So apparently, my hair stinks of vinegar?!

[PixxieStix]

Hey everyone!

Okay, so I've been doing diluted ACV rinses after every wash since about December 2011 (ish) , and I know my fiance doesn't like the smell, HATES being in the bathroom if I'm doing it, so I had always assumed that if my hair smelled like vinegar once it dried then he'd say something, but since he didn't I assumed that I had no residual smell.

Turns out I was wrong! I tried a new method today, I am experimenting with using a shampoo bar and the last two times I've washed my hair, my ends felt drier than usual so I decided instead of rinsing with ACV and then doing a cold water rinse to combine the two and do a cold water ACV rinse and see if that helped. I added some Shea to my coconut oil and ta-da! Happy ends. Well, after it dried though I thought it smelled kinda funny, so I went to my fiance and asked him if he would sniff my hair and tell me how it smelled. He sniffed it and promptly replied that it smells like vinegar, as always.

I was floored! Half a year and he never said anything, and he HATES this stuff. I had to ask why he never said anything, and he told me it was because he thinks it's so cute how much I love my hair and it just made me so happy to do it so he didn't want to ruin it. D'waaaaaaaaah!!!!! (He's definitely a keeper!)

Okay, well, here's the thing: I don't want to make him smell something he doesn't like on a daily basis, so what do I do to reduce the smell? Apparently even when rinsing with cold water afterwards, my hair still smelled of the stuff. Can anyone give me suggestions on what to do? I don't want to give up my ACV rinses because they have been so wonderful for my hair, but I also don't want to be offensive to anyone's nose. Is there such a thing as hair perfume? Or anything I can add to the rinse to change the smell! Any and all help/advice is greatly appreciated!

[winship2]

Hm, no advice. I like ACV too and my husband doesn't like the smell but I don't think it remains on my hair after rinsing. I don't use it on my skin as a toner in the evening if we're getting into bed together though.

But mostly I wanted to say that your boyfriend really does sound like a sweetheart :)

[Copasetic]

That's really strange. I have never heard of a vinegar smell persisting after the hair is dry.

You could always try not using vinegar rinses and try another acid instead.

[cheetahfast]

Try a weaker dilution and rinsing your hair well with cold water after. I know I'm skimpy on the cold water rinses...too cold for me!!

[ouseljay]

Aww, that's sweet.

What about infusing some nice smelly herbs into the ACV? It wouldn't eliminate the vinegar smell, but it might change it enough to make it less bothersome to your fiance.

[swearnsue]

I use a diluted white vinegar and water rinse, about 1 Tbs vinegar per cup of water. I leave it on about 1 minute then rinse with warm/coolish water. This is after conditioner. My hair doesn't smell like vinegar I think because I use the white vinegar in a weak solution.

I just asked hubby to sniff my hair to make sure it doesn't smell like vinegar and he says it doesn't.

[PixxieStix]

I won't lie, I do use a pretty hefty dilution, 1/4 cup in 2 cups of water, I'll try scaling that back and see if it helps. It's just so weird, no one has ever said anything to me about it, not my best friend who has sniffed my hair on multiple occasions, nor my instructors when I was in school, nor any patients! Obviously the scent isn't strong enough for him to not snuggle me before bed every night, but hmmm... anyone think adding EO's would help? Something I do miss about conventional S&C is the wonderful smells they left my hair afterwards. Maybe he's just being overly sensitive and there really isn't much if any smell and you have to be nose to scalp to get even a whiff of it....

[BlazingHeart]

I know if I leave the vinegar rinse on my hair for more than about 15 seconds, the odor lingers. So I pour it on and then almost immediately rinse it off. I still get benefits from it, but no ACV stink. I can't stand that smell!

~Blaze

[CurlyCap]

I won't lie, I do use a pretty hefty dilution, 1/4 cup in 2 cups of water, I'll try scaling that back and see if it helps.

The concentration could definitely be it. I ACV rinse every night, and my hair barely smells after it's been towel dried and NEVER after it's completely dried.

I used about 1/4 cup in a liter. I just leave an old liter water bottle in the shower, add a splash of ACV and fill the bottle up. Dump it over my head and get out of the shower.

[firegypsy]

when I was using this method I added essential oils to the ACV. Oh, and I diluted it more. my sympathies. I do not love the smell of vinegar at all and I had to work HARD to escape it.

[Natalia]

three things off the top of my head..
1. add some eo's to your vinegar bottle or make infused vinegar - http://mountainroseblog.com/herbal-culinary-infusions/
2. try a different vinegar i find white stinks more in the shower and less later
3. switch to citric acid or lemon rinses (you can find citric acid with canning supplies or kosher foods its dirt cheap)

[Charybdis]

I really dislike the smell of vinegar also, and I just squeeze the juice of half a lemon into my water pitcher instead. I don't usually bother with acidic final rinses, but I'm now in an area with unbelievably hard water (I can see the nasty mineral residue it leaves on the tub, which I don't want on my hair), so lemon juice it is.

[auburntressed]

I am AMAZED by all the people who claim the vinegar smell goes away once the hair is dry. I have used dilutions that are practically all water, and the vinegar smell NEVER goes away. I have come to the conclusion that my nose is just better than the average persons. :p

If it is a smell that someone dislikes, they are probably going to be more likely to pick up on it than they would regular smells, though.

I'd suggest switching to lemon juice rinses instead. Maybe the lemony-fresh scent will be more appealing? To me, lemon or ACV is about equal on the, "Meh," scale. Meaning - I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It's slightly closer to the hate side than the love side. Overall, fairly neutral to my tastes. The difference is that ACV really helps my scalp keep the itchies at bay. The lemon rinses never did that.

[julierockhead]

I have a very sensitive nose, and the vinegar odor does go away for me, but I use a very dilute solution, about 1/4 cup ACV in one gallon. I am going to try infusing the vinegar though, just for fun. I have some rosemary growing and a bunch of dried lavender flowers.

[lastnite]

the vinegar smell lingers in my hair for about a day after using it. if my un-oiled hair gets wet by the rain the vinegar smell will come back! I use it as my final rinse and give it a final very quick rinse. I think it may help with the smell to use it before your conditioner... although I like to use it after since I like to think when the vinegar closes the cuticle it will seal in some of the conditioner.

I've been meaning to give white vinegar a try (keep forgetting to buy it), maybe that will help

[maradeerfarmer]

I add orange blossom water to my white vinegar. Orange blossom water is that fragrant orange flavoring they put in Turkish delights that are orange-flavoured rather than rose-flavored. Should be able to find it in a middle-eastern shop.

I don't use ACV as it has a much stronger scent, and I don't like the way it colours my hair.

[Gilly]

I am the same, I hate the smell of it but as a lot of people here have said that it goes away after drying, I tried it, I had a lot of comments from workmates walking by saying "what's that smell? Its like vinegar", I always did the minimum dilution I could get away with but still would get the comments, I am not sure if they put two and two together and figured out it was me but that was enough for me to realise that it does NOT disapate for me, I was always sure that I was not the only one so it's nice to meet somebody else who has the same problem.
I don't use any type of vinegar now.

[trolleypup]

I gave up on ACV very quickly as the smell was strong and persistent to me. White vinegar bothers me much much less and dissipates quickly.

[luxepiggy]

Switch to ascorbic or citric acid rinses! Check the food preserving / canning aisle at the grocer's; you should be able to get it in powder form. All you need is a tiny pinch in a cup of water. No smell and it works better too (^(oo)^)v

[gracenotes]

I had the same problem when I was using vinegar rinses. Perhaps some people's hair just holds certain scents better. :shrug: I switched to a (very very dilute) lemon juice rinse, and that seemed to have the same effect without the lingering vinegar smell. Lemon juice CAN lighten hair, but it did not affect my color at all at such a weak dilution.

[afu]

Ever since we did an experiment in primary school when i was about 7 years old which stunk the classroom out for weeks i've never been able to go near vinegar! I use lemon juice rinses.

I put about half a tsp in a mug of cold water and just tip it over my head after my shower, I never rinse it out ... is the not rinsing it out bad?

[Siiri]

I put about half a tsp in a mug of cold water and just tip it over my head after my shower, I never rinse it out ... is the not rinsing it out bad?

I don't think it's bad if you dilute it enough. I use citric acid rinses and never rinse them out - I can't see the point of first using a rinse with pH equal to your skin and hair and then rinsing it out with alkaline tap water..

[MissAlida]

Try to switch to white vinegar. 1tbs in 350 ml water. Cold water rinse. And you could try a hair oil, or some other essential oil. My hair oil has a strong herbal smell, so it overpowers the smell of vinegar. It smells nice (tough I did like the smell of my former coney conditioner; it smelled like chocolate:p).

[afu]

I don't think it's bad if you dilute it enough. I use citric acid rinses and never rinse them out - I can't see the point of first using a rinse with pH equal to your skin and hair and then rinsing it out with alkaline tap water..

Thats what I always thought, I never realised people rinsed acid rinses out again until now! My hair doesn't seem to be dry as a result so i can't be going far wrong. I also dab a bit on my face too before I do the rinse to keep my skin pH happy

[pink.sara]

I use a splash of white rice vinegar in a litre of water to rinse, I don't rinse it out after and find this doesn't ever smell. Even if I get caught in rain.

I'd imagine the really high concentration is the culprit.

Boyfriends a keeper though! :-)

[MonaMayfair]

I've got an extremely good sense of smell (well, it's extremely BAD to have that if you live in a big stinky city like I do!) and I can never smell the ACV when my hair is dry (I don't rinse it out) but I DO dilute it a lot more than the OP.

[JLeighs]

I used to use ACV rinses until one day I tried just distilled water. For me, it works just as well as ACV. It is my understanding that distilled water is slightly acidic. In the summer, a distilled water rinse REALLY helps keep the frizz at bay for me.

[ravenheather]

You could try a leave in conditioner from toadstool soap on etsy. You can get her products scented. That way you could pick your scent. I love vanilla sandalwood. It has jojoba oil in it. It is a very light leave in. Doesn't weigh my fine hair down at all.

[spidermom]

No good advice, but my hair hangs onto vinegar smell, too.

[lapushka]

I'd try lemon rinses (10 ml to 1L).

[henné]

Wow, that is one strong ACV solution. You really don't need that much vinegar in the rinse. Also, if you use conditioner, find one with a stronger smell and then that will mask any possible residual smell. Vinegar sure is stinky and your fiancé's nose might be more sensitive than others'.

[PixxieStix]

I'm definitely going to be cutting back on the dilution ratio, and I have citric acid in the house so I might give that a shot as well. The only thing with the lemon juice is that there is pulp in mine, does anyone ever have bits of pulp they have to pull out of their hair once dry?

[jacqueline101]

I can't remember the web site but they have oils you can add to vinegar to make it smell better and to help different hair problems that might be the compromise me I love the smell of vinegar.

[Melisande]

Citric acid!

[Charybdis]

I'm definitely going to be cutting back on the dilution ratio, and I have citric acid in the house so I might give that a shot as well. The only thing with the lemon juice is that there is pulp in mine, does anyone ever have bits of pulp they have to pull out of their hair once dry?

When I juice the lemon, I squeeze it over a tea strainer sitting over a coffee mug or glass. Problem solved! :)

[Nimrodel]

I'd say it was the concentration too. When I do an ACV rinse (maybe only once in a couple of weeks) I use approx. a 'wee glug' (official measurement :)) of ACV in about a pint of water, and add a couple of drops of rosemary eo. I just tip my hair upside down after washing, pour the jug over my head and wrap in a towel. I've never rinsed it off afterwards.

Maybe I'm a bit of a freak in that I love the smell of my rinse :).

PS. I would agree your boyfriend definately sounds like a keeper!