Does Apple Cider Vinegar Damage Hair?

Apple cider vinegar has been hyped up for health benefits both inside and out. This antibacterial liquid is said to aid in weight loss, gut health, clear skin and heart health. So why wouldn't it be good for my hair?! 

Well the since all the wellness and beauty blogs do hype up this condiment's ability to cleanse and reinvigorate hair, I decided to give it a shot. Actually, not a shot, a full blown balls-to-the-wall commitment. A waterfall pour.

Here it is... my horror story about washing my hair with apple cider vinegar.

As the holistic and natural freak that I am, I decided this was the perfect solution to replace sudsy shampoo all together. I decided none of it was to be entirely trusted, but this... this was pure.

I stocked up on bulk bottles of organic ACV to mix with 2 parts water in a glass jar I kept in the shower and rinsed it over my hair every other day in place of my hair wash. For how long you ask? 7 months. Yep.

My boyfriend absolutely hated it - whining that every time I exited the shower, I smelled like salad dressing. I didn't care. I only cared that there were zero toxins and my hair was supposedly going to shine like gold.

Months went by and my hair just kept getting brittler and brittler and tanglier and tanglier. It wasn't until I did a deep oil treatment that wouldn't wash out of my hair for days that I finally couldn't handle it anymore. I ran out and bought a bottle of natural shampoo and scrubbed the sh*t out of my hair.

It felt so good it seriously hurt.

So I kept shampooing. More months went by with my reunited-shampoo-life and sure enough, my hair became healthier and healthier, shinier and shinier, longer and longer.

It was only then that I realized the damage I had wreaked on my shafts and it was only then I did the deeper research... apple cider vinegar can be extremely drying and should ONLY be used in moderation. Don't ever replace your wash with it unless you want to break every last end off. A rinse once per week should suffice unless you have hair that is literally dripping with oil.

So there's my hard-learned hair lesson. I hope it saves you a set of clip-in extensions because your hair will healthily thrive and grow without this replacement. I wish someone would've written this blog before I went in so hard.

See here for my favorite hair essentials for my healthy, newfound mane - ACV free.