Vinegar Rinse ?

[katiejune]

Hi, first I know this topic is already covered on the forums, but I'm getting confused.

I'd like to do a vinegar rinse on my hair. For the sake of this, let's say I CWC everyday (sometimes I can skip a day or two, but I'm very oily).

I already bought my ACV with the mother, and I'm ready to go.

My questions are:

1 - What ratio of vinegar to water do you use? (ex: 1:4)
2 - How much of this should I use? (ex. 2 cups)
3 - When do I apply? (ex. after 2nd conditioner)
4 - Do I rinse it out? If so, how long do I leave it in?
5 - Can I put some peppermint oil or other essential oils in there to cut the smell?
6 - Are there any other ways to use the vinegar that I'm missing?

Thanks so much!! :cheer:

[spidermom]

I only use 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar in a standard juice pitcher (rarely), so it's VERY diluted. I can't use too much or my hair goes crazy fly-away.

[Micayla47]

i have all the same questions so i will be watching this thread :confused:

[Cowgirl16]

I squirt about 3-4 tablespoons Of ACV into a quart cup and soak my ends in it for about a minute. Then I dilute it a bit more and pour half of it over my head and then dilute it one last time and pour the rest over my head.
I never rinse it out and I make sure that it all runs down my hair to the ends. I have never noticed my hair looking greasy. The smell goes away as it is drying.

My hair LOVES ACV :cheese:


ETA: I wash my hair once a week maybe twice, and I rince with ACV every time.

[torrilin]

I use "a splash" in a maybe 500mL cup. A splash is probably in the 5-15mL range, so not as dilute as Spidermom's but pretty dilute.

I *like* vinegar smell. And pickles! So I don't rinse it out again after or add essential oils or anything. If you don't like a vinegar smell, citric acid or ascorbic acid at a similar dilution (remember, store bought vinegar is usually a 5% solution to begin with, and that's too strong for hair) are often better.

[caadam]

I only use ACV rinses when my scalp is really acting up; it helps to relieve itchiness on my part.

I will use the cap of my bottle of ACV, and will put 1-2 caps of vinegar in a plastic, squeezable condiment bottle, then fill the rest with water. I'll put this on my scalp and let the rinse run over my hair while I'm in the shower. Then I'll rise it off with regular, softened water.

You won't need to add an EO with an ACV rinse because the smell eventually goes away as the hair dries. However, for some people, they find that if they use too much, their hair smells like a salad. lol But I find that with ACV, less is more.

There are lots of articles out there, especially those surround the "no poo" movement, that say ACV is a conditioner of sorts, and that it will work this way for everyone. This is false. I've noticed, through LHC, that ACV works differently for certain kinds of people. Some people do get a lot of nice effects from it, others won't. Some people will get soft, shiny hair; others will get stringy, dry hair. So yeah... you'll just have to find out for yourself. ;) Let us know how it works out.

[Guenever]

Vinegar does wonders for my hair!
I use a pretty weak dilution as a leave-in, so the smell doesn't linger at all..
After shampooing I mix 2 tbsp in 2 cups of water in an old plastic bottle, add 5-7 drops of tea tree oil and pour it over my head into a bucket to keep rinsing..

[Laur]

I'm another splasher - I put a splash (a few tablespoons) into a quart sized cup and then fill it with water and dump the whole thing over my head. I put EO's in the bottle of vinegar that I keep in the shower (usually rosemary and lavender, sometimes tea tree too) and just give it a shake before I splash it in the cup. I then dump two more cupfuls of plain water over my head as a "rinse".

[spidermom]

Oh, and P.S., my order is this: conditioner to length, diluted shampoo to scalp/wash, rinse, vinegar solution (soak ends first, then pour slowly through hair), rinse, conditioner to length, rinse. I've tried the vinegar solution last and not rinsing it out, but diluted as it is, I can still smell vinegar even after my hair is dry. Ewwwwwwwwwwww! Not for me.

[Deborah]

When I use vinegar, I pour about half a cup into a 40 ounce bottle, then fill the rest up with cold water. It sounds strong, but it works better than weaker dilutions for me.

[Tota]

I see you are my hair twin so I will answer your questions, maybe it'll work for you too:

1 - What ratio of vinegar to water do you use? 1 table spoon in half a litre of cold water.

2 - How much of this should I use? half a litre

3 - When do I apply? I CO. First I put a light conditioner on my roots, massage and rinse. Then I put a rich moisturizing conditioner on my length and wait a bit. Then I rinse it with cold/lukewarm water, squeeze out as much water as I can and apply ACV rinse as a final rinse. I leave it on.

4 - Do I rinse it out? If so, how long do I leave it in? I don't rinse it out.

5 - Can I put some peppermint oil or other essential oils in there to cut the smell? This dillution has almost no smell. When hair is dry it looses the smell completely. My hair always smells like the conditioner I used and not as ACV :)

6 - Are there any other ways to use the vinegar that I'm missing? I use the same dillution as a final body rinse after every shower. It makes my dry skin softer and less ... hm ... dry :)
I also use a 50:50 dillution of ACV and water as facial toner before bed. I put in on, wait for 3 minutes and then rinse it off with cold water.
I also use white vinegar instead of fabric softener and ACV to clean my bathroom.

[heidi w.]

Hi, first I know this topic is already covered on the forums, but I'm getting confused.

I'd like to do a vinegar rinse on my hair. For the sake of this, let's say I CWC everyday (sometimes I can skip a day or two, but I'm very oily).

I already bought my ACV with the mother, and I'm ready to go.

My questions are:

1 - What ratio of vinegar to water do you use? (ex: 1:4)
2 - How much of this should I use? (ex. 2 cups)
3 - When do I apply? (ex. after 2nd conditioner)
4 - Do I rinse it out? If so, how long do I leave it in?
5 - Can I put some peppermint oil or other essential oils in there to cut the smell?
6 - Are there any other ways to use the vinegar that I'm missing?

Thanks so much!! :cheer:

3 Tablespoons of vinegar or less to an 8 oz cup of water...or you can use more water to dilute the vinegar even more.

If you make up the solution that's how much there is to use. How much to use is answered by the first question of ratios. Some people do gallon jugs, but one uses very little vinegar, actually. I used the 3 Tablespoons, which is kind of a lot because I have a scalp skin condition, and this amount seemed to be about the right amount given my situation. Using less, seemed as if my condition on my scalp came back really fast rather than giving me a few days of relief.

I applied after I was completely done and rinsed out my shampoo and then my conditioner. Why are you doing 2 applications of conditioner? What's that for?

I never used any oil in my ACV concoction because the aroma basically went away once my hair was dry. I never had anyone complain to me that they smelled vinegar in the air.

Word to the wise, don't use Apple Cider Vinegar if you have light or blonde colored hair because with prolonged use this vinegar can tinge the hair with a reddishness. Use clear vinegar then.

For anyone interested, you can use lemon juice instead, similarly diluted as per above for vinegar and get almost the same benefits as using vinegar. Smells better, for the more sensitive ones.

The big deal is to use the best water you can find. I used to mix mine in a Biggie Cup and dip all my hair length in the biggie cup and then drizzle the remaining amount over my head. Then I rinsed it all out in the shower.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I vinegar (or lemon) rinse is exactly that, a rinse. It is NOT intended to be left IN the hair. There's no real benefit to leaving it unwashed out of the hair. I say, rinse it out. But that's my opinion. So do what you want, or what works for you.

A few I've read have declared it clarifies the hair, but ONLY in that hair wash, if you want to use that word. Once stuff has dried ON the hair, vinegar will not remove it. You will then need to really clarify.

Common misunderstanding, I have found.

heidi w.

[jacqueline101]

I put a spray top on my vinegar bottle and spray it directly on my scalp. Let set for a while and rinse out.

[EndlessSunshine]

I use 3 Tbsp in 2 cups of water. It doesn't smell that strong but I will brew some rosemary into the water before hand and it smells much nicer. I use it as a final rinse about once a week after I co wash.

[heidi w.]

I put a spray top on my vinegar bottle and spray it directly on my scalp. Let set for a while and rinse out.

So, you're not diluting it. I guess that can work for some although I would not advocate direct application of pure vinegar of any kind (or lemon juice, either).....

heidi w.

[HairySherry]

Very interesting thread. I am gearing up for my first bought of experimentation with ACV rinses and greatly appreciate the information! Special thanks to Heidi W. - lady, you know your hair stuff! :)

[heidi w.]

Thanks HairySherry. I had a hair guru friend that died a number of decades ago. I am hoping to find a younger person who can carry on the legacy eventually. I do know a lot of stuff about hair. It's nice to be recognized. It really is. It's taken me about ten years to learn all this stuff. So anyone interested in eventually becoming a mentor, don't be shy in contacting me if you might be interested in learning stuff from me.....just putting that out there.

heidi w.

[moxamoll]

Hi! For my two cents, here you go:
-I don't use ACV with the Mother, cause it's hard to rinse the strings out!
-I got some bartender style measuring pour spouts, so I put 1/2 tsp in 8 oz of water
(this took some experimentation - too much vinegar or too little and I get waxy build up or stringiness. For me at least, there's not much leeway either way.)
-I lather and rinse twice with my shampoo bar, then pour the ACV mix through my hair and let it sit while I do my other shower stuff, then rinse it well.
-I don't use a conditioner in the shower, just Panacea or Mineral Oil while it's damp, so I'm not sure how it would work with that.
ETA: I don't mind the smell and I sure can't smell it once my hair is dry. If my hair gets damp again (rain, etc.) I can't even smell it then.

To the best of my knowledge, vinegar clarifies your hair (removes product build up) while lemon juice chelates your hair (removes metal and mineral build up from the water.) In my experience, the condition of my hair is slightly different after doing one or the other.

[Kelikea]

I love vinegar rinses! I use them for scalp, hair, face, body:) I use a 16oz applicator bottle, for condiments sold at Walmart. I put about 1 inch of vinegar, then fill the rest with water and leave it in the shower or on the counter to use whenever. I rinse it off of my face and body, but not off my scalp. If used as a facial toner, on a cotton pad, no rinsing required. You can put a few drops of EO or other good-smelling oil in, if you like. If you put another oil in, say sweet almond oil, then it may give you oily roots if you have oily hair. IF that's the case, stick with EO. You use however much you need to saturate your scalp, after washing. Well, if you do CWC, then probably use it after CW but before second C.

[katiejune]

Thanks everyone!! All the advice was great and so far my results have been nice :) My hair/scalp is noticeably less oily now too :)

[Ligeia_13]

I use about a 6th of a cup in 2 liters of water. My routine is shampoo, rinse, dunk hair in bowl of acv mixture for a bit, rinse, condition length, rinse, dilute the mixture further, pour over head, rinse.

Actually seeing it in writing makes the mixture seem very week, but it still smells when its in the bowl :p

[kme81]

My body looooooooves vinegar. I have tried as much as full strength and as little as a 1:8 vin:water ratio and both worked for me. I put mine in an old Rubbermaid sippy cup where the mouthpeice has been bent wider, it sort of ends up splashing the vinegar.

I shower in warm water and I make sure that my vinegar is cold/room temp to that I can feel that I have gotten it all over my head. After I let the vinegar soak for a minute or two, i rinse it out with cold-ish water, and my shower is done.

I never put vinegar and conditioner in at the same time. Something about my conditioner reacted very badly with the vinegar and made my hair dull, clingy, and tangley.

[Clytemnestra]

I use it every time I CO as the water has lots of mineral deposit, just a cupful in a 1/2 gal plastic container that keep in the shower. I vinegar rinse after CO, then put a tiny dab of AO Honeysuckle Rose as a leave in. I'm blonde so I use the white instead of ACV as I found that gave me 'goldish' tones, and I dilute it a lot because I use it every day and I was afraid to dry out my hair. Guess I'm lucky I don't smell it at all, and the Honeysuckle Rose leaves a nice scent anyway. My mom used to rinse my long hair this way when I was a kid, just carrying on a tradition, I guess.