Camelot

Camelot

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Mole Removal Experiment - Apple Cider Vinegar (Part 1)

"Moles are growths on the skin that are usually brown or black.  Moles can appear anywhere on the skin alone or in groups.

Most moles appear in early childhood and during the first 30 years of a person's life. It is normal to have between 10-40 moles by adulthood.

As the years pass, moles usually change slowly, becoming raised and/or changing color. Often, hairs develop on the mole. Some moles may not change at all, while others may slowly disappear over time.

Moles occur when cells in the skin grow in a cluster instead of being spread throughout the skin. These cells are called melanocytes, and they make the pigment that gives skin its natural color. Moles may darken after exposure to the sun, during the teen years, and during pregnancy." - WebMD


I've decided to try to remove my mole using a natural method, Apple Cider Vinegar or ACV.  It took me a long time to make this decision because until recently my facial mole never really bothered me.  I've had it for years.  I don't exactly remember when it popped up but it had to have been in my early teens or maybe earlier.  It's just a part of me and I've always thought it made me unique.  I've notice recently in the last couple of years that it has grown a little bit larger and with me suffering from allergies on a regular basis, because it is directly below one of my nostrils, it has on occasion become painful from rubbing against tissue when I blow my nose.  I've had it checked by my dermatologist and it's not cancerous or suspicious in any way.  She also told me that to have it removed I would need a plastic surgeon because of the placement of the mole.  That could cost me thousands of dollars!  No thank you.



I've read several blogs, sites and forums regarding mole removal using ACV, Castor Oil, Iodine, garlic and so on.  From the comments and suggestions ACV seems to have a high success rate.  There are several different instructions to choose from.  I chose the most simplest one out there because these are items I already have in my home.

Apple Cider Vinegar Treatment For Moles

You'll need:

1.     Apple Cider Vinegar
2.    Cotton balls
3.    Cotton Swabs (Q-tips)
4.    Emery Board
5.    Band-Aids
6.    Vaseline

Clean the mole and surrounding area.  Abrade the mole lightly with an emery board and then soak a piece of cotton in apple cider vinegar.  Coat the healthy skin around the mole with vaseline to protect it from the acid.  Place the cotton on the mole and hold it in place with a bandaid.  Leave it on for 15 minutes, some people have left it on overnight.


Day 1:  Today is Sunday, February 17, 2013.  I cleaned the mole and the surrounding area.  After drying I took a cotton swab, dabbed some vaseline on to the skin surrounding the mole. (This is to protect the surrounding skin from the ACV because ACV contains acid that might irritate the skin.)  Once done I took a cotton ball and pulled off a small piece, the piece was about the size of my mole and soaked it in ACV.  I then placed the small cotton soaked with ACV directly on my mole after squeezing the excess from it and held in place using a bandaid.  Using a timer I left it on for 15 minutes.  I didn't seem to have a reaction to it.  Some people said that their mole and the surrounding skin was burned or irritated.  It did not have that effect on me.  Maybe because I didn't scrape my mole?  I have no idea but no nothing so far.  Let's see what tomorrow brings.




Day 2:  Today is Monday, February 18, 2013.  I applied the ACV exactly as I did yesterday but the only difference is I left it on for an hour instead of 15 minutes.  I felt no discomfort, no irritation or burning sensation.  Hmmm...I wonder if it's doing anything at all?


Day 3:  Today is Tuesday, February 19, 2013.  Today I got a little impatient because as of this morning (I put some ACV on the mole with a Q-tip when I woke up) I still had not felt any burning sensation like everyone has written or vlogged about that has tried this method.  So after work, around 5:30 pm, I cleaned the mole and surrounding area and after drying and putting vaseline on the healthy skin I scraped the mole softly with an emery board before placing a piece of cotton soaked in ACV on it and held it in place with a bandaid.  Boy did it burn baby burn!  It didn't burn like in painful I'm going to die of the pain burn it was more like a strong chemical peel type of burn which I can handle because I've had plenty of chemical peels done on my face.  After an hour I removed the ACV bandage.  Around 8:30 pm I got ready for bed and while brushing my teeth I debated whether or not to do the ACV again.  The masochist in me decided to put it on one more time before actually going to sleep.  No scraping this time.  It still burned but not like earlier.  Now I'm debating whether or not to leave it on overnight.  If it was in any other place I would have no problem making the decision to sleep with it on but because it's right below my nostril I'm not sure if I'll be comfortable enough to sleep with half of my nostril covered and inhaling vinegar all night.  It has me craving fish and chips already.


Day 5:  Today is Thursday, February 21, 2013.  So I ended up not leaving the ACV on overnight on Tuesday.  I just couldn't do it but tonight I am.  I'm getting ready to go to sleep and I've just finished bandaging the ACV to my mole after softly scraping it with an emery board.  I skipped putting it on last night (Wednesday).  I was just too tired.  I hope the ACV doesn't irritate/burn the skin around my mole.  Right now all I'm feeling is a stinging sensation in the mole's general area.  I don't know if it's just the mole that is stinging or if the skin around it is included in the mix.


Day 7:  Today is Saturday, February 23, 2013.  I've just finished taping another dose of ACV on my mole.  No stinging at all tonight.  I'm kind of disappointed.  When I woke up yesterday morning after leaving the ACV on all night I found that the skin around my mole was slightly burned from the acid.  I guess I didn't do a good enough job of layering on the vaseline.  Tonight what I decided to do was cut off one end of a bandaid, regular tape would have done but I didn't have any on hand, and placed it on the skin right beneath my mole and layered vaseline on top of the tape and around the edges so the acid would not be able to seep through.  I hope that works in keeping the skin protected.  So far I haven't seen any change to the mole, none what so ever.  Maybe my mole is a supermole, impervious to acids, bullets and general rough housing?  But true to form, I will not give up!  I AM as stubborn as my family and friends accuse me of.


Day 8:  Today is Sunday, February 24, 2013.  I did another application this morning and left it on for 2 hours.  When I removed the bandage I couldn't believe my eyes.  The mole seems to have gotten larger!  I don't know if that is a good sign or not.  It has me a little worried.  Later in the day I did another application and left it on for an hour.  No change.  I applied it again in the evening for another couple of hours and again no change.  It is still enlarged.  I read in one website that it does happen occasionally.  I'm going to stick it out and continue.  My mole seems to be as stubborn as I am.


Day 11:  Today is Wednesday, February 27, 2013.  My mole is starting to turn black and scab in one area, the bottom left side of the mole.  The part that has turned black and scabbed feels rough but it's mostly on the surface of the mole.  I don't think it has penetrated beyond the first couple of layers.  The area that hasn't turned black is still brown and soft.  Tonight I scraped the soft areas of the mole with an emery board and applied the ACV soaked cotton.  I will leave it on overnight.  I am so excited that I am finally seeing progress.


To be continued...

--
*Allene Angelica*
       =^_^=

Friday, February 1, 2013

Update - Red LED Light Treatment for my Eczema and Chemical Peel

I haven't talked about my eczema in a while, that's because it hasn't reoccurred.  I pull out my red LED light occasionally to use it when my skin feels irritated but honestly I haven't used it in over six months.  I am so thankful I discovered that light.  It has really kept me sane.  I am again in the middle of a chemical peel treatment series.  Last night was my third treatment.  (I used a 35% Glycolic-Lactic acid mixture)  I didn't do my neck or my decolletage area this time.  I'll save that for this weekend.  My skin this morning feels soft, smooth and tight maybe a little raw (my cheeks have a slight red tinge) but I know that those are signs that the peeling is about to commence in the next few days.  For this series I'm going to do six treatments, once every week to a week and a half and then my girlfriends and I are going to get together at a spa in a couple of months to do a microdermabrasion treatment.  The microdermabrasion should get rid of any stubborn excess flaky skin that might still be clinging to my face.  I can't wait!  This weekend I also need to take care of my hair.  It's in desperate need of a lot of things; color, hot oil treatment, a trim...etc...  I'm not sure I'll be able to accomplish all but I'll certainly try.

--
*Allene Angelica*
       =^_^=