If you have been natural for sometime, you may have heard of apple cider vinegar hair rinse.
But what is apple cider vinegar and why should we use it as a rinse on our natural hair?
What is Apple Cider Vinegar and How is it made?
You can make apple cider vinegar by crushing apples and exposing them to yeast.
The yeast will ferment the sugars within the apples and turn them into alcohol.
Next, you add bacteria to ferment the alcohol further and this then forms acetic acid.
Acetic acid is the main component in vinegar and it gives a sour smell and taste.
The unfiltered apple cider vinegar contains a dark brown substance called ‘mother’.
This ‘mother’ contains strands of protein, good bacteria and enzymes.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Natural Hair
The correlation between apple cider vinegar (ACV) and natural hair begins from the science of natural hair.
For our natural hair to thrive, we need a balance of not only protein and moisture but also pH.
pH means potential of hydrogen or hydrogen strength.
The pH will show if a product is acidic or alkaline as long as it is water based.
Also, a pH scale goes from 0-14 with water at the centre with a pH of 7.
Water is not neutral because it is at the centre, rather water is 50% acidic and 50% alkaline.
Now, a product that has a low pH between 0 – 6.9, is considered to be acidic.
While a product with a high pH value of 7.1 – 14 is alkaline.
Having said this, healthy natural hair has a pH between 4 – 5.5.
This means that, since our healthy hair’s acid mantle is between 4 – 5.5, our hair should be at this pH at the end of washday in order to maintain shiny, lustrous healthy-looking hair.
This is where apple cider vinegar hair rinse comes in.
How ACV works
With a pH of 3, apple cider vinegar rinse will help to lower the high pH of water (7) in our hair to between 4 -5.5.
Thereby leaving us with healthy-looking natural hair.
Now, to make an apple cider vinegar hair rinse, I am using Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar.
You can use any organic brand available.
Pour half a cup of apple cider vinegar to 1 pint of water and that’s it.
You have your diluted apple cider vinegar hair rinse ready for use on your natural hair.
This ACV rinse is great for closing your hair cuticles to prevent split ends, breakage and porous hair.
You can find the full tutorial in the video above.
I hope you learnt something new today and you can find more helpful tips in my book below.
4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to 75cl works well but you can add more if the quantity of water is more. Just make sure the apple cider vinegar is diluted before use on your natural hair. 
Apple Cider vinegar helps to balance the pH of your natural hair and scalp, closes hair cuticles, and enhances shine.
You only need to pour apple cider vinegar down your hair after rinsing out your conditioner.
Apple Cider Vinegar is not bad for your hair but as with everything, too much ACV (undiluted) can cause dryness and breakage.
No, Apple Cider Vinegar rinse is done after you rinse out the conditioner.
No, conditioners are to be used before ACV rinse.
Yes, apple cider vinegar can help to kill fungus or bacteria from forming on the scalp.
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2 comments
How often should I use Apple Cider Vinegar to rinse my hair? Is it everytime on my wash days or once in a month
Every washday is best