Did Vinegar Lighten My Hair?

[Islandgrrl]

Last week, our own very talented Euphony sent me a poo bar. With instructions to follow with a vinegar rinse.

So I shampoo barred my hair (nice, by the way), and vinegar rinsed (I used ACV, diluted 3 tbs vinegar to about 3 cups water). I've done this twice now, and yesterday I had three separate people ask me if I'd lightened my hair. :confused:

I did not follow my vinegar rinse with a clear water rinse, I just left the vinegar in my hair (DH: What's that smell? Me: What smell? DH: I think it's your hair....it smells like....salad dressing? Me: Oh, uh, :o).

I did notice when I was rinsing my hair from the poo bar the first time I used it, that the water coming out of my hair with the suds (very small suds) looked actually dirty - like brownish.

So I'm wondering if the poo bar removed buildup that was making my hair look darker than it really is and I'm just seeing what it really looks like, or if it's possible that the ACV rinse did in fact make my hair lighter?

Or am I just a hopeless hair idiot? Hey, it's possible.

[lora410]

You haven't dyed or henna'd your hair? If not I say it was removing buildup. Poo bars are amazing at that. I use vinager rinses and I haven't noticed any lightening of my hair.

[spidermom]

Vinegar rinses make my hair look lighter, too; I've had people comment about it. I don't know if it's the incredible shine or what. Unfortunately, vinegar also make my hair wildly fly-away, so maybe they meant "lighter" as in "floating". haha

[LadyGunn]

I noticed the same thing when I first started doing ACV rinses. I could see my blonde-ish streak in the front so much better but I was afraid it was going to lighten everything else too. I haven't seen any lightening since the first time or two though, & I've been using ACV for several months now.

[Sammybunny711]

Will ACV turn blonde hair reddish?

[spidermom]

Will ACV turn blonde hair reddish?

Oh yes - actually, it does. I used white vinegar after finding that out.

[Islandgrrl]

Well, I have red hair to start with, but I henna the grey at my temples. It doesn't appear that the henna there has been stripped.

Thank you, ladies. I feel so much better knowing that this initial lightening is normal!

[ktani]

Acv has been reported to add colour to hair, reddish tints. Vinegar cannot lighten hair that I know of, but it can be drying, if the dilution is too low. Dry hair can look lighter in colour and that is consistent with fly away results, IMO.

Shampoo bars are alkaline and by virtue of that fact, can open the cuticle enough to remove some artificial (added) hair colour.

[Islandgrrl]

Thanks, Ktani!

Reddish tints I don't care about. I have red hair to start with. :) I don't color my hair other than to cassia/henna the gray at my temples once a month or so, and I don't see any change there, really.

The dryness, though, that makes sense. So I'm guessing here that I should be following the ACV with a clear water rinse to prevent dryness and perhaps adding a bit of moisture back in with some good condish?

I actually did a pretty good conditioning this morning since my hair did feel more tangly than usual, I used Avalon Organics Tea Tree Mint Treatment Conditioner (first time) that a friend gave me - she didn't like the mint tingle on her scalp (go figure....I think it feels, well, cool). It's bunned and drying now, so I'll evaluate later and see if it looks darker with moisture.

I just have to say, I love that I keep learning new and interesting things here!

[ktani]

Thanks, Ktani!

Reddish tints I don't care about. I have red hair to start with. :) I don't color my hair other than to cassia/henna the gray at my temples once a month or so, and I don't see any change there, really.

The dryness, though, that makes sense. So I'm guessing here that I should be following the ACV with a clear water rinse to prevent dryness and perhaps adding a bit of moisture back in with some good condish?

I actually did a pretty good conditioning this morning since my hair did feel more tangly than usual, I used Avalon Organics Tea Tree Mint Treatment Conditioner (first time) that a friend gave me - she didn't like the mint tingle on her scalp (go figure....I think it feels, well, cool). It's bunned and drying now, so I'll evaluate later and see if it looks darker with moisture.

I just have to say, I love that I keep learning new and interesting things here!

You are most welcome and no, you do not necessarily need anything to follow a vinegar rinse.

What you do need to do, to avoid dryness from the rinse itself, is change your dilution (add more water), until you find what works for your hair.

I believe the "standard" dilution is 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup of water.

[Katze]

Will ACV turn blonde hair reddish?

Not mine. I've even used balsamic without any bad side effects. But it is arguable if my hair is actually blonde. :) It is, however, light enough that I notice that vinegar strips off oils and makes it look noticeably lighter.

[twilight_faerie]

I'd actually heard that ACV *darkens* hair over time. I've considered switching to white because I don't want my hair to darken, actually. Does this mean that ACV DOESN'T darken hair, just adds a red tint?

[Delilah]

I think it removed buildup and could have removed some old color deposit in your hair (if you have any).
Hard water buildup for iron can be black/brown and for rust can be reddish brown, so minerals from your water being clarified off your hair could indeed result in lighter hair.

I just love shampoo bars + vinegar rinses, I have been doing that combo for over a year and it works so well.
For my vinegar rinse I put about 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of rich conditioner in a 600ml conditioner bottle and fill it to the top with white vinegar. I keep this in the shower. I squirt about 1/5 of that into an empty conditioner bottle and dilute it with cold water and use that to rinse every time I wash my hair.

[ktani]

I'd actually heard that ACV *darkens* hair over time. I've considered switching to white because I don't want my hair to darken, actually. Does this mean that ACV DOESN'T darken hair, just adds a red tint?

It has been reported to darken lighter coloured hair by adding red/gold tones. I do not think that the amount of colour it can add would be sufficient to darken your hair colour.

[Sissy]

It has been reported to darken lighter coloured hair by adding red/gold tones. I do not think that the amount of colour it can add would be sufficient to darken your hair colour.

Phew... this is good to know. I use ACV once and a while when I use my shampoo bars. I wouldn't want any lightening effect... my aim is for darker hair.:eyebrows: