A beautiful young lady walked into my clinic once with a black burn mark across her face. She was distressed and I couldn’t think what had caused the mark. I wish I could say it was the last time I ever saw something similar. This young lady had been watching YouTube videos on how to clear blemishes and was told to use apple cider vinegar. This is disastrous because the pH of skin is 4.5-6.5 but the pH of apple cider vinegar is 2-3 and skin is not equipped to tolerate such a low pH. As a result, apple cider vinegar burns the skin and our large, sensitive melanocytes kick into gear, spitting out extra melanin in anger. For those with skin of colour – five in seven people – our melanoctyes do not tolerate any form of inflammation.
Hearing this was the exact moment I decided
