My favorite natural hair blog, Black Girl with Long Hair, shares six awesome hair treatments featuring apple cider vinegar (ACV). They note that "its acidity is close to that of natural hair, it’s a good conditioner and cleaning agent, and it’s also an effective germ killer."
I've used ACV once to remove a particularly nasty buildup of hair pudding (ugh!) and to condition my supercoils. I left my hair drenched with it under a plastic cap for what was supposed to be 20 minutes, but ended up being over an hour because I got wrapped up in An Education (a chick flick I highly recommend for your next spa night). My scalp never felt fresher!
Is ACV part of your hair care ritual?
Wondering what the difference is between apple cider vinegar and white vinegar? White vinegar is usually made from fermented corn or malt that is distilled to produce a colorless acidic solution. It's quite cheap and great for cleaning and other household uses. Apple cider vinegar is made from fermented apples. While ACV has an acidity similar to white vinegar, it also has additional health benefits-- especially if it is not distilled and cloudy with its "mother." If you want more info on why vinegar used for consumption should not be distilled or pasteurized, Bragg's has a LOT to say on the issue.
Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.
