apple cider vinegar and acne Archives

Back in October, I blogged about my experience with apple cider vinegar (ACV) and its effects on my skin. To sum it up, let’s say the experience was horrible…and painful. Because of a so called purging effect, my skin broke out more… and more…and more. After three and a half weeks of trying, I gave up. I was left with more pimples than I started with and quite a few more scars. I promised y’all an update on my new routine, and after 3.5 months, here it is.

Since the whole ACV fiasco, I’ve made quite a few changes to my skin care regimen. I no longer use homegrown products. Instead, I broke down and bought a three month supply of Proactiv. I say “broke down” because I was adamant about not using chemicals to treat my acne. I really wanted to go the natural route. But we know how that turned out. So in early November, I started using Proactiv. Given a little bit of time, I knew it would work on my skin. Back in high school, this stuff was the only thing that cleared up my acne. And I do plan to wean myself completely off of it sooner than later, but for now, I feel like I need to stick with what’s working.

So for about six weeks, I stuck with the 3 step Proactiv formula. And my skin slowly started to improve. Albeit, a lot slower than I had hoped. After seeing some positive changes, I decided to alter my routine a little bit. I still use the Proactiv cleanser in the morning, but at night, I use the Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean face wash (one of the best face washes I have ever tried) because it gets rid of all my makeup and leaves my skin super clean. I follow up both cleanings with the Proactiv Repairing Lotion where necessary. I also use the Proactiv Toner at night, as it helps to remove any residual traces of makeup.

In addition to this regular routine, I use the Clarisonic brush my mom bought me over Thanksgiving 2-3 times a week (usually at night). I’ll do a full review of the brush later, but after using it for a few months, I can definitely tell that my skin is a lot softer (less flakiness, rough spots, etc.). And it may be helping with the acne, but I want to give it more time before I say that with any degree of certainty.

Before I share how my skin has benefited from these changes, I should mention a few more things.

1. We bought a set of 12 pillowcases off of Amazon. Vishnu made a great point about how using the same pillowcase every night was probably a major contributor to my acne. Now I switch it out every night before going to sleep. So far so good.

2. When I started breaking out more so than usual, I touched my face a lot. I just couldn’t help it…there was so much going on. Now I do it less (almost never) and have noticed a major difference in how long the acne I do get sticks around.

3. And finally, I bought a new moisturizer that’s formulated to work with acne prone skin and acne medications. It also has the added benefit of SPF. I’ve been using it for 1.5 months and highly recommend it.

I am happy to say that all of these little changes have added up to a much clearer face. While I still get a few blemishes every now and then, I’m no longer getting a new pimple or two every day (yes, it was that bad).

And to be completely honest, I just feel a lot better about myself now that the acne has subsided. As silly as it may sound, this whole experience really started to affect my self-confidence (probably a topic for another day).

What’s next you ask? Well, if I continue to see improvements over the next few months, I want to find something to help with my scars. Will keep y’all posted.

I’ve blogged about my acne problems before (here and here). And like I’ve said before, when it’s bad…it’s bad. So whenever I hear about something that can possibly “cure” my acne, I want to give it a try. And that’s how I got started with apple cider vinegar (ACV). It was almost like the universe was inviting me to try it out. Every blog I turned to (ok slight exaggeration) was touting its miraculous benefits. So I did very little research and started my own regimen. I should have read more carefully – more on that in a minute.

Every morning before breakfast I would heat up about 10 ounces of water in the microwave for one minute. I would then add one tablespoon of ACV and one tablespoon of honey. After stirring like crazy, I would guzzle it all down as fast as I could. FYI – ACV does NOT taste very good. But I’m a trooper and went on with this routine for about 3 1/2 weeks.

By the time the third week rolled around, I went from nothing happening to a lot happening…on my face. Instead of my little existing acne clearing up, I was breaking out and it was bad. In fact, it hadn’t been this bad in years. I had pimples on my jawline, chin, cheeks, and forehead. I wanted to cry every time I looked in the mirror, but I didn’t because I knew, without going back to the internet, that this was happening because of the ACV.

At the end of week three, I started reading more forums and websites that had personal reviews from people who drank ACV in this same way and some for the same reason. What I read this time around was that many (not all) people break out from drinking ACV. Apparently it works by purging your body of toxins before it starts to heal. The purging can come in the form of acne. Ding ding ding! That’s absolutely correct. For anyone out there with acne prone skin thinking about using ACV to “cure” the problem, there is a very good chance that you will break out like crazy instead…at least at fist.

Well, the story doesn’t stop there. Dumb me decided to keep on with my morning drink because I figured once this purging phase was over my skin would clear up. It didn’t. In fact, it got worse as the days went on. I gave up 3 1/2 weeks into the whole thing because I had a strong suspicion that my body and ACV don’t exactly jive nor would they ever.

I then went back to the forums a third time. This time I was looking for people who had experiences similar to mine. I read a couple of reviews where people said that ACV works great as a toner, especially to keep acne at bay. Now most people would have been like no freakin’ way but not me – I gave it a try. I made a sample batch of the “toner” that very night (1 tablespoon ACV and 3 tablespoons water). So for another week or so, I applied this mixture to my face…day and night. I’m not sure why I thought this would work. Wishful thinking maybe. It didn’t necessarily get worse, but my face was definitely not clearing up either. And with that, I gave up on ACV once and for all.

I am now working to get things under control and have taken on a new routine. I’m hopeful that this will work and am already seeing some positive results. I don’t want to speak too soon, so I’ll do a follow up post in a few weeks.

The biggest moral of this story: just because “everyone” is doing something, doesn’t mean you should too.

Ok ok, another lesson learned is that I should really give up on these all natural “cures.” Acne is something I’ll probably have to deal with my entire life. All I’m saying is that I hope my new simplified routine works! Fingers crossed.

Have you used ACV to treat your acne and seen positive results?

UPDATE: I recently blogged about a new routine and products that are working wonders for me. Click here to read more!