Now, you may be thinking: Turmeric for acne? What’s that? Well, turmeric is a spice that has been used for thousands of years among many different nations and cultures. You might be more familiar with it as an ingredient in several condiments. It’s what gives curry and mustard their yellow hue, and it comes from a plant that is related to ginger. It has served mankind as more than a food item, however, and has been a major substance in the realm of traditional Indian remedies for centuries. According to these ancient medical practices, turmeric has many healing properties and is anti-inflammatory.

Now, if you already knew what turmeric was, you may have heard of it in the context as a natural remedy for acne. However, does turmeric for acne really work? According to anecdotes (as well as some studies), turmeric might indeed be useful in the treatment of acne, thanks to its anti-bacterial properties. Since pimples are commonly caused by bacteria below the surface of the skin on your face, turmeric can help clean this area and prevent the acne from forming in the first place. In addition, because it is an anti-inflammatory agent, it can help your face heal better from your current breakouts, reduce irritation, and thus possibly reduce acne scarring.

So how do you go about using turmeric for acne problems? Well, like a lot of natural, home-based cures, it can indeed work, but it must be done right. For the treatment if pimples, you would probably do best with applying turmeric topically on your face and making a turmeric face mask. Don’t do this in powdered form, however, since it can easily dust off or fall into places it shouldn’t (like your eyes). You’re going to want to create something of a paste-like turmeric mask. To further explain:

How to Use Turmeric for Acne

First, you will want to add the turmeric to some sort of plant-based oil. This will be the base for a cream of sorts that you will spread onto your face as a turmeric face mask. Olive oil, cottonseed oil, sesame oil, or other vegetable oils should do nicely. The ratio of turmeric to oil should be around 2 to 1, so as you can see, it needn’t take much oil; a good amount would be 8 tablespoons of turmeric and 4 or 5 tablespoons of oil. Mix these two ingredients together until you have something that’s about the consistency of a paste, which is what will make up your turmeric mask.

Next, wash your face. Use warm water and a soap that won’t irritate your skin—irritation makes acne worse. Don’t scrub too hard, either, for similar reasons. If you wish, you can do a warm compress on your face with a towel to open up your pores after you’ve washed, but just make sure that you are dry before you put the turmeric on. Finally, once you’re clean and dry, you’re going to spread the turmeric / oil mixture onto your face in a similar way as many other facial masks, and you’re going to wear it to bed and keep it on overnight. In the morning, wash it off. This is basically how best to use turmeric for acne.

The number of times that you can repeat this cycle depends on your particular needs and how severe the acne problem is. To maintain your face, though, do this ritual a few times a week and make a regular habit of it.