I Replaced Some Key Beauty Products With Apple Cider Vinegar

NewBeauty

Updated Tue, June 14, 2016 at 1:08 PM UTC

You may have ingested apple cider vinegar for weight loss or immune support, but aside from being a popular kitchen staple, apple cider vinegar has also been known to take DIY beauty to a new level.

Whether it’s glowing skin or a whiter smile, natural enthusiasts swear by apple cider vinegar, as it’s miraculous formula seems to tackle a variety of beauty-related woes easily. And only costing a mere few dollars, scooping up a bottle at your health food store can be more cost-effective than those skin care essentials you feel obligated to replace over and over again.

To cash in on all of apple cider vinegar’s supposed beauty benefits, I picked up some Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar to see if it could rev up my beauty cred altogether. Using it on my hair, skin and nails, here’s what happened when I used the miracle beauty ingredient for seven days straight.

Day 1
Truthfully speaking, I’m no stranger to apple cider vinegar beauty hacks, as I’ve indulged in my fair share of online recipes here and there. Last time I tried to get crafty with the vinegar though, I’ll admit to cutting corners, as using a cheap drugstore version left my face inflamed and severely dry.

Thanks to an embarrassing yet important lesson learned, I invested in top-notch vinegar that wouldn’t dry or irritate my skin. I’ve only heard wonderful things about Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar, as it’s unfiltered and organic formula is a favorite of celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson and Katy Perry. Although the price tag was a little steep, I figured a chemical and dye-free formula would be totally worth it this time around.

Being that apple cider vinegar can be used in so many ways, the DIY possibilities are pretty endless. However, one thing I never recommend is washing your face because peeling and inflamed skin is something you’ll probably want to avoid at all costs.

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Deciding to make my own DIY facial toner instead, I diluted a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with some water to avoid the stinging or burning sensations I’ve regrettably experienced in the past. Thankfully, this had no negative effect on my usually sensitive skin and the right mixture of water and vinegar left my face toned and refreshed. OK, maybe my face smelled a little like salad dressing afterward, but that’s way more tolerable than sunburnt-looking skin.

Day 2
Scanning through the internet definitely leads you to a ton of DIY apple cider vinegar skin care recipes, so I’ll admit that I’ve never actually given much thought to using the household staple anywhere else. But willing to rise to the challenge, I decided to swallow my pride and make a clarifying hair rinse, even though I’ve never done this before. Gulp.

Truthfully speaking, I am pretty protective over my bleached blond locks at all costs. Yes, this means religiously using purple shampoo, leave-in products and deep-conditioning masks for hours and hours. With that said, clarifying treatments usually aren’t the cards for me, as anything out of my normal routine leaves me frantic and anxious.

However, willing to conquer my fear of trying something new, I found that clarifying my hair with apple cider vinegar rinse wasn’t too bad, as distilling my vinegar with water beforehand didn’t strip my bottled color, or leave my hair unbearably dry. Instead, I was treated to super shiny locks that didn’t feel like rope or straw.

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Now of course I’m way too paranoid to do this all the time, but I will consider doing so at least once a month, especially when my dry shampoo buildup gets too out of control. Besides, the natural shine and healthy touchable feeling make me excited to test this hack out all over again.

Day 3
While whipping up a clarifying hair rinse was definitely eye-opening, treating my feet to a homemade apple cider vinegar foot soak was yet another interesting experience.

It’s safe to say at-home pedi treatments aren’t something I do very often, especially because the winter season makes me super lazy to use the foot scrubs I really should have put to good use.

To get my soles in better shape, mixing up a foot soak of baking soda and apple cider vinegar was on today’s agenda, as some holistic beauty bloggers have had success with the homemade recipe. Of course, my feet weren’t as smooth as they are when I use an electronic foot file, but soaking them beforehand made filing them a lot easier, leaving my feet much softer and buttery smooth.

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Day 4
You’ve probably already heard an earful on the internal benefits of apple cider vinegar, as celebs like Khloé Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow drink it straight up for improved digestion and glowing skin. While the taste of vinegar may be too strong for some, doing this wasn’t hard for me, as I’ve tried all types of strange holistic beverages (mushroom coffee and Kombucha tea) in the past.

In total honestly, adding a few tablespoons to my herbal teas and bottles of water was fairly easy to get down during the day. While the added vinegar tasted pretty weird in my banana nut bread herbal tea, it gave my water a hint of sweetness, helping me fight the temptation of caloric sugary treats throughout the day.

Sadly, chugging apple cider vinegar water didn’t transform my skin in one day, but I do credit it for helping me make better beverage choices. Will it replace my matcha tea lattes I love so very much? Probably not, but I will throw it in rotation when I’m trying to scale back on the sugar and calories.

Day 5
Being that I am a heavy tea drinker, my teeth can look less than dazzling after two cups of Earl Grey. So to give my smile a helping a hand, I figured a little apple cider vinegar could step in and keep those icky stains at bay.

I’ve tried a lot of unsuccessful whitening hacks in the past, as rubbing mashed strawberries on my teeth proved to be a big messy fail. So wanting to perfect this whitening hack with care, I mixed together some apple cider vinegar with a little baking soda and brushed my teeth gently with the mixture. While this process was still a messy one, the lack of stains this time around made me confident to try it again in the future.

Like drinking my apple cider vinegar, I couldn’t exactly tell if this made my teeth any whiter in just one day. However, I’d be willing to try this again for a week or two to see if I garner any more noticeable results.

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Day 6
Ready to return back to DIY skin care, today I whipped up a facial scrub with my leftover baking soda and apple cider vinegar mixture from the day before. Like my other recipes so far, making my scrub wasn’t complicated or a pain in the neck. I simply rubbed some of yesterday’s mixture onto my face and left it on for a good few minutes. Afterward, I was sure to wash my face thoroughly with a good clarifying cleanser.

Again, this didn’t make my skin ridiculously glowy or blemish-free, but it was nice to give my chemical-laden scrubs and peels a rest and try something more wholesome in return.

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Day 7
And on the seventh day, I decided to treat my fingernails to some apple cider goodness because frequent polishing leaves them stained and discolored.

Combining some vinegar and baking in a small bowl, I soaked my nails in my mixture for a good 15 minutes. Once my nails were rinsed and dried, I then proceeded to use lemon juice and a toothbrush to buff off any remaining stains on my nails. This proved to be extremely successful, as the vinegar soak proved to be great prep work for my toothbrush and lemon juice.

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Now, of all the hacks I’ve tried this week, this was probably the one I had most success with. I’ve used white vinegar and some baking soda to whiten my nails before, but the nice combo of apple cider vinegar, lemon and baking soda took the brightening effect to a new level.

What The Expert Says
You may think that the apple cider vinegar craze is all hype, but beauty experts everywhere swear by its wondrous benefits. Containing nourishing vitamins, as well as essential potassium and calcium, there’s no real surprise why this multitasking staple is super easy to incorporate into your everyday routine.

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“Apple cider vinegar is full of vitamins and nutrients that are beneficial for your whole body,” says Michelle Schlekewey, spa director of The Golden Door. “Apples are full of calcium, pectin and potassium, making it beneficial in treating breakouts, itchy scalp and brittle nails.”

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