Peter Lio, MD, discusses key aspects of his lecture, Home Remedies and Consumer Therapies, on Friday, November 4, 2022, at the PA/NP Elevate-Derm Conference in Tucson, Arizona.

In this video

Dr. Lio explains that patients "wanna take a very active role in their own care," especially with skin, which is so accessible—everyone has a home remedy or something Uncle Bob told them to try. Rather than dismiss these as "a bunch of baloney," he prefers to follow the thread, because sometimes there really is something there. A self-described fan of botanicals, he highlights natural oils that are inexpensive, easy to get, and generally safe: sunflower seed oil, which is well absorbed topically, seems to stimulate the skin's own ceramide production, and offers a modest anti-inflammatory effect, and orally ingested hemp seed oil, which in one study improved atopic dermatitis while reducing the need for topicals.

He frames all of these as adjuncts rather than replacements. Fish oil, high in anti-inflammatory fatty acids, improved psoriasis both alongside UVB and as monotherapy—potentially the difference between escalating therapy and staying the course for patients right at the threshold. Spearmint tea shows early, sparse evidence of affecting the hormones tied to PCOS and hormonal acne, and a rigorous German paper on diluted black tea compresses "really blew me away," producing rapid improvement in atopic and allergic contact facial dermatitis. For clinicians wanting to learn more, he points to the peer-reviewed literature, the Handbook of Integrative Dermatology, and the Integrative Dermatology Symposium and certificate programs from LearnSkin.

  • Sunflower seed oil is well absorbed, appears to stimulate ceramide production, and has a mild anti-inflammatory effect—useful within a larger regimen or as a moisturizer component, not a standalone.
  • Orally ingested hemp seed oil improved atopic dermatitis and reduced patients' need for topicals—consistent with the goal of minimizing medication use.
  • Fish oil helped psoriasis both with UVB and as monotherapy; it won't replace a biologic but may keep threshold patients from needing to escalate.
  • Spearmint tea shows early effects on hormones linked to PCOS and hormonal acne and improved hirsutism scores, though the evidence is small and sparse.
  • Diluted black tea compresses (the second steeping) produced rapid improvement in atopic and allergic contact facial dermatitis—cheap, safe, and increasingly Dr. Lio's go-to adjunct.