A couple weeks ago we talked about sunscreen usage. One of the suggestions was to add sunscreen-infused makeup into your daily beauty routine, and I was like, “my daily what?” I know it’s bad, but I do not have a daily skincare regimen (aside from slapping on the spf, which I’ve been trying to be more diligent about). And yes, I’m aware that my days of getting away with this are running short. If only I had been following the latest trends on TikTok, I would’ve known that skincare can be as simple as popping a clove of raw garlic. Well, it’s not so much a panacea for skincare in general, as a remedy for acne specifically. And, it’s not so much a verified acne treatment, as it is something that might be working in conjunction with other factors, at least according to the dermatologists weighing in:
Is eating raw garlic a cure for acne?
Plenty of people seem to think so on TikTok, where videos have gone viral of people eating cloves of raw garlic in attempts to rid themselves of acne. The people in these videos wince as they eat garlic by the spoonful, or, sometimes, by swallowing a clove whole.
Dermatologists, however, are here to ruin the garlic party: Though garlic is healthy, they say there’s little evidence it does much to help acne. Instead, they encourage people struggling with acne to consult their dermatologists and make improvements to their health and diet overall.
“I guess it can’t hurt you, other than giving you some really bad breath,” dermatologist Dr. Brooke Jeffy says. “But I think there are a lot more tried-and-true ways to treat acne, and some actually good nutritional dietary things that you can do that are rooted in science that do not apply to this garlic trend.”
Dermatologist Dr. Anthony Rossi wonders if myth and legend surrounding garlic might be why some have come to see it as a magic cure-all for acne. After all, if garlic could supposedly ward off vampires, why couldn’t it also stave off acne?
“While garlic is good for you, and I think it has a lot of health benefits, I don’t know if it’s really clearing up these people’s acne or there’s a compounding factor — like they’re eating so much garlic, but, because of that, they’re drinking tons of water,” he says.
While garlic may not cure your acne, the antioxidants it offers can be good for you and your skin. Dr. Rossi says you can also get antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. Certain kinds of dark chocolate have antioxidants as well. Dr. Jeffy adds avoiding dairy and processed foods can also help with acne.
“People are always looking for the fast, easy fix,” Dr. Jeffy says. “When creators put something out about a fast, easy fix, people want to jump onto it and believe it. Unfortunately, fast, easy fixes do not really exist in acne treatment.”
The relationship between diet and skin health is complicated, and it’s a topic that continues to undergo research.
While not every skin problem can get chalked up to diet, dermatologists say that, when assessing skin problems, it’s important to look at one’s overall health and lifestyle, including diet.
It’s also important to remember everyone’s body is different and different foods may affect people’s skin in different ways. This is especially true of acne.
“After all, if garlic could supposedly ward off vampires, why couldn’t it also stave off acne?” Um, have these guys not seen vampire skin lately? That sh-t is spotless and glowing! There’s a whole other corner of TikTok dedicated to replicating it! Sorry, but I’m not buying that particular logic that if it’s bad for vampires, it’ll be good for our skin. I can’t help it, I have to follow the science!
Don’t hate me, but I somehow skated through my teens without getting acne, nor have I gotten it as an adult. And it’s not down to my “health and lifestyle,” I swear! My diet includes an amount of potato chip consumption likely incompatible with human life… nevertheless, I persist. Maybe, as Dr. Rossi muses, it’s the extra water I drink as a result that’s actually keeping my skin in good shape. I think the most salient point in the article is that everyone’s body and skin are different, and will therefore react differently to stimulants. Kelly Rowland uses an LED night light for her skin, while Lucy Hale worked with specialists to understand her specific skin type. No judgment on a method that’s working for someone else. Though I would say, any trick picked up on TikTok should probably be discussed with a medical professional. And also, garlic is not a replacement for vaccinations.
@definitelynotasian why did i even stop bro it was working 🥲 #garlic #acne #acnetreatment #garlicacnetreatment ♬ End of Beginning – Djo
@dimariacat Replying to @🎀💞🧠 Just do it, trust the process and thank me later🙇🏻♀️ #skincare #garlicacnetreatment #acneskin #acnetreatment #beforeandafteracne #garlicforacne #hormonalacne ♬ original sound – Rev FX
@mercebrito1 Day 7 eating raw garlic 🤢❤️ is it working ?? ✌🏼 #rawgarlic #garlic #reels__tiktok #hormonalacne #hormonalimbalance #clearskin ♬ MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) – Tommy Richman
Photos and videos credit: mercebrito, definitelynotasian, dimariacat and priscillathachh on TikTok, image on frontpage credit: Ron Lach on Pexels
What in the world. If you have acne, whether teenage acne, normal acne, pre or post menopausal acne – ask your dermatologist. Use cetaphil, purpose with salicylic acid, moisturizers with and without spf (don’t use moisturizers with spf at night) at home chemical peels, etc etc etc. Get your skin checked annually.
This is coming from the person who used to put raw egg whites on her face in high school. At the end of the day, I needed to go on Retin-A. Not eat raw garlic or put uncooked egg whites on my face.
The Kismet write-up is exquisite, as always. LOL As to raw garlic, why not? It’s probably good for you over all.
This reminds me of the dip an orange in cayenne pepper and eat it whole trend that has literally landed people in the er with burned esophaguses. The internet lies. With my gi issues I would end up in the er if I ate raw garlic. The lack of access to quality medical care and willingness to believe anything on the web is sending people down really dangerous rabbitholes.
Amen, TN Democrat. Accesssing healthcare is hard for so much of the population that TikTok is promoting wacky at best, dangerous at worst, self treatments for every ailment.
The venture capitalist takeover of hospital land is closing hospitals left and right, and I keep reading about critical services benign cut and hospitals closing. A hellscape.
A lot of the hospitals are being bought out/taken over by the Catholic church and that’s also limiting and/or eliminating a lot of health care services in the area, because religion.
Yeah, there is no one cure for all. Everyone’s skin is different. I am one of the lucky people who didn’t suffer from teenage acne. On the other hand, I have sensitive skin, so for a long time, I couldn’t find a moisturizing cream that wouldn’t cause redness on my face. In my late 20’s, I started to get some acne, which, I discovered, was caused by milk. When I stop using milk on my cereal, it goes away in a few days. That wouldn’t be true for everyone. I hope, people don’t take all these tiktok trends / memes so seriously when it comes to their own health.
Hormones, gut health, and food allergies/intolerances are the biggest cause of acne. Get those sorted out (according to what *your* body needs) and the acne will go away.
Looking for advice so this article is timely and I don’t know if this post is allowed (advice post):
My 18 year old has acne. Bad acne. Took him for extractions and that helped a bit but not enough. Went to dermatologist and she put him on creams – retinol and something else in the AM. Both said it was not cystic but now the derma says it is. She put him on a two month antibiotic regiment. He is against Accutane (mentioned as next step by Derma who says it would be small dose and it has bad hype). He has classmates on it who complain about the side effects.
Anyone else dealing with this??? And advice is greatly appreciated.
See my comment about giving up dairy. That worked for me. I’ve since talked to aestheticians who’ve told me that dairy is the worst for skin. My dermatologists never told me that. They just wanted to prescribe medicines.
He gave up dairy on his own. No milk or cheeses (unless on pizza). Thank you for the info.
@seraphina Peanut butter gave me cystic acne. I cut it and it cleared.
I still get hormonal acne.
@Dandelion2 – How quickly did you see a difference. He eats peanut putter daily and his grandparents mentioned peanut butter but I didn’t think anything of it. THANK YOU!!!!!
@seraphina I saw a difference within 2-3 weeks maybe. The old acne cleared and was not “renewed”.
Good luck!
If he’s already given up dairy, there might be another food that is triggering the acne. I also find that chocolate, corn, coffee, and meat will trigger my acne. Have him look at what he’s eating and what upsets his stomach. Often the same things that give him gas or stomach rumblings may also cause the acne. Again, it’s free to try. Nothing to buy.
I used to have horrible cystic acne. I was one of the beta testers for Accutane, back in the day.
What finally made it go away was when I gave up eating dairy. If only I had a TARDIS, I would go back in time and tell my preteen self to quit eating dairy.
Your mileage may vary because everybody’s body is different, but this is what worked for me after decades of bad acne. Best part is this technique is free. You don’t have to buy anything. You just have to quit buying something.
I had a friend in college who took garlic pills (not for acne, for something else). After a while, the stench of garlic was constantly seeping from her pores and when she would sweat, she smelled rancid.
Eating straight garlic like this is probably helping people clear up their acne because they stink and ALL their social invites have disappeared, freeing up their time for more water consumption and face washing. They aren’t outside bathing their skin in free radicals and sunlight.
… has no one in this trend actually eaten lots of raw garlic, or are they not including the other effects it has? You will literally sweat garlic smell after. *source – sibling who ate a head of raw garlic on a dare*