Apple Cider Vinegar Remedy for Perioral Dermatitis

ACV helped clear up my perioral dermatitis along with cleaning up my gut. Antimicrobial herbs for SIBO, followed by tons of probiotics to rebuild. I would warn that undiluted ACV will make the condition look much worse at first and can lead to some scarring. I would try to dilute it first, I am not sure how this will extend the process though. It took me 1 week to see improvement, I am 1.5 weeks out and I still have a few pustules/marks left but the condition is much better.

I suffered with perioral dermatitis for about 6 months. Dermatologist put me on antibiotics for 2 months. Not sure if it helped. Plus prescribed elidel cream which I feel gave me a horrible reaction. Severe burning and redness. When I stopped the cream the severe burning went away. What I feel helped the most was apple cider vinegar unfiltered. I applied it slightly diluted to the rash. After a week or so the rash dried up turned white and flaked off. I also used borage oil to moisturize. Coconut oil seemed to aggravate it.

Now when I noticed some redness and burning I immediately start the apple cider vinegar application and a few days later the rash dries up and flakes off. Apple Cider Vinegar is my best defense! I also switched to natural products for hair and face. Good luck!

Using the ACV, did your face seem more red? And how quickly did the bumps disappear?

Hey, how did it work out for you? Is it gone? Please tell me it is!!! :)

Not sure where to begin, I hope this helps someone out there. mostly because weeks of researching forums have helped me.

To begin, stress and sugar both caused my Perioral Dermatitis. My period was about a week late as always, which is a personal thing I guess, but I noticed that as I have to wait and wait and wait for it, my hormones get more and more and more out of wack til it finally comes. I was on a plane, almost back from europe when I noticed my face itching on one side. When I got home a few hours later, my stress kept mounting. It showed on my face immediately.

Did not know what the deal was.. it started around my mouth and crept up my cheeks to my eyes and my forehead in HOURS. immediately googled it and learned it was PD, but failed to take it seriously. Ran hot water on my chin cuz I couldn't take hot water on my cheeks and eyes. Days later my cheeks and eyes mostly cleared up because I never touched them, but my chin looked like a thousand flaky angry bee stings and it definitely felt like it.

i realized I had to do something basic while I figured stuff out. I put tea tree on it all the time. I used so much vitamin E oil. I made myself smile everytime my face itched so I could concentrate on releasing endorphins. everybody knows smiles heal. once I was less stressed about it I was able to read all the info I could, objectively.

Simple: first of all never ever ever ever touch your face except to dab diluted apple cider vinegar on it. Skin is a reflection of internal problems.. cut out anything that has sugar in it, cut out carbs. ingest zinc and diluted apple cider vinegar. all the recommended topical treatments seemed to just make my rash look really angry. after dabbing with vinegar, DONT use oil, use GLYCERIN. oil preserves things, dont preserve bacteria on your face. and always remember dont touch your face no matter what. I noticed enormous immediate changes day after day. two weeks after having pd, it was showing promise of resolving. two weeks for me sounds alot better than these dragged out 8month-2year horror stories I found everywhere.

regardless what you end up doing, IF YOU TOUCH YOUR FACE it takes longer to go away. I hope you guys find what works for you.

regimen:

diluted Apple Cider Vinegar in a glass 2x daily. dab face with diluted Apple Cider Vinegar 2x daily. after cleaning with acv, use glycerin on affected spots. drink so much water you cant stand it.

I think I have perioral dermatitis, I used the ACV and it went away... But now its back... I am going to the Dr. in two days but I am afraid he'll just give me antibiotics I am checking my toothpaste for floride but what is SLS?

I am 32 and have never had perioral dermatitis until 2 months ago.

I went to two dermatologists. The first presribed clindamycin (sp?) topical antibacterial and a topical steriod. The second told me the steroid was the worst idea EVER and to immediately stop using it, but to continue the antibacterial! I also had a random and unrelated rash on my upper chest and the dermatologist told me to soak a washcloth in 1 part distilled white vinegar to 10 parts water and let it sit on my chest for about 10 minutes to clear that one up.

The rash on my chest went away immediately, but my face was getting worse and spreading. I decided that since my face rash wasn't going away, what could it possibly hurt to try the vinegar trick?

I dipped a cotton ball in the 1:10 solution and wiped my PD gently with it. Let it dry for about 10 minutes, then rinsed my face (cleanser for the rest of my face, just the water for around my nose). I then used mosturizer on my face except for on my rash. (Cetaphil facewash and moisturizer)

The next morning I was ASTONISHED at how much the bumpiness had gone down. Did the same thing in the a.m and p.m. for 2 days and had about 60% improvement. Even the redness went down! My friends noticed an immediate difference.

I have read much about Apple Cider Vinegar, but I just used plain old distilled vinegar.

Thank you to all who posted here about the use of ACV in clearing up perioral dermatitis.

Like several others, I was using corticosteroid cream to treat my perioral dermatitis, and it was working fine. But, every time I stopped using it, the rash-stache came back. Horrible!

When I learned that my treatment was probably also the biggest reason I had the problem in the first place, I stopped using the cream, cold turkey. (I have read other places that you should taper down, and that might have been less difficult. ) The rash-stache went berserk; it was red and bumpy and so so soooo itchy.

The first time I tried the ACV I was mesmerized by its effect. It actually kind of fizzed and bubbled on the rash spots. I don't know what this means, but I think it's a chemical reaction between whatever causes the rash-stache (yeast?) and the acid of the vinegar. It burns, it hurts. But it *works*.

I overused the ACV treatment, I think, because I felt so sure it was working. My rach-stache changed from being a red itchy bumpy thing to being a sore, crusty, dry thing. It still looked horrible but it was drying out, not itching, and feeling better.

A few days later the crust began to peel. And wonder of wonders, healthy skin underneath, no rash.

I'm so happy!

I am going to keep an eye on it to see if rash-stache shows signs of returning. If it does, I will use diluted vinegar 50/50 instead of straight out of the bottle. And I will resist the temptation to treat myself ten times in a day! But now that I know ACV works, I'm so relieved that I won't be spending my life with rash-stache.

Thanks to everyone who posted!

don't use cotton when applying avc to the face. Use your fingers only.

ACV is amazing, one use topically and I can already notice the difference in my perioral dermatitis, I've been the doctors 3 times for it and I was not responding to the minocyclin and being told the same thing again and again. Thank god for this site. Definitely use acv! Definitely.

First of all - thanks for the great site which has literally saved me after months of hell with perioral dermatitis. My doctor started me on a steroid creme, which as many people here pointed out started off helping but then stopped working and it got worse and worse and spread up to round my nose too. I had had some limited success treating flare ups with tea tree oil, but no sooner would one bit dry out than the flare up would move a little and break out again.

Last week on Monday - 8 days ago - I started the apple cider vinegar treatment. I have to say it stung like hell, my face felt tight the whole time and the flare up given the steroid withdrawal was horrendous. I drank it too. I started rubbing natural yogurt into the inflamed area at night which helped a little. I then started making a mask to apply twice a day last weekend which has really helped and I wanted to share. The ingredients are natural greek yogurt, organic honey and lots of turmeric. I put it on after the apple cider vinegar every evening and morning and leave for 20 mins till it has dried out. It is very sticky and I then rub it off gently with my fingers which I think has helped to remove gently all the dead skin that has got left behind, then rinse with warm water. I read that turmeric not only is very antibacterial, but is also a strong anti inflammatory, and for me it has worked just like that. At night I have rubbed a little st johns wort oil into the red areas which seems to have also helped.

In addition to this I have been taking probiotics, and a antioxidant supplement as well as the usual zinc and vitamin b and the like (although I have taken many of these for some time now). I really believe that there has been a strong bacterial infection deep in the skin and the mixture of the Apple Cider Vinegar and the tea tree oil and the turmeric has helped to kill it off. I cant believe how much better my skin looks. It is still not 100% scar free, but I have not had any new outbreaks and it is all drying up and flaking off revealing new healthuy skin underneath. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who posted their hints and tips on here. Without you all I would still be stuck in po hell - while I can now see a return to the clear skin I always had before...

Hello,
I have had this my whole life and didn't know what it was. I finally went to dermatologist, who told me is was the P-O Dermatitis, and I needed long term antibiotics. I thought it was great to have diagnosis! But since then, I have done maybe 6 courses of tetracylcine over the past 3 years. I just finished one this spring and my skin is WORSE THAN EVER. Watch out for the antibiotics!!! Also all the prescription creams such as Pramsone DON'T WORK. It has spread now all over my cheeks up to my eyes, and down my chin and chest. My skin seems to be addicted to the cortisone, and it is not working anymore either. Yesterday I had a huge breakout, scrubbed it with alcohol and slathered with cortisone. It still itched. I am feeling I can't stand it anymore and decided to google a natural remedy (I had amazing results for one for a common "female" infection). I went and washed the cortisone off, applied ACV with a wet cottonball- splash of ACV. It looks better already. I applied again this morn, it burned a ton last night but not so much this morn. I am going to start eating the yogurt/probiotics too. I know from past experience this can only be helpful for so many things. I'll post back with hopefully my long term success! Like my husband says, makes you wonder what these Dr.s really throw at you without really understanding the problem.

I used apple cider vinegar to cure my perioral dermatitis. I self diagnosed online after getting the rash for the first time a few months ago. I tried a few different things - getting rid of soaps, lotions, and using a yogurt mask since I read the rash may be caused by a yeast overgrowth. Yogurt worked a little bit, but didn't cure it. After reading about the apple cider vinegar review, I decided to try it. I just bought a small bottle at the grocery store. I splash a little onto a cotton ball and apply it around my mouth twice a day after washing my face - in the morning and before I go to sleep. It definitely stings and the rash turns bright red for a while, but after a few days of this I definitely noticed a difference. It's been about a week and you can hardly notice the rash now. I'm going to continue doing this for at least another week to be sure the rash has completely gone away. At the same time, I've also been only washing my face with warm water, and using a very light, basic lotion. As for other side effects, when I first started using the vinegar, it really dried out the rash and my skin was especially flakey, but I just rubbed a mild antibiotic petroleum salve on it for the first few days while my skin got used to it. I would definitely recommend this cure, it's inexpensive, easy, and you'll see results almost immediately.

Apple Cider Vinegar reduced the appearance of my perioral dermatitis.

Hey my names bella. After reading this site desperately 2 days ago, i decided to try using the apple cider vinegar on my face to reduce a breakout of dermatitis. I have recently been put of doxycycline for my dermatitis but found that i had a massive outbreak as soon as i started using the antibiotics and stopped using the steroid cream. I have also just moved in with my gorgeous boyfriend and was horrified and embarrassed when this happened. So i began desperately searching the net for home remedies and came across the 'apple cider viniger'.
I have been using this for roughly 2 days now and can already see a difference. I have used a face wipe that has been dampened with warm water and a splash of ACV. I have done this a couple of times a day and can already notice the bumps, and blisters/pimples reducing. I highly recommend you just GIVE IT A GO.

Did this ever clear up for you? I'm in the same boat as you. ACV did not help me so far. It's making it worse.

I have had a very red, blotchy rash on my face for weeks, mainly in the cheek area. I recently found out that I have Perioral Dermatitis, and when I researched more, I found out that everything I could have been doing to create this skin condition, I was doing. Firstly, I worked at Lush Cosmetics- so I was always using creams, face masks, and face wash... Mind you, most of it is organic, but it was overkill. I am also on birth control, which has been known to create imbalance. I ate many sugary, starchy, and wheat-filled foods. I was on antibiotics for a UTI before my chin broke out. When I self-diagnosed my self three days ago, I was red, embarrased because I didn't want my boyfriend to see my face looking a mess, and nothing I put on it seemed to help. I found this site, and was overjoyed by the good reviews ACV had gotten. I had some in my cupboard, and have been using 2 Tablespoons in a little bit of water twice daily. So far, it has really dried out my chin, but the bumps are fading and the dryness tells me that it is beginning to heal. In combination with topical ACV, I have been taking 2 tbsp's in tea or water 2x daily. My rash is slowly healing, and the quality of my skin is improving. I have faith that this will cure my Perioral Dermatitis, but I think my body needs more time and change to heal completely. Wonderful site!!!

I am so happy I found this site! Like many of the other people who have left notes here, I am cured! I starting noticing a rash on my face the first week I moved to Sweden (no idea why, but I do fit the: 20's female, chances). After a few weeks, I starting researching what it could be and came to the conclusion that it was perioral dermatitis. I continued researching and realized that if I went to the doctors, they would likely give me antibiotics which I refuse to use unless there is no other option. So I continued on with this ugly rash on my rash on my face for a few more weeks, until I found this site!

I bought organic apple cider vinegar the same day, and starting using it immediately. I applied it with a cotton ball to the rash twice a day (morning and before bed). I saw results immediately but it took until now, about 1 month later, for it to be about 95% gone (I think only I notice it now). For a few days in the middle I starting putting it on 4 times a day, but that was too much and irritated my skin. twice a day is good. Be aware that sometimes it does sting (and it does kind of stink), but not so much.

I am so grateful for this site. I was experiencing perioral dermatitis after taking antibiotics for a UTI two months ago. I tried what feels like everything to get rid of it-reducing sugars and alcohol, washing linens in hot water, sunlight, etc.

For the past five days I have been taking ACV, coconut oil and balmex topically and internally (ACV and Coconut 1 TBSP daily). I was ready to give up on ACV as my dermatitis got WORSE before it got better (Herx reaction?), but after 3-4 days of taking ACV my face looked much better. My theory is that the antibiotics created an acidic environment thus causing dermatitis/yeast to grow on my face. (Plus, I'm a sugar addict.) Other ailments have cleared up already too, such as a sinus infection and bladder irregularities.

I am so relieved and grateful...thank you to all who have written as your advice and testimonials have ultimately brought my smile back :)

I have dealt with PD since I was in the 6th grade. I am now 33 years old. It has come and gone numerous times over these years. I can go years without it breaking out eventhough my skin around my nose is always a slight pinky color. In 2011, I had it 2x and I finally had enough. I refused to take the steriods, antibiotics and topicals this time. It got worse than ever. I tried a natural doctor who did a Natural Reflex Test on me which is basically a muscle reflex test. He said I was allergic to soy and oats. Cutting out soy from my diet was nearly impossible but I did see a vast improvement. But I came to a stand still where it wasnt cleared completely, just managable and not as embarrassing.

Finally, I went to an allergist and had a blood test. The natural doctor was right, I was allergic to soy but also many many other foods. The test says I am allergic to 28 of the 96 foods that I was tested for. It makes me wonder how many other things not listed that I am allergic to. I am mostly allergic to dairy, gluten, eggs, safflower and brewers/bakers yeast. Oats came back as negative as an allergin. The allergist said he is 100% sure the food allergy is causing the outbreak of PD. He also said different allergies cause different people to have PD. So each of us probably have PD for different reasons. I researched foods that promote liver function because I would think that my liver needs to be cleaned out after having a backup of these allergins. I have a juicer and I make beet juice mixed with oranges and other fruit. I notice a big difference when I drink it daily and when I slack off. The bright red and flakes disappear within a few days. I havent gotten rid of it completely but I feel like I finally found the root of the problem which is hopefully the end to this battle!

Hooray for ACV! After suffering with perioral dermatitis for months without relief, I am finally cured. I had planned to see the dermatologist but the wait was two months, so in the meantime I did some research and stumbled across this website. After reading all the comments posted here, I decided to give ACV a try. I took 2T. daily with grapefruit juice (couldn't stand it with water) and also swabbed it on my face with a cotton ball twice daily. It burned at first but after several days that subsided. I went through several more flare ups over the next six weeks, but each subsequent flare up was smaller until finally it just seemed to cycle out of my system. I have now been free of the dermatitis for a week and couldn't be happier. THANK YOU so much for the awesome, cheap and easy cure! Now I can avoid a $45 copay at the doctor's office and months of antibiotics! Awesome!!!

Well, I'm so glad I tried ACV and grapefruit extract! My skin is healing quite fast, I am seeing results after a few days. I wash the rash with ACV diluted in a chamomile, calendula and yarrow infusion. Worth trying.

I have been dealing with perioral dermatitis for the past 6 months. About 4 years ago I started to get patches of eczema on my face and the doctor prescribed me with a lotion which is a steroid. As a result of using this lotion frequently for 4 years my face got addicted. Once I stopped using the lotion my face resulted with perioral dermatitis. I have been to the doctor and they have prescribed me with bacterial lotions, non-steriod creams and a face wash. The products seem to calm my face down but the perioral dermatitis still remains. After months of walking around with pealing, red, embarrassing bumpy skin around my mouth and chin area I finally decided to do my own research and I came across this sight. I have tried the Apple Cider Vinegar and must say I am extremely happy! After one night of using ACV I saw a difference. One week later my face is practically free of perioral dermatitis. ACV definitely worked for me. Thank you all so much for your advice!

6/2/08 Update from Chloe. The dermatitis has never returned! Yay! Also forgot to mention that I have been Oil Pulling and it's wonderful!