"The next new acne treatment may be found in the produce section of your food store. Largely due to its antiinflammatory and antibacterial properties the herb thyme  which is found with other herbs in the produce section of most food stores  may well earn itself a place in the skin https care section of your local drug store. Researchers from Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K. steeped thyme marigold and myrrh in alcohol to make whats called a tincture and then tested them on the bacteria that cause acne https They all had greater antibacterial effect after five minutes compared to lab specimens exposed to plain alcohol but thyme was the most potent. In fact the thyme tincture was more powerful than standard concentrations of benzoyl peroxide https which is the active ingredient in many acne https products. The new findings were presented at the Society for General Microbiologys Spring Conference in Dublin. If thyme tincture is proven to be as clinically effective as our findings suggest it may be a natural alternative to current treatments researcher Margarita GomezEscalada PhD says in a news release. The problem with treatments containing benzoyl peroxide is the side effects they are associated with namely a burning sensation and skin irritation. Herbal preparations are less harsh on the skin due to their antiinflammatory properties while our results suggest they can be just as if not more effective than chemical treatments she says. But some U.S. dermatologists are quick to caution that while intriguing this research is still preliminary and thymetinged acne treatments https are not yet ready for prime time. Save Thyme for Cooking Alan Shalita MD is the distinguished teaching professor and chairman of the department of dermatology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York. So what does he think about the thyme tincture Its intriguing. But if you have acne https your first stop should be the skin care aisle in your drug store not the produce section of your food store. Choose a cleanser with salicylic acid https followed by a mild benzoyl peroxide leaveon product he says. If that doesnt work see a dermatologist for prescription medications https Joshua Zeichner MD says that time will tell if thyme holds promise as an acne treatment. More research needs to be done to evaluate thyme but it is an exciting prospect and would be a welcome addition. Zeichner is an assistant professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan. Dont try thyme at home. How it works in the lab setting is very different than how it works on your skin he says. Amy Forman Taub MD agrees. She is the medical director of Advanced Dermatology and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Medical School both in Chicago. We always need more treatments for acne because there are so many people who suffer with it. Is thyme the solution for these people Taub isnt sure. We are far away from developing a preparation that contains thyme but this is interesting she says. Michele Green MD is less cautious. She is ready to call on a compounding pharmacist to develop a thymebased acne treatment right now. Benzoyl peroxide is drying and irritating and an herbal treatment could be fabulous she says. Green is a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City."