If you’re one of the lucky ones who walks around through all stages of life with porcelain skin, no pores, and nary a zit in sight, then you get to skip this post. For the rest of us….I’ve found something AMAZING!!
Pimples, spots, acne, zits…whatever you want to call them….plague most of us. They aren’t something we only get to battle with during teen years. They tend to rear their ugly heads way later in life too thanks to hormonal imbalances, poor lifestyle choices, and stress.
While it seems like more and more people like to fake themselves into perfection using filters and Photoshop, the truth of the matter is, you can’t fake what you look like outside of Instagram. When your skin is off kilter, it can definitely mess with your self-esteem, no matter how much we wish that weren’t true. So lay off of the Snapchat and let’s do a little holistic skin-healing!
I’ve written about how great bentonite clay is for getting rid of skin eruptions…and it’s still one of my favorite skin healing go-tos. However, I recently stumbled upon another great all-natural “cure” while doing my usual bit of research. Dragon’s Blood. Yeah, its really a thing…and no, you don’t have to go to Westeros to find it.
Dragon’s Blood is actually a botanical that gets its name due to its blood red hue. It is harvested as a resin from a genera of palm trees known as the Daemonorops, Croton, Dracaena, and Pterocarpus. In most plants, resin acts as a protectant against pathogens and fungus, so no surprise then that this stuff can work wonders on our skin as well!
As with most natural medicine, and holistic healing modalities, this resin has history to it. There is documentation that the ancient Romans, the Chinese, and indigenous South American peoples used Dragon’s Blood in order to heal wounds and promote overall wellness. However, it seems to have been completely overlooked in Western culture for far too long.
The research behind it is nothing short of impressive, showing that this resin is a potent antibacterial and anti fungal remedy with the capacity of helping with severe cases of diarrhea, as well as the ability to kill pathogens such as e.coli and salmonella. So, could something like this…kill a zit? I was about to find out.
Although I wasn’t looking for another anti acne remedy at the time, I was reading up on how Dragon’s Blood could be used for all natural anti-aging. I noticed that it was starting to see a surge in popularity amongst high-end skincare brands because it had been shown to improve skin texture, promote elasticity, and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. When I heard about what it could do for your skin, I decided to buy some and see for myself. I didn’t want an overpriced serum or tincture. I wanted the real, raw deal. So I went to Amazon.
I ended up sifting through tons of different potions and lotions and finally found a raw source of Dragon’s Blood. It was no frills, pure, and completely inexpensive. When I got the bottle I decided to start using it on some of the smile lines around my eyes. As luck would have it, I ended up with a cystic pimple above my eyebrow, so I thought I might as well try my luck with the resin on that too. Now, if you’ve been blessed with a visit from cystic acne, then you know those suckers like to hang around for a while. The bentonite clay mask I normally use on them gets them off my face within a week….which is ok, but ok is never really good enough, is it?
I have to admit that the resin is messy and stained one of my favorite towels, but the difference I saw in my skin the next day was well worth the mess. The spot where the cystic pimple was starting to develop had shrunk easily over 50% overnight. By the end of the day it was gone. None of the pain and inflammation you normally get with one of those zits. No throbbing, nothing. I was amazed, but skeptical. Maybe it was a coincidence, nothing could possibly be this incredibly effective! So, the next time I started to break out a little, I used it again…..and like magic, it worked. Again. And again. All I had to do was, at the first sign of a pimple forming, add a drop of the resin, taking time to really massage it in, then reapply once it was dry, and that was it.
Just to clarify, I’m not getting paid to write this post, nor am I sponsored in any way…..although I would love to be! I am just beside myself with how happy I am to finally have found something that works this quickly, and this safely to keep my skin blemish free.
I had great skin as a teenager, and throughout adulthood too…but sometimes struggled with breakouts from years of living on the road, getting tons of makeup applied for jobs, and not always eating healthily or sleeping enough. Then came the sleep deprived years of motherhood, and post pregnancy hormonal imbalances, stress breakouts….you name it. I’ve been through it, and so has my skin. So had I had this stuff years ago, I would’ve saved so much time and money and sanity in trying to find something that really worked. Hopefully this helps you too! By the way….if you have tweens and teens….this is fantastic for them too. That’s one less chemical for them to be exposed to!
One more thing….since this stuff is red, and dries like blood on your face, you might want to just use it at night to avoid having the general population think you’ve become Dexter’s right hand man/woman. In which case, use a pillow case you don’t mind messing up….trust me. 😉
**As an affiliate, I make a small portion of every sale made via links in this blog.
**header photo by Elina Fairytale @pexels
