Apple cider vinegar is very beneficial and well-known remedy for treating many health conditions. For example, you can use it to lose weight, reduce cholesterol, to control blood sugar levels, to remove skin tags and warts, as an effective cleansing face wash, in detox drinks and many other remedies to improve your wellness and overall health.
You have probably noticed that many harsh soaps and shampoos strip your hair and skin, leaving them dry. This is not the case with apple cider vinegar! Rinsing your hair with ACV is a great treatment and has a long list of benefits. Here are some of them:
Benefits of ACV for hair
- Balancing hair and scalp pH – There are many commercial hair-care products that have a negative effect on the hair, leaving it dry and brittle. Our hair has an ideal pH of 4 to 5. The acidity of the ACV rinse means that it can help maintain the pH balance of your hair and remove buildup at the same time without stripping the hair of its natural oils.
- Sealing the hair cuticle – As a result, light is reflected off the hair, making it smoother, softer and shinier. This also enables the hair maintain more moisture and helping prevent split ends.
- Treating dandruff, itchy and dry scalp – ACV has antibacterial and antifungal properties that help treat itchy, dry scalp.
- Works as a natural detangler – so can replace conditioner.
- Encouraging hair growth – ACV can treat clogged hair follicles due to bacterial infection that creates crusty flakes on the scalp (which can result in hair loss). Livestrong website also mentions an article published in 2002 stating that ACV stimulates better circulation to the hair follicles, which strengthens the hair roots and promotes a healthy hair growth.
How to use ACV for hair rinse
First of all, you need to use the right kind of ACV. Choose raw, organic, unfiltered, and unpasteurized kind of ACV. Not the refined kind you find in most stores. Buy a good quality kind of ACV that contains the “mother” of vinegar, which is the cloudy stuff that sinks to the bottom of the bottle. This substance contains the beneficial enzymes, bacteria, pectin and trace minerals that makes ACV so good for you. It’s also a good idea to shake the bottle each time before using ACV to distribute the elements.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons ACV
Preparation:
Take one spray bottle, and mix the ingredients in it. You can prepare bigger amount of the mixture, but make sure that you use the same ratio. If you need 2 cups water, simply add 4 tablespoons ACV.
When you use this treatment, you don’t need to use any conditioner. All you need to do is to apply the ACV rinse after shampooing, and massage it into your hair scalp. Then rinse your hair thoroughly.
Don’t worry if you can feel the smell of the vinegar, when your hair dries, the smell will be gone!
TIP:
It is a fact that oily hair likes more ACV than dry hair. That’s why some references use higher concentration of ACV. Our advice for you is to start with a lower concentration and then experiment by increasing the concentration until it works best for your hair type.
Do this treatment once or twice a week!
