You just need to type the word in and the monitor will flash hundreds of pages with zillions of words praising the new age miracle –apple cider vinegar (ACV). Sure, we grew up listening to the popular saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” being told multitudes of times about the benefits of the roughage, the vitamins, and the amazing benefits the fruit itself possesses. However, in the recent past, there has been a great deal of information flowing about how this very simple extract created from a two-step process, pretty much like making alcohol, could impact health and treating of several health complications like diabetes and cholesterol, helping weight loss, aid in curbing acid reflux, and even helping you build a defense against cancer.

So what is apple cider vinegar?

Quite simply, it’s vinegar that is made from apple and is known to be a cooking ingredient. But what is slowly coming to light, from several studies, is it’s an extremely potent way of addressing many lifestyle diseases. But apart from making it work for your really healthy salad or help you marinade your chicken even better, it works as one of the most incredibly potent formulations to give you the shiniest of hair!

Apple cider vinegar is simply a by-product of fermentation of apples and thus is as nutrient heavy as is the fruit. Apples possess rich doses of malic acid, folates, pectin, calcium, and potassium, which further gets purer in form as an end result of the fermentation process. It contains far more enzymes and beneficial acids that balance the pH balance of your hair that is suffering from over usage of chemical-laden hair care products.

What Makes Apple Cider Vinegar Great for your Hair?

Because of its slight acidic nature, it helps balance the vital pH of your hair follicle.

Alpha hydroxy that is naturally present in the vinegar will help exfoliate the follicle, thus making it more prone to hair re-growth.

It removes remnants of usual hair colorants and other products like gels and conditioner that leave reside on your hair. This gives a much cleaner feel to your hair and healthy shine.

It is antifungal, antibacterial, and above all anti-inflammatory, thus addressing scalp issues such as dandruff, flakiness, and itching.

Cleaner more vibrant hair shaft leave hair feeling more manageable and less frizzy.

The most important effect being that since your hair has just the right amounts of moisture lock now, you will not feel the grime as well. So the need to shampoo your hair, which is a vicious cycle, will also be addressed.

Above all, the most important benefit that you would get from this is that it is paraben-and sulfate-free. These are the two dreaded ingredients in most hair washes that strip your hair of its natural color and make your hair oilierby increasing sebum production.

In all, apple cider hair rinse is most suited for all whose hair has suffered the atrocities of chemical-laden washing.

How to Prepare the Apple Cider Rinse for Your Hair

This hair rinse can quite simply be prepared with very little trouble – right at home and used fresh while its ingredients are at its freshest best. It will never weight down your hair and will feel fresh, leaving hair free of residue and pollutants that even water tends to leave on hair follicle. So this very simple homemade formula is not just safe but hugely beneficial like any natural treatment would be.

Choosing the right kind of bottle would be the first step as you would need to store the preparation for your use. A simple plastic squeeze bottle works fine.

For making the rinse and storing it well,all you have to do is take 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar from a well-known brand, and mix it with 8 ounces of water. Mix it well and bottle it. Seal it tight and you may keep it anywhere that is cool and dry. It is always recommended however that the rinse should be freshly prepared before use.

Getting It Right!

Preparing the mix as per your hair’s need is also necessary. If you have overactive sebum, then your hair tends to be oilier which would need less dilution and more apple cider vinegar (ACV). So from mild potency at 1.2 tablespoon for 8 ounces to 4 tablespoons for very oily kind of hair, you could use the mix that would suit your hair.

Also remember that, as you use the rinse more often, your hair will balance out and you could then reduce the potency according to that.

Choosing the Right Apple Cider Vinegar

It matters as we would want something fresh, as unfiltered and as unprocessed as possible. So the label that says organic,meaning it is unpasteurized and has all the goodness of its fermentation process, should be the most suited. It means that the acetic bacterium which converts the sugar into acetic acids is still present in it.

How to Use

Shampoo your hair the usual way and rinse off. Do not use any conditioner. Now squirt the rinse from the squeezy bottle right from the scalp down to the tips of your hair. Cover your hair completely and leave it on for at least 10 minutes. Wash it off lightly, not completely as you would with a shampoo.

The Odor Issue

Well sure, like any other vinegar, you will find a slight smell that is typical of fermented things, yet with a certain amount of dilution, it does wear off. If it troubles you too much, add things like lavender essential oil (2 drops for 8 ounces of water).Remember though that any essential oil rinse must be stored in glass bottles.

Rinse Variation

To make your apple cider rinse all the more healthy for your hair, here is a small little addition to it that would make it work harder for giving you more luster. Instead of using plain water for dilution, boil the water and let a handful of hibiscus flowers steep in it for 15 minutes. You could also use a muslin cloth pouch filled with a handful of fenugreek seeds or rosemary or even chamomile to make this infusion. You could then go on to strain it and use it for diluting the apple cider vinegar as was recommended earlier.

Usage Norms

You have to understand one thing that applies to all kinds of natural formulations: one size does not fit all! Use as per suitability. If the first time your hair feels too dry, reduce the potency of the ACV in the mix, and if it feels too oily, you need to increase its proportion.

From once a month to using thrice a week is considered normal. It does lighten your hair color but that can be prevented if you use it lesser and more diluted. Begin with twice a week rinse at least and then after your hair has been detoxed to an extent, reduce to once a fortnight.

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