Apple Cider Vinegar
| 5 star (26) | 81% | |
| 4 star (2) | 6% | |
| 2 star (1) | 3% | |
| 1 star (2) | 6% | |
 (1) |
3% |
★★★★★
(Bedford, England)
10/01/2010
Hi I have suffered with solar keratosis for 15yrs having biopsies on my nose, eye lids, which have been removed due to keratosis. I recently have had a bad outbreak on my lips and top lip, I have tried everything, and when I got on your site I read that people are using apple cider vinegar, I have started using it so hopefully this might work. Ive been in so much discomfort using the solaraze gel, it hurts, stings, and looks so ugly when your skin is peeling of. Has anyone else got any other remedies, I sure need them, Help
(New Zealand)
05/24/2014
My doctor has a special 'freezing' clinic for solar keratosis. His nurse uses liquid nitrogen to freeze/burn off the lesions. They just then scab over and the eventual scar fades over time. I've just had my second lot done (52 of them) and it does feel like a lot of bee stings for a while, but that passes quickly enough. It only costs me $12, but I would pay more to get rid of the little blighters.
Ciao, Nick
Apple Cider Vinegar
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar, Eggplant
★★★★★
I've had 3 rough red spots on the bridge of my nose for a number of years. Doc said they were actinic keratosis (ak) and to keep an eye on them since they can occasionally turn into cancer. They were unsightly and would sometimes get inflamed a little and peel, so I wanted to get rid of them. It's not uncommon for bruises, cuts and other injuries to leave marks on my skin for a long time after they've healed up, so I didn't want to do the cut or burn approach and have marks from that for a year, so I started looking for alternative treatments.
I read about using eggplant and ACV on AKs, so I blended up an eggplant with raw ACV and let it sit in the fridge for a day. Then I'd apply a thick layer of that paste to the lesions and leave it on overnight (uncovered). In the morning the paste would be dried up and firmly attached to the AKs and I had to peel them off or wash them off with lots of water and patience. The AKs got pretty inflammed and sore after a couple of days, then they started to weep and bleed a little. But only the AKs reacted. The rest of the skin in the treated area showed absolutely no reaction to the paste. About 5 days into the treatment the area was pretty sore and inflamed, so I stopped treatment for a couple of days to let it rest. Then I resumed treatment.
There was one spot on the right side of my nose that had been slightly pink, but had never had a visible AK. It got inflammed and sore too, so I assume it was an AK that hadn't surfaced yet.
About a week into treatment the AKs started going away. The AKs started sloughing and the redness and inflammation subsided. Four small pimples popped up on the edge of a couple of the AKs. They were small but quite sore. They lasted for about a week, then they peeled and fell off too. I continued to apply the paste for another week. But when the AKs started peeling the skin stopped reacting to the paste and nothing more happed, so I quit using it.
It's been about 4 weeks since I started the treatment, and at this point the areas where the AKs were are a light pink color, but all of the skin there is soft and smooth now. So for me the eggplant/ACV paste was a success. And it was cheap and easy too. Just one eggplant and about a half of a cup of raw ACV vinegar.
(Montrose, Scotland)
11/15/2015
I'm 61 and a redhead and have had solar keratosis for about 5 years. Initially one on my face and some on my back and then several on my chin I've been treated with cryotherapy but it takes ages to heal and has always returned. I started treating myself with 'diluted ' cyder vinegar but again it came back. In the last 3 months I have been mixing the vinegar with aubergine and I think I'm finally seeing normal skin.
I have stopped and started and almost given up on several occasions as it got worse and new areas appeared . It's not easy having to burn your face time and time again knowing it will scab over and praying it will heal and not return. I have to virtually perform surgery on my face every day before it's smooth enough to wear make up before I can go out. I'm lucky I'm retired now. That's maybe why it's taken so long but it was either that or be a total hermit. I've stayed in for days to avoid picking the scabs and allow it to heal but to no avail. My husband thinks I'm self harming but what choice do I have when it's on my face.
Anyway, am keeping my fingers crossed and will keep posting. Am not sure if I'll be left with scarring. I also had a biopsy about a month ago and have to wait 6 wks on the result. The dermatologist said she couldn't diagnose my condition because I couldn't leave my skin alone. I need to be checked on a regular basis in future as obviously now high risk for squamous cell carcinoma. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to show the dermatologist a positive result.
(Seattle)
03/29/2016
Update - It's been 11 months since I used the eggplant/ACV paste on the four solar keratoses on my nose, and I can now say that the treatment was a complete success. There are no signs that the keratoses were ever there. The skin is smooth and soft, and there are none of the lingering red marks that often will remain for a year or so after my skin has had an injury.
(Uk)
07/01/2016
(Hotspot, Texas)
07/03/2016
(Nopesville, Nm)
07/28/2016
I pick at mine too. Been applying ACV for about 2-3 weeks 3-5x per day with q-tip, but I can't help but pick at the things, and now they are all bloody and scabby. Not sure if I should stop the ACV and let them heal? Or just keep on with the ACV and stop rubbing and picking at them. Probably that one. I think I'll try a week of ACV and absolutely NO scraping. Maybe they'll scab over and fall off!
Good luck with yours, too.
(Grenada)
08/21/2016
(Seattle)
10/30/2020
(FL)
10/30/2020
Just cut up eggplant and soak it overnight in ACV. Pour liquid off into another bottle. I soak a qtip and apply to any affected area.
Works amazingly well.
(missouri)
10/15/2023
i bought eggplant powder on amazon, and mixed with vinegar. I use it at night as it is like a mask.
(Portugal)
08/16/2024
Hi Linda,
Hope all is well with your AKs.
One quick question ...
you say ...
It's been about 4 weeks since I started the treatment, and at this point the areas where the AKs were are a light pink color, but all of the skin there is soft and smooth now.
does this mean you still have (had) pink blotches that are visible? ... I seem to have reached a point where I have pink blotches that flare up with heat / activity etc ... & fade when I'm cooler & calmer.
Did your pink patches improve from when you last posted?
Any thoughts gratefully received.
Kind Regards
Toby
Borax
★★★★★
I tried many remedies, none worked, and then I tried coconut oil, which someone recommended with the idea the problem might be a fungus. The coconut oil did seem to bring very slow improvement, so I started thinking what else I could use for a fungus, and I came up with borax. I made a paste of borax laundry detergent booster and water, applied a chickpea sized dab to the lesion, and covered it with a band aid. I kept the bandaid on most of the time, reapplying borax at night. Within a week, I knew it was working, as the scab kept shrinking and the pink skin got thicker. It's been two weeks now, and the lesion is closed, the skin, still pink, but thicker and looking resilient. I will probably always have a scar there, but I am very happy to have the skin healed over.
I did add another tweak after the first ten days. Convinced the anti fungal treatment was working, I started using Listerine (original) instead of water to wet the borax. Listerine has thymol and eucalyptol, apparently the real plant oils, which are effective against fungus. I did this because my brother claimed to have gotten rid of bad toenail fungus by painting Listerine all over his nails every night. Not to say that AK is the same fungus, but just that anti fungal treatment seems to have worked amazingly in my case.
I would love to know if this will work for anybody else!
(Pa)
05/26/2018
★★★★★
I am also convinced that at least some pre cancers and cancers ate actually fungus and or a bacteria that acts fungal such as Streptomyces and labs are getting it wrong because diagnosis requires special cultures and because of repeated incorrect training. I have been diagnosed with actinic keritosis and antimicrobials work. Is it a coincidence that antimicrobials work for certain cancer and pre cancer lesions, I don't think so. They are either fungal/bacterial infections or simply misdiagnosis.
Colloidal Silver
★★★★★
About a year or more ago, a friend suggested using it to kill viruses, etc, and my family and I stayed healthy through this year's flu attacks. I started using colloidal silver ointment on my keratosis about a week ago. this has a higher ppm than the liquid spray that I use for every other thing. (I had been using the spray on it, but I wasn't consistent. )
Things are changing rapidly, and it is burning off. the first week, it just turned pink, and now things are more active. Hoping that soon that thing will be gone. The silver has killed lots of cancerous looking cells on my shoulders and on my husband's back. Colloidal silver is amazing!
Colloidal Silver
★★★★★
Hydrogen Peroxide
★★★★★
Dab 35% hydrogen peroxide on the solar keratosis with a Q-tip and hold it on for 5 minutes contact time. Be careful not to get any H2O2 on health tissue. 35% Hydrogen peroxide can burn healthy skin, so be very careful when applying it. I've used this treatment myself for warts and it does sting a little but it will pass. A friend's father used this on his keratosis on the back of his hand the size of a half dollar.
The solar keratosis will turn it white, then scabbed, then fell off leaving healthy tissue all within a week. Do one treatment or more daily til gone. It'll take some hunting to find 35% hydrogen peroxide either at a health store or online or you can make 35% out of 3% by freezing the bottle of 3% H2O2 in the freezer. Water will turn to ice but the H2O2 will not. Pour this into a small container and label.
Reference:
33% hydrogen peroxide as a Neoadjuvant treatment in the surgical excision of non-melanoma skin cancers: a case series
Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery https://journalotohns.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40463-020-00433-6
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a product of respiration in mitochondria and an important oxidizing agent in biological systems. Previous investigations have shown the efficacy of H2O2 in treating skin conditions such as seborrheic keratosis (SK) and actinic keratosis (solar keratosis). In an area like the face, reconstruction of excision defects and ultimately aesthetic outcomes are of utmost importance. Hydrogen peroxide may represent a simple yet effective method at shrinking non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) of the head and neck before they are excised.
Methods
Eleven consecutive patients presenting to our cutaneous malignancy clinic had their skin lesions evaluated by the senior author for participation in the study. Lesion length and width was measured. Hydrogen peroxide formulated at a concentration of 33% was rubbed into the lesion until blanching was observed. Lesions were re-measured at follow up. Excisional biopsy was then performed and histopathological diagnosis was obtained. Statistical analyses compared pre- and post-treatment lesion dimensions.
Results
Seventeen biopsy-proven NMSC lesions were included in this investigation. Statistically significant reductions in the length (p < 0.001) and width (p < 0.001) were observed with H2O2 treatment. For some lesions, H2O2 was the sole treatment required, with post-treatment biopsy demonstrating no evidence of malignancy. Patients endured minimal discomfort during treatment and no long-term side effects were observed. Follow up at 6 months revealed no recurrences.
Conclusions
We have demonstrated a significant reduction in the size of multiple lesions after application of 33% hydrogen peroxide, simplifying definitive excision and reconstruction. Hydrogen peroxide demonstrated an ability to successfully treat non-melanoma skin cancers as well.
35% Hydrogen peroxide succeeded in healing my chronic keratosis. Thank you for the shared experience.
Iodine
★★★★★
I have removed a large AK from the side of my temple with Lugol's iodine, applied several times a day. Removed it within 4 days...I've had other precancerous lesions around my nose and forehead which I've removed with Lugol's...these took months, so patience is important...
(chicago)
03/10/2021
What strength Lugol's did you use? Thanks.
Iodine
★★★★★
Multiple Remedies
★★★★★
So you want to heal your skin. I am 55 years old Male, olive complexion, with dozens of age spots, AK's, non-healing spots, solar freckles from years of Surfing, Tennis and all outdoor sports since I was about 4 years old. I have taken whole vitamins for years so I feel great and am extremely active, decades younger than my years but my age is given away by my terribly aged skin.
FIRST reduce the bio burden so your body can heal itself. Clean up the diet, drink only filtered water without chlorine or fluoride, get rid of fluoride toothpaste, take lots of Vitamin C (5-10 grams spread through the day) and a good multi. I applied topical Derma E, Aloe, and Coconut Oil to start helping to heal the easiest areas and reduce my bio burden to help my body heal itself.
I did the Carac and it is horrible, turns your face pink, hurts and stings everywhere. It works on most AK's but I had several on the hands and a few areas on the face that were unaffected, plus some areas on the face that were not AK's but something unknown to the dermatologist, plus brown age spots. I do not recommend this unless everything else fails.
So I scoured the web, and came up with several natural therapies: BEC5 (made from Apple Cider Vinegar/eggplant with hand mixer, keep in fridge), Magnesium Oil and Vitamin C. I rotated these by applying the BEC5, then the Mag Oil, then the Vitamin C crystals with water, repeat as many times as you like.
The BEC5 seemed to be pretty powerful and went after the affected areas, it stings a little and turns injured areas red, it also went after age spots, the mag oil helped dry everything out and replenish minerals, the vitamin C was then taken up readily by the dry skin. When repeated or every time moisture was applied the mag oil and vit C was reactivated, so it worked over and over, even without re-application.
After a couple weeks, the red areas started to heal. For a couple days here and there between treatments, I applied Derma E Night Moisturizer with Vit C and Hyaluronic Acid in the PM and aloe in the AM during work days. Then applied the therapies in the PM a couple hours before bed. After 2-3 weeks my worst AK's were peeling off, the unknown issue on my face had turned red, and then healed. Small areas on my ears turned red, then healed along with all of the non-healing sores. Several of the worst brown spots flaked off, and others were fading. I am nearing the finish, when I apply the therapies they no longer sting, the skin is healing back and much better than it was before. Keep drinking lots of water, add some Apple cider Vinegar if you want, also saw that there are other things to do when the BIG problems are healed: Drink Aloe, take Pycnogenol and Nicotinic Acid. I will also continue with coconut oil, Derma E and trial some Retin A on the wrinkled areas for a few months. I hope to look a decade or two younger. See the Video's of the 60 year old on retin A, she looks great…I hope to get there over a couple of years, but it takes time and diligence.
Don't trust me, do you own due diligence, study up for yourself and try lots of things until something works for you. I tried more than a dozen oils, but nothing worked. Everyone is different…..Good luck.
(Pocono Manor, PA)
03/15/2021
Thanks so much for this. I'm also 55 and spent a lot of time in the sun growing up. I'm faired skinned, though always tanned easily... I had an AK above my lip in my 30's that didn't go away with Aldara (topical chemo) so they scared me into having Moh's surgery right away. It was one of the most awful experiences I've ever had (right after the time I scratched my cornea). After 5 times back in the chair (with an hour wait between), and many many shots of novocaine I ended up with a hole the size of a dime on my face. As a young woman who was just starting to feel pretty good about my looks, I bawled when I saw what they did to me. The resident plastic surgeon who was supposed to be 'one of the best' did some fancy footwork to close it up, but left me with a huge L-shaped scar and my lip disfigured (it still is). All this was in NYC.
They said in a few years I'd never even know anything happened. Ten years later, I still had a red scar, lip disfigurement AND the cancer came back right on the scar site. I was seeing a different Derm by then in Brooklyn and he told me that that was very common (! ), and recommended I have Moh's again right away!! Why would I let them cut up my face again when it didn't work the first time??!! He was pretty young and open minded when I asked about alternatives, but said he needed to schedule the Moh's right away to cover his own ass, and that I could cancel.
I let him schedule it and then called a few days later and cancelled. I researched and found Blood Root and ordered some, but while waiting I came across EC and ACV, so started with plain ACV on the spot. It turned red and several tiny pinholes opened up in the area, and a few showed up nearby that did not turn red and had not been touched by the ACV. I think the whole process took a couple weeks and when I returned to the Derm he verified that there was no sign whatsoever of the cancer. He didn't seem all that shocked or impressed though. You'd think he'd be publishing articles and shouting it from the treetops...
Since then I also tried Blood Root on a spot on my cheek, which cause a much more dramatic reaction, but also worked and healed well. Unfortunately, I started noticing redness and an occasional break-out kind of thing on the scar site again so I just finished another treatment there along with a few other questionable spots. I didn't have much luck with the brown spots but interestingly, I treated a fairly large brown spot that's right below my eyebrow and it didn't react other than a little flaking, but a red area developed adjacent to it immediately with stinging and deep pain, then pinholes and scabbing and finally healing. I would never have known it was there otherwise.
I'm thinking of using AVC like a toner every so often just to see if anything shows up. I'm going to try your remedies for brown spots and get back on the Retin A too. I've always been a little afraid of it b/c it causes sun-sensitivity so you have to be really careful with it. Then there's the issue of chemical sunscreens that prevent the upper layers of skin from burning by drawing the sun's rays deeper into your skin.
(WV)
01/09/2023
I am 59 years old. I have had Basel Cell Carcinoma for over 20 years. I found the best Mohs Surgeon in Clairton, PA at Jefferson Hospital. A different doctor cut my lip (once) for B-cell. When I asked if he got it all, he said, " I think." You do not guess with Mohs. My B-cell cancer came back with a vengeance on my lip. I went to Dr. D. B. and he got it all and repaired the area so well, that you cannot tell I had surgery.
I am now getting a lot of waxy mole like things on my face and torso. My family physician called them wisdom spots, I call them actinic keratosis. I am going to try Lugol's iodine and moisturizer. Hope it works!
Petty Spurge Sap
★★★★★
