Acne scars are quite annoying and frustrating. Being an acne-prone person myself, I know how it feels when you finally get rid of acne, only to meet acne scars. These acne scars are quite stubborn and they take a lot of time to heal and mix with the skin colour. I have used apple cider vinegar for acne scars for more than 2 months and am still using it.
Needless to say, I am so thrilled with the results!
As Vitamin C gets oxidized on my skin, it also irritates my sensitive skin, this option to treat acne scars was out of the window for me.
When I was looking for answers, apple cider vinegar came as a blessing for me. When I was giving up all store-bought cosmetic products, I created my own DIY acne face wash and scrub and used apple cider vinegar as the DIY toner. This apple cider toner doubled as an acne scar treatment.
Apple cider vinegar not only treated my acne scars, but it also prevented the new acne from coming.
I am going to show you before and after photographs as well. As per my understanding, apple cider vinegar worked well for Acne scars that were dark brown or red and not pitted.
As you can see in the picture (scroll downwards), my pitted acne scars are still there, but the active acne and their scars have disappeared.
Table of Contents
How Apple Cider Vinegar is made?
Apple cider vinegar is formed by taking fresh apple juice and fermenting it by adding healthy bacteria and yeast. First, the sugar turns into alcohol, then into vinegar. The vinegar is high in acetic acid and malic acid.
I have used this apple cider vinegar for my skin treatment, as it comes with Mother.
How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar for Acne Scars
ACV (apple cider vinegar) As Toner
ACV has both toner and astringent properties. Toner is made by mixing half part drinking water with half part apple cider vinegar. If you are using retinol, you should not use this toner before retinol.
As Night Serum
You can also use it as night serum by mixing a few drops of apple cider vinegar with aloe vera gel. However, I must warn you, this serum will be a bit smelly. You may want to add a drop of lavender essential oil to it. Massage it in your skin and keep it overnight.
I however felt that using apple cider vinegar as a toner is way more easy than using it as a night serum.
Spot Treatment for both Acne Scar and Active Acne
To spot treat your acne scars, take a cotton swab and add the diluted ACV (half part water and half part apple cider vinegar) to it.
Dab on your acne scars or hyperpigmentation areas, let it dry and keep it overnight for best results.
My Before & After Pics (after using apple cider vinegar for 2 months)
This is the whole schedule I followed after ditching skincare cosmetics
Things to consider while using apple cider vinegar for acne scars
- Undiluted ACV can do more harm than good. So it is very very important that you dilute the vinegar before using it. It will not hamper its shelf life and you can use it easily without keeping it in the fridge.
- The strong acetic acid content in apple cider vinegar can burn the skin due to its keratolytic properties, the old skin is removed and the new skin is revealed. This is why playing it safe is advised by diluting it.
- Don’t use retinol with apple cider vinegar toner.
- If you are using apple cider vinegar in the toner form for acne scars, then you can apply your own DIY moisturizers for oily skin after that.
Properties of ACV
- Anti-fungal – Being anti-fungal in nature, it works well for fungal acne as well. It works for the nail fungus that occurs in the rainy season.
- Anti-bacterial – This is why it prevents any new acne from forming and helps in clearing skin while keeping it clear.
- Acetic acid works on scars – Acetic acid works better than vitamin C (well, it worked for me), you have the proof. It’s natural and when diluted, has no side-effect as well.
- Astringent – Astringent properties of apple cider makes it shrink pores too, isn’t it a win-win?
- Anti-inflammatory – Talking about irritated skin, redness? All gone with apple cider’s anti-inflammatory properties.
Uses of Apple Cider vinegar for Skin
- Skin tightening
- Skin tag removal – Use with caution, it can burn the skin if used undiluted.
- Gentle exfoliation – Due to keratolytic properties and malic acid removes the upper layer of the skin gently without you even noticing it and without breaking the bank.
- Soothes the sun burns when added to green tea (How to use Green Tea for acne treatment)
- Reduces body odour – I know I know its own odour is quite funny! But hey it goes away within a minute. You can try applying your apple cider vinegar toner cotton swab on your underarms as well. See the difference!
Other Uses of ACV for Body
- Prevents Kidney Stones (source)
- Reduces blood sugar levels when taken orally
- More Apple cider vinegar benefits
Apple Cider Products available in India
I have used only this st- botanica apple cider vinegar with Mother and got these results. You can buy it here.
ACV products I can vouch for globally
Buy this ACV here.
Did you also use apple cider vinegar for acne scars? What was your experience? Tell me on Facebook! Let’s be friends there.
P.S. – The article contains some affiliate links which may help me earn some commission without affecting your purchase. I only recommend the products that I trust or I have tried myself.
