A friend of mine recently asked me how to reverse chlorine damage on the hair after a summer of swimming and fun in the sun. It’s a FABULOUS question to answer as summer winds down and pool days come to a halt.
It also reminded me about this lovely exchange that I had with Margie, @27done, on Twitter (her AMAZING bio is below):
Margie wrote about washing her hair with baking soda: 1 tbsp baking soda 8 oz hot water in spritzer bottle to wet hair,1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 8 oz. water, rinse, final rinse water.
Her results: Looks shiny, manageable and above all…CLEAN! No stripping of natural oils! Benefits…no chemicals absorbed and SO INEXPENSIVE! July 25, 2013
Apple cider vinegar and baking soda make wonderful natural hair treatments. So I figured I’d give it a go!
Here’s how to make it (trial-and-error is often the greatest teacher):
Preparation: Pour warm water to the eight ounce mark in a measuring cup with a pouring spout. Add the tablespoon of baking soda and stir to dissolve in the water or it will collect at the bottom.
In another measuring cup, add the tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (ACV) to eight ounces of water.
How NOT to use it: Don’t just start pouring over your head like someone I know did (me). This gets into eyes and stings!
DO: Dip a cotton round into the ACV cup and swipe your face with it before your shower. This makes a wonderful toner for your skin!
Next:
- In the shower, pour the baking soda mixture over your entire head.
- Rinse very well.
- Then pour the apple cider vinegar mixture over your head.
- Leave on for a bit and then rinse well.
There’s really not much to do after that. We are so accustomed to lathering up and rinsing, often drying out the hair.
If you still need to have that feeling, massage your scalp a bit to work in each formula. Then rinse. If you want to do a cold water rinse as some people recommend to close the hair shaft and give some shine, go for it. Personally, cold showers give me the shivers. I avoid at all cost.
This simple formula left my hair feeling cleansed and not weighed down by any residual product. The alkalinity of the baking soda and apple cider vinegar restore hair’s natural pH balance.
After using this for about a week, I can see doing this at intervals when my hair needs some clarifying or a good cleanse (like balancing hair after chlorine damage). But I can’t see using this all the time.
For one, the convenience factor: I have to remember to bring up my mixing cups every time I want to shower. To avoid this, you can pre-mix the water solutions, store them in two tall bottles with flip spouts, and leave in the shower.
The other drawback is that I find it very hard to wash out the scent of the ACV which isn’t exactly the way I want to smell the rest of the day. Salad dressing, anyone?
I also find that my hair wants a bit of conditioner after washing. This could have something to do with the water in New Jersey. It is different everywhere. I know some people use water softeners or filters that treat the water and make it less harsh on the skin and hair.
I follow this with a drop of oil (preferably organic and raw/cold-pressed olive oil, coconut oil, or KENZA Pure Hair Treatment Oil, etc.) Massage through your hair and scalp. For a deeper hair conditioning treat, work in enough oil to coat your hair and scalp, leave on for a few hours or overnight.
I like this treatment rather than a traditional shampoo to remove chemicals because more shampoosing (this was a typo but I like it, so I’m leaving it: SHAMPOOSING is my new favorite word!) runs the risk of further stripping the hair and drying it out with more chemicals.
Your hair will look and feel good as new. The last remnants of summer will remain in photos where they belong—not in your hair!
If you’re wondering about more information on the delightful Margie, here’s the brief bio she shared with me in an email:
I’m a retired ( 66 ) public health nurse living in Ontario, Canada, and started my green journey 27 years ago after being diagnosed with stage two breast cancer.
With 3 children, the youngest 4 years old, I was greatly motivated to prevent a recurrence in any way I could, and after researching cancer stats worldwide discovered that the countries with the highest intake of beef and dairy also had the highest cancer rates. I immediately eliminated animal products and processed foods (have to say, in my chemo group no one else seemed interested in my research or in changing their diet…still shaking my head over that one!). To date I have not had a single recurrence and I’m convinced my diet and green lifestyle had a great deal to do with that happy fact.
Now about the baking soda shampoo. As you see in my profile picture taken a year ago I don’t dye my hair, so I can’t say if it will affect color treated hair, or not, but I think it likely will help with chlorine issues. For me it’s so liberating to be free of organic shampoos, which still provide the best alternative, but are pretty costly.
Full disclosure: For some reason, I misunderstood the recipe and originally combined the baking soda with the ACV in 8 oz. water. Aside from creating a frothy mini-explosion, my hair looked incredibly voluminous, but felt like straw. Not good. I wrote to Margie to figure out if this was a normal reaction and she corrected my recipe. Thanks for bearing with my experiment!
Photo Credit
Beautythroughstrength.com
Totally going to try it! . . . right after I get that SONG out of my head . . . ! ! ! 😀
Ha Ha Ha! I can’t wait to hear how it goes. Please share! You’ll have to sing THAT song in the shower for the full effect 🙂
I’ll try it! You had me at “shiny, manageable and above all…CLEAN! No striping of natural oils! Benefits…no chemicals absorbed and SO INEXPENSIVE” 🙂
YES! You’ve already inspired a future post on green beauty on a budget. I’ve got some great finds 🙂 Thanks, Josie. Seeing you here always makes me smile!
Just did the baking soda shampoo followed by the acv rinse to check if there was a smell left behind after a final rinse. It must be the water because my hair is soft and shiny, with not a hint of residual vinegar. Sorry you have the salad dressing effect…how annoying is that!
Plus, I agree it’s not the most convenient way to shampoo, but I don’t have 4 kids to look after, as well as everything else you accomplish in a day (don’t know how you do it all!),
Good for you to give it a solid try!
Margie, I know that you recommended this because it is doing great things for your hair! I’m not sure why the apple cider vinegar leaves a residual smell. Many people who use it say that it doesn’t. I will have to investigate further. Meanwhile, I totally appreciate your great suggestion and the inspiration for this blog post! I am sure that it will prove useful to those who need it. Thanks so much for commenting too. Have a beautiful day! (P.S. Your comment has encouraged me to try it again and see what happens….)
I use a lot of solution at one time ( 2 full cups of water with 2 T of soda ) and saturate my entire head really well while working it in. After rinsing I use a plastic spritzer bottle ( plastic numbers 4, 5, 1, or 2 are reasonably safe – never use any plastic with number 7 on the bottom! ) to apply the acv solution throughout –again, all the while massaging it in. Then a final ronse. Seems like a ridiculously time consuming procedure, but it goes fast. Good luck with the retry, Sarita!
Ok. I’ll try that. One thing I will say is that I don’t color my hair, but the natural reddish highlights are emerging morein a good way. I will try all your suggestions and thank you so much for talking me through this! You are so kind, Margie <3
75% of all women color their hair, so it’s nice to hear that you don’t. Good luck….it took me a few times to get it right also. Sometimes (but not always) I add a couple of drops of essential oil, lavender or tea tree, to the baking soda solution just for fun. I don’t know if this makes much difference but I do it when I remember. Thanks for all your prompt replies. 🙂
Great idea to add essential oils in the baking soda. I wonder if lemon e/o will bring out those highlights even more?
Adding lemon essential oil just might do it. I’m amazed you have no grey hair (my daughter, at just 34, has to cover grey already…all in the genes!). Keep on rinsing!!!