While making your rounds on the hair forums you find out that apple cider vinegar is great for the hair. You find out that doing a final rinse of apple cider vinegar will help your hair cuticle to lay flatter, thus locking in moisture for longer periods. You give it a try and you are amazed how the ACV rinse makes your hair feel. Because of this experience you add apple cider vinegar to your regular hair care regimen, cause you cannot wait to do one again.
STOP not so fast!
True organic apple cider vinegar is great for the hair and many other things. However, apple cider vinegar should not be used on the hair, on a regular basis. Think of ACV as a medicine for the hair or better yet a treatment. Treatments are meant to treat the hair for a specific issue until that issue is no longer a problem. If you are experiencing chronic dry hair, then ACV rinses will help you whip your hair cuticle back in shape. You use it for around 4 weeks, then your hair should be able to hold moisture on its own. When your hair is holding its own then you discontinue use. Apple cider vinegar is acidic when compared with the PH of hair. Using a ACV rinse on the final step of your shampoo regimen helps to balance the scalp and make the hair cuticle lay flatter. Once you have completed several ACV rinses your hair cuticle should start to lay flatter on its own. Going forward simply rinsing out your deep conditioner with cool water should be enough to make your hair cuticle lay flatter.
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| Always buy organic apple cider vinegar |
Dangers of using apple cider vinegar for long periods of time.
- ACV will change your hair color.
- Your hair will become fragile.
- Breakage will eventually occur.
Remember just because it is natural does not mean you should overuse it and that it cannot damage the hair. Moderation is always a good ideal.
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| Easy DIY deep conditioner |
Other treatments to not overuse
Honey
Adding 1 tablespoon of honey to your conditioner will turn it from drab to awesome. So if you have a deep conditioner that does not perform well add one tablespoon of honey to it. Honey is a natural humectant. Honey leaves the hair soft, shiny and moisturized. Your hair will hold moisture longer when using honey. If you use raw organic honey, then you can use it weekly with no issues. However it you use regular brown honey, it will take some of the color out of your hair with weekly use. The raw organic honey cost more and is cream in color. The processed honey is brown and about half the price of raw organic honey. If you choose to use honey on a weekly basis opt for the raw organic honey and you can use it as much as you desire.
Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is an oil you should always have in your cabinet. It is aniseptic. This is an oil that should be used as a medicine and not for everyday use. This oil is very strong and when used to often can give you a headache from the strong smell.
Castile soap
Many feel because this is a natural soap, it is good for use on the hair. Yes castile is natural but the PH of castile soap is around a 10 or 11. This is way to high. Castile soap should be used when you have buildup because it is so strong. Frequent use of this soap will leave the hair stripped. Stripping the hair on a continuous basis will make your hair dry and brittle. We know that dry, brittle hair eventually breaks.
Black soap
Black soap in the liquid form normally has a high PH. Only use this soap for clarifying and deep cleanings. Using this soap on a weekly basis can lead to lots of tangles and knots. Hair tangles more when it is out of balance. When you purchase any type of black soap check the PH of it by using PH strips. Purchase black soap that comes in chunks instead of the liquid form.
Protein treatments
Protein treatments are amazing in helping you to strengthen your hair. Protein makes your hair stronger so it can withstand manipulation and not break. A good protein regimen will help you grow your hair to great lengths. The best protein treatment to choose is one which has hydrolyzed keratin protein in the top 3 ingredients. Always follow the directions of the protein treatment you choose. If your protein treatments says to only use once every 4 weeks then do not reapply after 2 weeks.
Learn more about protein treatments and how they can help you reach longer lengths here.
Great article!
ReplyDeletewhat about bentonite clay mask recipe as a weekly cleanser? 3 day cleanser?
here's the ingridients:
distilled water, bentonite clay, coconut milk, soap nuts, avocado oil, palm oil, shikakai, brahmi, marshmallow root, organic amla, organic cassie obovata, bhringraj, organic tulsi, organic neem, grapefruit peel, horsetail, hibiscus, dried lavender, Vitamin E, natural preservative blend
Im experimenting with making it super diluted that way it doesnt weigh down my hair strands, and the product washes off easier
If you can check the PH balance of your cleanser that will tell you for sure. You have a lot of ingredients in that cleanser maybe try to simplify it to just 5 ingredients. The bentonite clay is awesome on its on or with just 2 or 3 added ingredients. You have about 3 cleansers in this one mix. The soap nuts, coconut milk and the bentonite are all cleaning ingredients......You may not be successful with getting a good PH reading due to the ingredients discoloring the strips but you can try.
Deletebut it's alright for me to use the bentonite clay regularly right?
ReplyDeleteThis batch I bought from a local health store. It's a bit on the pricey side, so as it runs out I'll be making my own batch. Now that you say it's alright, I will omit the soap nut.
what about with just avocado oil and vitamin E?
I didn't know coconut milk was a cleaning agent. I assumed it was tied to "moisturizing" ... aka... conditioning.
Yes it has cleansing properties the avocado oil is fine. Bentonite clay is up on the PH scale so I do not use it as my regular cleanser.
DeleteThank you so very much, I'll adjust accordingly so that I can stay consistent with this regimen
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHiya loved the post. I use bentonite clay a lot, but mix it with diluted acv or diluted coconut vinegar. PH of this is 6 according to my strips, so is this ok? I wash or rinse my hair with this every 3 days. Also what is wrong with non organic vinegar without the mother? I tried both and haven't noticed anything except Braggs was more expensive. Please let me know thanks. Neuyogi
ReplyDeleteAlso
Non organic products are highly processed so they lose benefits and many times they are processed with harsh ingredients.....I recommend organic ACV over the coconut vinegar, this is better at bringing down the PH of the clay.......I do not recommend using the ACV or clay twice a week.......Braggs is not the only company that makes organic ACV with the mother, so you can search for a cheaper prices organic ACV.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your information, I want to share something about this.
ReplyDeleteNatural Soap
We've acquired several premade molds and so are today studying making several molds individuals very own. Although we all don’t help make our personal detergent we all carry out acquire top quality burn and also serve bottoms and will also be record the particular components about our own web site to suit your needs in the event any person will be focused on allergy symptoms. We all furthermore desire to retain any inventory regarding preservatives and also perfumes you could select to be able to modify the soap.