Natural Remedies for Actinic Keratosis: Effective Home Treatments

I treated 10 actinic keratosis lesions that were in a 3"X4" area on top of my head using apple cider vinegar. I slept every night with a stocking cap over duct tape holding a cloth soaked with ACV against the affected area. There was a very strong reaction. I felt a mild burning sensation every night, they turned red, repeatedly formed scabs, and gradually seemed to fade. The skin became smooth but the outlines of the lesions were still there.

As the first batch of AK's faded, about 20 more AK's of various sizes appeared within the same area, so I continued the treatment. ACV gently removes the outer layers of skin, and I otherwise wouldn't have known that I had so many AK's because they were hidden underneath the skin.

I continued the treatment every night for many weeks because I wanted to give it a chance to succeed. During that entire time the change was so gradual that I was never really sure if it was helping or not.

After 3 months the affected area looked so bad that I started wearing hats in public. At that point I decided to try something else. Within 48 hours of stopping the ACV treatment the smooth AK lesions became rough again indicating that ACV had no effect other than exposing AK's that were previously hidden underneath the skin.

Wow! After trying everything I could think of (sans surgery), including the useless diagnosis of FIVE different dermatologists... I finally am getting some RESULTS! The ACV (with the mother) is actually working! I have been applying ACV with a q-tip 5-10 x per day for 2 weeks to my quarter sized keratosis and it is gradually peeling off revealing my original skin underneath. The bright red color is fading and the dark defined edges are now blended into my own skin color. Absolutely a Godsend, after 10 years of embarrassment. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!

Hi I have suffered with solar keratosis for 15yrs having biopsies on my nose, eye lids, which have been removed due to keratosis. I recently have had a bad outbreak on my lips and top lip, I have tried everything, and when I got on your site I read that people are using apple cider vinegar, I have started using it so hopefully this might work. Ive been in so much discomfort using the solaraze gel, it hurts, stings, and looks so ugly when your skin is peeling of. Has anyone else got any other remedies, I sure need them, Help

I was diagnosed in August '08 with solar keratosis on the top of my head. It was frozen off and reappeared. I tried castor oil from an Edgar Cayse remedy and it became scaly and fell off and grew back. This happened above 3 or 4 times. I started my research on natural remedies and began the internal and topical ACV 3 days ago. I was not sure it it was me wanted to beleive there is a change going on or if there really is one. It's only been a few days..but my girlfriend said she noticed my face has a pink and healthy change. My hands began getting more supple as I had dry skin. The keratosis is not as scaly and a little smoother. I have also began a strict diet with juicing and basic supplements of c, zeolite, d, omega 3, and a multi. I will post again next week.

I would like to enthusiastically offer my support for apple cider vinegar in the cure of various skin ailments. WARTS: I dipped a very small piece of cotton in ACV, put this directly on the wart, then covered all with an air-tight bandage. I left on for c. 12 hours, then let the entire area breathe for 12 hours. I repeated for about 3 weeks, as this was a deep and large wart. The first 2 applications stung and throbbed a bit, but from then on, the entire enterprise was painless. The area eventually ulcerated--looks messy for a while--and painlessly peeled off. No more wart! As maintenance for about 3 more weeks, I dabbed a little ACV on the area, without bandage. The wart has not recurred after more than a year and a half! This really works, folks!

ACTINIC KERATOSIS: My dermatologist identified this on my skin just above my upper lip. She offered to burn it off with liquid nitrogen: no, thanks. I followed the same ACV routine, and it worked! Took a lot less time, as this keratosis was not deep.

BENIGN PAPILLOMA: I am currently eliminating a little bump from my nose that I've had for over 10 years: it is in the red and ulcerating phase and about to sluff off.

I am THRILLED with the way ACV works to remove skin ailments! This method is cheap, safe, and natural. The skin afterwards is perfectly healthy and not scarred: quite preferable to liquid nitrogen or fluorouracil-5 or other harsh chemicals. Try it!

Solar keratosis or actinic keratosis:

The following natural skin remedies completely failed to cure the solar keratosis on my forehead: calendula ointment, aloe vera gel, sea buckthorn ointment -- all wonderful things for various other skin conditions, but didn't do it for solar keratosis. Diclofenac ointment worked fairly well, but the keratosis came right back when I stopped the diclofenac and besides I'm not interested in using any drug, especially not long-term.

Then I read the comments at this web site on apple cider vinegar. I had some in the kitchen for use in a couple of pork recipes, so I tried it. I applied it topically to the keratosis morning and evening and took it internally (mornings-only) about 1 to 2 teaspoons in half a glass of water. Results: total magic, my forehead has not felt this smooth for several years.

Taking the vinegar internally probably has other advantages in terms of alkinizing the metabolism (it has an alkinizing effect even though it itself is acid -- acetic acid).

PS: Since it is a liquid, not an ointment, applying it is a bit tricky; I put some in the cup of my hand and then dipped my head down into it.

I am 24 years old african american, women. In the past few years I had developed a thick crusty scaly dark-spot on my lower lip. I dont have insurance so I searched online to see what it might be after looking and looking and looking I found Actinic Keratosis and found out that that is what it was. I had tried every lip balm sun screen, vitamin E, flax seed, pealing it (which made it bleed) to get rid of it. Nothing worked and if it made a difference it was very short lived. Then I started looking into natural cures for it, I cam across this site which said to try apple cider vinegar. So I went to the health food store and bought the best Organic apple cider vinegar I could find. I chose _____ apple cider vinegar with the mother in it. (dont ask me what that means but that what it said on the bottle. Well I am VERY VERY Happy to report that IT WORKS. I took 1tsb at nite and 1tsb in the morning and now after 2 weeks it is completely gone!

Thank you so much YEA for your report, people were beginning to think I had herpes.

Solar Keratosis Remedies: I read the posts on this at this website and thought, 'What the heck, a gallon of Apple Cider vinegar costs $3. I'll give it a try and if it doesn't work, I'll use it to kill weeds.' Well, just like the guy said about the place on his hand, I had two places on my face with Actinic Keratosis that I've been trying to treat for years to no avail. Nothing would respond to them. Now, after 8 days of applying ACV topically and taking two tblspoons orally twice a day, they are gone. The skin has healed completely over. It's amazing. I might have spent hundreds of dollars to treat these at a clinic, when ACV did the trick in a few days. The most welcome and amazing 'cure' I've ever experienced. A big 'thank you' to this website for providing the information!

I had been reading about Iodine and how it could get rid of different skin lesions, so I decided to give it a try on several Sebaceous Keratoses on my torso, several quite large. It has worked wonderfully. It took about 2 weeks for them to go away, and I applied it 2x a day most days. I put it on with a q-tip and let it dry before getting dressed. I sometimes scratched them lightly first with a emery nail file before applying the iodine. I use the Lugols, because I also take it by drops internally each day.

I read on your site where it cured solar keratosis under a woman's eye. I have had solar keratosis all over my legs and arms for years. I am fair skinned and grew up in the desert. Dermatologists told me there was nothing I could do to make them go away. Recently I decided to try ACV and to my astonishment they are just about gone. It is the most remarkable thing I have ever seen. I used to be embarrassed to wear shorts they were so bad. Now they are so close to being gone that I am now wearing shorts. I applied it directly to them twice a day. The smell does go away! It really does work. I am so thankful I read this woman's article. Thank you.

Several weeks ago I re-read after many years, Dr. Jarvis's book "Folk Medicine" in which he extolls the virtues of ACV. Being a Vermonter myself, I decided to try using it internally and externally. I had never used it regularly before. A very stubborn solar keratosis under my left eye is markedly better and on it's way to disappearing completely (finally!). I had put vitamin e and other things on it to no avail. ACV is really doing the trick. In general, my facial skin is noticeably enhanced in smoothness and color. I have dark hair and fair skin, and have always looked like Morticia Adams.. .the ACV has given me more natural "blush" like the apples it's made from. I have been taking about 2 tablespoons a day, and bathing in it several times a week. Great stuff! I have super long hair and it has made it very soft and enhances the natural wave when I use it as a final rinse.

On Friday 14 September 2007 I went to the doctor. I'm 63. While there I asked him to take a look at my Knuckles on my left hand, which have had a rough dry scaly bumpy patch with a yellow white crust, which I have had for several years making my hand look pretty ugly. Nothing that I have tried could ever shift it. He said that it was Solar Keratosis (also known as an actinic keratosis) and gave me a computer print out article. He said that there was a slight chance that it could eventually turn into a skin Cancer called squamous cell carceinoma. I asked how to get rid of it and he listed: freezing it with liquid nitrogen, cutting it out or scraping it off under a local anesthetic, or using a creme or gel that could take up to three months to work and which may cause inflammation and blistering, or I could have Laser surgery or he could cauterize it with a searing hot iron or an electric current or use caustic burning substance. Uh-oh! When I got home I hit the internet quick smart and looked it up the malady on this and other sites. I then looked through my cupboards and found some Apple Cider Vinegar that my deceased wife had bought over 12 years ago. I tried some right away topically and went to the Health Food store and got some "fresh" ACV (imported from the USA) with the "Mother" in it. Today is the first of October (about two weeks later) and with 2 or 3 glasses a day of a 'splash' of ACV, bit of local honey and spring water from the supermarket plus a cotton bud tip as a device to put some of the old ACV on the knuckles, they are now completely clear! The skin is smooth, there's no roughness and some other assorted skin irritations have cleared up as well. My usual 'aches and pains' are far less prevalent. I am also less "Down" and feel generally quite a bit more positive. Sleep is deeper and less disturbed with getting up in the night reduced to once or twice a night with some nights being slept all the way through. I also seem to have more energy and less appetitie (which is good as I am getting more girth with age)! I also have far less indigestion. The only "side effect" was a few whitehead pimples at the beginning few days, which I took to be my skin generally throwing off some bodily toxins. If I am having a so-called "placebo effect" or if some learned academic says that this is really only "mind over matter" or the "power of suggestive thinking", or if someone says that my doctor "mis-diagnosed" me, well, I don't care! The damn unsightly thing has disappeared, leaving me feeling much better all 'round! It is the cheapest and most effective alternative I have ever tried and I am pleased that I don't have to undergo any painful or expensive chemical or surgical procedure (even though medical care is free for everyone in Australia). The ACV works for me! And for only a few cents a day of natural healthful ingredients. I can now gladly put my hand up as a happy ACV customer!