APPLE CYDER VINEGAR

Happy New year folks!! 2013 has been a crazy good year and a lot’s happened since my last posts. I got married in August…Yay!! and will at some point… do a wedding series!! and share my joys and nightmares and as usual tips and tricks on natural hair for ‘Oh that special day!’

I wanted to kick off this year with a series on homemade hair cleansers, conditioners, treatments and also a look book on protective styles. With the winter weather as it is, natural hair can really suffer along the way. I’ll share how I change up my routine for the cold weather to keep those locks in check. Home ingredients can be the perfect substitute for our go to hair products and aren’t too bad when it comes to saving pennies either. You might even find that you already have some of these things lurking about in your kitchen; plus! the benefits greatly outweigh what you get from some ‘over the counter’ products.

BENEFITS OF ACV

The first home ingredient I wanted to look at is apple cyder vinegar or ACV; some of you might have seen the abbreviation thrown about on the internet. Here’s a list of what ACV has helped with in my hair care routine and along with its other benefits.

• A cleanser to help get rid of product build up without stripping hair of natural oils
• Detangler
• Treats itchy scalps and dandruff
• Improves hair porosity by sealing hair cuticles to maintain moisture
• Balancing pH levels and restoring it to where it should be for healthier hair.

HOW I USE ACV

I tend to use ACV when I’ve had a build up of oils in my hair and I just want to freshen up my scalp or at times my hair feels really dry and damaged, I use ACV to help detangle my hair. Here’s a step by step routine I use.

• I’d have a spray bottle and mix one part vinegar with one part water 50/50
• Then carefully part my hair into more manageable sections.
• Squirt the mixture and massage into my scalp
• Finger detangle from root to tip and twist up each section to keep hair tangle free
• Once complete, I’d wear a cap for 15-20 min
• Thoroughly rinse hair till ACV smell is gone and apply conditioner of choice and finally rinse hair to finish off.

TIP ACV has a potent smell, be sure to rinse hair thoroughly or dilute mixture further if need be. Some people tend to mask the smell with an essential oil, I haven’t tried this yet, but will let you know as soon as I do.

TRICK I wash my hair with a conditioner which helps to get rid of the ACV smell.

After the ACV wash, my hair is really bouncy and shine is restored. It feels softer and definitely healthier. I’d definitely recommend it for times when your hair needs a pick me up. Hope this helps 🙂

With Luv xx