When I read about apple cider vinegar rinses, I was skeptical because of the following: 1) Vinegar isn’t oily…in fact, it seems like it would be downright drying on hair. I mean, it’s vinegar – the stuff I put on Boardwalk Fries and my salad when I’m trying to be healthy. It doesn’t seem like something I’d want in my hair. 2) Vinegar does not smell good, nor does it really taste good. Have you ever drank ACV? Yea, go do that, and tell me how you feel in like 20 minutes. I envisioned the same sentiment for my hair. 3) Vinegar is an acid…acid+hair=hair loses…or so I thought.

Apparently, the acetic acid in ACV is supposed to remove build up from styling products and conditioners, and strengthen and smooth the hair shaft. Apple cider vinegar hair rinse also balances hair’s pH level, kills bacteria and alleviates dandruff woes. These properties make ACV a great replacement for shampoo, which is something many using the CG method have shucked. Personally, I might shampoo my hair once a month, and that’s if I do something to make it really dirty, like go hiking. So why not try ACV? Couldn’t hurt, right? I went to Ralph’s and picked up the generic bottle, which is only like $2. It’s diluted as well, so I didn’t add as much water to my rinse. The “recipe” I read called for 1 part ACV to 3 parts water I think, and I used half and half in my cup. All I did was pour it in my hair and massage my scalp, so it was easy enough. I stood in my bathroom wincing, waiting for my hair to lock up or feel extra extra dry. It was a scary feeling. Luckily, no such moment came. As I massaged, I could actually feel my hair detangling and it felt…soft. Oh, hey there! I left the ACV in for a few minutes, then hopped in the shower and cowashed. Well, here’s the funny part (maybe only funny to me). My hair felt pretty much the same; I mean, it was definitely way way better than shampooing (I really think my hair hates ALL shampoo with the exception of Cream of Nature), but it felt squeaky clean. And not like moisture stripped clean…just…clean! Not that my hair is always dirty, but it had the squeakiness to it. Cool beans! So yah…I liked it! I also did a little deep conditioning with olive oil (look, don’t judge me, it’s Sunday, all I’m doing is watching football), so I feel all buttery right now. Mmmmmmm.

In conclusion, if you’re like me and hate shampoo, ACV is a great alternative, especially if you use a funky product and get a bunch of build up in there. It’s also supposed to seal hair…I can’t really tell because my hair is short, but couldn’t hurt, right? My bathroom and my kitchen are really starting to be interchangeable. Ah well. WildChild out!

xoxo

P.S. Since I wrote this post a long time ago, it’s come to myattention that ACV does not actually cleanse the hair (and I do shampoo my hair now with CON, ftw). However, its low pH does help to balance the hair and seal the cuticle. There is also some debate about this, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t help close/tighten the cuticle. I mean…it does have a pH of three.