5 Health And Beauty Uses For Vinegar
Vinegar is an amazing creation with literally hundreds of uses. It can be made from almost any fruit through two different natural processes that render the sugar into acetic acid. The strength of most vinegars is measured by the content of this acid, usually 4-7%. Aside from the variety of cooking and cleaning uses, would you believe that vinegar can be used in addition to your normal beauty products to enhance and heal your skin and hair?
Here are just a few of the ways this amazing concoction can help improve your body’s health.
The use of vinegar for cosmetic purposes was first trialed in Rome and has continued to prove beneficial over the centuries. This is equally in part due to a number of factors. Vinegar promotes blood flow to the capillaries which aids in the release of toxins from the bloodstream. It also improves skin health by reducing scaling and dryness and aiding the removal of fatty deposits from the surface of the skin. In addition, a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water can help regulate the pH of your skin.
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2.Hair/scalp restoration
Apple Cider Vinegar is the most common choice for hair care. Used as a rinse from a simple spray bottle, a few applications per week helps remove excess mineral deposits from your hair. It also closes the cuticles, allowing your hair to gain its full shine. When allowed to soak into the scalp for several minutes, vinegar also helps treat dandruff, balances pH, and stimulates the scalp to promote hair growth.
3. Blemishes
Vinegar is generally an alkaline, and as we’ve heard before, an acidic environment in the body leads to all sorts of health issues. It also exacerbates many common skin ailments such as acne, psoriasis and eczema. Your body works hard to remove the toxins and chemicals we inadvertently ingest on a daily basis, much of it through the skin. Because of this, our skin can be damaged and suffer from all the waste making its way to the surface. Using vinegar on your skin has a two-fold benefit. It aids in the balance of pH, and helps reverse the effects of damaging toxins, and it also has restorative properties. Rub a small amount of apple cider vinegar on affected areas to help decrease inflammation and promote healing. It’s also said that drinking small amounts of apple cider vinegar can promote balance internally, leaving your skin healthy and youthful looking, before any damage can occur.
4. Teeth Whitener
Vinegar can be used as a teeth whitener and oral rinse when combined with your daily hygiene. It’s important to remember that this is a very strong solution and should be diluted to much lower strengths before being used on your teeth. If not, you risk doing damage to the protective enamel that covers your teeth. The same properties that allow vinegar to clear stains and plaque, if left on too long, can damage those pearly whites. So use with caution.
5. Wart Removal
As mentioned before, vinegar (apple cider as a favorite of course), has moisturizing and restorative effects on your skin. You can use it mixed with lotion to heal dry, cracked hands. You can also add small amounts to your bathwater to enjoy a detoxifying soak. Would you believe it can also clear up warts? Take a small cotton ball, dip in apple cider vinegar and attach it over the affected area overnight. There may be some tenderness as the solution works into the skin, but the wart will eventually come off. Continue this process for several nights to prevent regrowth.
These are just a few of the amazing uses of vinegar. An article listing all of them would literally be pages and pages long. Check back frequently for more updates on household uses of vinegar and start cleaning your shelves of unnecessary and damaging chemicals.
Jonathan Parker is an EMT-Paramedic and Preparedness Instructor with a love for emergency medicine, self-sufficiency and homesteading. His goal is to empower people towards a natural and sustainable lifestyle.
