An apple cider vinegar rinse makes your hair nice and soft and shiny, and helps balance the pH of your scalp (supposedly). It’s also easy and practically free compared to any other kind of shampoo.
You just need apple cider vinegar and water. Tada. About 1 part cider vinegar and three parts water. And that’s it.
So top that off with water, and then rinse your hair with it after you shampoo (rinse the vinegar out with water afterwards; the smell will vanish as your hair dries). Tada!
i am going to try this tomorrow! Was sent here from Reddit.
Welcome, Redditor! I just love my ACV rinses, I hope you do, too 🙂 I use it instead of condition since I went all commercial hair stuff free, and if anything, my hair is healthier and happier.
I’m slightly confused. You mix 1 part ACV and 3 parts water in a bottle and thats all that is in the bottle? Then you shampoo your hair and rinse the shampoo out with the ACV mixture or rinse the shampoo out with water and then rub in the ACV and then rinse the ACV out with water??
Yup, it’s just ACV and water. Shampoo your hair, rinse it with water, and then rinse your hair with the ACV mixture. After one final rinse with water, you’re done!
So, I stumbled upon your site about a week ago. I got inspired to go all natural with my hair. I’m 36 and almost all gray. I am so tired of coloring. I’m done, I’m tired of messing up my hair and now I just want it healthy. I don’t have the time or the desire to make my own hair care products. I compared your ingredients to that of some etsy people and bought a shampoo bar. I used it today for the first time. I didn’t use conditioner and I didn’t know about the ACV rinse. My hair feels terrible, but it’s not dry and smells great! LOL How do I do this? HELP!
I’m thrilled that I’ve inspired you 🙂 It definitely can be a bit tricky to switch from shampoo to shampoo bars, though—the biggest change is the strength of them. Store bought shampoo is so strong you really don’t have to pay much attention to how you’re cleaning your hair. Shampoo bars are nowhere near as strong, so you need to be sure to really shampoo all over your scalp and all down the length of your hair. Have you read my various entries on my journey into natural hair care? Bare hair care, 10 Things my Hair Likes, 11 Months in, and 18 Months in.
That said… what does your hair feel like? Why do you say it feels terrible? Does it feel dirty? Overly textured? Matted/clumped? I’m sure we can troubleshoot you a solution 🙂
Thanks for your help! I haven’t read any of those links, but I will today! I know I cleaned it well, it was squeaky! It was very overly textured, maybe matted too. It felt like straw! I contacted the lady that made the shampoo bar I used. She said I may need something with a little more moisture. Today when I shampoo I am going to add a bit of coconut oil to my hair afterwards to see if it helps. I may have to try a bar that has a bit more moisture in it though. That being said it is now Tuesday morning and I haven’t washed my hair since Sunday morning. I could probably skip today, but the hubby is begging me to wash it! I am also going to try the ACV rinse this morning too.
Hmm… I know when I started using all natural hair care my hair ended up having a lot more texture as all the silicone byproducts washed out, which ended up being good for me as my hair was so slippery it could barely hold a braid for more than an hour or two. So, perhaps that is it? Though it took months for the silicone to start peeling out.
The added moisture will definitely help, especially if you’re older than I am, or have hair on the drier side. The ACV rinse should also help with the texture—I find it can smooth things out so much that it feels like you have shampoo in your hair again! For adding moisture you should also check out my hair balm, hair serum, and hair mist—all are awesome for different reasons & applications!
So… since it’s been a few days—how’s it going now?
I have stopped using the shampoo bar and have ordered a different one. My husband hated the way the other bar smelled. I have one on the way that has amazing reviews and may work better for my hair.
Im guessing my hair is full of silicone, like yours was, because I cant even hold a ponytail my hair is so soft. I think part of my problem is that my hair is full of hair color.
Have you ever thought of selling your products to those of us who dont want to make their own?
Let me know how that second bar goes! Did the other bar have artificial fragrance in it? I’m just asking because I can’t smell essential oils on myself at all after using an EO soap, or even 10 minutes after using an EO lotion—they’re just so gentle that they diffuse into nothingness in no time at all. It’s only when I use things that have fragrance oils in them that I can smell the soap/shampoo/whatever long after washing.
If your hair is like mine, the silicone will start coming out in gross, white flakes after 4–6 months of natural hair care. It’s icky while it happens, but it’s really nice to come out the other end and be able to do things with your hair! I put my hair up in a French braid this morning to go climbing and it’s still going strong—that never would have happened 5 years ago!
I have though about selling my stuff, but for now it’s just too big of a hassle. I’ve got a full time job and I like to make different things for fun all the time… not sure I’d enjoy making lots of the same things for selling ’em. We’ll see, though—watch this space lol.
OMG! What a difference a little bit of Coconut Oil makes! Can you tell me why I should be stretching out my washes beyond every other day? I workout and sweat and live in FL I just don’t know if I can go more than every other day…
Yay for coconut oil! You should also check out some camellia seed oil—it’s made from the seeds of the plant that gives us tea, and has been used in hair care in Asia for centuries. It’s very beautiful for skin as well, absorbing to a silky finish in no time at all.
The idea behind stretching out your washes is to encourage your scalp to calm down on the oil production front, and to help your hair be healthier by getting away from the constant “make lots of oils/strip all those oils off/make lots of oils/etc.” cycle. It’s also far more convenient, I find (though I have tons of hair and it takes ages to dry). I don’t have to deal with your beautiful climate, though (I wish! Sigh… I’m so jealous, you have no idea). You can definitely still rinse your hair if you’re looking to get some of the sweat out—another reader recommended using a tea wash, as the tannins help get things a bit cleaner. You could also trying using baking soda on in-between days, though I must confess I’ve never tried that as with the amount of hair I have, I am afraid I would have baking soda dropping out of my hair for a week!
Where can I get camellia seed oil?
Thanks for the explination behind stretching out my washes. Is a tea rinse as simple as pouring brewed tea over my hair? How would I use baking soda?
I cant wait until my hair is long. It is shoulder length right now and will stay there until all this color grows out! My hair grows super slow too, so its going to be years.
I got my camellia seed oil from New Directions Aromatics. It’s awesome! Super smooth and awesome 🙂
A tea rinse really is that simple, lol. You might consider mixing it with some apple cider vinegar (3 parts tea to 1 part ACV) to boost it 🙂 For baking soda I’ve heard a variety of techniques. Basically you can either scrub a handful of it into your scalp, or you can mix it with water shake it up, and pour it over your head before scrubbing. From there, be sure to rinse your hair very thoroughly as you don’t want crusty baking soda in your hair afterwards. You might consider adding a few drops of an EO you like to the baking soda as well 🙂
I know what it’s like to wait for long hair—I can remember waiting for mine to grow out when I was about 6, and eagerly waiting for it to wait for longer and longer and longer, haha. My hair doesn’t grow quickly, either, sadly… though I’m honestly not sure anybody has hair that grows quickly! I’m sure “watching pain dry” and “watching hair grow” are the same thing lol.
IDK if there is any added fragrance in the bar that I bought, here’s the ingredients:
hydrogenated palm oil
distilled water
coconut oil
olive oil
castor seed oil
shea butter
rosemary leaf oil
peppermint leaf oil
I ended up getting a good bit of my hair cut off yesterday, I know not good for growing long but great for getting rid of all the hair color. I also went back to the shampoo bar the hubby doesn’t like, but he will live! The texture is so much different after the hair cut 🙂 then I added too much coconut oil 🙁 now I look like an oil spill! Woops! Hopefully the pool will help with that later. I’m going to try some tea rinse for the next wash, but I do love the ACV. I use ACV on my face and in my drinking water. Thanks for the link for the camellia seed oil I will be looking into that too. Is it better for my hair than the coconut oil? I use the coconut oil on my skin and I am slightly addicted to it. The baking soda does sound a little scary though, I don’t think I’m ready for that yet!
Thank you so much for all of your help!
Your bar sounds pretty darn good 🙂 The only ingredient that’s a bit iffy is the palm oil—there’s nothing wrong with the oil itself, it’s the social/harvesting practices surrounding it. You can read my blog on it here.
I know what you mean about haircuts! I always hated getting them as a kid because I wanted enough hair to make those awesome Princess Leia buns (it took me a good decade to figure out that was a wig… durrr). It is nice to be able to run your hands through your hair without getting caught on snarled ends, though.
Haha, the oil overdose! I definitely did that at least half a dozen times back in the early days of my natural hair care saga, lol. Then I figured out hair balm and hair serum, which make it harder to over-apply.
I admire your ability to drink ACV! I’ve tried, but it’s just awful. I was diluting a tablespoon or so in a glass of water… ick. Do you sweeten yours or buy a premo brand?
I honestly don’t think there’s much of a difference between coconut and camellia seed oil when it comes to the hair. Camellia absorbs into the skin much faster, so it might absorb into the hair faster, but either way the absorption is still very slow, as I’m sure you’ve found. It’s been used in Asia for centuries, so I suppose there must be something there… but yeah. No major scientific studies on either, so no real solid results to report.
Has your new bar arrived yet? How is it?
Can I use the ACV or tea rinse on non-wash days?
Absolutely! It should help with any greasies/sweats you’ve got going on without committing to a full shampoo 🙂
Can you please tell me if the all in one shampoo bar lathers once in your hair and do you just rub the bar all around the hair once wet?
Also, can you suggest a conditioner for color treated hair (besides the ACV)?
Roberta
Well, the All-in-One bar is soap, so it lathers in the way that soap does—when you wet it and rub it. I rub the bar directly on my scalp and up and down the length of my hair when I shampoo, and then thoroughly massage it into all my hair before rinsing.
In addition to using an acidic rinse (which is 100% necessary when you’re using homemade shampoo), you could use something like this to add moisture 🙂
Sooo I have a lot of balsamic vinegar left over from Thanksgiving brussel-sprouting yumminess. Is it possible I can use up the left of that? My hair is light/medium brown so even if it would stain my hair it sounds like it might be a good thing? Maybe not necessarily good for my white tub though! 🙂
Hey Lauren! Honestly, I wouldn’t, but that’s because balsamic vinegar is delicious, so I’d rather eat it haha. It should work if it’s a fairly acidic balsamic, I guess, but I haven’t tried it and likely won’t 😛
Hehe I guess I’ll take your advice and just hit up the grocery store for some ACV 🙂
🙂
Hi Marie,
I made shampoo bars and washed my hair about 3 times in 10 days. I have used a ACV rinse but 50-50 with water as read on an other blog..shame on me 😉 My hair are greasy around the roots. I watched your tutorial: 2 in 1 conditioner-ACV rinse. You mentioned not to apply conditioner on the roots as the oil and the acidity of the conditioner would make our hair greasy. I used my ACV 50-50 on my roots to rebalance the pH.
I would like to know if my hair a greasy because they are getting use to homemade shampoo, or the concentration of ACV is wrong or I should not use it on the roots?
Also, you mentioned that the smell of EO use in the bar does’nt stay on your hair. Does EO would dilute well in the ACV rinse? I know they are ‘oil’ and oil does not mix in water but I’m asking in case…
Thanks
Sarah
Hey Sarah Ann! I would avoid using the ACV mix on your roots. It does sound stronger than it needs to be on the whole, but it’s definitely going to be making your roots appear greasier, faster. I have been going rinse-free on the roots and have noticed no tangling or negative texture change at the roots from doing so.
EOs will not blend into an ACV rinse without an emulsifier. Check out my YouTube channel for a video 🙂
…to continue on my last comment, what should be the final pH of the ACV rinse?
Beyond “mildly acidic” I haven’t a clue, sorry!