Castile soap and ACV rinse making my hair oily?

[Mammasaurusrex]

So, Im a bit confused about what is going on with my hair. I didn't want to make a whole new thread about it but I can't find any information anywhere else. I wash my hair three times a week with dr bronners castile soap and an acv rinse. My hair never gets clean! I don't know what I am doing wrong. My scalp is always so oily. I don't really wash the ends thoroughly every time as they are always more clean than my scalp and I don't want the soap to dry them out. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I have not been rinsing the acv out afterwards but something I just read online said I am supposed to make it sit then rinse it out with water? I read before though to use acv as the last rinse and let it sit in your hair. Once my hair dries it doesn't smell like vinegar anymore and it looks shiny and healthy but still with the oily scalp problem. I don't have hard water or anything so Im just lost. Any ideas on what I can change to fix this?

[hennalonghair]

Yes! Your shampoo. I'm all using all natural products but I think what Dr. Bronners liquid Castile soap does is strip your hair so clean that your body naturally produces more oil to compensate.
There are many great all natural shampoos out there for oily hair.
Jacobs
St. Ives
Mill creek
Herbal glow
Burt's bees

I'd look for something with some peppermint or tea tree in it

[Mammasaurusrex]

Thats a great idea! I love tea tree shampoos. I can pick one up on Friday and wash day is on saturday so I will try that. Thank you for the suggestion :)

[hennalonghair]

You're welcome.
Here's an article here that's good
http://organicshampooforyou.com/organic-shampoo-for-oily-hair/

[Nadine <3]

I agree with hennalonghair. Shampoo. Castle soap, while it is all natural and it says you can wash your hair with it on the bottle, the PH is not that great for your hair and scalp, it can strip moisture and leave a gross waxy film on your hair. I would use a shampoo specifically formulated for hair and scalp.

[Nique1202]

Castile soap is oil-based soap. A quick Google search says Dr Bronner's is pretty well-known for leaving a waxy residue behind when people wash with it, which may be fine for dry scalps and skin, but if your scalp produces a good bit of oil on its own then that goes a long way to explaining why even right after a wash, your hair doesn't feel clean.

As recommended above, though, using a shampoo formulated for hair should help a lot, though you may wish to clarify first to get rid of the old residue.

[Mammasaurusrex]

Guys this bums me out so bad! I love my castile soap so much. I hope I can find something I like just as well on Friday. Thank you all for your help! I never thought it could be the actual soap causing me to be more oily, but it makes sense. I never feel like I rinse it from my hair well enough or something even though I am consciously trying to get it all out. Its so strange!

[truepeacenik]

How long have you been using the Dr B?
Going from detergents to soap has an adjustment period of a few weeks to months. (And some say, never.)

Another thought...have you read the bottle? The whole bottle? Aside from the all one rant, what's important?

Dilute! Dilute! Dilute! OK!

When I'm down to using Dr. B, I dilute about 10:1 water to soap. And scalp only wash.
I rinse ACV out, too. With cold if I can stand it. Not happening in December.

[Mammasaurusrex]

Ive been using it for months and I dilute but not 10:1. I will try that tonight I think. I can't stand how disgusting my hair feels right now. Maybe diluting it more than I do will help! Thank you for the suggestion :)

[Christine_O]

Dr. Bronner is far to alkaline for my hair. I tried once and came up with a horrible dry rat's nest. It took me weeks to get my hair back in shape. I know my hair is extra sensitive, but I have read online that it isn't really good for any hair type. All natural doesn't mean good for your hair. Sorry you're so bummed. I hope you can find a product that you like.

[Finallymajor]

I had a Dr Bronners disaster as well. I even used a shampoo recipe with the soap, coconut milk and other kitchen things. It was nice for a few shampoos until my hair was dried, fried and laid to the side. Woof. I still use as a body wash sometimes in a pinch. After this fiasco, I finally tried Co washing and I haven't looked back!

[spidermom]

It's the Dr. Bronners. That's the most horrible thing I ever tried on my hair, and the pH is far too alkaline. Hair and scalp like a slightly acid pH.

[Deborah]

Yep. Castile soaps are nice for other uses, but not for hair.

Don't water it down - stop using it.

[luvlonghair75]

I bought Giovanni shampoo & conditioner combo at Costco and it works great! Love the stuff! I use Dr. Bronner's oils for household cleaning and can understand why it would strip your natural oils from your hair! It works great to clean windows! lol

[missblueeyes]

What's your water hardness? Dr. Bronner's is a soap and I'm guessing the waxy residue is due to your water hardness. Your ACV rinse might not be strong enough.
I know a fair share of people who wash their hair with handmade soap bards without any problems and their hair is beyond healthy. It may be that your hair doesn't like the Dr. Bronners soap. If you want to continue looking for a good soap to wash with, I'd recommend you to try Chagrin Valley. :)

[hennalonghair]

Yeah I'm not dogging Castile soap at all. I've used some great Castile soaps on my hair with great results . For some reason many people including myself just can't use Dr. Bronners .

[missblueeyes]

Yeah, I totally got that vibe too, hennalonghair! There are some great soaps out there but Dr. Bronners just doesn't seem to cut it for most people! :flower:

[missrandie]

I tried Dr. B's and failed as well. It was just too alkaline for my hair, left me waxy, and I wound up having to wash again with shampoo right after. Very angry head and hair from that experience. I echo many othef suggestions when I say, go to shampoo again! My favorite natural one is Paradise Island Organics on Amazon. I have used the vanilla and pear and love them both.

[missblueeyes]

That's why you usually use an acidic rinse after an alkaline cleansing method such as soap. Otherwise, you'll get what we call "Kalkseife" in German. It literally translates to lime-soap. It's a very common phenomenon among soap-washers in hard water areas. Ugh, it's so frustrating when you can't express exactly what you're thinking because you're missing a word. :eye:

[jrmviola]

i tried to use a homemade soap bar that contained lye and three or four other ingredients and it would be clean in the shower but oily by the time it dried a few hours later...

"teatree hair bar- mild cleansing shampoo bar made with coconut, olive, castor, soy, hempseed, and jojoba oils, as well as lye. This bar is made with 25% fresh goats milk to give your hair a natural glow. It is infused with teatree and peppermint oil...."

ok a few more than three or four...

[MeAndTheMaz]

How long have you been using the Dr B?
Going from detergents to soap has an adjustment period of a few weeks to months. (And some say, never.)

Another thought...have you read the bottle? The whole bottle? Aside from the all one rant, what's important?

Dilute! Dilute! Dilute! OK!

When I'm down to using Dr. B, I dilute about 10:1 water to soap. And scalp only wash.
I rinse ACV out, too. With cold if I can stand it. Not happening in December.

Sheesh. Who's got time to read a Dr. B's bottle? War and Peace would be quicker. :)

[Knifegill]

I just dilute my bronner's with water and only wash once, maybe twice but never to full lather (quick, rinse it out!) if I really put a ton of coconut oil in pre-wash.

[Mammasaurusrex]

I finally caught up on all of your responses. You are all making good points that people leaving reviews on Dr Bronners didnt mention on amazon. I saw so many people raving about how great it was for their hair and it was for mine too for a short time. I have one bottle that has about an inch or two left of soap. I think I am going to fill it up with water and try diluting it that way. I will try it next week after I use the 1$ clarifying suave shampoo I bought today. I would love to try shampoo bars! I think I will look into that after next week if this super diluted Dr Bronners doesn't agree with my hair.

[chen bao jun]

I just dilute my bronner's with water and only wash once, maybe twice but never to full lather (quick, rinse it out!) if I really put a ton of coconut oil in pre-wash.

Yeah, I think back in the day before shampoo when people used to wash their hair with castile soap (even back then lots of people didn't do that but used something different like for instance eggs); they often used oil as well. there is an old thread somewhere on using oil in the shampoo or soap in the 1930's style, around here somewhere. a lot of people liked t his method but then got upset because the person who promoted it copyrighted it or something wierd like that and then said she owned the posts they made? Or something. It was quite the kerfluffle. But I think people liked the actual method.

The water was different in pre-shampoo days. People had like, rainwater. Piped in water makes it much harder to wash hair in soap. Also, people used to stretch their washes like crazy, I mean to like once per month. That was the purpose of BBB--got your hair clean without a lot of washing, because soap plus hair was such a terrible combination. Even with a vinegar rinse.

I do think that soap that is specially made to shampoo with, such as Chagrin Valley, is a much better bet than castile soap.

[Robi-Bird]

Castile soap, true castile soap made with only olive oil is... an acquired taste even just as hand soap. It's low cleansing and has a snotty lather. If you are going to use soap instead of shampoo, something with palm kernel or coconut or babassu oil would be better as these are the high cleansing oils. That said, you don't want something that is pure coconut, etc as it will be stripping and drying. No soap can actually moisturize your hair, period. This is the science of saponification, I'm afraid. That said, a balance bar of soap should be cleansing but not stripping.

I still vastly prefer sydets for my hair care but I do love bar soap for my skin.

[AutobotsAttack]

Yes! Your shampoo. I'm all using all natural products but I think what Dr. Bronners liquid Castile soap does is strip your hair so clean that your body naturally produces more oil to compensate.
There are many great all natural shampoos out there for oily hair.
Jacobs
St. Ives
Mill creek
Herbal glow
Burt's bees

I'd look for something with some peppermint or tea tree in it

I definitely agree. Castile soap is very stripping.

[Mammasaurusrex]

I was just looking at Chagrin Valley and was surprised to see that their products are inexpensive! I plan on purchasing the tea tree shampoo bar sample soon. There are so many to choose from and they all sound like they probably smell delicious!

[animetor7]

If you mostly liked Castile soap for your hair and just have an oily scalp I recommend a few things. First, try rinsing out the vinegar, when my hair is exposed to too much of an acidic environment (water,rinse whatever) then I find it gets oily much faster than when it is not in this environment. Second, you could try using a bit of normal shampoo just on your scalp where you're having some issues. Finally, try using dry shampoo or intermittent WO or CO washes to cut down on an oily scalp while avoiding stripping your ends. Good luck!

EDIT: I just saw your post. I'm a long time CV user and I love their bars. And yes, they do smell delicious. :)

[Mammasaurusrex]

Thats a good idea about rinsing out the vinegar. I always just let it soak in before! The only place I was getting really oily at was at my crown, very gross and packy feeling. I washed my hair today with clarifying shampoo, the cheap kind. I am going to try the extra diluted castile and rinsing the vinegar on Monday. That will just have to work until pay day so that I can get a shampoo bar sample :) Thank you for your suggestion!

[Arctic]

That's why you usually use an acidic rinse after an alkaline cleansing method such as soap. Otherwise, you'll get what we call "Kalkseife" in German. It literally translates to lime-soap. It's a very common phenomenon among soap-washers in hard water areas. Ugh, it's so frustrating when you can't express exactly what you're thinking because you're missing a word. :eye:

I think it's called soap scum.

[vpatt]

Wow, for some reason I don't seem to have issues with Dr. Bronner's. But I sometimes added oil or coconut milk to the soap or did an oil massage before the wash. I used a bit of vinegar in a large glass of cold water and did not rinse again. I did also at times use a bar soap and had no trouble. Perhaps my water is different or using both the liquid and bars at different times helped. I think I used these both for about a year. I have also used mud, honey and baking soda separately as well as mixed together with no problem. I have just done a lot of experimenting with shampoos, lol.
BUT since being on LHC I have begun using commercial shampoos....because of reading about them and being so easily enabled, lol. With the soaps my hair did act differently on the ends after a while. Not oily or tangled...maybe messy looking? I think it may have been from all the castor oil I was using for growth....I used it two or three times a week for a couple of months. Or maybe my ends are just different after a year or two of growing out. Anyway, I recently tried a silver shampoo that I think acted as a clarifying shampoo and it felt great....I have recently bought more shampoo, lol. So from all natural to commercial. I feel that I should stick to all natural.....but for now I am not.

I'm not trying to be disagreeable......just wanted to say it worked for me and I think my issue was the extra use of oil because that was when I began noticing the ends looking different......but other people did not seem to notice it. But from all I've read most people seem to have issues with soap.

And I can remember one of my grandmothers collecting rainwater for washing her hair.

Actually, just before switching back to commercial 'poos I had been using my bars more than the liquid soap. I had superfatted with coconut oil......coconut oil was the only oil in the soap......I prefer that over using a blend of oils.