citric/acetic acid rinses-- can other acids work as well?

**knobbly** · September 25th, 2020, 07:40 PM

I have some questions for any scientists who know about acid rinses and the different properties of acids one can use.

There's plenty of info here and out there in general about acetic acid rinses (vinegar) and some on citric acid. What about others? I have some ascorbic acid and some tartaric acid in the house-- would those work similarly? What dilution am I going for? The rinse container I use is 2 liters and math help is appreciated.

The water in my city is soft so I am mostly looking for pH balancing and general conditioning. Am I correct that this would be a final rinse, no more water after the acid rinse?

Thanks in advance for helping me figure this out.

**florenonite** · September 26th, 2020, 06:52 AM

I would imagine other acids like ascorbic acid would work for pH balancing, but the dilution is going to depend on the initial pH of your water; if it's soft, it might already be a little on the acidic end, in which case you'd need a very dilute solution, or none at all if your water is already at the right pH for hair.

**MusicalSpoons** · September 26th, 2020, 07:10 AM

^ exactly. Best way to find out is to test the solution

litmus strips are cheap and imprecise but are good enough for showing you whether the pH is in the right range.

I don't know that acidic rinses are conditioning, really, but they should leave your hair fairly happy because it's left at the right pH. If it is just for the pH then as far as I know any acid will do that job.

**MusicalSpoons** · September 26th, 2020, 07:12 AM

Oops, double post thanks to 503 service error.

**Feral_** · September 26th, 2020, 07:50 AM

I used to do a dilute lemon juice rinse when I washed my hair with bastille soap (pre water only times). It worked well, made it very shiny and my hair didn’t smell like a chip shop (ACV) !

**Bonsai** · September 26th, 2020, 04:02 PM

If you want know what exactly water pH you have... take a little water to jar and go with it to aquaristic shop

.

**knobbly** · September 26th, 2020, 05:11 PM

I’m pretty sure I have some strips around and if they are old or whatever I can get more. PH strips are good to have around as pH can fluctuate even if you always have the same water source.

**Fimu** · October 31st, 2020, 12:12 PM

I experienced that both shikakai and amla powder are very acidic (measured myself with a pH meter).

For dilution ideas, I suggest you to check out this article: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.co...de-rinses.html

It must be noted that soft water doesn't always have a low pH. In my country, the areas with the softest water (lo still have a pH range between 7.5 - 8.5.