Although the factors that contribute to an outbreak of acne are varied (and genetics play a large part), there are lots of steps you can take to reduce the affects of acne and prevent it from recurring in such a severe form. There are hundreds of acne remedies on the market - available both online and in stores - but only a small proportion of these are natural acne treatments.

There are both advantages and disadvantages of employing a natural acne remedy to overcome your spots and pimples, and this is what this hub will focus on.

Before we move onto to looking at the benefits and potential pitfalls of using a natural treatment for acne, it is useful to have an understanding of how acne comes about. Acne is caused when follicles in the skin become blocked by sebum (skin oils), leading to a build up of bacteria and inflammation in the form of pimples and spots.

The advantages of using a natural acne treatment as opposed to a man made one based on chemicals is that it might be kinder on your skin, leading to less irritation. Lots of the chemical based acne remedies are very effective, but have side effects, ranging from dry skin to nausea. Natural remedies for acne may not result in such reactions. Natural acne remedies may also work out cheaper than conventional approaches.

Although they have not undergone such rigorous testing as standard cures for acne, natural remedies may be more effective at removing the acne from your skin. Every one has different skin which reacts differently to each type of treatment. You will have to experiment to work out which product or treatment suits you the best.

The major problem with most if not all natural acne remedies is that they have not been tested to determine their effectiveness. The claims that they are good at curing acne are often anecdotal at best and cannot always be relied upon. That said, natural remedies are often passed down the generations because they work. If a traditional natural acne treatment didn't work we probably wouldn't know about it now. Think carefully before you use a natural acne treatment. Although most of them won't do additional harm to your skin, they might not have any beneficial reactions either. In your battle against acne you don't want to waste precious weeks persevering with a pimple treatment that isn't working. 

Some manufacturers of acne products have realised that people are keen to experiment with natural and organic ingredients. It stands to reason that we are more inclined to apply natural ingredients on our face than a cream packed with chemicals and additives. To this end, some companies are producing natural acne creams and natural acne soaps on large scale. These products have undergone strict trials and, as such, represent a middle ground between purely natural pimple treatments and chemical based creams and lotions.

There are lots of natural acne products available online, with more coming into existence each week, as new ingredients are trialed and our understanding of acne vulgaris improves.