How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar for Acne and Skin
Apple cider vinegar is a great treatment for warts, pimples, acne and other skin problems. It’s also a great everyday product to maintain and improve the overall health of your skin: it can make your skin look younger and feel smoother.
Apple cider vinegar, or ACV, is a natural remedy and does not contain harsh chemicals. It is a tried and preferred method of skin care used over many centuries.
But first, why should we worry about the health of our skin? For one, because it performs a number of vital functions, including:
• Controlling body temperature.
• Protecting us from harmful elements of the environment.
• Receiving and conveying information from external stimuli.
So, skin health should be a part of any effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you want to improve the health of your skin, read on to learn how apple cider vinegar can help.
ACV Treatment for Acne and Pimples
This is a remarkably effective treatment for acne and pimples. It’s a natural therapy with no side effects.
It offers skin protection in many ways.
• It unclogs pores, preventing breakouts and allowing the skin to breathe properly.
• It helps in creating a protective layer on our skin and helps in preventing our skin from becoming too dry.
To understand how cider vinegar works to give us healthy skin, we must first understand what causes our skin to become dry and develop acne and pimples.
What Causes Breakouts?
Our skin has a protective outer layer, known as the protective acid mantle. This mantle makes our skin slightly acidic, giving it a pH factor of between 4.5 and 6. (pH factor is an indicator of acidity level. Anything between 0 and 6 is acidic.) This acid mantle protects our skin from pollution, free radicals, and other harmful particles in the air.
When we wash our face, either with water or with face cleaners, we inadvertently remove this protective acid mantle.
Theoretically, our skin is designed to replenish the missing protective acid mantle but doing so may take time. In the meantime, our skin remains exposed to harmful radicals that can cause damage, rashes, acne, or pimples.
How Does it Treat Acne?
There are three main ways that apple cider vinegar helps your skin stay healthy:
• Beta Carotene. ACV has high levels of beta-carotene, which counteracts damage caused by free radicals, giving us healthy skin and a youthful complexion.
• Anti-bacterial properties. It has antiseptic and antibacterial properties which help protect our skin from pollution and harmful bacteria.
• pH balance. The most important benefit of apple cider vinegar for skin care is its ability to restore the balance of our pH factor. Apple cider vinegar has a pH factor of about 4.5 to 5.5, which is close to the ideal pH factor for skin too.
Precautions For Using Apple Cider Vinegar on Skin
Apple cider vinegar toner is very good for skin and is also very effective in treating skin problems like acne, pimples, and other skin-related ailments. However, read these tips before using apple cider vinegar for skin care.
• Use it at night. Some people may find the smell too strong. In fact, one could say that it smells like sweaty socks that have been left under the bed for two weeks. Just like you wouldn’t eat raw onion or garlic before a date, you wouldn’t wear apple cider vinegar on your face before stepping out. If you can’t stand the smell, simply use it at night.
• Watch out for skin irritation. While ACV typically has no side effects, it may cause skin irritation in some cases. If you have extra-sensitive skin, apple cider vinegar may not be suitable for you. However, before giving up completely, try to add more water to the mixture to dilute it. Alternatively, reduce the frequency with which you use the ACV wash. You may also find that the irritation subsides after a while.