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Using ascorbic acid (vitamin c) externally: Sore throat, irritated skin, cold sores

In my previous blog entry I have described that a mixture of citric acid and ascorbic acid was really good to keep hair and scalp healthy. It completely prevents dandruff.

Having that spray bottle with a citric acid and ascorbic acid handy I tried some other applications and the results are amazing.

I find this very interesting and I think it is not well known how beneficial the external use of ascorbic acid is.

spray bottle with citric acid and ascorbic acid solution a plastic bottle from a sinus rinse kit
1) A small spray bottle with a solution of citric acid and ascorbic acid. Keep it in a dark cabinet. Ascorbic acid oxidizes quickly and becomes yellow-brown when exposed to light. 2) A plastic bottle from a sinus rinse kit.

Why citric acid and ascorbic acid? I choose this mixture more out of intuition than for any particular reason but after having seen the benefits I have been thinking about it. In nature both acids are very often found together (think fruits). Maybe there is something about this combination. It seems to me that the combination of both acids provideds better results than any of the two alone. However just ascorbic acid works too and I did not do any detailed studdy on this.

It's not easy to buy pure ascorbic acid crystals in Canada or the US. Pharmaceutical companies in America seem to have concluded that ascorbic acid is just a supplement to be taken in tiny amounts and they found that they can make more money if they add flavors, colors and other stuff to sell nice tablets. In other words the difficulty to get it here is probably driven by financial considerations. In any case you can't use this tablet stuff from the pharmacy for any of the above applications! Therefore don't go to the pharmacy to buy ascorbic acid. Go to a health food store. They might have it. You are looking for pure ascorbic acid crystals (looks like white salt) with no other ingredients. You DON'T want BUFFERED ascorbic acid (aka sodium ascorbate) which is also a white powder but it is not an acid. The other option is to order it via ebay from Europe. In a lot of European countries you can get it in the supermarket or the pharmacy.

References

To this date there is a big argument ongoing between "vitamin" advocates and people who argue against it. Note that none of them talk about the external use of ascorbic acid. They all talk about "eating it". It's still a related subject and it is interesting to see different viewpoints on the subject. The truth is probably, as it is often the case, somewhere in the middle.

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