Natural Remedies for Actinic Keratosis: Effective Home Treatments

Three years ago I decided to tackle half a chickpea size Sebhorreic Keratosis on my facial hairline, after a doctor quoted me a lot to remove it surgically. I applied Apple Cider Vinegar with cotton wool to it for about 13 days, about 4 times a day. It started to become crumbly by day 8, and by the end of week 2, it started lifting in patches, and I could continue lift off the dried patches easily. After 2,5 weeks it was totally gone, with smooth, healthy pink skin underneath. A real miracle! Praise God for a natural, effective and super cheap solution.

35% Hydrogen Peroxide for Seborrheic Keratosis (SK) and Actinic Keratosis (Solar Keratosis))

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.

You might try the ACV with some DMSO. The DMSO will deliver the ACV deeper and quicker. It actually does that to anything so be careful when using it because if you put anything on it, it will absorb that SS well into your skin, so be careful and definitely read about it first.

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.

What strength Lugol's did you use? Thanks.

Actinic Keratosis:

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...

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.

WORKED TEMPORARILY

Doctor diagnosed Actinic Keratosis on face. Have tried ACV by applying tissue wetted in ACV on affected areas of face multiple times a day (including overnight), pausing if it gets too sore.

After say 10 days of treatment, the AKs will scab up and fall off. However, they all come back again. Have repeated the ACV treatment after a couple years with same result: the AKs come back again. I feel that, at least in my case, the ACV does not penetrate deep enough, or possibly it is just not effective enough to completely remove what causes the AKs.

I will try eggplant mixed with ACV next time, and perhaps olive oil with tea tree.

Hi Linda (Seattle).

I know it's been some years since you posted, but did you cook the eggplant first, or did you mash it up raw? Also, have you had any relapse of the keratosis? I've tried just the ACV (no eggplant). It has worked for me temporarily, but each time the keratosis has come back.

EDITH,,,,,,,,,,, ORH here,,,,,,,,,, my mother was named Edith. Been down your trail all my 83 years and suggest that you first do 5% Fluorouraicil and if that does not work , use Curaderm. Otherwise , you likely to be talking skin cancer and a dermatologist. I was a life guard, played tournament tennis and gardener. Now am reaping the whirlwind with my skin. My Mississippi country grand dad always wore a long sleeve shirt and his skin was like ivory. I now wear long sleeve shirts in the hot Tn summers. Do as I say, and not like I did. Our ancestral wemmins wore bonnets and they were not weathered like the lassies of today. You need some sun for vitamin D, but only about half an hour a day. ====ORH====

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

Hi All, I just wanted to post my experience with Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and possible Actinic Keratosis. I had not received a medical diagnosis for the small, irritated spots that appeared on my nose. I'm 47 years old, Irish ancestry, with a history of extreme sun exposure as a child. I would get one spot on my nose, it would get irritated and ulcerate, and then wouldn't heal like a pimple would. There was no pus and the spot turned black. I was worried that it was basal cancer, impetigo, or a staph infection. With some research, I thought that maybe this was actinic keratosis. The first spot took about a month to heal on its own with a lot of coconut oil. It was very unsightly. About a month later, I got another spot on the left side of the tip of my nose. It was very inflamed, itchy, and unsightly. I decided to treat this with ACV. I put ACV on a cotton ball and put it on the spot. It stung badly and felt like it was burning my skin. I continued with the treatment as I thought that I couldn't just leave the spot to fester on my face and that the ACV was probably a good treatment. After 3-4 weeks of applying the ACV, the spot was just so unsightly and raw. It had become an open ulcer and it appeared that I had burned through the skin and could see the dermis below. It was about .25 inches in diameter and circular. I decided to stop with the ACV and apply Aloe and coconut oil to see what would happen. After about a week, the spot seemed to begin to heal. Now, several months later, I have a very deep scar on my nose where the sore was. It is the deepest scar on my face and I have wondered if I overdid it with the ACV. I have since gotten new sores on my nose, usually one at a time, on the tip of my nose. I haven't been treating these with ACV because I'm afraid of unnecessarily scarring myself again. I have a new red, scaly, spot that has just developed beside the place where I have my scar from my first ACV treatment. I'm unsure of what to do now, but I think that I will try colloidal silver.

The comments about apple cider viniger being uncomfortable, orther substances being painful, are unique to each individual. I think just treating a small part of the area at first would be common sense, why treat with a substance when you don't know how you will react. But it's proven that apple cider viniger and many of the other DIY remedies help with skin lesions such a actinic keratosis. In the absence of doctors who will aggressively people, especially older people afflicted with this condition, I think whatever we can do in a common sense way to help ourselves, is smart. I can tell you, as a former nurse, I saw people who just gave up on the lesions on their necks, face, scalp, and especially their backs. Those lesions itch and are unsightly and it's darn hard to put up with it. If you find a dermatologist who will welcome you, treat treat them, and you can afford it, please let us know. Most of us are met with the standard...Oh those things, like skin tags, and keratosis just come with age, they are harmless." You are left to live with it. So I get steamed when I see people try a remedy and just because they got uncomfortable, they beat the topic to death. As for me, I would much rather put on my big girl britches, use my cheap vinigar and be free of unsightly skin patches. I treat regularly and see results. I also make sure to get a yearly skin examination to make sure nothing is developing that needs a biopsy. I don't claim to be a doctor, but we'd be in sad shape if we just ignored common sense and proven helpful education to share here on other sites.

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.

My doctor tried to get me to do the freeze method and I am into all natural everything. I have been used colloidal silver years ago, and it killed a scary spot on my face.
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!

OMG I put ACV on my entire nose and chin 2 times for actinic keratosis and will never use it again. My face is bright red and blistered bad. I even rinsed it off after the 2nd time. I don't know how anyone can apply ACV 4-5 times a day for weeks. They are a tougher person than I am (I am 60 years old)

Yes, liquid nitrogen will make a keratosis form a scab and peel off, leaving fresh-looking skin, but the keratosis will come back after a couple of years. So it's an effective medium-term remedy, but not a cure. I don't know about ACV ... I'll give it a try!

I had a tiny scab that wouldn't heal on my upper lip and I had it for at least a year. I was slightly concerned that it may be a type of skin cancer and to be honest having already had moles removed in the past and the scars that were left, I didn't fancy going down the conventional doctor route as a first port of call. I came aross the reviews that folks kindly shared on this great site and saw that it was something called Actinic Keratosis - often caused by sun damage.

I was thinking about buying the curaderm cream which is based on the aubergine remedy however as a first off I thought I would try apple cider vinegar. I had seen some folks say it gets worse before it gets better. It stung a bit when I first applied it and then within about 24 hours of applying it neat a few times a day just using a bit of cotton wool ( I used the mother Apple Cider Vinegar ) I noticed that other scabs were appearing ( about 5 on my upper lip ) and my lower lip also scabbed over. My mouth was in a bit of a mess to be honest and I was really self conscious when I saw people as I thought it looked like I had a ton of cold sores.

I had read that the Apple Cider Vinegar can bring out the hidden stuff so I just gritted my teeth, kept a fairly low profile as much as possible and carried on in the good faith that if it had worked for all these other folks then it would work for me. Within about 5/ 6 days things were looking considerably better and I could see that my lips were actually healing. About another 3 days after that so about 9 or 10 days in total my lips were looking totally normal again. I finished the treatment about 2 months ago ( was extra careful putting on a high sunscreen when I went on holiday ) and glad to say they are still looking great.

ACV rocks. to think that I could have gone to doctors and quite possibly ended up with some chemical chemo type cream which would have side effects, what I can say? Thrilled that this worked.

For AK( actinic keratosis), use sap from Euphorbia peplus (petty spurge, radium weed, cancer weed, or milkweed). This white milky sap applied once per day for 3 days will burn off spots. Scab forms in few days, heals to normal skin. Keep out of eyes. Natural weed found wild in Southern California. Studies in England confirm results, used for hundreds of years.

I've used SunSpot ES for years ... spots always come back.

Well, I have finally taken the plunge and joined earth clinic after years of using your site for all my familys health problems, you are a wonderful site. I take 2 tablespoons of ACV in water each morning and have cleared up my post nasal drip that doctors could never heal, cured. I now use colloidal silver every day as I have found it better on my skin cancers than ACV, I have solar keratosis everywhere (the joy`s, of an Australian sun), I wipe it on each cancer and take 1/2 tablespoon daily I do this once daily and so far the results are great it has cured many small ones, also I work in a garden centre and any small cuts and rose thorn sores it heals overnight a great product that I would never have known about if I had not found this site, we now keep a bottle at work. Keep up the good work Earth Clinic.

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.

The first Actinic Keratosis lesion I had was removed by my Dr. I had been applying a dissolved Vitamin C tablet covered by a Band-Aid to that lesion for a few weeks prior to removal, and it seemed to remained unchanged by that treatment.

About a year later, to my dismay, another lesion showed up. This time I decided I was going to give organic ACV a try. For the first few days I just applied the ACV to a swab and dabbed vinegar on in the am, dinnertime, pm, and bedtime. I did that for about a week, with no apparent changes. I wondered if I should be more aggressive, so I applied the ACV to a small piece of cotton and kept it in place on the lesion with a Band-Aid. I would re-wet when needed to keep the area moist, changing out the old cotton every day. The Band-Aid was removed at bath time. I kept it on almost continually, but did give the area fresh air a few hours per day or sometimes overnight. This is when changes started happening much more quickly. The lesion changed to a dark pink, and I would experience burning and stinging. I felt something was happening so kept up the routine. At around the two week mark, the lesion had begun to separate from the healthy surrounding tissue. I was amazed! It took about four more days for the lesion to let go.

That was about two weeks ago that the lesion let go completely. The spot is still a slightly pink color. It is flat and smooth. If I didn't point out the spot to you, you would not see it. I apply natural ointment and liquid Vitamin C to facilitate healing. Of course, I have no idea if will come back again, but I will leave another review if it does to state that has happened.

I had a small spot of actinic keratosis on my face next to my nose about 1/4" diameter. The dermatologist performed cryosurgery on the spot three time without success. So, I tried apple cider vinegar and cured it myself. Now it's completely gone and the skin is smooth as silk. I used organic, raw, unfiltered ACV. I applied it undiluted with a Q-tip swab 4 times per day for 5 days. Held it on the spot for one minute each time.

I did not use the ACV internally. It stung a little. On the second day, I had a little bleeding and scabbing. On the fourth day, the scab floated off. It's been over a month now, and there are no signs of AK.

ACV for Solar Keratosis:

10 days into the treatment; 2-6 times a day, dabbed on with cotton wool, and the difference is amazing. Got worst before it got better. Uncomfortable/painful. The full extent of the problem was exposed by the ACV. That was worrisome. Now I only have scabs on my pate in a few places. They are diminishing daily. Could not be any happier or more relieved, after years of using diclofenac. I have toasted myself in the sun & on sunbeds all my life despite being blond and fair skinned. I say try it, persevere with it. Tell someone else about it.

Hi, do you know whether you keep applying the ACV once the scab has formed or do you stop? I have AK on my nose, temple, cheek and a number on my scalp and want to get right Thanks Nigel