Apple Cider Vinegar Rinses For Healthy, Shiny Hair!

I must confess the first time I heard about using vinegar in hair I thought: surely, it aint that serious?! But as with everything else, I was intrigued, tried it out and (on this occasion) was sold!

To explain why Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is so beneficial to our hair, we first need to understand the pH balance in our hair, in the products we use and how they interact with one another.

Think of those 12 inch rulers we used in primary/secondary school and imagine it to be a scale (but make it 14 inch) - with the first half of the scale being acidic and the last half of the scale being alkaline while the middle is neutral. Healthy hair (and skin) has a low acidic pH of 4.5 - 5 meaning ideally, products that we use in our hair should fall into this range. The lower the acid pH range of the product we use (but not the extreme end of the acidic spectrum), the more tightly closed the cuticles become - protecting the inner cortex of the hair strand, preventing damage and giving the hair a sheen as the tightly closed cuticles reflect light.

Now when we use products with a high pH (where they now fall into the alkaline range) they cause the scales on the hair's cuticle to lift, swell and open - leaving the inner cortex unprotected and vulnerable to damage. Relaxers and permanent color fall in the very high 10 - 13 range and this is why a 'neutralizing' shampoo is used after relaxer application to get the hair back to it's normal 4.5 - 5 pH range.