About two years ago I was dealing with some difficult acne. You can check out some of my videos from that time and see that I was either wearing heavy makeup to cover the mean, red acne on my face, or you could visibly see the acne scarring left behind. I wish I could say that fading acne scarring was an easy process, but unfortunately it’s not. It takes time.

Today I’ve been able to get acne under control and successfully fade a lot of the scarring that I had from my teens and early 20s. It took two years and consistent facial care, but now have the best skin I’ve ever had. It didn’t happen overnight, and if you want to decrease signs of acne scarring, you’ll need to be patient and use a few of these tips below.

6 Ways To Fade Acne Scarring

1. Use organic, raw apple cider vinegar.

Hailed as quite the miracle-worker, apple cider vinegar can do everything from clean your bathrooms to sooth a sore throat. I happen to use Bragg organic apple cider vinegar as a facial toner. It is amazing! The naturally-occurring acid in apple cider vinegar restores the acidity to our skin and kills acne-causing bacteria, removes excess dirt, makeup, and dissolves dead skin cells. You can spend big bucks on high-end cleansers and toners or you can use apple cider vinegar that is 100% natural and significantly cheaper.

If straight apple cider vinegar seems to strong, you can dilute it with filtered water.

2. Indian clay healing mask.

Maybe you’ve heard me rave about the Indian clay healing mask before, but I swear it is one of the biggest reasons I finally got control of my acne and got rid of acne scarring. You can get the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay on Amazon and it basically deep cleanses your pores, sloughs off all dead skin cells, and allows your skin to regenerate and create new skin— layers without acne scarring. I mix apple cider vinegar into the mask to double up on powerful properties and get new, glowing skin tissue.

3. Daily skin exfoliation.

My acne-prone skin needs daily exfoliation to refresh and regenerate. Dead skin cells, old makeup, dirt, and oils like to hang out on your skin’s surface and simply rinsing and wiping doesn’t take all of that junk off. You’re going to have to exfoliate. You can do this by using a granulated scrub or mask, using a loofah in gentle circular motions, or by using a small exfoliating beauty brush (you can find these in the cosmetic sections of most stores).

4. Choose a cleanser with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide.

The best cleansers for tackling acne are the ones that contain either salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. You’ll find that most over-the-counter acne cleansers are going to be one or the other. Personally, my skin does not handle salicylic acid well so I like to use a benzoyl peroxide cleanser. If you deal with acne, use trial and error to determine which works best for you. My favorite benzoyl peroxide cleanser is PanOxyl. It’s helped fade my acne scarring by lightening my skin.

5. Use a brightening moisturizing cream.

One thing I discovered about six months ago that I am loving is the Burt’s Bees Brightening Moisturizing Cream with daisy extract. This is an even skin tone moisturizer that brightens the skin and reduces the appearance of acne scarring. You can get it at any drug store or here on Amazon. This is a great product to use in conjunction with the apple cider vinegar toner.

6. Always, always use sunscreen.

Twenty years ago sunscreen wasn’t such a big deal. Today it is not only recommended, but pretty much a beauty law. Simply put, you have to protect your skin from sun damage. Not only that, but when you have acne or acne scarring like I have dealt with, every time you get sunburnt or tan, that pigment actually darkens your acne scars and stays there. If you don’t wear sunscreen, it will take a really, really long time to get rid of acne scarring. Protect your skin by wearing sunscreen or a hat—it’s so important.

You can check out my quick video on this topic here:

Thanks for stopping by! You can check out more beauty videos here. And feel free to share any secrets you have for reducing acne scarring.