When I went to Costa Rica for a week in 2014 I thought I could get away with skipping my apple cider vinegar rinses for a week. Oooooh boy, was I wrong. An acidic rinse works to smooth the shaft of the hair back down after basic shampoo opens everything up. My hair quickly became coarse and tangled as I failed to smooth the shaft down and all my little keratin scales caught on everything and anything. It was wretched. And that’s where this powdered acidic hair rinse comes in.
This little vial of powder is my answer to acidic rinses on the go. A bit of citric acid blended with some silk and other goodies makes for a portable powder that can be dissolved in a small cup of warm water and used to rinse your hair after shampooing, no matter where you are.
The acid comes from citric acid, a cheap, easily available powdered acid. To that I’ve added some silk peptides to add shine to your hair.
Last but not least, some herbs that are great for hair. I chose shavegrass root and marshmallow root. Shavegrass (or horsetail) is rich in silica and adds shine, and marshmallow root is a fantastic detangler, giving your hair some extra slip so it doesn’t tie itself in knots.
So, if you’ve got a trip in the future, whip up a bottle! You’ll be happy to have an easy, convenient rinse alternative in your hotel room on the other side of the world.
Powdered Acidic Hair Rinse
4 ½ tsp citric acid (USA / Canada)
¼ tsp silk powder, peptide, or amino acid (need a substitute?)
½ tsp dried horsetail/shavegrass
½ tsp marshmallow rootMeasure everything out into your DIY coffee grinder and blitz everything together into a fine powder. I highly recommend wearing a dust mask to prevent inhaling the fine powder, as that’s bad for you. Leave the lid on your grinder for at least five minutes after blending to let the powder settle so you don’t inhale it when you open the grinder.
Use a funnel to decant the powder into a wee bottle. I’ve found re-purposed hotel shampoo bottles to be perfect for this rinse! Hotel shampoo bottles usually hold about 30mL/1oz of shampoo, and this recipe will fill one of those bottles perfectly.
To use, mix about a quarter teaspoon of the powder with about 100mL (a scant half cup) of warm water in a plastic cup, and take that into the shower with you to rinse your hair with after shampooing. Enjoy!
Wow! Just what I need for the summer, thanks Marie!
On another note, I’ve just made some stinky foot powder using bicarbonate, kaolin clay, horse tail powder and various eo’s such as tea tree and rosemary and it works a treat! I wondered if you wanted to play around and share the recipe with your lovely followers? I use it on my feet and in my pumps. Unfortunately I am not very organised and work by eye so that’s why I’ve not listed quantities :-s
Hi Bryonie! Coincidentally enough your powder sounds similar to something I just developed and will be publishing later this month 🙂 Keep you eyes peeled!
Couldn’t do without the apple cider rise! Have you thought instead of horsetail to use bamboo leaf extract? They have it at NDA and it’s 70% silica! I ordered some last week to play around.
Hi Paula! You could definitely use bamboo instead if you have it 🙂
Just to pop in and say, that I really appreciate you sharing all your “lovely” recipes. You are quite a treasure.
Thanks so much, Susan!
Oooooooooooooooooooo! THANK YOU MARIE!
This is perfect for taking on trips and using at home! I’m whipping up a batch to try today! I make a horsetail soap that many people love, but I didn’t think about using it for a rinse! Now I’m ready to try to make a shampoo bar and this rinse as a combo!
Thank you sooooooo very much!
Awesome! I’m so glad you’re as excited as I am 🙂 Enjoy it!
Ugh Just went to Mexico and could have used this. Had to resort to the shampoo and conditioner that was there. Looks like a great recipe. You have quite a knack for these recipes. The best I have seen on the internet. Thanks for all your work.
Thanks so much Dale! 🙂
I just tried this! My hair was suffering from my last shampoo where I used a harsh soap and it ignored the hair balm I used to try and soothe it. I didn’t have marshmallow root so I used slippery elm bark. 🙂 I use slippery elm bark in my soaps to give it some extra slip. It worked awesome in this recipe! My hair combed out without the tangles and knots! I just left it in–didn’t rinse it out.
I believe this is going to be my go-to “conditioner” for now on. So easy to make and so beneficial to my hair! I love this! Thank you Marie for your fantabulous recipes and all your knowledge which you share freely!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you like the rinse 🙂 I’ve been finding myself using it at home as well as it’s so darn easy to whip up when I’m halfway through a shower and discover I have no ACV rinse… mucho better than a wet nudie run to the kitchen!
Hi Marie
I would like to do this powdered acidic hair rinse recipe. But I do not know “silk” ….. What kind of stuff is it? where can I buy it?
Thanks for your reply
Best, Yola
Silk is a humectant and you can buy it at New Directions Aromatic or Saffire Blue.
🙂
Hi Yola! Silk is a fibre spun by silk worms—it is often used to make high end clothing. In its more refined forms it’s water soluble, so it can be added to mixtures like this and dissolved. You can read more about it here.
thank you marie for your help!
🙂
Hi Mareie! If one is vegan, how can I substitute silk in this recipe? Thank You a lot!
I’ve written an FAQ on it 🙂
This is a good idea Marie – I will have to try it! Cheers!
Thanks, Jane!
I just wanted to let you know, this makes me sooo happy. I’m hooked on homemade shampoo bars (thanks to you,) and traveling right now. I scoured the internet for a non-vinegar fix before I left, but instead of travel with an obscure white powder I decided to just buy vinegar on the fly. So far it’s been alright, but having a travel-friendly solution from a reputable source makes me pretty excited! Thank you for making all my future trips easier!
You’re very welcome, Tracy! I’m happy to report I’ve traveled with this powder as carry-on only and the TSA didn’t bat an eye 🙂
Fabulous hair recipe idea, but as it’s meant for travelling: would it be unlikely to make it through airport security checks, in its suspicious white powder form?! Seems a wee bit risky!
As long as it’s labeled with the ingredients and no larger jar or bottle than what it allowed, they usually ignore it. I didn’t have a problem with carrying my toothpowder or my dusting powder–also homemade.
Thanks, Cathryn!
So far, so good, but I’m taking a carry-on only trip to the USA next week, so I’ll keep you posted 😉
I have never heard of this but it is definitely an interesting idea. I have been using the ACV hair rinse but the smell isn’t particularly good and it doesn’t seem to be working. I will definitely be trying this out as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Enjoy 🙂
Thanks so much Marie. I have been using my own shampoo bars, and using ACV as a rinse, but this sounds much nicer.
Thanks, Mary! Enjoy 🙂
Is there something you can sub for the silk? Our products are vegan and we do not want to use silk. We would love to be able to make this to go along with our shampoo bars! Thanks.
Hi Rachel! Read this 🙂 And, I would ask that if you are going to sell products made from recipes I have painstakingly developed, that you please commit to purchasing a copy (or more!) of my book when it is released 🙂
I’m making this ASAP.
My boy left town this weekend and forgot his bottle of That Canadian Girls acid rinse recipe. He texted me yesterday to complain that he had to use a friends shampoo…his hair is short…but thinks he absolutely can’t use That Canadian Girls soap, now.
But thats not the point. His scalp and back skin were bumpy and itchy from that crappy sls stuff.
So me and Marie to the rescue! He is often gone on weekends and this will sit in his bag, waiting.
A winner marie!
Thank you!
Cj
Thanks, Cristie! I love that I’m “That Canadian Girl” in your house 😀
Oh ya. You’re a household name now, waaaay down here in my little piece of Appalachia.
And come Christmas when everyone on my list gets their goody baskets of soaps and creams and pain medicines ( a huge hit with everyone) and hair balms and and and other stuff, you’ll be downright famous.
I’ll probably send them here but I’d rather keep you all to myself. Through you, I’m becoming famous for potions!
Have a great rest of Summer. It’s too dang hot for me, I’m ready for Fall. You’d probably love this heat.
Cj
🙂 I imagine you must be ramping up towards Christmas gift giving now. It’s 23°C here today—balmy and delightful!
Hey Marie!
This looks fabulous!! I found ACV tablets at the store and was wondering if that may be an acceptable substitute for the citric acid? Thank you!!
Hi Kiley! ACV tablets do not appear to be nearly as concentrated citric acid, so they really won’t work here unless you use significantly more of them… like maybe 30x? It’s hard to know exactly how much, so I’d recommend sticking to the citric acid as it’s a pure acid and much more concentrated.
Hi Marie!
I was wondering if you knew of some good alternatives to using the silk peptide? I saw online that arrowroot might be an option. But would it be as water-soluble?
What do you think? Do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
I wrote an FAQ on this 🙂
I have been having a hard time finding horsetail/shavegrass, but today I found it in powder form. Can I use that instead of the herb? would the amount used be the same? thanks so much.
Hi Caryn! The variety I have is powdered as well, so that should work perfectly 🙂
Is conditioner still necessary after using this rinse?
Hey Gen! This is actually a question with a rather detailed answer, so I wrote you an FAQ article on it 🙂
Hi Marie: Just have to say that my daughter and I both love this hair rinse and we use it all the time. Question, could I add a little Rosemary powder to this recipe and if so how much would you suggest?
I added powdered sunflower extract to my mix and it works out lovely. But I love your suggestion of rosemary. I think I’ll try that one next!
Thanks!
Hey Alison! You can definitely add some rosemary powder—1/4 to 1/2 tsp would be good 🙂
Pro tip form someone who made this mistake (me):
REALLY consider investing in a breathing mask for this. Most of the powders I blend aren’t a big issue to me — I work in a sediment lab and I’m pretty good at keeps my nose clear of puffs of dust in the air. HOWEVER this one is very tricksy and will puff up at everything, and the citric acid BURNS if it gets anywhere near your face. Be warned! Wear a mask!
Yes! Definitely! You made me go double check to make sure I was telling people to wear one 😛 Mask up!
Love this travel-friendly rinse! So far, I have taken it hand-luggage only to England, Scotland, California and Florida, as well as on short road trips visiting family. No danger of spilling, nothing to fill up precious 3-1-1 baggie space 🙂
Makes my tangle-prone, curly hair soft and easy to comb after shampooing, leaves it shiny and gives a nice, fresh scent.
Beautiful! I’m just gearing up for a trip myself and I suspect this will be in my bag 😉 I forgot it when I went to Europe for a month in the spring and ended up hunting down a baggie of citric acid in Amsterdam to tide me over for the rest of the trip, but it is so much nicer with the herbs and what not!
This rinse looks simple and lovely, but I have a question: I know ACV rinses should not be used on your scalp because that can cause issues. Is the same true for this rinse? I have very short hair and would find it fairly impossible to use a rinse without it getting on my scalp :] I did read your FAQ and understand that rinses are acidic. I’m just not sure if it is that property that makes rinses a no-no for your scalp or if it is something about ACV in particular! Thanks!
Hey Ashley! The only real issue you’ll encounter is your hair looking greasy at the roots a day or two earlier than otherwise, and this will happen because of the pH of the rinse, not the source of that low pH 🙂
Oh really? Awesome, I have been so afraid of using hair rinses, I was under the impression that the effect was more immediate. Since I wash my hair quite frequently, I think that I will give this rinse (and others) a go without living in fear of looking like a grease ball. Thank you!!!
Yup! Before I switched to ears-down rinsing I think I was going about 2–3 days before washing, and after switching I was able to bump that to 4–5 🙂 Have fun!
Hi Marie,I didn’t realise that you were supposed to keep acv rinses away from your scalp 🙁 oops! I mix mine with a rosemary and nettle infusion, after pouring it over my head,I then dunk my head into the basin. Ooh it feels so good on my scalp, and my itchy eczema is clearing 😀 I hope it doesn’t come back.
Using the rinse on your scalp won’t hurt, it’ll just make your hair greasier, faster. If the benefits of using the rinse on your scalp outweigh the faster greasies, go for it!
Hey Marie, i was looking for this recipe on google and found it obviously but i also saw your recipe with the addition of bamboo being sold on etsy… i thought this was your original creation? Anyway the link in case you are interested is https://www.etsy.com/listing/457737380/acidic-hair-rinse-powder-bamboo#
Please feel free to delete this if im not supoosed to share links. I just wanted to make sure someone was not making a profit off of your amazing work.
I truly appreciate all that you do on your blog and on your youtube channel. And i just love your videos. Thank you 🙂
Oh yeah, that’s definitely my recipe that they’re selling, with that one mod (which I believe another reader devised and mentioned in the comments). It happens a lot, and there’s really nothing I can do, I just wish they’d contribute to my Patreon since I’m clearly contributing to their finances. Hrmph, but also—oh well. No sense getting upset about something I can’t change.
Can I use this on color treated hair? Thanks
As somebody who doesn’t colour-treat her hair I’m afraid I can’t offer much advice here. It shouldn’t cause your dye to wash out faster, but I can’t speak for how it might cause the colour to shift. Sorry!
Hi Marie, thank you for your lovely recipes. I wonder if you have used the ACV powder, and you chose the citric acid for better results. Thanks again, I love your blog 🙂
All that really matters is that it’s acidic, and powdered citric acid is more readily available, so I chose it 🙂
Hi! I am going to try this powdered rinse and I bought everything a few months ago. Today as I was getting my ingredients together, I noticed I purchased Stearic acid and not Citric acid (don’t remember doing that and can’t find the Stearic on any order histories! Go figure!) I am assuming that Stearic is NOT substitutable here. Now I have to figure out why I bought it! Thanks for helping!
Oh no! They definitely aren’t interchangeable in the least, but stearic acid is still super useful—check out my experiments on it to get an idea of how it works 🙂
Howdy Marie!
I recently started using the powdered rinse, and I LOVE it! I don’t use hair conditioner anymore, and I only put some hair balm that I also found on here in the ends of my hair. I’ve had issues with my hair splitting on the ends and being very oily at the roots for a long time, and the acid rinse cured all of that! I’ve also noticed that it helps my face not break out so badly, even when I’m stressed – which is a big plus for me!
YAY, that’s so awesome! I’m betting the added acidity is helping your acid mantle—perhaps give this a read? Thanks for DIYing with me 🙂
Stupid question. I use Ayurvedic shampoo and interested in making this but how does that work?
Do I pour it over my head and leave it or pour it and rinse out with shower water?
Cheers from sunny Australia. I love your book and I made hemp Shea Lotion but I used dried dandelion flowers infused olive oil. Made for a yellow looking lotion.
After mixing it with water as directed you’ll want to pour it on your hair from about the ears downwards, and then rise out with shower water. This is only necessary if you’re using a very basic hair cleanser, like soap. And hello, down under! I miss your stunning weather—we got over 33cm of snow today!
Thank you so much for this! I was just wondering can I use apple cider vinegar with this mask instead of water?
I don’t recommend it, that will make the product too acidic and could damage your hair.
Just whipped some of this up as I’ve been using Dr. Bronner’s as shampoo. I have tried the chamomile/lemon/honey rinse (LOVE IT) but can’t make large batch as I am finding the preservative cost prohibitive at this time. This is the absolute ideal alternative. Can’t wait to try it!