Need help tweaking my BS/ACV...

[jewelotn]

Hi everyone!

I'm fairly new here and every free minute, I read all the old threads I can. I've been experimenting w/ BS & ACV for a few weeks and I need help figuring something out... My ends feel better but the roots...not so much.

During the shower, my hair feels great as in there is no residue feeling. The moment my hair starts to dry, the roots and the top layer of hair right at the roots starts to feel like it's coated with something waxy. I figure it's probably some of the sebum. I feel like b/c of that residue, its causing my hair to just sit on my head like a helmut.

I thought maybe I needed more BS solution so last night, I used 2 TBS with 2 cups of hot water. I used a squirt bottle to get to my roots and then made sure I concentrated the solution on the hair close to the roots. I massage a little bit and then rinse. Is there something else I can do to get rid of that waxy feeling at the roots? Am I not leaving the BS in for long enough?

I keep reading how people who've switched to BS/ACV have silkier hair and I've been hoping my hair would respond like that too. I mean my lengths/ends don't feel as crunchy but there's no "movement" to my hair. And I know, as a wavy, coarse gal, I'll never have that "swooshy" type of hair but I think I should have a little bit of it, right...?

[Heidi_234]

I never did the BS/ACV thing myself, but could it be that you're not diluting your ACV enough? I heard people saying that less diluted ACV made their hair greasier. Maybe the waxy feeling you experience can come across as greasiness for others.
I also wouldn't recommend adding more BS as it's very alkaline and that is not great for hair.
HTH :flower:

[GlebeGirl]

Hi, jewelotn! The 2 tbsp to two cups of hot water is the strongest correct dilution so using that shouldn't be a problem. I can successfully use a dilution of 1 tbsp to 2 cups of water if my hair isn't tooooooo dirty to begin with, but I think the success rate also depends on the water in your area. It definitely takes a bit of experimenting to find your ideal solution strength, but as long as you don't increase it past the the 2 tbsp to 2 cups water it shouldn't have any detrimental effect.

The way that I do this is to pour the solution onto DRY hair at the beginning of my shower, concentrating at the roots and letting it work its way down my length with gravity, let it sit while I wash my face, then massage my roots with my fingertips all over my head until I begin to get a slippery feeling on my scalp. Depending on how long it's been since washing my hair the slippery feeling might be more or less pronounced, but there's always a bit of it. I think it's important to let the solution sit on the hair for at least a minute or two before the massaging so that it has a chance to work on the existing 'dirt'. I also find I have better results when pouring onto dry hair rather than wet.

My vinegar rinse is usually only about a tbsp of vinegar to two cups of water. I find I have better results with a weaker solution of that, although I don't like to go any weaker than that!

Good luck and please report back on your results!

[jewelotn]

Heidi_234--I know, I wonder about the BS solution but it's the same PH level as shampoo so I think I'm ok. :) Yeah, looks like I might need to mess with the ACV rinse. I was getting the waxy-greasy feeling with 1 TBS+1 cup water but that was at the beginning of my switch so maybe I should go back to that.


GlebeGirl-I wait for the slippery feeling too but I haven't tried on dry hair. Today is wash day so I'm vacillating between doing WO (trying to stretch out the days I use BS/ACV) and trying the BS on dry hair. Sounds like I should try a more diluted ACV rinse. =)

[GlebeGirl]

GlebeGirl-I wait for the slippery feeling too but I haven't tried on dry hair. Today is wash day so I'm vacillating between doing WO (trying to stretch out the days I use BS/ACV) and trying the BS on dry hair. Sounds like I should try a more diluted ACV rinse. =)

In my experience with this method I've found that people seem to have more trouble getting the ACV amounts tailored to their needs than the baking soda! It's funny, since it would be so easy to assume it's the more benign, trouble-free ingredient. :D Some people prefer to use white vinegar and I did for a long time, myself.

I did a baking soda/vinegar wash this morning but I went full-strength with my baking soda dilution because it had been so long since I washed. I don't use conditioner when I do this now, I just shea butter the length a bit when I get out of the shower and it's still damp. To prevent shea buildup I just gently squeeze the length a few times when it has the BS solution in it to cleanse it.

I actually find that doing ACV 'washes' between Shampoo Free washings helps me stretch them out. I just pour on my usual ACV rinse at the start of my shower, massage it really well at the end, rinse it out and condition as usual. My hair seems pretty happy and clean when I do that. Not shampoo-clean, but not dirty.

[NurseMama]

My method is the same as GlebeGirl. I apply the BS/water mixture to dry hair and let it sit for a bit before rinsing.

[Wind Dragon]

It's been a while since I washed with BS/ACV, but yeah -- pretty much everything GlebeGirl has said. Me, I have to dilute about a TBS of ACV (small splash, don't really measure) with about 3 cups water; much more than that, and I get greasy much faster.