Natural Hair Conditioners

I use ACV for everything but never, ever considered pouring it over my dry hair. After reading the posts from people who use ACV in their hair I went to the kitchen sink, more to prove that it wouldn't work for my problem. I shampooed, then poured diluted ACV over my hair and let it sit for about a minute. At this point I'm thinking it won't work because my hair felt dry when I poured the ACV solution into my hair BUT as I was rinsing I could feel my hair soften and turn silky...with nothing but water and vinegar?! I dried my hair as usual and my hair is soft and healthy with not the slightest trace of the dryness that has plagued me for 2 years. Shut up!

For what it is worth... I rinse my hair with organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother, and sold in glass bottles); a 50/50 mixture with water. But I do not rinse it out. The vinegar odor quickly dissipates and my hair is very shiny when dry. In my experience, organic apple cider vinegar sold in plastic bottles does not produce the same results and does not smell organic.

In reply to Oily Head (Europe),

Zinc is well noted for helping to reduce oily hair. It works by inhibiting production of catalase which in turn reduces production of dihydroxytestosterone which in turn limits sebum production by the sebaceous glands.

Zinc is normally taken orally or it can be applied topically and is also used in some shampoos so there are multiple options. Zinc has many other health benefits.

Art

My daughter was out of hair spray so she found a recipe online and made her own.

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

She put this in a little spray bottle and said it worked better than store bought stuff!

You could add a drop of your favorite essential oil if you like.

Not only is this cheaper than anything I could have bought, it has no harmful chemicals in it and is not harmful to the environment.

~Mama to Many~

Hi Francisca, I enjoy your posts and reviews. I had awful problems with my hair after giving birth which I blamed on hormones. It took me two years and many hairdresser visits(I usually only go once every 2-3 years) to realize it was SLS. Curl fell out. Colour wouldn't stay and it felt like I had a wire brush rubbing on my scalp. So now I rarely shampoo my hair unless I'm going to get a colour put in. I use a protocol devised by Lorraine Massey called "no poo". I 'wash' my hair each day but only use a non-silicone conditioner - no shampoo. Google her. It's a great system. Once or twice a week, before breakfast I spray my dry hair and scalp with ACV/water - have brekkie and clean up - then shower and condition. Normally I only leave it on half an hour or so but a couple of times I realize at the school gates that I forgot to wash it out. Doesn't look good but it has never done any damage. The spray bottler is non waste and I'll use it for cleaning too. I spray it on my brass bathroom taps just for a min and then scrub with an old toothbrush to get rid of the green stuff that accumulates on them. And it gets rid of the soap residue my family are determined to leave in the sink. It's great stuff to have in the bathroom.

I love ACV on my hair. It has been now 5 months I ditched shampoo. I used thr Dr. Hulda Clark recipe of 1 Tablespoon with 1 cup water of baking soda to wash my hair and then rinse with water. For conditioner and extra rinse, I use 1-2 TBs of ACV in about cup of water and rinse my hair, hair comes out great and don't need to wash for 3-4 days. Less frizz and healthy scape and shinny hair. Takes a while for hair to get used to it and it took me a while to get used to not having suds. Love it. I ended up buying on Amazon a 50 lb container of baking soda because I use it for cleaning my home and more.

I have been using vinegar once a week for years and years as a hair rinse. It gives my hair the perfect pH balance. As a result, at the ripe old age of 63, I have very thick, healthy, shiny hair. When I tell people about it, they think I am crazy, but it works!! I remember when I was very young, my mom would wash my hair in rain water and then rinse it with vinegar.

I use approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup vinegar diluted with about 1/2 cup water. I shampoo and rinse first then pour on the vinegar - let it sit about a minute and then rinse out the vinegar and then shampoo again and rinse very well so there is no odor of vinegar. This was even recommended to me by a beautician once, and I hadn't even told her that I was already doing it!! The vinegar also removes all the old shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, etc. build-up in the hair.

On the use of Apple Cider Vinegar as a hair rinse and left to dry overnight... Well I've done that when hair was just lifeless and dry. Even when using conditioners. Just now did it again. Let it soak on hair to the point it was nearly dripping... Very wet but not dripping. In the past when I did it, next day hair had a sheen was very managable.

Can't recall if I read it from Dr Jarvis' book on ACV "New England Folk Medicine" which I read about 20 years ago. That book is what got me started on the amazing world of ACV.

I totally agree. I have been rinsing my hair with ACV for years and years and I have never noted any bad side effects. The ACV helps control my dandruff and it brings out the red highlights in my hair.

I have recently become Earthclinic's biggest fan, trying a couple of suggestions that were in others' testimonials. Last night I soaked my hair in undiluted ACV to wet it. Then I used baking soda to srub my scalp clean, next I put a warm egg on my hair(focusing on the ends). I worked the mixture in and let it sit for about 10 minutes. My hair was instantly smoother when I put the BS on but I decided to add the egg anyway. When I rinsed it out my hair was very easy to comb through and it still was silky to the touch. I followed it up by putting coconut oil on my hair while it was still wet and wrapping it. I tied it up and went to sleep. When I combed the wrap down this morning I found the softest, shiniest, hair I have ever had. I am African American with chemically altered hair so this remedy is like finding a pot of gold! I am so amazed by the results of the cheapest most common things. I will never have to waste my time and money on useless hair products again. I'm 23 now so I'm sure this will save me a lot of money over the years. I feel so blessed to have found this site and I hope these remedies touch many more lives.

Hi!

It turns out that I have curly hair and have been doing all of the wrong things for a long time.

My daugther has wavy hair and read a bunch to figure out how to best take care of her hair. She convinced me to read, "Curly Girl, " as she was convinced I had curly hair under my menopausal frizz.

I didn't finish the book but read enough to make changes that have really helped my hair.

My hair used to be very, very straight. I spent a lot of money in the 80's to achieve curly hair. But pregnancy and age changed my hair a surprising amount.

In the last 10 years my hair has gotten thinner and frizzier. Turns out I have been dehydrating it dreadfully by shampooing it every time I shower, which is once or twice a day. I have tried countless natural shampoos. I have tried borax and baking soda and all kinds of stuff but nothing helped my hair to look better.

I now shampoo my hair twice a week. I still shower every day. When I finish my shower I put conditioner in my hair (not on the scalp), carefully "comb" it with my fingers and leave it in. I gently towel dry it with a t-shirt. I don't comb it. I put another leave in conditioner for curly hair in it and scrunch my hair with my fingers. That's it. The two conditioners keep my hair hydrated (apparently.) No frizz. Its astonishing.

This isn't exactly a "natural" remedy. But it may be the answer to anyone else who is dealing with frizzy hair that is actually frustrated curly hair!

~Mama to Many~

This is a cure that I love, but I am also looking for advice if anyone has any regarding my excessively oily hair.

I have really fine, oily hair, which is also prone to dryness and a very dry scalp. I have found a cure for the dryness which is a Honey & Cinnamon mask.

• 1/2 Cup Honey
• 2 tbsp Cinnamon
• 2 tbsp Coconut oil
• 1 tbsp Castor Oil

I usually leave it on for 6-8 hours, once a week, and it has transformed my hair with just 3 applications.

Sadly, I am still prone to excess oil (and I mean excessive). Some men have issues with 5 o'clock shadow, and I get a 5 o'clock oil slick. I only wash my hair every 3 days, and by day 3 I can just about collect this oil and turn it into an alternate biofuel source. I have tried everything. No Poo (baking soda & ACV) method, not washing my hair at all for months, oil masks, special shampoos, only washing with conditioner, not using conditioner at all, you name it. Nothing has worked.

This is not new. I have had this problem since puberty, and hence have had a good 3 decades of trying every 'cure' under the sun.

I have a healthy diet (very rarely, if ever, eat junk food). I use ACV almost every day, coconut oil, and take make sure I get all the vits and minerals I need.

I've never had acne, or excema, or any other issues related to skin really. Just the oil slick that is the mop on my head. I'm either going to have to resort to washing my hair twice a day, or just try and make the wet look happen.

Has anyone else found anything that has worked for them with excessively oily hair?

Apple Cider Vinegar is WONDERFUL for hair especially frizzy/curly hair. I mix 1/3 ACV or White Vinegar and 2/3 water in a bowl. First thing I do is dump this over my head. I let it sit while I wash up, rinse at the end and follow with a tad of conditioner. I have fine curly hair and its usually a hit or miss as far as how my hair day goes. I havent had a bad hair days since I started doing this. Hair is smooth, shiny, FULL and just plain gorgeous.

to Laurie from SudburyOntario- My hair was very fine and wouldn't even hold a hair clip it would drop out. This is what I did, massage the scap real good with olive oil then massage the olive oil into the hair all the way to the ends. you can leave it on for 30 minutes or a little longer the longer the better. Then shampoo and condition, then mix half Apple Cider Vinger and half water pour this through the hair and leave it in do not rinse, just wrap a towel around your head leave it on about 5 minutes then take the towel off and let your hair air dry. When the hair dries you won't smell the vinegar. The olive oil will make your hair grow and make it thick and the A/C/V will clean out any chemicals like hairspray, spray gel, hair mousse.

Now for the nails, I use olive oil but you have a choice to use olive oil, castor oil or petroleum jelly, all three are good for the nails. If you use olive oil or castor oil use a cotton ball and wet it good with the oil and rub it into the nails and cuticles real good. for the petroleum jelly use a small amount on nails and cuticles. Make sure you do this before going to bed. Use rubber gloves for cleaning bathrooms,dishes and gardening, water is not good for the nails. Remember nothing works overnight! It will take a few weeks for this to work. You will see a difference as the weeks go by. It sure did work good for me, I know it will work for you too. Good Luck!

Pauline

I do this too for scalp as much as hair. I use a spray bottle to get it into the scalp and then comb it through my hair. Less waste. I find it amazing that although I can normally only use a comb on my curls when I have conditioner in it, I can comb the ACV mix through without any bother at all.

Hi Tricia, many thanks for your kind words. Actually I have stopped posting the book reviews because I didn't think that there was much interest.... As far as the ACV goes I have just remembered that like you I also have a spry bottle with ACV and water which I use to clean mirrors and so, that will be handy for my hair too! I will surely Google Lorraine Massey. Normally speaking I don't need to wash my hair more than once a week and I have just read in a book of mine that you should only wash the scalp, not the rest. Nowadays we only use natural shampoos and I am starting to rinse it with beer and then water. It gives volume and the hair becomes very soft. I also brush it with my head upside down and then straight up at least twice a day, like someone suggested here a while ago and that has made my hair look fuller and thicker while keeping it a lot cleaner. I have must finished reading a little book with a lot of beauty tips, if there is interest I will post a review on this site (the problem is that I don't think you can find the reviews again)! Funny you say you keep the ACV in the bathroom, I keep the spray bottle with the diluted one but also a bottle with the normal stuff as I use it in my bath, to wash my fact, against yeast infections, everything and anything!

I did try the spray bottle also. The problem is that unless its directed close to the scalp, it goes everywhere. It looks like fine mist, but unless you spray in the shower- your bathroom will smell of vinegar. I also want to note that ACV is great but I actually much prefer white vinegar. The results seem even better. The vinegar doesnt seem to dry my hair out even though I use it on my strands as well as my scalp. I rinse in vinegar nearly every day. It doesnt seem to cause much fading of my red hair color either, but maybe thats because of the PH.

Thank you for your response, I have dark hair naturally but have red and blonde highlights in it. First time I try this its sexy actually....anyways what do u think should I wait on the AVC rinse cause of the lighter highlites. I have tried ACv rinse very little already and seemed to be ok. Just asking opinions. Thanks again.

I use cocunut oil for many ailments, however I just tried it this week as a mask for my very dry hair, I dyed, bleach, and ironed my hair for years, so its incredibly coarse and frizzy all the time, I've tried EVERYTHING available in stores and salons, with little to no results. So I scooped out a few handfuls of coconut oil (enough to cover all my hair) and I work it in really well (as if your coating all your hair with gel) then I put a shower cap on, and in about 20 minutes I showered as normal, and my hair in SO FREAKING SMOOTH, and shiny and soft, I still iron my hair, but this is the first time I never had to use some kind of smoothing gel, its amazing, I'm going to do it all the time now!!!

I just tried the Apple Cider Vinegar Rince on my hair for the first time . My hair feels much lighter and cleaner , But it burnt my forehead, so when you use it becareful not to get it on your forehead.

I have a tip for dry split ends. After shampooing and conditioning, use a dime size amount (more for long hair) of olive oil. Just put into hands, apply to hair but not the scalp b/c it will make it greasy and then comb through. It seals the split ends and makes hair soft. Bye Bye flyaways and money for expensive hair products.

I started using to rinse my hair after washing and cream rinse. I have long hair from my crown about 31 inches. I use 1 cup of apple cider vinegar ever time I wash my hair, which is 3 times a week. The smell only stays for about 30 min, but my hair is so much healthier and has also grown. If I miss the vinegar rinse my hair feels flat and unclean. It also helps with the split ends. White vinegar is not to be used on your hair as it will strip the naturel oils

The vinegar cuts the minerals in your water--that's why it works. Hard minerals stick to your hair. Just try rinsing with distilled water for silky hair.