Lemon Juice & Steam

07-10-2003, 03:57 PM

I was wondering if anyone has tried steaming their faces to treat acne. What i do is squeeze about two spoons worth of lemon juice into a glass. Then dab the lemon all over my face, not too much though because lemon is very acidy and it may sting. I boil some water, pour it into a bowl and steam my face with a towel over my head. This way the pores open up wide and the lemon's magical vitamins are absorbed into the skin. The following day my skin is virtually clear. I have mild-moderate acne but it is controlled using this technique. If i miss like a week of doing it there is a noticeable accumulation of spots.

The heat stimulates rapid skin cell production so dead skin cells quickly end their life cycle and are replaced with nice clean ones waiting underneath. But dont over do it as you will dehydrate yourself so remember to drink about two glasses of water afterwards. Its especially great for whiteheads,blackheads and cysts. As the pores are wide open,it makes it much easier to squeeze spots and much better for the skin as you need only to apply a little pressure to get them out.

Hope this helps..let me know if anyone does or has done this before and their results....goodluck

[This message has been edited by Neca (edited 07-11-2003).]

07-11-2003, 07:53 AM

I cant actually believe noone has replied to this post. Steaming your face is one method that actually helps clean your skin NATURALLY and without BURNING it with chemicals/lotions/creams that some of you seem intent on doing. I would be too scared to even put anything that is labelled with the word "Chemical" on my face. You could seriously scar/damage your face. Curing acne naturally is far better than artificial cures.

07-11-2003, 08:37 AM

I agress...curing acne the natural way is much better than using harsh chemicals I have steamed my face before but never added lemon juice. I will try it over the weekend and see how it helps. Thanks!!!!

07-11-2003, 09:24 AM

I've been steaming for roughly a week now and my skin is nearly completely clear. I only have two small whiteheads on my face now. I haven't picked my skin for two weeks since doing this and it looks great. I would advise you to not squeeze your spots, not so much because it scars the skin and takes longer to heal but to stop spreading bacteria all over your face. Take into account that your pores are open, you squeeze a spot releasing bacteria...you do the maths your just leaving yourself wide open for more acne.

In the beginning I was steaming then straight afterwards putting lemon juice on my face and then after 2 minutes rinsing with cold water. I found that lemon juice dried out my skin and I'm sure it made it worse because although it has vitamins and is known as a good exfoliator for removing dead skin cells it strips the skin of all it's natural oils and generally leaves it unhealthy.

Good luck

07-11-2003, 10:33 AM

How long do you steam your face and how often??

07-11-2003, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ric:
I would advise you to not squeeze your spots, not so much because it scars the skin and takes longer to heal but to stop spreading bacteria all over your face.

I agree with you Ric totally, but I get too much enjoyment out of it as they come out really easily unlike before when it used to take a good few minutes getting all the gunk out and leaving a huge red mark. When i squeeze though I cover my fingers with some tissue and that prevents any bacteria spreading. It seems to be working extremely well as I have no whiteheads at all and now it is very rare for me to have any boils or cysts stuck under my skin.

I would suggest not to steam yourself longer than 5-10mins (or until you start sweating loads) as not only will your skin dry out quickly but also because all the bacteria comes to surface. So as soon as you have finished steaming wash your face immediately to get rid of all that dirty bacteria. I steam my face at most every other day but I do have oily skin which needs little moisturising. So for those with reasonably dry skin doing it twice a week: once at the start and once at the end of the week is probably cool.

Lemon juice is optional but it works for me. Just do what feels and works best.

07-11-2003, 11:26 AM

thanks for this great post, i cant wait to try this. but what do you mean by steaming with a towel over your head?

07-11-2003, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by darkangel:
what do you mean by steaming with a towel over your head?

LOL, i thought that sentence sounded weird. What i meant was i put my face over the bowl of boiling water and cover my head with a towel. So basically the steam cannot escape and only goes on my face. Just like a mini sauna in a way. Hope that is a bit clearer dark angel...gooood luck [but i doubt you'll need it

]

07-11-2003, 12:07 PM

thank you so much Neca. it makes sense now. this is my first time steaming so please excuse the question. hehe

07-11-2003, 12:25 PM

Neca, I have couple of questions for you: how many whiteheads and blackheads did you have before steaming? That is my problem; I cannot get rid of whiteheads that eventually become inflamed.
Also, how often do you steam? And do you use any products after the steaming?

Thanks

07-11-2003, 01:39 PM

OSR - Im sure your whiteheads become "inflamed" because people tell you not to squeeze your spots and let them develop naturally. Well in my opinion I cannot do this. I just do not feel comfortable walking around with whiteheads sticking out of my face that are eventually surrounded in redness dying to be squeezed out. On top of this you will always have someone come up to you and say "hey you should squeeze that spot" grrr.

Also what is the point of letting the whitehead develop into a bigger spot making it more obvious. OSR steam your face and then gently squeeze out your whiteheads. You will see how much easier it is to do when your pores are open. Steaming your face should reduce the inflammation around the spots as it will increase blood circulation bring all the bacteria out at once. If you leave the spot to develop by itself then it will take so long to go away and will get red as more and more blood transports more bacteria to the dermis of the skin.

After clearing out all the whiteheads, if any start to bleed (some might) I usually put an alcoholic q-tip (used to stop bleeding from shaving cuts)on the spot for a few seconds. This will "seal" it and the following day you can wash it off.

If i have done alot of steaming e.g. almost everyday, i will moisturise my skin and drinks lots of water to maintain the skin's hydration level. I usually flavour the water with yes, you've guessed it> more LEMON!!! You should feel refreshed afterwards.

Let me know if it works...adios