Since the beginning of this year I’ve been working really hard at not washing my hair every single day of the week. I know that sounds like kind of a ridiculous thing to be “working hard” at, but it’s true! It wasn’t my stylist that finally inspired me to do it (even though she’d been telling me for months), it was the time it took to wash and blow dry my hair everyday. I finally got on the dry shampoo bandwagon and after trying, this kind, then this kind, and finally this kind- I’ve settled on the third. If you’re in the market for a dry shampoo, water killer is the best in my mind!
Things were all fine and dandy. I was chugging along at about 2 washes per week- my dream being one. And then my scalp started to get really really itchy. Like uncontrollably itchy. I didn’t want to use something like Head & Shoulders since it strips your color, so I decided to try a vinegar rinse this past weekend as I had read it removes build up (from all the dry shampoo) and helps relieve itchiness. I did a little research and found everything from mixing a half cup of vinegar with a half cup of water to mixing one tablespoon of vinegar with a full cup of water as proportions. Quite the difference! Here’s the method I settled on:
- Mix 1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar with 3/4 cup of water
- Place the mixture in a spray or squeeze bottle if you have it (I left mine in the measuring cup, and carried that into the shower)
- In between shampooing and conditioning your hair, pour or squirt the mixture on your roots and let it sit for 3-5 minutes, massaging occasionally. I shaved my legs during this time.
- Thoroughly rinse the mixture from your hair, and condition from root to end. This is something I never do, but my stylist said it was necessary following the rinse.
Upon blow drying my hair I could immediately feel a different- my hair was definitely shinier, silkier, and had more natural body. My scalp has also been much less itchy, and my hair overall- a lot less oily, causing me to use less dry shampoo. I loved the results! And I can’t believe it was all from vinegar- proves you don’t always need those pricey products.
I’m definitely going to make the rinse a weekly habit. Many sites suggest adding essential oils to the mix. Wouldn’t lavendar be yummy? You can even clean your hairbrush using vinegar.
Have you done a vinegar rinse? Any other natural hair remedies you can recommend? I’d love to hear!
I’ve never done one, but I think you just sold me on the idea.
I’ve been wanting to try this for a while. I wonder about the smell? I mean, when you rinse the hair out does the vinegary smell linger??
Hi Alla- mine didn’t smell at all. I even had my mom smell it to double check! Even though the solution is diluted, you do smell it in the shower. But I just rinsed it out really well, then conditioned, and then rinsed that out well. You should be fine!
I am definitely going to try this with my apple cider vinegar I’ve had lying around. Need the shine boost - thanks for the tip!
I’m so happy you posted this! I normally wash my hair twice a week but I’m plagued with an itchy scalp no mater what product I use. I can not wait to try this out.
This will be a life saver!!!
This is a great idea. I can typically get away with 4 days between hair washes (using dry shampoo on the third and fourth days), and thankfully haven’t had the itchy scalp syndrome. However, I always condition my hair from roots to end, so maybe that helps? I like the idea of using this vinegar rinse to get rid of build-up though. Nothing like shiny hair!
This sounds like a great idea. I’ve never tried anything on my hair so natural. But my head is always itchy from lots of product. I might be trying this recipe this weekend!
Thanks for the tip. I love home remedies. I pretty much wash my hair daily. I know I shouldn’t but otherwise it just feels so dry and crap the next day. I’ll have to give this a go along with dry shampoos which I’m yet to try.
One of my home hair remedies is an avocado mask - http://www.dellie.ca/blog/2012/05/08/avocado-hair-mask/. It leaves your hair silky smooth and shiny.
Hi! Since the beginning of 2014 I’ve started to do the baking soda/vinegar rinse. It works really well except leaves my scalp itchy. I was wondering if I could pour the vinegar rinse starting from my roots? And what’s the different between distilled white vinegar and apple cider vinegar? I am currently using the white vinegar to make the rinse.
Hi Lina! So I only do vinegar and water, not baking soda. I mix 3/4 cup of water with a 1/4 cup of organic apple cider vinegar and use that. I shampoo my hair first and then pour the vinegar mixture slowly over my head. I focus on getting them right in the roots, and then massaging into my scalp.
I then let it rest for 3 minutes before washing out. I might try the apple cider vinegar. I’m not sure what the difference is, but it could help! I also really try and get it into my roots, which should help the itchiness. Hope that helps!
I was wondering the same thing. I see a post on livinginanotherlanguage. I started using the baking soda and vinegar rinse as well. I was told that the regular cider vinegar was to harsh on the hair so I think Ill try the distilled but I wanted to really know what the difference is. I know that the distilled vinegar is less strong but I believe that whole point of using the vinegar is to neutralize the baking soda so that it doesnt dry the hair out. If you find out any infor on this please let me know.
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I WAS GETTING TO THE POINT IM TIRED OF TRYING DIFFERENT THINGS SO I WILL BE TRYING THIS TONITE THANKS AGAIN!
I started using white vinegar and water on my dreadlocks after i struggled with itchy scalp,wowwww what a relieve,no itchy anymore.And im no longer using expensive hair sprays,im much happy about it.
Hi everyone! I’ve been doing this vinegar rinse thing since last January. I’m still loving how my hair feels after I pour it on my hair. Currently, I pour 1 part white vinegar to 1 part water and it does a pretty good job! I squirt out just enough for my hair to get wet with the solution starting from the top of my head, then I massage it in focusing on the tips. For shampoo, I’ve been using about 1 tbsp. baking soda to about 1 cup water more or less. Both combos I leave in for about 2 minutes each. They do a pretty good job except I’m wondering about the long term effects of using baking soda on my hair. I’ve been washing my hair one to 2 times a week this way and sometimes it works better than others; I don’t really measure exactly the amount I need, just eyeball it. (the baking soda I mean)
Anyway, I’ve read about using castile soap as a shampoo and I’ve been wanting to try it. I bought some bars; now I just need to make them into a liquid soap I can use head to toe. I’m doing this also for my one and a half year old daughter; something homemade and natural that works for her AND for me! Her hair - same texture as mine (her father is Jamaican and I’m Colombian, my hair is straight and smooth, hers a little wavier, and his curly and kinky) - always comes out gorgeous. For her I’ve been using generic baby shampoo (baby gift when she was born) and then I rub coconut oil as a leave-in afterwards. The shampoo is almost done and I wanted to find something more natural for her next shampoo, hence the castile soap. I hope it all works out!
And finally, if it does work out, I’ll try to convince him to try it too; then we’ll save some money on bodywash and shampoo.
Oh, and I’ve read some comments about the vinegar smell. When you’re pouring it, it smells, but once your hair dries, it doesn’t.
I dyed my hair and the back of my neck and my scalp are sooo itchy but I do not want to stop dying my hair. What can I do to help my scalp after this procedure
When I first started doing this no-poo thing my scalp would get itchy too, though it wasn’t because of dying my hair. It took an entire year of tweaking the recipe so it would stop. What I found was that in the beginning I didn’t dilute the baking soda enough with water when I put it in my hair, but once I started using more water for the baking soda my scalp stopped itching. And don’t forget the vinegar rinse! I think it helps to relieve the itching too. I keep a bottle of it already made in the shower and just refill when it gets low; 1 cup water and 1 cup vinegar.
Hope this helps!