Temporary ACV rinse substitute?

[Saranne772]

Well for two reasons I need to have a substitute for my ACV rinse.

1) My dad has forbidden the further use of ACV whilst I live here (1st it was honey now ACV :rolleyes: ) He and my mother cannot abide the smell of it you see. As I am already moving out very shortly (2-3 weeks) I wont make an issue of it.

2) The cheap ACV I am using at the moment is causing irritation on my scalp. The organic didnt cause it, and as I am moving I think it would be best to wait til I move to buy my next load of ACV.

My subsititute needs to be unexpensive (if at all poss), simple and not messy. And not vinegar.

I use my ACV rinse after my shampoo bar wash.

[missy60]

I have heard people using citric acid rinses after shampoo bars. I dont use shampoo bars though so I dont know if it would work or not.

[Euphony]

I use citric acid, I use 1 teaspoon to 3 litres of water, my husband uses 2 teaspoons to 3 litres. Dunno why he likes it stronger. We both use hair soap/shampoo bars. Citric acid is super cheap.

[Saranne772]

Does citric acid smell at all? If not then I guess thats what it'll have to be. Maybe it will be lovely in my hair!

Sorry about the wrong board posting!

[sedonia]

diluted lemon juice, maybe? It would lighten your hair after a while, but if you don't blow dry or spend lots of time in the sun, it might work okay for the short term.

Citric acid does not smell vinegar-y or otherwise unpleasant.

[mellie]

Yes, I believe you can use diluted lemon or lime juice. ktani recommends a very dilute proportion of 1/4 t. of the lemon or lime juice to 1 c. water (double, triple or quadruple as needed)

[Euphony]

Citric acid has no scent.

[Anje]

Definitely go with citric acid. I can smell it a little, but it has very little odor -- your family won't notice it.

You can get it online, or you might find it in a store. Check the section devoted to canning foods. If you don't have luck there, look somewhere where you can buy Indian food -- I found mine among the spices.

[Saranne772]

okay thank you:)

[Tap Dancer]

Have you tried white vinegar? It works as well as ACV but it doesn't have the awful smell.

[Gladtobemom]

How MUCH ACV do you use?

I use about a Tablespoon in 3 cups of water. You can't even smell itexcept for the short time that it's on my hair in the shower.

Alternatively, Citric Acid works just as well. I put 1/4 tsp. in a quart of water, this gives me a pH of about 5.5.

[Saranne772]

I have an old litre icecream tub and I put enough ACV in the tub to just cover the base of the tub then I fill up to the 3/4 mark with water.

Tap Dancer- I havn't tried that one no, however as my parents have made such a strong objection to having the ACV I think it's best to go with something entirely different.

I will get some citric acid and try it out. Typical it happens now- my next wash is before a meet! haha!!

[danacc]

While ACV definitely has a stronger scent, white vinegar also smells like, well, vinegar. I use white vinegar, and it has a strong enough smell for my family to notice it while my hair is still damp.

I recommend trying citric acid.

[eccentricquirks]

Definitely go with the citric acid. As virtually scentless as that is, its your best bet.

[arylkin]

Is it citric acid powder that everyone is recommending? I've only seen it in powder form...

[Gladtobemom]

Yep, citric acid powder, you can buy it in the health food store.

1/4 tsp. in a quart of water, lift the length up so you can getit to your scalp, then let it flow down the length.

I do it BETWEEN washing and condish.

Then I don't rinse it out, just sort of squeeze most out.

Put condish on the length, squish in and comb (this gets just a bit of condish to the roots).

This acidifies the condish a bit and makes combing way easier.

[Saranne772]

Does anyone only use citric acid and no condish? I didnt use condish with ACV.

Thanks so much for specifying powder or Id have been wondering around shops looking for the liquid! :lol: :D

[Euphony]

Does anyone only use citric acid and no condish? I didnt use condish with ACV.

Thanks so much for specifying powder or Id have been wondering around shops looking for the liquid! :lol: :D
I do! I do!!

I use a conditioner maybe once ever couple of weeks just cuz I like it. But I do not wash my length. I only wash my scalp with hair soap then I let the lather run down the length (I've read many hair soaps don't have enough lather to do this but for some reason I don't have that problem). So my conditioner every couple of weeks is kind of a cleansing agent as well as a conditioner since I figure the conditioner will clean the length well enough to be good. On wash days without conditioner though I do tend to dab a touch of whatever oil sounds yummy that day on the ends and comb it through.

[spidermom]

Have you tried white vinegar? It works as well as ACV but it doesn't have the awful smell.

My white vinegar smells.

[Tapioca]

If I really try to detect a smell, it smells very faintly of lemon. *Very* faintly. And I find it in the ethnic section of the grocery store, with the Kosher foods, labeled as sour salt.