It’s no surprise that I love turning food into skincare. So much. I can happily spend my days surrounded by herbs, fruit, butters, oils, honey, grains… lost in the process of making. Every time I discover a new way to use a pantry ingredient – it just lights me up. And this vinegar bath, as strange as it may sound, turned out to be one of my favorite experiences!

Did you know that vinegar baths help to soothe sunburns! When your skin is seriously irritated, vinegar helps to rebalance and restore its pH – so that it can get back to its normal, happy state. And it may surprise you to learn that despite its acidic nature – when properly diluted – it’s actually very soothing for your skin. Vinegar has antiseptic properties that relieves pain, it takes away the burning itch of a sunburn and brings down inflammation.

People with eczema (inflammation of the skin) find a lot of relief with vinegar baths, which helps to soothe the irritation of dry skin.

Don’t think of this just as a first-aid, in-case-of-emergency treatment. Regular vinegar baths help to maintain healthy skin. It has antibacterial properties that eliminates bad odors and breakouts.

But, my biggest motivation for a vinegar bath – is my hair. A vinegar rinse is so good at cleaning your scalp and removing buildup – it conditions your hair and makes it feel softer than any product I’ve ever tried.

So when you bathe, make sure to soak your hair too!

Apple cider vinegar has been a long staple in my skincare pantry. I use apple cider vinegar to make a facial toner that brings my skin back to a happy state anytime something changes. I call it my reset, and it works beautifully!

But it’s not the most obvious skincare ingredient – and anytime someone asks me – is it safe to use vinegar on your skin? –  I’ll tell them about how mothers use vinegar baths as an age-old remedy to soothe babies skin from painful nappy rashes. It’s been used to heal and treat skin for such a long time throughout history, that it’s well documented as a helpful skin tonic.

The most important part of using vinegar for your skin is dilution. It is an acid and you must never apply neat vinegar to your skin.

• For a facial toner or hair rinse: dilute 1 tablespoon into 1 cup of water.
• For a bath: dilute 1 cup of vinegar into a full bath.

If you’re wondering – but, will it smell like I’m bathing in Kombucha? I’ll tell you – it doesn’t have to.

You can mask the scent of vinegar with essential oils, but one of my favorite, fragrant remedies is an herbal vinegar which smells delicous – and I’m going to show you how to make it!

Peppermint + Lavender Vinegar Bath Soak

These are key summer herbs! The combination is especially good for soothing summer skin:

• lavender promotes healing
• peppermint is cooling and alleviates the burn

By blending the herbs into the vinegar we can very quickly create a solution that contains the benefits of all the ingredients. I like to strain it – to remove any fibers that will otherwise make a mess in my bath and in my hair. You live and learn 🙂

Lavender + Peppermint Vinegar Bath Soak
to alleviate sunburns and soothe your skin