Quick answer
Mixing baking soda, honey, and apple cider vinegar into a paste is not a science-backed acne treatment. The biggest problem is pH: apple cider vinegar can be irritatingly acidic, baking soda can push the mixture back toward neutral or basic, and healthy skin is supposed to stay mildly acidic.
What the video explains
The video tests the claim instead of just vibe-checking it. A pH meter shows water near neutral, apple cider vinegar around the acidic range, honey still acidic, and the combined baking-soda mixture moving back above neutral. That matters because acne treatments like salicylic acid work partly because they are acids that help break down dead skin cells and oils. Randomly neutralizing or raising skin pH is not the same thing.
Why this matters
Home remedies often sound safer because the ingredients are familiar. But familiar does not mean harmless, especially on skin. Vinegar can irritate or burn, baking soda can disrupt the skin barrier, and a neutral paste may push skin away from the mildly acidic environment it normally uses to protect itself.
Evidence notes
A related Distilled Science page, Is Honey Good for Acne?, notes that honey has evidence in wound-healing contexts, but the acne-specific clinical evidence is much weaker. In one small randomized trial, adding honey to antimicrobial soap did not show a clear added benefit over the soap alone.
Resources from the related source page
- Honey and acne clinical trial: PMC4746462
- Honey for skin disorders review: PubMed 29138732
- Honey wound-healing review/meta-analysis: PubMed 33856925
Original transcript basis
"Here's the problem. Your skin should be somewhat acidic, around 5. So putting on that neutral paste could raise the pH and mess with your skin health." The article keeps that practical warning and expands the logic around pH, skin barrier risk, and evidence quality.