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NATURAL BEAUTY TREATMENTS
Cider vinegar (and apples) are not only valuable for our health but also have a rightful place in the beauty parlour. The main reason that cider vinegar is such a popular beauty aid is that its organic acid concentration of about 5 per cent helps maintain the skin’s natural acidity. Most other vinegars – except, for example, naturally fermented wine vinegar – are more acidic than this and therefore unsuitable for skin care.
Normal skin has a slightly acidic surface layer called the ‘acid mantle’ or hydro-lipid film. This contains:
• The fatty acids of skin oil (sebum)
• Lactic acid and various amino acids from sweat
• Amino acids and pyrrolidine carboxylic acid from ‘cornifying’ (hardening) skin cells.
The skin’s acid mantle has a pH (acid/alkaline balance) of 4.5–5.75 over most of the body. (A ‘neutral pH is 7; below this is acidic, above is alkaline). The pH of the skin in the armpits and around the genitals is around 6.5, which is less acidic. Normal skin pH tends to be slightly more acidic in men than in women.
Apples contain many nutrients that are a boost for healthy skin. Most importantly, they contain vitamin C, which helps to build collagen in the skin, preventing fine lines and wrinkles, and is also an antioxidant so can help your skin fight damage to your skins cells that might have been caused by over-exposure to the sun or to pollution.
Normal acidity helps activate the enzymes that enable the production of the lipids (oily fats) present in the skin’s hydrolipid film. It also encourages skin to repair itself after mechanical or chemical damage. All this is important, because intact healthy skin is relatively impermeable. This means that water is much less able to escape through the skin (other than via perspiration), and potentially harmful substances and microorganisms are less able to get in. Normal skin acidity also encourages a normal skin flora – the typical populations of various bacteria and fungi that inhabit healthy skin. A normal skin flora helps prevent potentially harmful microorganisms from multiplying and causing infections.
Any loss of normal skin acidity encourages drying, cracking and itching. What’s more, eczema or other inflammation tends to make skin more alkaline. Washing with most types of soap increases this alkalinity and makes the skin even more vulnerable to irritation and infection.
Cider vinegar has become very fashionable in beauty circles. There are now many commercially-made products available on the market which claim to harness the benefits of cider vinegar. Many of these products contain other natural ingredients, and can be a convenient way to introduce cider vinegar into your beauty regime, but make sure that you check the product labels for any added ‘nasties’.
Most soaps, even ‘mild’ soaps, glycerine soaps, ‘baby soaps’ and ‘beauty bars’, have an alkaline pH of 7–9. Washing with such soap destroys the skin’s protective acid mantle. Healthy, unbroken skin can recover from this increase in pH but the restoration of normal acidity takes time – generally between half an hour and two hours or more; and twice-daily washing with alkaline soap slightly reduces the restored acidity level. Certain soaps are even more alkaline, with a pH of 9.5–11, so they compromise skin acidity even more. The pH of Dove soap is 6.5-7.5, which is relatively low for a bar soap. Only a very few bar soaps have a pH similar to that of normal skin.
However, the pH of many liquid soaps, non-soap cleansers and bath and shower gels is closer to that of normal skin; and a few, for example, Johnsons pH 5.5 Hand Wash, have a pH similar to that of normal skin. Using a home-made skin cleanser containing cider vinegar avoids the loss of normal acidity that accompanies washing with most types of soap. Another idea, if you want to continue using alkaline soap, is to rinse your skin afterwards with a home-made skin splash containing cider vinegar, so as to restore the skin’s normal acidity.
Cider vinegar can also restore acidity to hair that has been washed with an alkaline shampoo. Most shampoos are alkaline and can leave newly washed hair dull and lacklustre. They also temporarily destroy the normal acidity of the scalp, leaving it more prone to dryness, irritation and infection. However, a cider vinegar rinse can make the hair shinier than it would otherwise be. It can also enhance natural highlights in hair.
Because of its antibacterial properties, cider vinegar also has deodorizing properties that are particularly useful for armpits and feet.
NOTE
Always test out home-made beauty treatments on a small patch of skin before using.
Bathroom hero
Keep a bottle of cider vinegar to hand in your bathroom cabinet – it can be used for a variety of everyday beauty treatments.
Hair rinsing
After shampooing, rinse your hair with a 1 pint (500ml) jug of warm water to which you have added 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar. The vinegar rinse will remove any product build-up and make hair smooth and shiny.
Cleaning semi-permanent plaits, or dreadlocks
Fill a spray bottle with 1 part cider vinegar and 4 parts water. Spray plaits or dreadlocks generously, leave for 10 minutes, then rinse well. This helps remove grease and hair products such as wax.
Mouthwash
Minerals found in cider vinegar (such as potassium, sodium, copper and calcium) support oral health and cider vinegar is a traditional remedy for bad breath. Add a teaspoon of cider vinegar to a cup of warm water and gargle with the mixture, making sure to spit it out afterwards.
Chip-free nail polish
Apply cider vinegar to finger nails on a cotton wool ball and leave to dry before painting on nail polish – some people swear that it helps to make polish stay chip-free for longer.
Razor rash
The exfoliating properties in cider vinegar make it an ideal treatment for ingrown hairs. Apply a small amount of vinegar on a cotton wall ball to the affected area – the vinegar will help to remove dead skin cells.
Clearing blackheads
Twice a day, clean and dry your face. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) with about 1 teaspoon of water to make a paste. Rub this over your skin to help loosen and remove blackheads, leave for 10–20 minutes, then rinse. Now help to restore your skin’s natural acidity by patting on a little cider vinegar (apple cider vinegar).
Deodorizing
Wash your armpits, and then apply either neat cider vinegar, or cider vinegar in which you have steeped some rosemary or mint leaves, or lavender flowers, for 2 weeks.
Foot soak
Wash your feet, then soak them for 5–10 minutes in a basin of warm water containing half a cup of cider vinegar. This DIY spa treatment will help to treat foot odour, cracked heals, hard skin and fungal infections.
Not all cider vinegars available in stores are of the same quality. Refer to the guidelines on pages 10–11 when choosing vinegar to use in natural beauty treatments, or even better, make your own (see pages 11–12).
Skin cleansing and toning
Cider vinegar is perfect for maintaining the skin’s natural acidity (for more on this, see page 85), whether combined with other natural ingredients, or just diluted with water. It is not recommended to apply neat vinegar to the skin, as it may be too acidic.
Cleansing oatmeal scrub
½ cup oatmeal
cider vinegar
1 Put the oatmeal into a small bowl, and add enough cider vinegar to moisten.
2 Rub the mixture into the skin, and then rinse off with warm water.
Use a larger quantity of oatmeal if you want to cleanse your whole body this way.
Drinking cider vinegar diluted with water, or adding it to your diet in other ways is said to help to detox your liver and improve circulation. Improved circulation will make your skin look more glowing and healthy, and may also help to banish cellulite. For easy ways to add cider vinegar to your daily diet, see pages 21–32.
Vinegar bath
Put a cup of cider vinegar in the bath water, immerse a flannel (wash-cloth) in the water and use it to cleanse your skin.
Perfumes with apple notes are very popular – apple is one of the most-loved natural fragrances along with citrus, rose and vanilla. Apple scents work most obviously to impart a fresh summertime aroma for day-to-day wear, but autumnal scents more suited to evening wear are also available.
Skin rinsing
Wash in a shower or unplugged bath and rinse yourself with water. Then fill the bath with water, add half a cup of cider vinegar, lie in the bath and relax.
Alternatively, wash in the bath or shower. Then rinse yourself with warm water and half a cup of cider vinegar poured from a large plastic jug.
Skin toning
If you usually use cleansing cream or lotion on your face, follow this by applying a skin toner made by adding 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar to half a pint (250ml) of cold water. Keep the skin toner in a capped glass or plastic bottle, and apply it with a soft cotton cloth or cotton wool.
Scented toner
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
250ml (1 cup) cold water
½ tablespoon dried rosemary leaves or lavender flowers, or 1 tablespoon fresh leaves or flowers
1 Put the water and vinegar in a small pan over a medium heat.
2 Add the fresh or dried leaves or flowers and bring to the boil.
3 Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes, then allow to cool before transferring to a bottle.
4 Apply the toner to the skin with a soft cotton cloth or cotton wool.
The anti-fungal and antibacterial properties in cider vinegar make it a real hero ingredient when it comes to fighting acne. Use it in treatments to remove excess oil from the skin, kill bacteria, clear black heads, and calm inflamed areas.
DIY vinegar face masks
Raid your fridge and kitchen cupboards to create these all-natural nourishing face masks – guaranteed to be kind and gentle on your skin.
Brightening face mask
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until thoroughly combined.
2 Gently apply to the skin using your fingertips.
3 Relax for 15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water.
Pore-shrinking face mask
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until thoroughly combined.
2 Gently apply to cleansed skin using your fingertips.
3 Relax for 15 minutes, then rinse off with cool water.
Exfoliating baking soda face mask
½ cup baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl to form a paste.
2 Apply to clean skin in circular motions using your fingertips.
3 Sit for at least 10 minutes and then rinse off with warm water.