Apple Cider Vinegar

A natural history

Vinegar is one of the oldest preparations known, a happy accident of cider or wine left to ferment, and apple cider vinegar became a beloved tonic in kitchens and apothecaries alike. Its history reaches deep: more than two thousand years ago Hippocrates, the father of medicine, prescribed vinegar blended with honey, a sweet and sour elixir called oxymel.

Among its gentlest and most enduring uses is in beauty. A diluted vinegar rinse is a centuries old habit for bringing shine to dull hair, said to have been favored as far back as the Romans. It works by smoothing the hair's surface at its naturally gentle acidity, so the strands catch the light.

What it does for your skin

Apple cider vinegar is a mild, clarifying ferment carrying acetic and malic acids. In laboratory testing it showed antimicrobial activity, which helps explain vinegar's long reputation as a clarifying, freshening rinse.^[1] Honesty matters here: a clinical study found that even a diluted vinegar soak can mildly irritate and did not strengthen the skin barrier, so apple cider vinegar is best embraced gently and always well diluted.^[2] In a formula it is a clarifying, balancing touch for dull skin and hair.

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