The real deal with lemon juice?

[Lady Verity]

Can anybody tell me the facts about rinsing your hair with diluted lemon juice?

I'm naturally blonde, but in the winter it goes a little dark. I try not to use lemon juice because I heard it damages your hair something awful.

However...we use vinegar as a rinse, and that's acidic, right? What makes lemon juice so different?

And why is there no lemon emoticon? :D

[ktani]

As a diluted rinse for hair to close cuticles, remove soap scum etc., there is no real difference. Both can be drying if not diluted well enough (their pH is very close). Vinegar is about 4% acetic acid, lemon juice is citric and asorbic acids. The problems (dryness) with using either rinse, start with the dilution.

The standard proportion used successfully (no dryness), I believe, is about 1 tablespoon of either to at least a cup of water. You can vary that to your needs but I would not use more product.

Lemon juice can make skin photosensitive, so it is best to rinse a rinse out.

This link is about canning, not hair but this is interesting, IMO. "Note: Don't use fresh lemon juice as it's acidity varies." (http://missourifamilies.org/quick/foodsafetyqa/qafs272.htm)

I put more information here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=538731&postcount=10) on lemon juice and hair use.

[aahavaa]

My experience with lemon juice hasnt been too good.In my teens I tried to use it to bleach streaks into my hair and they bleached it to orangey tones but my hair went like straw.
I also used lemon juice in my first henna and it really dried my hair out.Thus personally I keep away from it and am wary of ACV in case it dries it out too.I do want to try it out and see though, cos some people do love it .

[jewelotn]

Not much to add since the Ktani covered it all pretty much.

And that's interesting about the acidity of real lemon juice! Never would've thought but it makes sense. My friend has a lemon tree. Some of her lemons are sweeter or not as sour as other ones.

I tried lemon juice once on the suggestion it would get rid of this waxy feeling underneath my canopy but it didn't do much. But, I think as an alternative to ACV, I think it'll do just fine.

[ktani]

Not much to add since the Ktani covered it all pretty much.

And that's interesting about the acidity of real lemon juice! Never would've thought but it makes sense. My friend has a lemon tree. Some of her lemons are sweeter or not as sour as other ones.

I tried lemon juice once on the suggestion it would get rid of this waxy feeling underneath my canopy but it didn't do much. But, I think as an alternative to ACV, I think it'll do just fine.

Thanks. I never thought about real lemon juice having an acidity variance either until I read that. It does make sense, lol.

[Lady Verity]

You are a mine of information, ktani, thank you. :)

[ktani]

You are a mine of information, ktani, thank you. :)

You are most welcome!