Apple Cider Vinegar Beauty Benefits

Apple cider vinegar has well-known health benefits, but it is also useful as a beauty aid when the budget is pinched. The value of apple cider vinegar as a home health remedy has been known for decades, if not for centuries. But apple cider vinegar is not just useful in the diet. It’s also useful as a beauty aid, especially for infections of the skin.

Apple Cider Vinegar for Acne

Bulk apple cider vinegar is a useful ingredient in homemade facials for exfoliating acne-affected skin. Perform your usual cleansing routine and pat your skin dry. Mix two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, two teaspoons of warm green tea, and two tablespoons of honey in a bowl and stir. With clean fingers, spread the mixture across your face and allow to dry for 15 minutes.

The honey in the mixture kills both acne bacteria and the strep bacteria that cause pus-filled pimples with a yellow center. The green tea in the mixture tones the skin without blocking pores. The apple cider vinegar in the mixture lifts and separates tiny flakes of dried skin that accumulate around pores and keep them from draining. Unless your favorite perfume is Eau d’ Pickle Factory, however, be sure to rinse your face thoroughly after using your mask!

 Apple Cider Vinegar for Dandruff

Dandruff consists of dry skin infected with a bacterium called Malasezzia furfur. Anti-dandruff shampoos stop drying of the scalp but they don’t kill bacteria. Shampoo controls the symptoms, but vinegar can help get rid of dandruff for good.

To use vinegar to control dandruff, take a container of vinegar with you into the shower. Open the bottle of vinegar and your bottle of shampoo, and pour out about five times as much shampoo as vinegar into your hand. Then rub the mixture over your scalp and allow it to stay on your scalp for at least 60 seconds.

Like the apple cider vinegar mask for acne, apple cider shampoos require thorough rinsing. To get rid of persistent dandruff, you can shampoo and then rinse your hair with a mixture of five parts of water with one part of vinegar, but be sure your final rinse is with water only.

Apple Cider Vinegar Deodorants

Some people simply don’t get good results from any commercial underarm deodorant. This is an especially common problem after chemotherapy. Changing the pH of the skin, however, may slow down the growth of bacteria that cause objectionable smells.

Vinegar lowers skin pH. A splash of vinegar diluted with an equal amount of water under the arms may be just what is required to stop underarm odor. Don’t apply vinegar to broken or freshly shaved skin, and if any skin rash occurs, discontinue immediately. And if lowering pH with vinegar does not work, try raising pH with a paste made from water and baking soda, observing the same precautions.