I’ve had acne for a long time. It started when it usually does—in my preteen years. Normally, however, acne disappears by the time someone becomes an adult. That’s not the case with me, and even though I’m in my early 20s I have the worst acne of my life.
I believe I can blame my current breakouts on stress. I’ve been a little stressed lately because I have unpaid bills, no job, and a large tuition bill coming up. In the past I’ve usually just had one or two almost unnoticeable pimples, but now there are clusters of them all over my face, not to mention the scars that old ones are leaving behind.
Because of my scarcity of money, I can’t just go out and buy my favorite acne products. As much as I’d love to buy my trusty dusty Clean & Clear Advantage system for clearing up acne and scars, I simply cannot afford dropping $25 on it. I’m currently using the Advantage face wash, but the face wash alone isn’t completely dealing with the issue. So a week ago I asked my mother if she could think of something to clear up my face, and she suggested apple cider vinegar.
You heard that right: apple cider vinegar.
She told me that firefighters urge burn victims to use it on their wounds because it has an alkalinity very close to that of the human face and has been known to hasten the healing process. She said she didn’t know what it could do for acne, but that it’s worth a shot.
Though skeptical, I was up to anything. Every morning and night I wash my face with my Clean & Clear Advantage face wash. Once my skin has dried a little, I pour some apple cider vinegar onto a cotton pad and wipe it over my skin, focusing mostly on my problem areas. After the vinegar has dried, I then moisturize with my Garnier Moisture Rescue moisturizer.
Here are my results, after roughly a week of experimenting.
This stuff WORKS.
Though I was really put off by the smell, by the first time I used it, my skin already felt softer. The second time I used it, I noticed that the smaller pimples had all but disappeared. The third time I used it, I noticed that my larger pimples were disappearing, and that certain areas where healing even quicker than they would on their own. I’m continuing to use this stuff, and it continues to improve my skin. I’m not only shocked, but pretty soon I’m going to call apple cider vinegar a holy grail in my skincare routine! This stuff has actually worked better than acne products I've used in the past and have spent a lot of money on.
I haven’t been using it long enough to say if it does anything to prevent or heal scarring, but if I can prevent acne from showing up at all, then I know a product is still very much worthwhile!
Unfortunately, there are some cons to this that may completely turn some people off.
First, it can sometimes sting when you apply it to your face. I believe this is mostly due to open acne wounds, so if you’re worried about this and know of one, avoid putting any vinegar on it until it’s healed a bit.
The smell is pretty strong, and your face will smell a little bit like Subway for a few minutes after you apply it.
In spite of it all, here are the pros:
It works.
It’s cheap.
And those are some pretty big pros! :D
I was even told that people use apple cider vinegar for earaches, cuts, burns, and all kinds of other things. Have you ever used this kitchen product in your daily skincare routine or first aid? Or does the idea of it just sound totally bizarre?
愛, Sara
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