Home Remedies to Reduce Acne Redness Overnight

If you suffer from any type of acne or recovering from acne scars, the most annoying thing about it is how visible they are. Social anxiety also kicks in when it's the day before a social event, and a new pimple says hello (or maybe you've been picking at your skin and its backfired!).

So we've put together this quick list of things you can do to reduce the redness of your acne in a very short period of time. These acne redness home remedies can be found in almost every household or at worst your local supermarket, so everything in this guide is accessible. The minimum time for this strategy to be effective is 6 hours, but of course, the more time the better!

Before we dive in, it's important to note that the redness is occurring because of inflammation from the skin, so all your efforts should be directed at minimising that.

A very essential note is from this point on, all touching of the skin should be stopped. Whether it's simply a scratch or a light touch, any contact will aggravate the inflammation and make it more red and visible.

Sammy has visible redness from older acne scars and newer acne vulgaris. Regardless of the type of acne, this system will be effective at reducing redness immediately. Obviously cystic acne can be harder to conceal due to visible bump under the skin but it will still alleviate all symptoms to some extent.
The effectiveness will also be depending on two other important factors:

- Diet: If you are eating a high sugar and carb diet, it will create more inflammation in the body and make it harder to see any results from these home remedies, so it's strongly recommended to stop whilst you recover.

- Stress: This directly affects the inflammatory response of your body, so try to take your mind of it and relax as much as possible.

The ingredients are very simple;

- A packet of allum powder (also known as fatakdi powder in south asia)

- Access to cold running water

- Ibuprofen or Aspirin

- Clean Bedsheets

Make sure you have some alum powder ready. If you don't have any at home, you can order some online or pick it up from a south-asian supermarket, where it may be labelled as 'fatakdi' powder.

You'll need very little at a time, so a packet like this will last you more than a year.

Start by putting some powder on a plate and add a few drops at a time. Don't add too much water at once otherwise the powder will totally dissolve and you'll need to add more powder.

Mix the few drops until you get the consistency shown in the picture - now you have the perfect paste ready to apply.

Apply it to affected areas where you want the redness to be reduced. If you have acne redness on the cheeks, it can be tempting to apply the paste to your whole cheek but only use on affected areas.

Too much where it's not needed can start drying out the skin.

Allow the paste to harden and you can leave this on overnight.

Again, avoid touching the face, especially now, as the alum will just crumble off and you'll need to repeat the process.

Alum has natural anti-inflammatory effects so it will get to work quite quickly. If you have fresh acne, it may sting a little but it is perfectly normal and subsides after a short period.

When there is swelling, then cold water is the perfect antidote for inflammation. If you have cold running water, then place the affected area under it for at least 5 minutes at a time.

You can do this several times throughout the day for maximum results, but ensure the temperature is as cold as possible—a side effect is feeling refreshed!

Many people like to use ice but this can worsen the inflammation on the skin due to the friction it causes, even if you wrap a cloth around it. Also, touching the ice on your skin can cause cold burns and make your skin look worse. So we definitely suggest using cold water instead of ice.

Drink as much water as you can.

If you want to improve your skin overnight, there is nothing more it likes than feeling hydrated. It will help with the inflammation but also just the overall look of the skin.

The first organ to feel the effects of dehydration is your skin and you'll notice the difference in the morning. Aim to drink at least 2 litres, but you'll find you will be thirsty for more after that if you were actually dehydrated.

Sure, you will be taking multiple trips to the bathroom but it is worth it.

NSAIDs or painkillers can be great to assist with inflammation. You'll probably find ibuprofen or aspirin in your medicine cupboard so taking a single does (as per the instructions) can help soothe the inflamed skin.

This is only a one-off method and should not be done regularly as it can have other side effects, always consult your physician when taking medication.

If you have a weak stomach or painkillers don't suit you, then avoid this step but you can take paracetamol instead.

There is a lot of bacteria festering on your bed and it's important to change your bedsheets regularly.

If you have redness from acne on your face, then you should be changing your pillow case daily to avoid the bacteria build up from worsening the infection. If cannot change it every day, simply put a towel on there and you can just replace that.

The towel might also be handy in case the alum powder starts to come off at night.