7 surprising uses of apple cider vinegar

If you’re a bit lost when it comes to natural remedies, take note of this: Apple Cider Vinegar is a cupboard essential. It can help alleviate a host of skin and hair problems, from soothing acne, to cleaning make-up brushes.

As compiled from Elle magazine, here are seven great uses of Apple Cider Vinegar that you might not have heard about before.

1. Foot spa

Know someone with a smelly-foot problem? Suggest a night in with an apple cider vinegar foot soak to them. The acid in the liquid makes it quite good at neutralising bad odours and also helps in dealing with warts and fungus too. You can make your own vinegar soak by mixing 1/4 cup of the stuff in a small tub of warm water.



2. Acne aid

This is super tough to deal with, especially as a teenager. But we bet you didn’t know that apple cider vinegar could help with your acne? It has been known to kill bacteria and balance out the skin’s pH levels, while also absorbing some of the excess oils from its surface.
Mix one part vinegar to three to four parts water, apply the solution directly to skin with a cotton wool pad and leave it on for ten minutes before rinsing. Try doing this three times a day if you can.

3. Hair affair

Some hair treatments use scary ingredients like formaldehyde and are expensive. Not to mention, most of them will add yet another layer of product onto your already product-heavy hair.
If you're looking for a cost-effective way of stripping them back out of heavy locks, look no further. The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar will balance your hair's pH levels, stimulate your scalp and strip off some of the product build-up and residue. Dilute some with four cups of water and massage into your hair post-shampoo. Leave for ten minutes, with a shower cap and then rinse out with cold water for extra shine.



4. Sunburn soother

Putting an acid-rich substance on your burns might sound painful but we assure you, it can help. Amino acids found in apple-cider vinegar are actually pretty good at wound-healing. Some of them can neutralise the harmful free radicals that appear after UVA radiation and others promote collagen production.

5. Whitey whites

Along with using apple cider vinegar to remove coffee stains from fabric, you can also use it to lighten the ones that have formed on your teeth too. It's not going to give you glowy pearly whites like Ross Gellar’s but it will inch you closer to a shinier, stain-free goal. For maximum results, mix in a little baking soda to make a paste.


6. Easing Psoriasis

Drinking some apple cider vinegar every day might make you want to hurl, but it will also be very beneficial to your health. Skin health is one of the first things that could improve, from brightening your complexion to easing the pain of psoriasis. Mix a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with water and chug it down in one go.

7. Cleaning make-up tools

Forget about expensive brush cleaners that don’t work. The anti-bacterial properties of apple cider vinegar can cleanse the implements that come in contact with your face. Combine a tablespoon of it with warm water and squeeze half a lemon in for a fresher scent and swirl your make-up brushes around in it to your heart's content.

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