Has anyone experienced breakage/increased split ends from acidic rinses?

[Fimu]

The reason why I ask is because I wonder how likely the health of my hair has been affected last year by using:

Malibu C crystals (brown sachets) monthly for about a year,
trying Shikakai rinses twice last year
occasionally mixed vitamin C with my co-wash (also measured a very low pH when I dissolved conditioner and vitamin C in water).


When I used shikakai, I got very grippy and frizzy hair and afterward I measured a very low pH, indicating that my hair didn't tolerate that pH very well regardless of the conditioner I followed up with.

[Jane99]

I was doing vinegar rinses pretty often but stopped because my hair felt like it was drying out.

[MusicalSpoons]

How low was your low pH?

[Fimu]

MusicalSpoons below 4 anyhow, so I guess around 3, which is below "safe level".

[Lucy McLucyFace]

MusicalSpoons below 4 anyhow, so I guess around 3, which is below "safe level".

Hair's natural ph is between 4.5 and 5.5 and most hair products don't go under 3.5 so theoretically that would be way too acidic. Don't know if that's the exact problem though but I've also read that some acidic rinse can break down some of the protein in the hair

[Fimu]

Hair's natural ph is between 4.5 and 5.5 and most hair products don't go under 3.5 so theoretically that would be way too acidic. Don't know if that's the exact problem though but I've also read that some acidic rinse can break down some of the protein in the hair

That could make sense. I also wonder how likely it has damaged the cortex level which may lead into mid-shaft splits.

[0xalis]

Dry hair = splits. Mine got dried out from protein overload, others get dried out from sulfates, and many get dried out from bleach! Acidic rinses absolutely could be causing damage.

[MusicalSpoons]

Yikes, yes pH 3 is very low.



Hair's natural ph is between 4.5 and 5.5 and most hair products don't go under 3.5 so theoretically that would be way too acidic. Don't know if that's the exact problem though but I've also read that some acidic rinse can break down some of the protein in the hair


That could make sense. I also wonder how likely it has damaged the cortex level which may lead into mid-shaft splits.

Hair swells in liquid, and more so if it's in a solution with too high or low pH. More swelling = takes on more of the solution, + wrong pH = internal, structural damage. So yes, they could well have contributed, or indeed caused most of the damage. (Hair swelling in a solution with an ideal pH = potential damage only to the cuticle from swelling, because the right pH won't do any damage inside the hair itself.)

The other thing is time. If it literally is a rinse and not in contact with the hair for very long, it's much better tolerated than if the hair soaks in it. Another factor is whether the hair has already taken on water, in which case it is possible that something acidic staying on your hair (such as a rinse) would be diluted to an extent when it mixes with the water already in the hair - but if soaking, that's unlikely because the amount of water would be negligible in comparison to the acidic solution.

Some good info on Science-y Hair Blog http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/ph-and-your-hair-little-redox-to-make.html

[Fimu]

Yikes, yes pH 3 is very low.






Hair swells in liquid, and more so if it's in a solution with too high or low pH. More swelling = takes on more of the solution, + wrong pH = internal, structural damage. So yes, they could well have contributed, or indeed caused most of the damage. (Hair swelling in a solution with an ideal pH = potential damage only to the cuticle from swelling, because the right pH won't do any damage inside the hair itself.)

The other thing is time. If it literally is a rinse and not in contact with the hair for very long, it's much better tolerated than if the hair soaks in it. Another factor is whether the hair has already taken on water, in which case it is possible that something acidic staying on your hair (such as a rinse) would be diluted to an extent when it mixes with the water already in the hair - but if soaking, that's unlikely because the amount of water would be negligible in comparison to the acidic solution.

Some good info on Science-y Hair Blog http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/ph-and-your-hair-little-redox-to-make.html

The Science-y Hair Blog is where I've learned the info about wrong pHs indeed :). The rinses lasted 10 mins at most, but I doubt whether the wetness of my hair underneath the acidic application balanced out the pH enough.
On the other hand, I have used gels in the past that might have a slightly too high pH (7 to 8 ) while drying my hair for a couple of hours, and my tap water has a pH of 8 (more ideal would be 7 to 7.5).

But I was more wondering whether other people here have experienced irreversible damage from too frequently too-acidic rinses.

[Deborah]

No. My hair responds very well to acidic rinses and feels great.