In this article, we tell you everything about how to treat acne with apple cider vinegar.
Why is apple cider vinegar good for treating acne on the face?
Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid which helps regulate the skin's pH and kill bacteria.
If you want to use apple cider vinegar to treat your acne, it's important to dilute it with water and test it on a small area of skin before applying it to your entire face. Here you will find our miracle recipe with cider vinegar to fight against pimples and acne. The before/after results are quite impressive.
Archie Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic
- Some water
- Archie cider vinegar
- A spray bottle (ideally glass)
- Option: 1 drop of organic tea tree or lavender oil
Dilute 1 part water to 1 part vinegar (or less depending on the sensitivity of your skin). After cleansing, apply to face.
Overcome post-pill acne naturally. Quite a story and yet, in hindsight, a not so complicated path. The discovery of cider vinegar has a lot to do with it! It is very difficult to discover after the age of 25 that the quality of the skin that you have always had was not lasting. It's as if on a pill, your perfect skin texture is living on borrowed time. When I made the decision to stop it, I had to learn how to manage the skin damage.
“I would like to stop it too but I’m afraid”
We have every good reason to want to stop these synthetic hormones but with the expected rebound effect, we understand that there is reason to fear the passage to the other side. For my part, I stopped without any transition, a clear cut. The first months went by without a hitch, nothing to complain about. It was only 2 to 3 years later that the serious things started. Story of this epic:
After unsuccessful attempts to follow a dermatologist's prescription, drugstore creams and medications, it was looking at diet that really helped me. If I managed to explore this avenue it was because I became sensitive to each food I ate. There was clearly a problem going hand in hand with my stomach and the condition of my skin. “Active on the inside, it shows on the outside…” all that. I decided to conduct my own experiment.
1st step: Food mission
I was vegan for 7 years. However, at that time, and more recently, I allowed myself to eat cheese whenever I felt like it (morning, noon, evening). That was the first thing I stopped. I also started looking to see if certain foods were making my acne worse. So I discovered that I budded particularly when I took: soy, cashews, tomatoes, coffee, and last but not least: GLUTEN! Disappointed.
Role of apple cider vinegar in my acne
This is where apple cider vinegar came into play. Certainly when I stopped consuming these foods my digestion was a little better. What I especially noticed was that when I took apple cider vinegar after ingesting them, I had absolutely no problem digesting them. No appearance of unwanted things on my skin either! So no need to deprive too much, no guilt to overcome post-pill acne naturally. This is the first reason why daily apple cider vinegar has never left me.
2nd step: Cosmetic routine
Each time I tested new products, I listened to the advice religiously, from the pharmacist to the Sephora saleswoman (I was lost & every word counts). When I first became interested in apple cider vinegar, I came across mountains of articles praising its miracles for acne when used externally. You should know that the PH of cider vinegar is the same as that of healthy skin, and that unpasteurized vinegar contains good bacteria necessary for healthy skin flora and the fight against acne. Tim Ferriss' podcast (who also did his own experiments), talking about his acne and the importance of bacteria for the face, came back to me. It clicked (see our article on cider vinegar and its bacteria).
Review the basics and discover the external use of apple cider vinegar against acne
By stripping my face I removed everything, the good bacteria and the bad, so my skin felt bad and produced sebum to defend itself which also caused the appearance of my spots... That's what I understood . I prepared a facial toner composed of water + cider vinegar and I gave my skin time to do its work, knowing that I was giving it what it needed. From there, I undertook a minimalist bathroom operation.
As for soap, I kept it simple: to remove my makeup, use Aleppo soap and that was it. In terms of cream, a magical exchange with my boyfriend made me change my way of seeing life:
“But you don’t need cream! Do I use cream?
– If I don’t wear it it’s tight, we don’t have the same skin.
– Well, don’t put it on anymore, you’ll see it will tug until it no longer tugs.” …
Today it no longer feels tight. I only wash my face when I have makeup on or in the shower. When I put on makeup, to avoid drying out caused by the not-so-clean foundation I use, I use this mixture as a base: jojoba (or nigella) oil + aloe vera. Nickel.
I admit that it is sometimes difficult to challenge the idea that women absolutely must wear cream, adopt a particular cosmetic routine. Personally, giving my vinegar and the natural regeneration processes of my skin a chance was the best idea I had to overcome my acne.
The little vanity that I have kept is to do my cider vinegar + clay mask 3 times a week. It brightens and makes my skin soft, I love it (that's also why we sell it ;-).
3rd step: Maintain over the long term
Today I know my skin. Every day I refine my knowledge a little more about what he likes and what he doesn't like. I know that my apple cider vinegar, which entered my life 3 years ago, will never leave me again, whether in my stomach or on my face. I know that during my period there will be 1 or 2 new little friends for a few days and a little more relief on my forehead but that's ok. My skin is alive and clear enough for me. I no longer forbid myself anything, I know that the situation can be under control. I just avoid putting too much work on my body unnecessarily.
Cosmetically speaking, I have become impervious to the “clear skin” rhetoric touted by cosmetics sellers. I still give a lot of credit to vegetable oils & small beauty brands with clean formulas, on the other hand, but use very little of them.
How long did it take?
What if we count the whole process before finding my current routine? 2 years.
If we count from the moment I asked myself the right questions, started taking my cider vinegar and changed my diet? 2 days. The effects on my digestion were immediate and truly within 3 weeks I had found skin that really satisfied me.
I do not claim to have a miracle and universal remedy here. On the other hand, after 2 years of unsuccessful tests, research, reading, before falling into my routine, I think I have grasped a few things. So if I can save those who are going through this some time on how to beat post-pill acne naturally, that's all that matters. I am extremely certain that 90% of the poor condition of our skin is explained by internal imbalances but that we are all different. I also think that it is futile to imagine that a cosmetic routine alone will solve skin problems.
Today this subject fascinates me and I am almost thanking my acne for having led me to discover cider vinegar and to lead all this exploration. I said almost...
