WELLBEING
Neem for Skin: 9 Benefits + Precautions
Nikshep Myle │Updated: 7 February 2024
Introduction
Neem’s legendary potency and versatility (and bitter taste!) have made it a staple in superfood lists. Whether it’s immunity, hair, skin, or oral care, neem is an all-rounder that’ll help with more than one aspect of your health.
The astounding benefits of neem for the skin are due to its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. It helps treat acne, eczema, psoriasis, and other inflammatory skin conditions, and reduces fine lines and wrinkles — no wonder it’s been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.
In this article, we’ll cover nine ways neem or Indian lilac can help your skin and some precautions to ensure you don’t harm yourself.
Benefits of Using Neem for Skin
Neem is superb for treating acne and inflammatory skin conditions, reducing hyperpigmentation, slowing aging, improving skin texture, and protecting the skin from sun damage.
Let’s take a closer look at neem’s beauty benefits for the skin.
1. Combats and prevents acne
Preventing acne is one of the most popular uses of neem for the skin. Neem’s diverse compounds impact the skin’s surface in different ways to ensure acne doesn’t take a stronghold.
Excess sebum (oil) produced by the skin can clog your pores and lead to acne, but one of the ways through which neem manages acne is by regulating the skin’s oil production. That’s also why this non-comedogenic oil is suitable for both dry and oily skin types.
Another cause of acne is bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes. Neem contains compounds with antibacterial properties, like nimbin and nimbidin, which curb these bacteria. So with regular application of neem oil, you can ward off breakouts.
Then you have acne caused by inflammation. When the hair follicles become clogged with oil and dead skin cells, the body’s immune system sends white blood cells to fix the problem. But this response leads to inflammation, hence the acne. Neem’s anti-inflammatory properties, like nimbidin, are potent at reducing inflammation, making it handy for managing acne.
2. Soothes eczema and psoriasis and enhances
wound healing
Eczema and psoriasis are troublesome inflammatory skin conditions that cause dry, flaky, and itchy skin.
Neem’s anti-inflammatory compounds can help considerably with soothing and healing eczema and psoriasis flare-ups. This study from 1994 found that neem was swift and effective at reducing uncomplicated psoriasis in 50 patients without any adverse effects.
Another advantage of using neem for inflammatory conditions is its enhanced wound-healing ability. Neem is brimming with amino acids and vitamins that speed up the creation of collagen fibers, helping seal wounds in less time and shorten the healing process.
3. Reduces hyperpigmentation and lightens acne
scars
Hyperpigmentation is a condition that darkens the skin. It mainly occurs when there’s an increase in melanin (natural pigment in the body), which could be because of excess sun exposure, hormonal changes, medication side effects, injuries, or inflammation.
Neem contains gedunin, which inhibits melanin production and reduces hyperpigmentation. This 2021 study confirmed that neem leaf extracts effectively lowered melanin production, making neem suitable for hyperpigmentation treatment and as an ingredient in skin-lightening cosmetics. And since neem can reduce hyperpigmentation, it can also help lighten acne scars and dark spots.
4. Improves collagen production to reduce fine
lines and wrinkles
The body’s ability to produce collagen decreases with age. Collagen is a protein that helps keep the skin smooth and elastic, but as it reduces, the skin gets drier and loses elasticity.
As mentioned earlier, neem’s great for wound healing because it speeds up the formation of collagen fibers. Along with essential fatty acids, neem’s abundant in vitamin C and antioxidants, making it a solid natural remedy for enhancing collagen production and maintaining skin elasticity.
Improved collagen production and antioxidants can smooth fine lines and reduce wrinkles. This study conducted on mice showed that applying neem leaf extract helped reduce skin aging symptoms, like wrinkles, skin redness, and water loss.
5. Improves skin texture
When applied topically, neem’s essential fatty acids (EFA) improve the skin’s outermost layer. This layer is a mixture of ceramides, sebum, and fatty acids, all of which come together as a natural oil barrier to protect your skin, hydrate it, and improve its texture.
Our bodies can’t create certain fatty acids, like omega-3 and omega-6, so we must eat specific foods (like fish, nuts, and oils) for them.
If you’re not getting enough of these acids through your diet, you’ll likely have dry and irritated skin, hair fall, and joint stiffness, among other symptoms.
In that case, try applying neem oil to your skin. Topical application of oils that contain EFA ensures that fatty acids enter the bloodstream through the layers of skin directly.
6. Anti-aging properties
Neem contains azadirachtin and nimbin, which have immense antioxidant activity, making them excellent for boosting skin health, fighting aging, and improving overall health.
This herb also contains vitamin E, which improves the body’s antioxidant levels, reduces cell damage, and slows down aging.
7. Protects against sun damage
Although neem doesn’t block sun exposure, it prevents UV rays from damaging the skin and disrupting the collagen formation cycle.
This study from 2017 on hairless mice exposed to UVB rays found that neem leaf extract prevented wrinkling while enhancing hydration and elasticity. Applying neem leaf extract topically increased type I procollagen (precursor of collagen) and elastin (a protein that gives elasticity to the skin).
Extra info: fibroblasts are cells in the skin that produce collagen proteins to strengthen skin, improve elasticity, and boost hydration. But excess exposure to the sun’s UV rays makes the fibroblasts inefficient and leads to aging, wrinkles, redness, and other types of skin damage.
8. Treats fungal infections
Neem’s antifungal potency makes it an effective remedy for various infections, from athlete’s foot and candida to ringworm (skin, nails, feet, and hair) and a bunch of yeast infections.
Gedunin, nimbidin, nimbidol, and nimbolide are compounds found in neem with powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties for combatting fungus infections.
Neem is also a natural antihistamine, so it can alleviate itching and redness to bring relief.
9. Eco-friendly, cost-effective, and easy-to-include
Neem is a completely natural ingredient, and using it to improve your skin health is environmentally sustainable. It’s a terrific low-cost alternative to expensive, synthetic cosmetics, and as long as you use it appropriately, you won’t experience any adverse side effects. Not to mention, making it a part of your skincare routine is relatively simple.
Precautions When Using Neem for Skin
As with any topical application skincare product, you’ll want to do a patch test before using neem oil or neem leaf extract for your skin.
It’s best not to apply pure neem oil to your skin because its potency can cause an allergic reaction and contact dermatitis. A safe option would be to dilute it with carrier oils and then use it.
When it comes to the consumption of neem, consult your healthcare provider because neem doesn’t have a standard dosage. It’s wise to start with small doses before increasing your neem consumption.
Ingesting neem oil can be dangerous and cause liver damage, so you’ll want to stick to fresh neem leaves and powder when it comes to oral intake.
Pregnant women must avoid neem because it can lead to miscarriage. Avoid giving neem (especially neem oil and seeds) to children and infants, too, since there have been cases of poisoning and death.
Use Neem for Sustainable Skin Care That Isn’t Skin-deep
Oral and topical use of neem can significantly improve your skin health and keep skin diseases at bay. Neem’s antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal properties are terrific for managing acne, soothing skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, and treating fungal infections.
Applying neem leaf extract topically is excellent for healing damaged skin and protecting it from the sun, while neem’s gedunin disrupts melanin production to reduce hyperpigmentation and lighten acne scarring.
Neem’s brimming with essential fatty acids, vitamin C, and antioxidants, all of which reduce fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin texture, moisturize dry skin, and slow aging.
And for those who are conscious about what they’re putting on their bodies, neem is an all-natural, non-synthetic, and non-toxic herb that’s eco-friendly and cost-effective.
Keen on using neem and its potent active ingredients for better skin? We’ve covered that in detail in this article on how to use neem for skin.
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