How to Naturally Heal Acne Scars

I recently received a letter from one of our wonderful long time customers about her struggle with acne scars and her journey of healing. Since this is a problem for so many, I’ve decided to share it with all of you and offer my own insights into how to help heal scars and acne scars.

Here’s her letter:

Hi Jill,

I was wondering if you were going to do any blogs on acne scars. I know many skin experts say that the only way to make indented scars less noticeable is via surgery..but I want to say that as someone who has suffered with not only cystic acne, but pitted scars as well, that there is hope. I am not sure what ingredient has been the superstar, but after changing my diet to mostly raw, and using skincare like ISUN and Living Libations and Simply Divine Botanicals, I can honestly say that my scars are barely noticeable now…at first I thought it was just wishful thinking, but when both my husband and my esthetician noticed it, I knew I was on to something. I barely wear any face makeup anymore (before I had to layer it on to try and fill in the holes in my face) and I actually look years younger ( I am 41, but everyone thinks I am in my 20’s). I guess I just want people who have gone through what I have to know there is hope. Of course I still have a ways to go, and I am addressing things internally as well, but I believe that there are things on this earth that can completely heal us. I want to say that Tamanu oil has been a huge help, as it has been in most all of what I use, that and MSM.

As for what I have done, I am still working on the healing process as my scars are older so are healing slower than I’d like, but progress is happening so that is keeping me motivated. ISUN was the first product line I tried and I used the Emerald Sun Hydrosol and the Clarifying Serum. I used a face wash, then used the Emerald Sun as a toner, then applied the Clarifying Serum. Then I discovered Living Libations and used the Grapefruit Cellular Renewal , the Seabuckthorn Best Skin Ever, Dew Dab, SeaBuckthorn Tamanu All Over Lotion and the RoseGlow Face Cream. I used all of these products religiously for probably a year before I saw real results. I would use the Best Skin Ever as a night serum and the others during the day. I also use your Supernatural Face Serum at night as well. I did discover that Tamanu is a superstar healer after recently cutting myself doing the dishes. I thought I would need stitches or at least have a nasty scar, but in 2 days of using pure tamanu on it, it has closed up and is almost gone. So now, at night I just massage that in my skin and use natural tea tree or neem oil as a blemish buster. As for my diet, I try and eat something raw before and/or at every meal. I would say my husband and I are probably around 65-80% raw most often. I drink water with lemon a lot and I love chia seeds (which are high in omega efa’s and protein) so I incorporate those into my diet a lot as well.

This is something that I am very passionate about and your site as well as your story has certainly played a role in my transformation, both physically and spiritually.

Thank you so much for your wonderful gifts…

– Sabrina Zimmerman

There are three main reasons why Sabrina was able to achieve success in healing her acne scars. The first involves reframing how we think about what scars are and why they exist. The second reason was because of her healthy, alive, healing diet. The third essential reason was because of her use of natural, organic, healing skin care. Let focus in on some of the primary ingredients in the skin care that she used that have an especially healing affect on scars. MSM taken both internally and applied externally is an excellent scar healer. Tamanu Oil is also a skin and scar healing star. Let’s take a deeper look at each of these and why they’re important.

Most Scars Are a Natural Part of the Healing Process

Scars are likely to form from any wound that takes longer than two or three weeks to heal, or from long term inflammation. Scars that stick out are called “hypertrophic,” while those that have depth are called “atrophic” (these are the kind most commonly associated with acne). Scarring occurs because your body doesn’t like having things between your skin cells for very long except other skin cells. So when the body responds to a wound or infection by creating masses of white or red blood cells (often in the form of a clot for red blood cells), and they stay between your skin cells for an extended period of time, your body launches a specialized rapid healing response. By winding collagen fibers together into dense matrix, then snaking them through whatever is in the way from one end of the wound to the other, your skin makes a natural kind of stitch and closes the wound. This was very necessary in the early stages of our evolution, where infection of all kinds could easily be fatal. Truly, without scars, the human race may not be around today.

Healing Scars with Tamanu Oil and MSM

This doesn’t mean that scars must be there forever. This is where Tamanu Oil and MSM come into play.

Tamanu Oil

Tamanu Oil comes from the Tamanu tree, which you may know by one of its many other names: Calophyllum Tacamahaca, Calophyllum Inophyllum, Alexandrian Laurel, Sweet Scented Calophyllum, Pannay Tree, or even Borneo Mahogany (this is more of a historical name). It’s still highly regarded in Polynesian cultures, where it originally found ancient use as one of the very first methods of protecting skin from the sun. It’s also widely regarded as a very potent antibiotic and fungicide, and indeed, it has compared favorably in alleviating a variety of maladies, from infected burns to even urinary tract infections. Most importantly, it has demonstrated some potent abilities as a skin repair agent and scar tissue healer. And not just on new scar tissue – results have been reproduced on aged scars that are over a year old.

Here are the products Sabrina used to heal her scars that include Tamanu Oil:

Supernatural Age-Defying Facial Elixir by Living Earth Beauty

Pure Tamanu Oil by Living Earth Beauty

Seabuckthorn Best Skin Ever by Living Libations

Seabuckthorn Tamanu All-Over Lotion by Living Libations

MSM

MSM is an excellent natural source of sulfur, which is necessary in the development of collagen and keratin (both of which are important for firm, healthy skin). While your body will disperse MSM where it’s needed if it’s taken internally, it should be applied topically when using it to aid in the tissue regeneration necessary for scar healing. This ensures that it targets the scar specifically and delivers plenty of required sulfur to the right area.

Here are some of products I recommend for scar healing that contain MSM:

MSM Crystals by Omica Organics

Bee Beauty Age-Defying Facial Oil by Living Earth Beauty

Supernatural Age-Defying Facial Elixir by Living Earth Beauty

Cell Serum by Living Libations

Give these products a try and you should be well on your way to helping your scars heal and fade. Even if you’ve had your scars for years, you may not get rid of them completely, but you still may see results. And if you’ve had your own experience like Sabrina’s or any questions or comments, please share in the comments section below!