A combination of green tea and honey helped cure a teenager's chronic acne. Photos / Getty Images, Twitter
A combination of green tea and honey helped cure a teenager's chronic acne. Photos / Getty Images, Twitter
When 17-year-old Hilda Paz Robles posted an impressive before-and-after picture of her face on Twitter, she had no idea it would cause such a stir.
The images show Robles' face during a severe cystic acne breakout, then her clearer complexion less than a year later.
Her tweet was liked over 12,000 times and was retweeted 3500 times. People suffering a similar affliction started to beg her to share her skincare secret.
"Drop the skincare routine," one person demanded.
Robles responded "girl green tea with honey is all it was ... I will be doing a video soon all about it so stay tuned."
"To this day, I'm not exactly sure what caused it," she says.
"Lots of people tried to tell me it was hormones. Lots of people tried to tell me it was an infection."
Her aunt suggested she try drinking parsley tea to clear up her skin. But Robles hated the taste, so the aunt recommended she try green tea instead. She still struggled with the taste, so she mixed a little raw honey in with the green tea and found that was drinkable.
Since then she has been sipping the tea three times a week.
She also makes her own face mask with it — she empties a couple of green tea bags into a bowl and mixes the leaves together with the raw honey. She would then leave that on for at least 30 minutes, or a maximum of two hours if she was just spending the day at home.
Robles did this for about three times a week for a couple months before cutting back to once a week.
Sometimes she would mix things up and use the green tea/honey mix as a face scrub.
The teen swears by green tea and honey to cure her acne. Photo / Getty Images
She told Teen Vogue that it took her about five months to start seeing results.
"A lot of people don't believe me," Robles says of the incredible results she has experienced. "I'm not saying it's going to work for everybody because I tried so many different things before that, and nothing was working."
Skin experts can see how her home remedy may have helped clear up her acne.
Green tea is packed with antioxidants that help brighten skin and protect from free radicals. It also has anti-inflammatory properties.
As Allure states, a 2013 study done in South Korea also found that green tea has the potential to be more effective than other acne medications.
For years, natural beauty aficionados have been using raw honey to reduce redness, soothe inflammation, and kill acne-causing bacteria.
Robles also told Allure that the rest of her simple routine involves the Bioré Pore Penetrating Charcoal Bar (which she believes helped clear the blackheads) and Pond's Nourishing Moisturising Cream.
Once her skin started to clear up, she then started using toner and face mists to help with scarring and to calm down any inflammation. Her favourite is the Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe.
Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater, RRP$18.00 available at Mecca Maxima. Photo / Supplied
For a toner, Robles likes to use something with a witch hazel base. "I should've started using them from the beginning," she said.
