmetic clay. Bentonite or kaolin or french green would be excellent choices. You can find them at Mountain Rose Herbs – or you can pick up some Aztec Healing Clay (which is bentonite) on Amazon here (I really love that stuff, by the way.)
Actually! Check the end of the post if you’re interested in buying everything you need in one shot. I just broke it down, and figured out that, with the $10 off coupon (if you haven’t used it yet), you can get EVERYTHING you need for $4.97+shipping.
Here’s how utilize small thyme pimple masks for emergencies or “big ones:” In a small bowl, combine about 1 tsp clay with 1 tsp of your witch hazel toner and stir well. Apply to the pimples in question and leave on for at least 20 minutes (even overnight, if you want). Wash off.
The clay should help suck out the moisture from the blemish and the thyme … well … we know what the thyme does. It eradicates the bacteria that keep the blemish alive.
Instead of Infusing Witch Hazel, Infuse an Oil
Especially good for oily and acneic skin are:
- Jojoba
- Argan
- Tamanu (though it’s best to combine tamanu with a thinner oil)
- Sesame
In a small, sterilized jar, place 1 Tbsp of dried thyme and cover it with oil. Let this steep for 2 weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking daily. Strain the thyme from the oil and apply to your skin nightly as a blemish-busting moisturizer.
Add It To a Daily Facial Scrub
Here’s the important post that you want to reference: No-Nonsense Daily Facial Scrub for Any Skin Type.
Just grind up dried thyme with your other ingredients, add it to your scrub in a proportionate amount, and use daily!
Make a Fresh Thyme Facial Mask
The only way it makes sense to harness the power of fresh thyme is with a facial mask. You can do this once a week and see how it helps.
Fresh Thyme Facial Mask for Acne and Blemishes
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, leaves only
- 1 Tbsp sour cream
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp unfiltered honey (optional)
In a blender or small food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until the thyme is in very small pieces. Apply to a clean face and leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse well. (Be careful going outside for a while afterwards, as lemon juice makes your skin photosensitive to the sun.)
Make It Easy With Thyme Essential Oil
You can actually substitute dried thyme for thyme essential oil, if you prefer to take that route. But a quick and easy way to get the most out of your thyme essential oil is to opt for adding a few drops to an oil moisturizer (like the ones listed above).
Remember, essential oils are VERY potent, so you shouldn’t add more than 2-3 drops per Tablespoon of carrier oil.
Shopping Details on the Pimple Mask
Okay. As promised, here’s the shopping details on how you can get everything you need for the thyme toner and mask for $4.97 plus shipping (at least, that’s the cost as of this writing).
And if you already have dried thyme at home (and you probably do!) you can cut your costs even more.
- Aztec Healing Clay – $5.99
- Organic thyme 0.8 oz for $3.14 (or you could buy 1 lb of it for a bit more money at $10.47)
- Organic witch hazel 8 oz for $5.84 (or alcohol free witch hazel for a bit more money at $9.32)
If you do decide to buy everything you need here, remember that BOTH bentonite clay and witch hazel can be used for a variety of different things – so you’ll be adding to your little crunchy stockpile of goodies either way.
Tell Us If You’re Going to Experiment …
… and then keep us updated on how it goes!
We DO NOT have to sit around and wait for a double-blind, peer-reviewed scientific study to tell us whether thyme works on our blemishes and acne. We CAN try this out on our own right now.
So, first, let us know here in the comments if you plan on trying it. Next, TRY IT! And then, finally, come back and update us on how the thyme situation is working for you.
If I have enough updates here in the comments, I’ll do another post highlighting the outcomes of everyone and what seemed to work best!
Yay for crunchy learning!
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i gut got the Thyme and i got it because it smell wonderful so i come from the store and wend on the internet to get information on it to see how i used it and am so clad i got into this web thank you for the inf.
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My skin is clearer, pores are smaller, and the texture is MUCH smoother since I started using Citrus Clear’s “Pore & BlackHead Clay Mask”. Using this mask a few times a month as part of your routine really helps with any acne scarring and the condition of your skin. . It does feel warm and tingly while it’s on, but i kinda like that
i made a strong brewed thyme tea and added a small amount of apple cider vinegar to reduce the ph level a little bit.
i froze this toner in ice cubes, so that i can let it smelt in the refrigerator whenever i need more. it works well, i have used this toner twice a day for a week or so and i finally cleared my acne (and i could finally stop using skin makeup, yay)
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my brother had terible achne for most of his teens and various creams and scrubs didnt help at all, he used just tyme infused in 90% alcohol, it worked very well i recomend it to any!, the alcohol cant be as bad for the skin as biactol creams or the achne as it evaporates very quikly just leaving the tyme extract i wouldent wory about it, and it leaves you smeling like a delicious roast dinner!
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hey I love your site with all the helpful remedies & tips!! I too stumbled across that research article about the thyme experiment. Also – I make tinctures & infused oils with various other plants, herbs, botanicals etc…. the alcohol they were referring to was from tincturing principles of using (well highest recommended for tincturing) pure-grain alcohol or Everclear. These purest of alcohols aren’t available in every state so the next best thing is usually used – 100 proof vodka for example or Bacardi 151 type which is a higher ethanol percentage …. 100 proof being like 50% ethanol and so on…. apple cider vinegar, honey, vegetable glycerin are also used, but making a tincture from the higher alcohols is what brings out the useful vitamins nutrients & volatile oils etc in whatever you’re concocting 🙂 …… witch hazel is also a wonderful component for tincturing thyme especially for the remedying of acne… i too suffer from loads of it – currently sporting a group of Mount Everzit as we speak lol …. with a tincture in the works of so many things & combos its like imma scientist over here hahaha … anyway next time you wanna make a tincture for any health benefit or beauty product or anything, try it with drinking alcohol. Chamomile & Lavender & Rosemary & Oregano are a few others that aid in acne zapping. Best of Luck XOXO
Just dabbing some plain old thyme tea on my face. Certainly feels refreshing. Just warm water with dried thyme in it that sat for a few minutes. i figured why not. lol
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How funny is it that i have been cleansing my face with pumpkin seed oil ( all organic products and herbs!) and adding a few drops of Rosehip seed oil and then moisturizing with Tamanu oil with the thyme essentil oil mixed in lol! Read about thyme being a blemish superhero in Dr. Oz’s magazine “The Good Life” and decided to try it. I do believe that nature is the cure. Besides the smell which isn’t horrible yet i smell something like salad, i think my skin is looking awesome! VERY happy with the results as i have been struggling with adult acne for some time. I also model so it is important to me to have healthy skin. Keeping this routine! Oregano oil is good too by the way:). Also look up oils that contain the highest amounts of Linoleic acid, acne skin is said to be deficient in this. Pumpkin seed oil is very high in this! Give it a try!!
I was SUPER excited to use this toner idea and experiment with it, BUT, (I know the mischievous and disheartening BUT), I was wondering about what the effects of witch hazel would do to my skins PH balance; SO I decided to do a little bit of digging. What I’ve found, (which is not necessarily accurate because, hey, its the internet and I’m not an expert), is that which hazel might not be that great for your PH Balance. However, apple cider vinegar is a good toner and also is known (supposedly) to help with your skins PH. So I’m thinking that what I’m going to try is to infuse thyme in apple cider vinegar, (if thats possible…?), and use that as a toner. Good luck everyone!
i was thinking that too but i’m worried that the acid in the vinegar might counter act the effectiveness of the thyme
The AVC will draw the properties out of the Herbs and will not reduce its effectiveness. That’s how you make herbal vinegars!
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I’ve been using it for 2 weeks and I don’t remember a time my skin has been this clear in my life. Its been ssssooooo long.
I made my Thyme Toner like this in a 16oz jar:
1 part Dried, Organic Thyme
1 part Apple Cider Vinegar
3 parts Witch Hazel
4 part Brewed Chamomile Tea
48 drops Thyme Oil
I also added Thyme Oil to my apricot kernel oil make up remover. I use the thyme toner once a day and the results have been amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this information!! Its a life changer.
I have heard a few dermatologists recommend witch hazel for zits but I am reluctant to try anything besides Citrus Clear because it has been the only products that control my oily skin and acne. It dries it out and prevents it from becoming be a horrible, noticeable, angry, red, zit that everyone stares at in business meetings. I wash with Citrus Clear at night and in the morning – and i Use their Control Moisturizer – I can’t find it in the stores anymore so thankfully amazon sells it.
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Hi, I made a thyme extract in alcohol (fresh thyme form the garden in 70% denatured alohol from the pharmacy) after first reading about it in the Daily Mail. Use it on my two teenagers who had intermittent bouts of acne and on my own, now very infrequent blemishes. If we have a breakout we do treatment in the evening. Wash face with warm water, pop any zits that look ‘done’ with a tissue, apply thyme tincture with a q-tip locally (thus avoiding unnecesary drying due to the aclohol on zit-free skin). In the morning it’s typically already difficult to spot where the blemish was the night before. Since we do this we’ve managed to nip any oubreaks in the bud. Kids happy, me happy. Have doled out a couple little bottles of the stuff too. So far it works on everybody. I use it as a topical desinfectant as well. It worked very nicely on a little patch of torn cuticle that got a bit inflamed and painful. Calmed it right down.
Has anyone tried Thyme Essential Oil? My son has horrible acne and we’ve tried everything…… I have the essential oil and was curious if anyone has had any personal experience using this. Thanks so much.
One question id love to be answered….After applying the toner, how long should i wait to apply moisturizer?
I just want to say thank you! I have been battling adult acne and hormonal acne (and food related acne! Ugh!) for years now and every time I get it under control, something goes wrong. Usually probably me eating something I’m not suppose to, oops. Anyway, a few weeks ago my acne got out of control again and got to the point where it was painful, red, swollen, but the kind you can’t pop either. I was at a loss as to what to do because nothing I WAS doing, or wasn’t doing was working – enter CB Blog. I love this site, and am always browsing here. I found this article in particular and decided the very next day to get some dried organic Thyme and some alcohol free Witch Hazel. I’ve been using the tea mix twice a day for about a week now and my face looks and feels so much better! I still have acne, but they’re small, and they’re controllable and best of all, it’s quick to use! The first day I tried it relief from the pain and redness was almost instantaneous. I don’t know if this will work for everyone, but you wanted us to experiment and I did… with good results. So again, thank you! I also want to point out that the tea doesn’t dry my skin out at all, I suppose because it is the alcohol free version of Witch Hazel instead. I am definitely going to keep using this!
Well, I am 27. My story started when I was 13…a nightmare. I used Isoface (similar to roaccutane) when I was 21. It worked perfectly but acne came back when I was 25. Then again, I used Isoface, it worked…partially. Now, at the time I started a detoxing diet, like since 2 months ago, i am experiencing a very bad breakout around my chin. Maybe it’s my body getting rid of toxins or who knows. I am taking vitamins and herbal supplements. I will try this thyme toner because I’ll fight it both from inside and outside. I’m pretty excited about. Has somebody used Apple cider vinegar instead of alcohols? I’ll keep you updated! Bisou
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does anyone know if it matters what type of thyme oil to use..because there is red and white thyme oil.
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Thank You for your post ! Sounds interesting and unique. Thyme to control blemishes and acne sounds great. I think it is very effective cause when I saw the others commented here they tried it and it is effective. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you. Just…thank you.
Hello! I have tried this toner and loved it. When I’ve run out and used just the witch hazel, I noticed it didn’t do nearly as well! I had also added apple cider vinegar, and would like to know…can I add other things as well? I’ve been wanting to use Thayer’s cucumber alcohol-free toner with aloe, calendula flowers and lavender flowers with the thyme and acv. Would any of these react poorly with each other? Please let me know! Currently using Thayer’s unscented alcohol-free with aloe vera. Thank you and I love your website! Change comes with education and you’re hitting me with some all-natural knowledge and my skin has never been better!
Perhaps the gentlest way to approach fresh herbs as a skin treatment is to make a simple herb water (you can use the home made rose water technique). You can then use your herb water as not only a gentle cleanser, but put it into a spray bottle and hydrate your skin as well. Great if you live in an arid climate or work in an air onditioned office! Go a little further, try making lavender and thyme water. Fantastic for your skin, disinfecting, as gentle as can be, and if you grow the herbs in your garden (and both these two are pretty easy to grow) the treatment is that magic word. FREE. (Don’t you LOVE that word!) You can find a simple explanation of making rose or herb waters in my book ‘Save Your Skin and Fix Your Face’ at Amazon.com, and if you’re in the kindle owners’ library scheme, the book is free too! Or just Google “how to mke rose water”. Don’t forget how important it is to keep your skin hydrated as part of a skin care routine.
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They likely didn’t use rubbing alcohol for the tincture: standard medicinal tinctures use either glycerin (which you can buy at the drug store) or grain alcohol, i.e. vodka–which is a known safe skin toner in and of itself–to make the tincture. And these are what I use myself. (p.s., in a pinch, vodka straight out of the bottle is good as an odor remover–not perfect, but good. The witch hazel actually has more rubbing alcohol in it, but since it has the nice anti-inflammatory effect, it makes sense to try that, too.
I’ve tried everything from Proactive to Neutrogena to dermatologist prescriptions (literally almost everything!) to help control my acne. Absolutely nothing has worked for me except for the all natural DIY thyme toner recipe listed above! I was very skeptic at first but within about 2 weeks, the redness and bumps went way down and after a month, my acne seems to be almost completely gone.
Still have bad scarring so I’m looking for a solution for that but yeah – thyme rocks!!!
Thanks for posting 🙂
I had terrible, terrible acne and used honey as a wash and somehow no scarring! If you haven’t tried it yet, I strongly suggest honey (pure, raw, etc.). I also use aloe vera gel after the toner and it seems to really help as well. I also noticed a difference when I used the turmeric/honey mask, but it was pretty messy. Hope something works for those pesky scars! Just saying, even my dermatologist was astonished at how little scars I had.
HI, I have had bad deep acne scarring (pot mark)for all of my life. Solution:Fraxel CO2 Lazer. Find a good Board certified Plastic Surgeon, they must be certified and licensed for the Fraxel CO2. Expensive but it is smoothing away the scarring. Nothing else works to get rid of scarring. The CO2 lazer is amazing.
I made this tincture about three months ago. (witch hazel) I used it a couple times then put it under the bathroom sink and promptly forgot about it. I’m 35 and I get bad acne along my jawline. They get big. And they hurt. Even if I don’t touch them. And I try not to, but they hurt. So I end up picking them. Which we all know makes it so much better (not) well I’m getting married Monday (tomorrow) I had a couple bumps right at the hinge of my jaw last week. Figured no big deal they’d have time to go away. But I remembered the thyme tincture so I gave put it on a cotton ball and swiped away. They got better but I really didn’t give it any thought. Then day before yesterday I got a big one right on my jaw. Right where my hair wouldn’t cover it. And it hurt. In my experience these are the ones that take a couple weeks to go away. After looking disgusting in the process. So I swiped some more thyme on. Then yesterday morning it seemed better. But during the day it started hurting again. (gross alert) Looked like it was full of puss. And it was red. And hurt. Did I mention hurt? Like bad. So I did what anyone in my situation did. Sat down and cried. Lol. No really. I got a needle and gently took the top layer off. I figured the bacteria was inside. The thyme needed to be inside too. So then I swiped more thyme tincture on it. This morning it is all but gone! There is no bump. No red. No pain. Yay thyme! Yay for having a remedy that words when I’m 35 and shouldn’t be dealing with this anymore! Thank you so much for this article!
I thought I would share this with you, my younger brother and I both had pretty bad acne as teens, I was cured with roaccutane, however when it came my brothers time he ended up on steroids, antibiotics and the roaccutane, and after about 10 months of his skin getting progressively worse – his skin looked like he had boils all over his chest/back/neck/face- he took himself off it (I think the dermatologist was pretty perplexed that her concoction of chemicals wasn’t working to be honest). About the same time my mum somehow procured this treatment: take a cup full of thyme (out of the garden) add a cup of boiling water and leave it to cool right down, strain it into a jar and keep in the fridge (two weeks max). And guess what? It was THE BEST THING for my poor little brothers skin. Just used like a toner, a swipe with a cotton pad after cleansing.
So, I have just decided to make myself an oil cleanser and wondered whether a few drops of thyme essential oil would also be good?
What do you think?
I’m just here to share some info with you Guys.
Now first of all, I know that every case of acne prone person is diffrent, but here’s what worked for me almost over night.
Pure Thyme Oil on a cotton stick, directly on the red bumbs or whiteheads. It Works, FAST!. It stings slightly, like lemon juice, for about 10 minutes and then it stops and the small irritation goes away within an hour (in my case).
All red irritation bumbs / new forming sits are now invisible and flat in literally 3 hours, or at the very least over night. Been using it with astonishing succes for 2 months now, and it’s the same story every time.
Watch out though, just because my skin can handle pure Thyme oil does’nt mean everyone can, but I believe I do have sensitive skin.
Good luck out there everyone.
– 23 year old with moderate/severe adult acne.
I am happy to have found this blog! I steeped thyme in vodka for several months and just now decided to try it out. Can’t wait to post the results. I’m testing it on “patches” to see how it does – my forehead (broken out because I’m sweating so much), a big nasty red mark on my back from what once was a monster pimple, and a patch on my left arm, because my arms are just rough in general. So I’ll report back soon!
Asking questions are really fastidious thing if
you are not understanding anything totally, except this article provides nice understanding even.
Thyme tincture, if made properly, would be made with vodka, which has never been drying on my skin like rubbing alcohol. So I’ll be doing what the experimenters did, and using (pure potato) vodka to extract the thyme properties. (I’ve been using anti-bacterial thyme wipes I got out of convenience, and my skin is definitely softer and more even-looking in tone, so it should be fun to go at the acne with pure tincture)
some tinctures, btw, can be made with glycerin, (you’ll see these on the store shelves–non-alcohol herbal tinctures made with glycerin)–often, you can find pure glycerin at a health food store (or order it online) and make your own the same way, alcohol free. Just soak the herb in the stuff, 6 weeks is a general rule for best results…)
I think I will use it with coconut oil as that helps the blemishes also. And add some honey to the mask for the perfect facial mask for one with blemishes. Or even for a person without!!
Can I use Almond oil, instead of the oils you mentioned? I tend to have dry flaky skin, especially on the nose and around the nose area. Do you think Almond oil will be effective on my skin?
“We DO NOT have to sit around and wait for a double-blind, peer-reviewed scientific study to tell us whether thyme works on our blemishes and acne. We CAN try this out on our own right now.” You are my hero! Great article, too!
I have read on several all natural blogs that those “chicken arms” are a symptom of low functioning adrenal glands. Thought I might share if you want to do some research
It worked! It worked!
Or, rather, it’s WORKING. I’ve had problem skin since I was about 11…meaning that I’ve been battling acne for 2/3 of my life now. Sounds pretty depressing, doesn’t it? I finally gave up on all the creams, cleansers, pads, and scrubs and headed to a dermatologist last year. Although the prescriptions I received worked fairly well, only one of the three medications were safe for a pregnant woman. Although I wasn’t pregnant at the time, I’d already had a miscarriage and I didn’t want to increase my chances of another, so I stopped taking the medication. I switched back to commercial products and found varying rates of success. I read this post around the same time I noticed the unfortunate side effects of having to go back on The Pill. My face has broken out horribly, with those big painful bumps you can’t even pop – most of you know the ones…
Anyway…I actually ran out the very night I read the post (about a week ago) and got the supplies. I could only find witch hazel with 14% alcohol, so I stopped using it twice a day and am only doing it at night. Here are my findings:
1. It greatly diminishes the redness of the pimples (this was almost immediate).
2. It slows, then stops the formation of large pimples.
3. It greatly diminishes the look of blackheads (this surprised me).
4. It does dry skin slightly because of the alcohol, however, the bonus is that my skin does not become oily by the end of the day (except under my bangs).
5. It feels good.
6. It does not completely stop new pimples from forming, but the new ones are not the big, painful ones, and the ones that are forming are infrequent. I’ve only gotten one or two new ones in the week since I’ve started using the toner. So that’s good.
I don’t know if this is any “better” than commercial creams, but it’s cheaper, definitely. I was so pleased with the results that I dumped the entire jar of thyme into the bottle of witch hazel. I didn’t even bother to strain it. That bottle will last me well over a year. All told, it was about $9.00. I can’t pay that for a month of prescriptions, to be sure, and even OTC creams run about $5 a package, at least. Not to mention, I know exactly what i’m putting on my face. And yes, it feels rewarding to have made it myself!
My next step is to try the oil cleansing method, but I’m allowing my skin a little more time to get used to the thyme before I try it. I’m really happy with the results so far. 🙂
Hi I was wondering if you have to wash the thyme before you soak them into the witch hazel? Do you recomment Thayer’s witch hazel or Dickinson? I have them both at home and was just wondering if I could use either brand…..
What do you think about making a sort of thyme “tea” with water and then applying that to the face. I am afraid to use witch hazel because I have very sensitive skin that drys out easily. Also, do you think there would be any advantages in using fresh thyme? Has anyone tried either of these ways?
The Homstead Company or Thayers makes an alcohol free witch hazel…
read about the power of thyme in an issue of Women’s Health, was so pumped when i found all these awesome recipes using thyme. i hate using prescription meds, they never seem to do the trick. i just made the fresh thyme facial mask. i have it on right now. it actually feels like its working. i also plan on making the thyme tincture.
ill keep you posted! 🙂
The thyme/witch hazel combination worked wonders on my son’s face. He’s been battling teenage acne for about a year and a half using the medications prescribed by the dermatologist with mixed results. He started using the thyme/witch hazel and honestly, the next day we could see a difference. Two weeks now his skin is clear. He loves his momma and I am thankful for Crunchy Betty.
Has anyone experimented with different varieties of thyme? I have several different kinds growing in my herb garden and my lemon thyme in particular is taking over! I have been looking for a good use for it. My twelve year old son has had a terrible outbreak of acne and I am looking forward trying this.
Ok…so I’m on day 3 of mixing raw local honey and ground thyme (the kind you get in the spice section at the grocery store) and using it as a mask at night and a cleanser in the morning, and I’m already seeing good results! Now I’m just hoping these good results last!
Just for some background:
I have oily acne prone skin. I’m 30, and I have had acne since my late teens. I used Proactiv for the majority of that time and it really worked, most of the time, to stop the breakouts…but it also REALLY worked to throw my skin out of balance and cause me to get acne breakouts on parts of my face that never really had a problem to begin with (my problem area is around my mouth and on my chin.)
So, about 2 months ago I realized that I have got to be nicer to my skin if I want it to be nice to me, so I’ve begun a journey to find what makes my skin happy.
And so far this honey/ thyme mixer has made it the happiest. I’ll post back here and let you know how it is going once I’m further into this experiment.
Oh my goodness, I just discovered your website and this article. THANK YOU! I will be making a Thyme tincture pronto.
Does thyme make tamanu oil smell less…well….like tamanu? I’ve tried all the typical household EOs with it and nothing comes close to covering or complimenting the scent but hey, if thyme does it, win/win on the pimple front!
I just started using the thyme toner last night…..I made the toner using fried organic thyme and The homestead company pure witch hazel. I let the thyme steep for 2 days. I will try to update every few days since i plan to try this out for 2 weeks.
i meant dried organic thyme
UPDATE: its been 4 days now o using the toner just at night…..Ive experienced some purging especially over my problem areas….little white heads no cysts…..Dont know if thyme is causing this but ive read it may be a common thing….any one else experience this???
2 weeks later: The purge has ended!!!! Dont be afraid if you getting alittle skin purging when starting!!!
I wrote a post about my experience with thyme here: http://my-special-agent.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-saturday-skin-thyme-is-on-my-side.html
I went out and bought dried thyme and witch hazel immediately after I read this… Haha.
Question though: I’m steeping it in a mason jar… How long should I leave it in there? I want it to be as potent as possible, but won’t it start to get moldy after a few days? I bought witch hazel with 14% grain alcohol, will that act as a preservative? Advice from anyone would be appreciated!
Hi! My name is Rachael and I just wanted to share a few things with you!
First of all, I just LOVE and appreciate all of your posts- they are so hilarious to read and very informative! I have learned so much from your blog and my passion for natural remedies has really grown. Any ways, a while back I saw your remedy for people with Keratosis Pilaris/chicken arms, and I decided to try it on my own arms since NOTHING from the dermatologist seemed to work for me! I used the apple cider vinegar and the coconut oil/sugar body scrub! I did notice a difference and it seemed to help me, but my case was so extreme that it did not completely clear it up. The other day while at the flea market, I found this neat little organic shop that sells home made goat soaps, natural skin moisturizers, herbs, and ect. I told her about my condition and asked if she had any recommendations. She gave me a little cup of Shea butter that she scooped out of an actual African Shea tree nut, right there in front of me! She told me to use it twice a day and that the raw Shea butter heals a lot of skin conditions! It has only been a week and my arms already look so much better! I just wanted to share that with you, and thought that maybe you could do your research on it and share it with others!
Cheers!
Rachael Jones
I got confused the witch hazel has alcohol but the organic one doesn’t AMD the organic one is considered better but I thought that alcohol with thyme made it more effective
Can I use the thyme they sell in bags and can I wash my whole face with it or just the infected areas and which recipe do you think would be more effective agains cheek acne and occasional chin acne and which which hazel do you think would be the most effective
I love using the thyme! In the last year, I’ve started having some issues with acne, which I haven’t really experienced before. (I”m 23 now.) After starting to read posts on Crunchy Betty, I’ve made myself a facial mask that has almost completely gotten rid of my acne, something which no commercial product was able to do! Here’s how it works!
In one jar: Fill halfway with green cosmetic clay, add dried ground thyme to 3/4 full, add dried neem leaf to 7/8 full, and add a little bit of dried cinnamon.
In another jar: Put contents of one single-serve container of plain yogurt, four or five strawberries, a handful of blueberries, one or two eggs, a few spoonfuls of used coffee grounds, one or two spoonfuls of unsweetened cocoa powder (optional, though it seems to make my skin a bit softer), a couple spoons of honey, a few drops each of tea tree, lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus oils, and a little witchazel in your blender, and mix well. I don’t bother with exact measurements, here, but it comes out to the consistency of a thick liquid, like a smoothie. Store in fridge.
To use, mix small amounts of the contents of your two containers in your hand to form a thin-ish paste. Apply to clean face and wait for it to dry, about 15 minutes.
Based on my experience, the reason you probably started getting acne was because you tried a new lotion, face makeup, or even an anti-acne product. There are tons of ingredients that cause acne in store bought products. Try googling facereality, where you can find a list of pore clogging ingredients. I went to them and am now 100% clear for over a year, and even if you cant afford the program, the info they have on their website is beyond valuable.
Do ya think it would work to add thyme to your daily honey wash?
I am new here, but love this post. Can you only use dried thyme? what about fresh thyme? Because I would think fresh is always better. I have used this to make a steam bath while using a mud mask, then wash with the water. But I want to to this tincture.
I just love this BLOG!
Thanks for this great info! I made my own thyme tincture and I’ve been using it for 3 weeks now. Here’s a post on my blog about it: http://nearlynaturalnicole.blogspot.com/2012/07/thyme-tincture-for-blemishes.html#
I have “T.N. Dickinson’s Witch Hazel 100% Natural Astringent For Face and Body”. Is this ok, or should I go and buy an ORGANIC one?
can you use the thyme you’d buy at the grocery store? and if you wanted to try it with an apple cider vinegar / tea tree oil mix, would you steep it with those 2 liquids or on its own and then add it to the mixture? i have had terrible acne all my life and sometimes the ACV/TTO mixture helps dry out my pimples but it’s missing something because it definitely isn’t the miracle worker i had hoped for. thank you!
I know this is sort of old, but I just decided to try this. I had 2 break outs today. So the first chance I got, I typed “crunchy betty, acne” because I knew you would have something I could try. I have never bought witch hazel before, but about a month ago, walgreens had witch hazel for 4 dollars with a 4 dollar register reward, making it sorta like its free. so I bought 5, after doing some research and finding out that its good for baby’s rashes. ANYWAY I was happy to see this post. Thyme is another thing I have lots of because I love it. anywayk, i will post what happens in a few days.
This sounds interesting. I don’t necessarily get big red pimples, but rather, tons of small skin colored bumps and I get them along my jaw and my cheeks. So I wonder if the thyme would even work on that, but I’d like to try. Has anyone added thyme to their honey to use in a honey wash? I have dried thyme on hand that I can do, but I don’t know if it’ll be useless to just mix it in, then slather on my face rather than doing something for it to release its oils or essences or whatever magical properties it has!
I have something wacky going on….it started with an EXTREME case of what I think was oral thrush or candida. After trying several remedies, the one that worked best was coconut oil pulling over the course of about 1 week. I promise I am getting to the thyme topic! So, about the same time that my oral misery was finally clearing up, I developed intense acne on my chin area (I am 55). My first bright idea was to wash with pure raw honey. This almost immediately intensified the acne to the point where I wanted to walk around with a paper bag over my head! I came to the conclusion that maybe this was a candida outbreak on my chin?? So, your blog re thyme and acne could not have come at a better time. I immediately whipped up a batch of witch hazel and dried thyme. I applied this solution every day for over 1 week. I felt tingling with each application and it did seem as though it helped a bit, but still remained pretty severe. I really wanted to respond with a positive testimony, so sorry! What I have finally tried that has worked wonders, almost immediately is apple cider vinegar. I am only on day 2 of acv and already the acne is almost to the point of not being very visible to others. Not only has it eliminated the redness, pain and itchiness……it has not dried my skin out and actually feels softer and smoother.
I plan now to combine thyme with organic apple cider vinegar, and use this infusion as part of my daily routine. So thank you, you always provide “food for thought”!!
Thanks! I actually have no idea what witch hazel is and live in Hungary so no idea where to find it or what it’s called in Hungarian anyway… so Apple cider vinegar? I can find that!!! Thanks so much! will try it ASAP 🙂 my teenage daughter will be grateful!
We LOVE your site and are learning so much! (and the bonus is we get lots of laughs too! you make such normal things fun and funny!) My daughters ages 13,9 and 11 and I have been using many of the ideas from your site. (favs. so far no poo method and OCM method. AND of course honey wash!) My husband jokes and says our bathroom now resembles the kitchen:-) sorry about that little rabbit trail……back to THYME: one of my dd says lets try the thyme remedy since all of us have a few pimples flaring up. SO we have been using it for 2 days now ( and I didn’t even have the “good” witch hazel…..NEED to buy organic, but had this and used it) And it WORKS! The smell is a bit strong, but it took this one pimple on my forehead that was big and sore, and now it is HALF the size and not sore and red anymore!!!! SO awesome. Can’t wait to try it with jojoba oil ( going to make some tonight:-) Thanks Crunchy Betty for such a wonderful site….keep up the good work! Also I just placed my first order with vita cost using the refer a friend coupon, so watch for your 10$coupon:-))
I just made an infusion of this last night with some witch hazel I had laying around in the bathroom and thyme from my kitchen. I started washing my face with honey every morning and the texture of my skin is so amazing, but I have quite a few whiteheads on my cheeks and blackheads on my nose. It’s been improving with honey (and castor oil at night) but I’m adding the thyme toner, and so far I really like it but it has only been two face washes. I expect that my skin is going to clear right up in a month. Today is also decanting day, as I infused Chamomile and Calendula in coconut and sunflower oil to dry an aluminum free deodorant, and I’m going to infuse a batch that also includes lavender right away.
Thanks for sharing. If you want to use EO, make sure to use Thymus vulgaris linalol as there are several type of thyme. This one is the safer and less dermocaustical, and is well known to fight acne.
I tried the toner with some ground dried thyme that I had (it’s all I had on hand), as my skin is going insane. I honestly have not found a difference yet, either in new breakouts or in treating existing ones, but it smells nice and certainly didn’t make it worse. I want to try the mask next and see if that helps heal some of this up.
Ok, so I am sure you have heard this countless times but YOU ROCK!:) I have been coming here to your delightfully helpful, cool and awesome space for sometime and am just a quiet reader, but had to respond as it has been over a week since I started using the toner on my 9 year old…yep, you read that right…her skin is absolutely flawless except for the bridge of her nose where she often drags her hand across and it is significantly covered in blackheads, of course a visit to the dermatologist sometime back resulted in a prescription to Retin A! I could not bring myself to do it. I have tried a few of your other remedies, which have been good… however, the thyme and witch hazel has been unreal in seeing results…i should have taken a picture before…they are diminishing by the day and her skin is smoothing out in that area. I cannot thank you enough for your knowledge and sharing! You da bomb!
I too have a 9 year old (i don’t remember my other girls getting them this early!) with a bunch of black heads on her nose. So glad crunchy Betty put this Thyme post on here! here’s to 9year olds with beautiful clear skin!
I’ve never had acne on my face but my bad has been embarassing me for like ten years. I mixed the dried thyme with which hazel and one week later I’m looking blemish free. 🙂
Ok so here’s my testimonial for what NOT to do 🙂
If you have delusions of grandeur about creating a glorious honey-baking soda- thyme facial scrub….1) Don’t try to use a mortar and pestle to ground your dried thyme into a powder. It doesn’t work. 2) Then, don’t try to blend your dried thyme into a powder with your blender. It doesn’t work.
3) Then, don’t just think to yourself, “What the heck, it will probably just be fine as it is” and go ahead and mix up honey, baking soda and dried thyme, because it WILL feel like you’re scrubbing your face with saw dust 🙂 (although it does smell wonderful!)
So that was a failure, but I’m not giving up. There will be more mad science cosmetic making in my kitchen in the near future, but if all else fails I will try infusing alcohol and will let you all know how it works.
Try using an electric coffee/spice grinder, I use it for almost every spice and you can vary the coarseness by just pulsing until you have it the way you want.
Just started reading the blog and I am loving it! I made this recipe about 10 minutes ago. We’ll see how it works! I am so tired of using proactive!
WOW. I made the toner (and added a little rose hydrosol) and it is working. I had an epic month-long breakout on my chest that would NOT clear up. Been using the toner night and morning for a week and it’s almost gone. THANK YOU.
what do you guys think about adding glycerin after the thyme/witch infusion? should i add what to the glycerin or would i have to store it in the fridge then?
add water*
Trying a dried thyme / pure witch hazel mixture. It’s not preventing my awful acne BUT it’s drying them up and soothing the inflammation. The witch hazel is continuing to make my skin over-produce oil, but not to a really bad extent. Thumbs up from me!
Betty,
Is Lemon Thyme just as effective as regular Thyme for this purpose?
Thanks!
That fresh thyme facial mask…there’s just one problem. HOW WILL I STOP MYSELF FROM EATING IT???
i like to use apple cider vinegar as a toner already…why not throw some thyme in there? thank you!
I am doing this right. NOW. Thank you for this info. I am 31 and have been battling my adult onset acne for a year now, but trying to avoid antibiotics and the BP creams that the docs push on me. So glad I found your blog!
I started getting hormonal acne when I turned 31, and have found taking zinc supplements to be very helpful. I also do OCM (castor oil, jojoba oil, tea tree & rosemary oil) and Crunchy Betty’s ACV/witchazel toner. Good luck!
I’ve been reading up lots lately on thyme. This just proves how much I need a thyme plant! If only I hadn’t kill the one I had…
yah! can’t wait to try! 🙂 lisa
Toner: I’m soaking 3/4 oz (1 package) chopped up thyme in 16 oz of acv (I put a couple layers of cling wrap between the lid and the jar to make sure the acv doesn’t oxidize the metal). Letting that sit for 1 month, shake every day or two. Then I plan to strain it and dilute it 1:3 with aloe vera juics (that being 1 part acv, 3 parts aloe).
I currently use a 3:1 acv/green tea mix for my toner and it works great for my acne, better than anything else I’ve tried. Hoping the thyme and aloe will improve it further!
Also, I used fresh thyme instead of dried. I’m hoping that keeping it in the fridge will keep it from spoiling? Guess I’ll find out the hard way …
I’m still waiting for my acv/thyme mixture to fully infuse (another 2 weeks) but I whipped up a quick batch to tide me until then (just infused it for a couple days) and it has been working great! Thyme certainly improves the acv/water toner. Looking forward to the full power of the 1 month infused (it’s much more brown then my current one).
Can we use fresh thyme? Because I totally bought fresh thyme before I reread this post haha.
mwaahahahaha…i love it when you take yourself into your own hands. awesome.
very cool! thank you!
🙂
Oooh, I’m so intrigued! Do you think it makes a difference if you use red or white thyme?
I have lots of thyme growing in my garden and what I don’t use in the kitchen fresh, I’ll dry and store for later. In other words, I’ve always got some to work with. Can’t wait to give this a try! (It was so hard not to make one single thyme/time pun…)
too many puns, not enough thyme to make them all 😉
I made the toner and Im loving it! I used it for the first time last night and my skin already looks better. Thank you so much!!!
I’m going to do a thyme tincture in jojoba oil tonight and start using it as a toner/moisturizer (which is what I already use the jojoba oil for.) I’m only 18, but I’ve acne-prone skin for the last 7 years, and have gone through rotations of ever product (and most antibiotics) known to mankind. I’ll update you soon!
Yay! I’m so thrilled that you’re posting about this. I’ve been using thyme in my skincare remedies for a few months now, and it does work great. I’m not trying to make this a plug, but I’ve got my thyme tincture potions on my Etsy page, where I’ve listed the ingredients so others can try their own, if they like. https://www.etsy.com/listing/98252353/zit-zap-potion
It will take the most monstrous zit and tame it within a day or two. But only certain kinds of zits.
What’s also important to remember is that there a number of different causes of acne, and this is simply a win in the fight against a zit-inducing bacterium. If you find thyme isn’t working for you, you might also try dandelion tea for a few weeks to see if detoxing doesn’t help clear up the trouble spots.
What kind of zits do you mean?
I’m going to try this! I respect the scientific process, and would like to join in on the testing phase myself (it’s herbs on my face – I feel pretty safe with that 🙂
Am DEFINITELY going to test this out this weekend. Then going to post about it on cocoaandshea.com and link back here!
This is perfect thyme-ing BWAHAHAHAHAHA (ok, ok bad pun). But seriuosly I just used the last of my homemade facial scrub this morning and need to make more tonight…and I think I will put some thyme in it and see if it helps more. Fore some reason my skin has been breaking out ungodly bad the last month or so and I’ve ben desperately trying to get it back to normal. Hoping the thyme is the little extra help I need.
Great post! Like you, when I found out about the study I said, why wait until thyme gets it’s official blessing, nope. I made a thyme infusion with apple cider vinegar, then I mix that with equal parts aloe vera juice—it is the best toner ever. Hadn’t thought about infusing oil with thyme until this post, but will def be trying it. Could be a great addition to OCM.
I have already been washing with cider vinegar to control my chicken skin arms (thank you!). But I am still getting acne on my upper arms and thighs. My brilliant plan is to infuse the thyme the thyme in some cider vinegar to see if I can’t nip both problems in one go!
Cynthia, I’ve had the same issue with my upper arms and thighs. This may sound nuts but I started using a mild pumice stone on my arms and legs and haven’t had a single problem in a few years. If I remember correctly, it took a couple of weeks to clear up and I don’t rub very hard. Now I’ll do it every other day or so and I’m clear as I can be. Can’t say the same thing for my face…now it’s thyme!
This is such cool news! My husband manages a restoration company and they used to use chemicals to treat mold/mildew and issues like that. After researching an organic product he had read about that was supposed to be used for those things, he tried it and found it to be incredibly effective. It blew the chemical stuff they had been using out of the water. It’s made out of…wait for it…thyme oil! So, I’m stoked to learn that it’s great for acne, too. We have been using tea tree oil for lone pimples, but that is too strong for my 11 yr. old’s sensitive skin – even when diluted with aloe. So, I’m thinking I’m going to give this a try and see if he can use the thyme without it burning his skin.
I reckon a thyme facial steam would be good. Open up them pores and let the good stuff in. Especially if you have it growing fresh in the garden, because you don’t want to use fresh stuff in your tinctures and oils. I had heard thyme was a good antibacterial a while ago, so whenever I feel a cold or the like coming on, I drink loads and loads of thyme tea. I believe it’s also an ’emmenagogue’ too, so you should know your body before you self-administer of course.
Looks like a great recipe. For me, MICROFIBER clothes have worked wonders for my skin where nothing else would. I use a combination of that and a regular acne wash. Finally, after 14 years, something is working! Maybe I’ll try a Thyme wash instead.
I may have to try some of these. I am near the end of my second week of ocm and my face has never Looked worse. I am covered in pimples and my skin feels as smooth as a golf ball. I am using 2 parts Castrol with 1 part each sunflower seed and jojoba. I have even added a bit of tea tree. I have used proactive for ten years and have had my little outbreaks under control but with patchy dryness and bleached towels and sheets as side effects ( not to mention the chemical smell and toxins seepping into my body). I was desperate to have the ocm work and am about to give up. Maybe I can at least have some relief from the thyme.
It can take a while to figure out what works best for your face with the OCM. How much tea tree oil are you using? Too much can be irritating to skin. I also recently switched from sweet almond oil to grapeseed oil, and my skin seems to really like that (although it liked the sweet almond too).
Please, oh please, please mean ‘castor oil’, where you have written ‘Castrol’. It might be an Australian thing, but over here, Castrol is engine oil.
I’ve been OCM’ing for nearly two years, and used it to recover from serious acne. I started on 30% castor oil with 70% jojoba oil, and a few drops of tea tree and lavender as well. Since then I’ve weakened the castor oil to just 10%, and my skin is going really well.
50% castor oil sounds like a sticky mess to me, you could try using a less concentrated mix. I understand castor oil to be the magic oil (although I’ve never bothered looking up why that might be, which is weird for a geeky net nerd, but anyway), but that it is pretty drying as far as oils go. If you’re drying your skin out, that could be causing problems.
Have you given up all the other commercial moisturisers and stuff too? I tend to think with OCM you’ve gotta give it everything. Most importantly, don’t underestimate what an effect your diet and lifestyle have on your skin. Now that my skin is so good (I’m not meaning to brag, I just mean compared to what I was used to), I notice every little change from what I eat or expose myself to or how I feel.
Good luck!!
Haha. My iPod makes interesting automatic corrections sometimes.
The only commercial product I am using is sunscreen. I could try reducing the castor oil an see f that helps. My skin does not seem dry at all though. In fact it kind of feels oily half way into the day and that is when I use a tea tree witch hazel wipe (just started those two days ago per a dermatologists rexcendation). Thnks for all the great ideas. This is a fun site.
Jojoba oil makes me break out. You could try mixing the castor oil with grapeseed oil instead. I usually use 30% castor with 70% sunflower, and it works well, but I only do it about twice a week, washing with raw honey the rest of the time. I put a few drops of tea tree oil into a little bit of pure castor oil and massage it into problem areas for overnight. That works great as a spot treatment. You could try a few drops of thyme EE instead of the tea tree, and maybe that would be good…
i absolutely love this post! 🙂 i cant wait to give this a try! 🙂
I’m new but I’m starting the oil cleansing method and I think I’m going to throw in some time (fresh) I already had! Don’t know if that’ll work, but it sounded good!;)
thyme… not time… that is so embarrassing
I love fresh herbs too, and I have thyme growing like mad at my place, but dooooon’t put fresh herbs in your oil mixes!!!!! Fresh herbs contain water and water is a nice place for things to grow. Thyme might contain antibacterial thingies but if you contaminate your oils with water, you’ll end up with rancid oils soon enough.
thank you for your reply to Celia, you answered my question as well, wondering why it was calling for dried thyme rather than fresh. Makes sense, & I just didn’t think of that! I have lots of dried thyme from last years garden so will be giving this a try.
Oops! Lol, I’ll have to re-make my mixture then! Thank you!
i’m pretty new, and wanted to say i am really enjoying the site. 🙂
also, i get my herbs and stuff from bulkherbstore.com and they do a good job, as well.
I love your toner that uses distilled water, witch hazel, vinegar and tea tree oil. My question is…could I add thyme to that recipe and let it steep for a few days? Thanks.
Just whipped up a new batch of the No Nonsense Daily Facial Scrub with some thyme in it, and began infusing some jojoba oil as well. Excited to see if this helps my breakouts — I started doing OCM at night and using the facial scrub in the morning. Since I was still getting spots, I occasionally use my benzoyl peroxide cream that used to be a part of my daily regimen, but I wanted something more crunchy!
Betty, have you realized how many LIVES you’ve effected. I hope you have. I am in love with you and want to be your BFF. Okay??
love your posts, and love all the contributing commenters. Just a curious question: does it require a specific variety of thyme? Because I think there are quite a few varieties….
Please keep in mind that this study hasn’t been published yet and certainly hasn’t undergone peer review yet, either. What you make unclear in your post (and from some of the articles I’ve read about this study, which was only presented as an abstract at a conference) is that none of this was tested on humans or even on any skin. You can find more information about the study here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines/news/2012-03-28-early-days-for-thyme-acne-treatment-/
Keep in mind that the scientific community has developed these stringent protocols for safety and the purity of science. Statistically sound studies tell us if this stuff works better than just mere chance–that’s why we use confidence intervals. No need to poo-poo researchers and their hard work. Then again, as long as common sense dictates that it’s safe to experiment on your own, no need to wait for publication, either 🙂 I’m excited about this news, though, and will give it a try with some witch hazel. I’ve got some from Duane Reade, though it’s 14% alcohol by volume. It might be time to get some pure witch hazel. Hoping this works! I’ve had acne since I was a kid and I’m now in my twenties. So frustrating!
thanks for the link, lex! it’s great to see an objective presentation of what has and hasn’t been reported, as well as language that people outside of academia can understand. 🙂
Just going back through and rereading some of the comments, and figured I should respond to this one. 🙂
First of all, there was absolutely NO poo-pooing researchers’ hard work. The only thing I “poo-poo’ed” is the journalist who thought it necessary to say, “Now, don’t go experimenting yourself …” Bah to that!
I have nothing but pure, exhilarating love for researchers who have the interest and the wherewithal to study natural remedies. More often than not, they prove exactly what we’ve known for thousands of years. And it’s BECAUSE of them that we can be more confident in the face of skepticism or downright hateful superiority from those who refuse to acknowledge that nature heals. I LOVE researchers and scientists who are brave enough to “go there.” And I owe a lot of what I share here TO them.
Secondly, the point of sharing the study wasn’t to present it AS “peer-reviewed, double-blind, journal-published, gold-filigreed, angel-blessed,” really. (Personally, I’m not impressed with the gold standard studies anyway – the book “Wrong: Why Experts Keep Failing Us and How to Know When Not to Trust Them” finally made me realize why I’ve always been so skeptical.)
Anyway, to sum it up, sharing the study, as I mentioned, was hopefully to give EVERYONE the confidence and impetus to try this out themselves – just like you’re doing! In the end, I think that’s what we should use these studies to do. Empower us, not dictate what we do and do not try ourselves, what we do and do not believe, and what we should or shouldn’t, ultimately, fear.
We have THOUSANDS of years of wisdom behind us. It’s time we start using it. Yep.
I’m going to try this with my daughter, 11yo, who has facial acne. And with my own chest, which os where I tend to get break outs.
I started getting acne when I was about 11 and at 23 I would till be breaking out if it weren’t for finding out that ALL dairy products, peanuts, sea weed, and excessive iodine cause acne. And that goes for anyone who can get acne, that is what can cause it from the inside. Try googling facereality, they are what really helped me out.
Is sesame oil the same as pure sesame seed oil that I got in the Chinese Food section of the grocery store???? I’ve had it in my spice cabinet for a long time (does it expire) and would love to infuse with thyme and give this a try. Also, I have fresh lemon thyme in my garden, could I use that instead?? Thanks!!!!
I just bought some jojoba oil last week since I use it a moisturizer and thought about infusing it with lavender to help fight blemishes. May have to try the thyme instead. Thanks for the tip.
I use white thyme oil in our products keeps them from spoiling in out TX heat as well.