Why rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar

[Fairlight63]

I was wondering what is the purpose of rinsing with ACV? what does it do for your hair? Why do you use it?
Does it help with a shedding problem? (which I have)
Does it make hair grow faster? (would like that :cheese:)
Or does it dry out the hair? (which I don't want)

[Aisha25]

Closes the cuticle making hair shinier. Also relieves some itching for some:)

[Euphony]

I make soap and belong to several soap making forums. We had a discussion on vinegar rinses and a few of us realized it has one terrific benefit that it didn't dawn on us that it had :D

I have tinea versicolor - this is a fungus that is in the air, it's everywhere, but you only get it if you are susceptible to it. This is something that is never 'cured' it is only temporarily gotten rid of, but that's because it's in the air all around us. For the last two years I've been washing my hair predominantly with hair soap, some people may not agree, but I feel hair soap must be followed by an acidic rinse (like vinegar). My tinea versicolor is completely gone from my back, I haven't had it there in about 2 years.

One of the other girls on the soap forum has been rinsing her body with acv for years. In essence she's using it as a chelating agent to ensure a complete rinse since of course she only uses handmade soap and sometimes that doesn't rinse as well as detergent soap. It dawned on her that her tinea versicolor hasn't reared it's head since she's been rinsing with acv.

Dandruff can be a fungus, the acv rinse helps a great deal with that. Some people have fungi on their scalp that inhibits hair growth (the monistat thread has info on that I'm sure). The acv rinse keeps the fungi off the scalp.

Even when it is immediately rinsed off it does help with fungi, as well as those things that Aisha25 mentioned in her post.

[Fairlight63]

Thats interesting about tinea versicolor. I wonder if that is what I get in the summer. It looks something like ringworm but is a clear color. You can't see it unless in the sun light but you can feel it, it feels like rough dry skin & kind of itches. I get it on my arms & legs usually.
Does that sound like what you have? I don't get it in my hair though, knock on wood!

[Stevy]

It makes my hair shinier and easier to manage, and seems to get rid of buildup.

[Dreamernz]

For me it makes my hair shinier and softer and washes away any residue missed out in the wash, I use it prodominently in coalition with my egg rinse, to balance out the straw-like strengthening properties of the egg :D

[RavennaNight]

I just started using ACV rinses, and it makes hair sooo shiny! I had ACV sitting in the cupboard for the longest time until I finally tried it. Hmmm... I have catnip still on stems in the cupboard too, and the cat is straightedge, ignores catnip, and hates the smell of alcohol lol. Runs off to read the ginormous catnip thread...

[florenonite]

Makes the hair shinier, and therefore easier to detangle, but primarily it restores the acid mantle of the scalp and hair. It also helps with my dandruff, which is good. heidi w wrote an excellent article on the topic, I'll see if I can dig it up. I love the articles section, it's such a wealth of information!

Ah, here's (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=56) the article. It's actually posted by danacc, but was originally by heidi w.

ETA: Link's fixed now, thanks Gumball for letting me know!

[Gumball]

Makes the hair shinier, and therefore easier to detangle, but primarily it restores the acid mantle of the scalp and hair. It also helps with my dandruff, which is good. heidi w wrote an excellent article on the topic, I'll see if I can dig it up. I love the articles section, it's such a wealth of information!

Ah, here's (http://%22http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=56) the article. It's actually posted by danacc, but was originally by heidi w.

You may want to tweak that link's URL just a smidgen. I'm still debating about whether or not I'll give ACV a whirl. One of these days I just may.

[SimplyLonghair]

Not only does it make it shiny and help with fungi, but it helps me with flyaways, but cutting down on static:D

[spidermom]

Not only does it make it shiny and help with fungi, but it helps me with flyaways, but cutting down on static:D

Isn't that funny? It makes my hair so wildly fly-away that the extra shine isn't worth it, plus the smell lingers no matter how much I rinse.

[Katze]

I only use it very rarely, if my scalp is extra itchy and crusty. I also have to rinse with water afterwards because of the smell. However, I've used normal white vinegar AND balsamic vinegar with the same results as ACV. :)

For me, ACV doesn't do much except help with itchiness. Still, it is nice once in a while.

[Euphony]

Thats interesting about tinea versicolor. I wonder if that is what I get in the summer. It looks something like ringworm but is a clear color. You can't see it unless in the sun light but you can feel it, it feels like rough dry skin & kind of itches. I get it on my arms & legs usually.
Does that sound like what you have? I don't get it in my hair though, knock on wood!

I've never gotten it on my hair, face, ears, feet or hands - but pretty much everywhere else has been fair game - I've had it for 21 years. Granted I take medication once a year to get rid of it, but it always comes back :rolleyes:

Here's a webmd article (http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/tinea-versicolor-topic-overview) on it.

It can be dark or light spots. On skin that I don't get a lot of sunlight on the spots are darker than the surrounding skin, on areas that tan the spots are lighter.

[Anje]

If you're doing a mostly-water based washing schedule, a vinegar rinse also cuts the sebum a bit, so it reduces greasiness further than rinsing with water alone. Furthermore, it dissolves soap scum, so if you have hard water and use a soap-based shampoo (or bar), it will remove the scum from your hair. For that reason, white vinegar also makes very nice shower cleaner.

[SimplyLonghair]

Isn't that funny? It makes my hair so wildly fly-away that the extra shine isn't worth it, plus the smell lingers no matter how much I rinse.
It just goes to show that different hair loves different thing, and why we have soooo many different routines and products! :silly:
My hair also loves egg shampoo, but DD hair thinks that it is nasty!:evil:

[xrosiex]

I use it because it helps restore the scalps natural ph balance. Plus the above mentioned benifits.:)

[xkitxgirx]

wow, I didn't realize that ACV could help with the scalp. I wish I had heard this a long time ago. I also never knew that dandruff could be a fungus. All I know is I have oily hair but my scalp is just dandruff and itchy, and it drives me nuts because everything I've tried that helps my scalp, seems to make my hair greasy. This shouldn't do that should it? If not I'm going to have to go and buy some ACV. Wow, it seems its a miracle cure for many things. ACV is also used to prevent certain health issues in dogs. I know that's totally off topic, I just think its amazing how versatile one thing can be.

[Wind]

I use ACV to de-gunk my hair! Clairify, is maybe the right word? Anyways, I use jojoba, a volumizing mouse, hairspray occasionally, a heat protectant, and a protective paste type stuff (the name escapes me!) on the hair, and ACV cleans any build up off and leaves it smooth and shiney. :D I do find that I use it more in the summer than the winter, maybe because of the humidity?
Oh, and always dilute. I do a couple tablespoons in a cup or so of water. Not for sure exactly, it just has a certain smell to it when it's good. And my hair never smells after it dries. While wet, it reeks no matter how long I rinse it, but dry it's fine. I actually think the smell is kinda yummy. :p Reminds me of a good salad.

[tabitie]

Thank you for the tips Aisha, Euphony, Steva...

Aisha, your unbelievably elegant bun is the biggest reason I joined this list. Truly inspirational... a bun of dreams!!

I want one just like it in medium, neutral reddish-brown!!

[bjjowett1993]

Let's start off with the science behind this. :) The pH scale (Power of Hydrogen) goes from 0-14, 7 being neutral, (Pure water) and anything lower is acidic, anything higher is alkali/basic. What the numbers indicate on the scale is, if it is a 0, such as hydrochloric acid, it means that the substance has very low amounts of Hydrogen bonds within its molecular structure. Whereas 14, such as lye, has very high amounts. Hair and skin has a pH level of about 5.5, making it slightly acidic, whereas our bodily fluid, with the exception of stomach acids, should be alkali/basic. so when a weak acid, such as vinegar (acetic acid) (pH of 4) is applied to the hair, closes the cuticle, making it softer, and shinier. Acid rinses are also good for returning the hair to its natural shape, so for instance, if you set your hair in really tight curls or ringlets, and even after having a shower, there is still a litle wave, when your hair is usually stick straight, this will help return your hair back to normal. Now on the other hand when alkali/basic substances are applied to the hair, it has sort of the opposite effect. It opens the cuticle, making it look dull, and feel rough. Alkalis/bases are used in such products as dyes/bleaches, to make it easier for colour to be removed, or put into the medulla and cortex of the hair shaft. Alkalis/bases are also present in relaxers and perm solutions, which leads me to my next point about alkalis/bases. A strong alkali/base such as lye (Sodium Hydroxide), has a pH of 14 and what strong bases/alkalis do to the hair other than what I have already said is, if the hair is curly, for example. a base/alkali will straighten the hair a bit. So if your shampoo is basic/alkali, then some curl will be lost unless you switch your shampoo, or do an acid rinse. Perms, are essentially the same thing as relaxer, chemically speaking anyways, obviously not cosmettically. The only difference between a perm and a relaxer, is the shape you are trying to get the hair to conform to. For perms, you roll the hair, then apply the perm solution, where as relaxers, you brush it back, and then apply the relaxer, thus straightening the hair. Other ways of closing the cuticle are: using a final cold water rinse, or throughout, and using soft water, ideally "pure" rain water. Ironically, "pure" rain water, (before we started screwing over our environment) was slightly acidic, having a pH of 5.5, just like hair and skin, and naturally the softest water in terms of minerals present that could be found on earth. If we showered with cold, pure rain water, and our hair was virgin, and we did eveything else hair-concious people should be doing, our hair would be absolutely breathtaking!

[Aditi]

ACV restores the ph balance of the scalp which water rips it away and it also make my hair shinier and smoother.

[tabitie]

A 2:1 ratio of white vinegar and filtered tapwater (total of 3 cups) provided instant relief for scalp-itching and buildup for me today. I only left it on my hair for 2 minutes.

Instant success!

I'd never had a problem with itching and buildup until I colored my hair with L------ N------ --stincts #6N and used the conditioner inside their green tube that came with the package. Then the buildup from it on my scalp started driving me crazy.

Amla and vinegar was like a miracle for me... I even started a thread about it.

Thanks for the tip everybody!

[Soniasonia]

It keeps my scalp dandruff free:)

[AJoifulNoise]

ACV rinse does nothing good for my hair. In fact, it does the opposite. But, it does help with scalp itchies. So, occasinally I do an ACV rinse then rinse it out of my length.