Everyone’s on the hunt for the next miracle skin cure. Juggling multiple products for your morning and evening skincare routines is exhausting, especially when those products contain synthetic ingredients you’d rather not use if you didn’t have to.

Apple cider vinegar might be the all-natural solution you’re looking for. It’s available at grocery stores for just a few dollars. This vinegar is a big budget saver and a potential life-changer for your skin compared to expensive beauty products.

Check out the benefits of apple cider vinegar for your skin. Depending on how often you use it, the acidic vinegar could boost your appearance.

1. It Cleanses Your Skin

You might think of vinegar as a powerful cleaning agent or cooking ingredient, but it’s much more than that. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is naturally antimicrobial, so it reduces the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines that can irritate skin other cells within your body.

Whenever your skin feels dry and irritated, make an ACV exfoliator. Mix equal parts water and ACV, depending on how much you want to use. Start with ¼ cup ACV and ¼ cup water for a ½ cup of exfoliating liquid. 

The gentle mix will restore your skin’s natural pH balance. Remember to balance ACV with water because the vinegar has an acidic pH level that could further irritate your skin if applied directly.

2. It Tones Redness

As your apple cider vinegar mix brings your pH balance back to normal, you’ll notice less redness. ACV is a natural toner, so you get a two-in-one product for just a few dollars.

Even though you might keep the rest of your beauty stash on your bathroom counter, you should keep your ACV mixture in the fridge. It stays fresh in cooler temperatures. Most toners need refrigerated storage after opening, so double-check the rest of your skincare bottles. Properly storing products that won’t work as well at room temperature will make your brand-name supplies last longer.

3. It Calms Irritation

If you notice yourself scratching at your face more often than usual, it’s likely due to your skin’s pH balance. When it’s too high or low, your skin becomes dry and irritated. The antimicrobial properties of ACV downregulate harmful inflammatory cytokines, reducing bacterial inflammation and irritation on your skin.

At the same time, it restores your crucial pH balance on a cellular level, providing lasting relief instead of a temporary fix.

4. It Soothes Eczema

Anyone who battles eczema knows it’s a daily problem that can occur regularly on noticeable patches of skin. Instead of being embarrassed about flaky, red splotches, use apple cider vinegar as a toner.

Rebalancing your pH level allows your cells to return to normal functions and adequately hydrate themselves. Hydration is key to experience glowing skin year-round, so follow your ACV treatment with an intensely hydrating lotion for extra healing.

5. It Promotes Healing

When your skin isn’t struggling with inflammation and dehydrated cells, it heals more efficiently. Toning the cells with ACV’s antimicrobial properties aids in healing microscopic tears, but only after diluting the vinegar.

Rubbing pure vinegar of any kind will only irritate your skin further. It’s too strong to treat things like sunburns, so be careful not to apply it on anything other than mildly irritated skin.

6. It Treats Acne

Propionibacterium acnes bacteria is one of the leading causes of regular acne, but it’s quickly taken care of with apple cider vinegar. ACV’s lactic acid cleanses your pores and inhibits further bacterial growth. Your skin will stay clean long after you wash it with diluted ACV.

Apple cider vinegar treatments should be one part of your skincare routine. Other aspects are important as well, like getting enough sleep to boost your immune system and fight bacteria without assistance.

7. It Heals Scars

Pockmark scars left behind by bad cases of acne can become less noticeable with apple cider vinegar treatments. After diluting the vinegar, the antimicrobial nature reduces scar swelling and coloring over time, smoothing the skin back to its normal state.

Try It for Yourself

The benefits of apple cider vinegar for your skin are nearly endless, so give it a try. As long as it’s safely diluted with water and not applied directly to open wounds or recent burns, it promotes natural healing and toning.