ACV Rinse for Healthy and Shiny Silver Hair

After the grey hair transition, the real challenge in front of me was to keep my natural silver hair shiny and keep the brassiness away without compromising the health of my hair.

I have been using GoodBye Yellow Purple shampoo twice a month. It is neutralizing the yellow undertones, but the effort to remove product build-up and keep away frizz remained unsolved.

I had heard of and known about ACV rinse in the Silver Sisters community, so I decided to give it a try.

I must say it solved all of my gray hair problems, giving my hair a new life with more shine and lustre than I ever imagined.

Also, I learned about hair pH and how to keep the pH balance for hair health.

No products can compete this natural way of keeping natural silver hair smooth, healthy, shiny and frizz-free. 

Give it a try!

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Apple Cider Vinegar, also known as ACV, is known for various health benefits and has been used for various natural health remedies.

It contains natural proteins, enzymes, healthy bacteria and acetic acid.

Apple Cider Vinegar as Hair Rinse:

High alkaline products and hard water types are higher on the pH scale, which causes the hair cuticle to open. This causes hair to become brittle and dry, which in turn causes split ends, breakage and the dreaded frizz.

ACV is a fantastic natural hair tonic.

By closing the hair cuticles, ACV is known to help retain moisture, decrease frizz, add shine, increase softness, and help remove product build-up, which is said to help to go longer between washes.

It unclogs the hair follicles, which may help with excess shedding. It stimulates the scalp, helps with dandruff, soothes an itchy scalp, and can treat scalp infections.

It is also believed that it can promote hair growth and prevent hair loss too.

Its clarifying and unclogging effect, as well as its ability to stimulate the scalp, is what leads people to believe that it could put your hair in a better position to grow and shed.

Hair pH and Apple Cider Vinegar:

Due to the low pH level of around 3 in apple cider vinegar, it can be used to help close the hair cuticle by lowering the pH in our hair. Healthy hair is slightly more acidic, with a pH of around 4.5 to 5.5.

According to this article, the alkaline pH may increase the negative electrical charge of the hair fibre surface. It’s a reality and not a myth that lower shampoo pH may cause less frizzing for generating less negative static electricity on the fibre surface.

Does ACV damage gray hair?

No! It does not damage grey hair unless used properly. Here’s how ACV can backfire, and how to avoid it:

• Although it’s a natural remedy, it is recommended to do a patch test before use. This is because it may cause skin irritation and reactions to some skin types.
• It must never be overused, excessive ACV use lifts the hair cuticle too much, weakening strands. Specifically, if you have fine/thin hair, it can lead to snapping or split ends.
• As ACV is highly acidic, it must be DILUTED with water to bring the pH up to around 4 for hair answers.
• Use distilled or filtered water for rinsing. ACV’s acidity reacts with minerals in hard water or hair products. It may cause yellowing or a greenish tint (if mixed with certain types of tap water). Distilled water, being naturally acidic without minerals, is ideal as it maximises shine and prevents discolouration while effectively sealing hair cuticles. Filtered water also works by neutralising hard water’s alkalinity. 
• The final rinse must be with COLD water. Hot water opens cuticles, letting moisture escape; cold water seals them, trapping hydration.

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse, the Perfect Ratio:

The most agreed-upon amount is 1-4 tablespoons of ACV and 1-2 cups of water, but to be safe, the main rule is to make sure your rinse is brought up to a pH of 4.

Dry hair needs less ACV, and greasy hair needs more. So I went with about a 5-tab spoonful of ACV in one cup of water. This measures around one ounce of water, so it’s about a 1 to 8 ratio.

How to use Apple Cider Vinegar for Hair?

• Wash your hair with a regular shampoo.
• Use filtered water before the ACV rinse to eliminate any hard water left in your hair. Pour the diluted ACV rinse over the scalp and allow it to soak into all the hair. (Pour the concoction slowly all over the scalp and hair.)

• Let the ACV rinse sit for 2-3 minutes. Then rinse and shower off the vinegar from your hair and body to avoid the smell.
• A final rinse with cold water. It is known to help close the cuticles and add shine, which will maximise the rinse benefits.
• You can use a conditioner after the rinse if you wish. ( I don’t apply conditioner after the rinse as I don’t feel the need to. My hair feels soft after each rinse.)
• Instead of vigorously drying your hair with a towel, wrap your hair with a t-shirt or a microfiber towel to reduce the frizz on the hair.
• If you wish to brush your hair, gently detangle it with a comb while it is wet. 
• Then, leave it to air dry completely naturally. It smells pretty strong but is less noticeable when it dries.

Tip: To help with the smell, add a few drops of essential oil like lavender, rosemary, or peppermint. 1-2 drops will be sufficient to surpass the vinegar smell.

Make sure to do an allergy test before using any essential oil for the first time.

Aftercare:

I sleep with a silk cap on the same day. Hair feels sleek, glossy, and bouncy, and the individual strands feel stronger. It is soft and not tangly at all.

You might also like reading: Amazing Before and After Gray Hair Pictures

Cutting down heat tools on hair or just avoiding them will help control damage and hair frizz.

Aftercare plays a huge factor in the outcome.

A fantastic way to naturally strip hair colour:

If you are in the middle of your grey hair transition, then ACV can help in softening the grey hair demarcation line by stripping the hair dye from the hair.

ACV rinse can strip off the dyed colour from the colour-treated hair because of the acetic acid in the rinse, which is a strong clarifier.

I would count it another benefit for a silver sister going grey cold turkey.

It can act as a natural way of removing the hair dye from the hair, softening the demarcation line.

You might also like reading: Ditch Your Purple Shampoo And Use This Alternative Instead

How often should I use ACV rinse on Gray Hair?

There is no scientific advice on how often to use it, but it is suggested to use it once a week to twice a month, depending on how your hair reacts to it.

If you are going to use it as much as twice a week, I recommend just using a smaller ratio, maybe 1-2 tsp per one cup of filtered water and for short hair, half of it.

Remember, it’s worth experimenting.

I wanted to give some friendly insight into your struggle to find the perfect ACV-to-water ratio balance. 

Everybody’s locality water has a different pH, which is why the ratios may differ from person to person.

So, considering that there’s a universal, nominal pH we want the ACV rinse to be, we would have to dilute ACV with water to be that pH (and everybody’s ratios would be different since our taps give us different pHs of water).

If you want an easy scientific way to achieve the perfect ratio of ACV to water, you can get some pH test strips and start with a small ratio of water to ACV and test the pH little by little, adding more water every time to make the pH go up.

Obviously, this would only need to be done once, and you would need to keep track of how much water to ACV you’re making for future reference.

It’s recommended that you use a bit less for dry hair, and for greasy hair, use a bit more. But it’s worth experimenting with because everyone’s hair is different.

If you’re looking to skip the process of creating your own rinsing solution, there’s an alternative product offered by the brand dpHUE. This product carries all the qualities and benefits of a natural apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse formula without requiring you to go through the entire preparation process.

Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse dpHUE

This awesome hair product is like a magic potion for your scalp and hair. It actually helps keep your hair’s pH balanced and makes your hair shiny without any nasty chemicals like parabens or sulfates. It is also Leaping Bunny Certified. 

You can even use it as a substitute for shampoo! It’s so convenient and keeps your hair looking fantastic without needing a typical shampoo routine.

Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Shampoo:

A few brands of good ACV Shampoos are also available for hassle-free and quick hair treatment. Acure is my favourite.

Shop for the Products suggested in the Post:

Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

pH Test Strips

Silk Cap

I hope this helps.

Feel free to share your hair discoveries in the comments. Start a conversation. Maybe you can help somebody out. We are all on this hair journey together. We can do it.

Related posts:

5 Ways to Brighten Grey Hair Naturally

5 Mistakes that are Worsening Your Gray Hair Frizz

14 Gray Hair friendly Shampoos

13 Gray Hair Care Tips