The Learning Center

ACIDIC HAIR RINSES: Why Your Hair Needs One

3/1/2024

You may be thinking "Me? I need one?", "How could that benefit my hair & why?", or even "I don't want to smell like a salad!" Safe to say, there is a lot of confusion & mis-information floating around out there -- So let's jump in & explore this subject in depth. Read on to learn about acidic rinses, your hair's needs, & even how to make your own rinse & use it properly!

THE WHY: Have you ever wondered why it is that we even have special ‘soap’ for our hair & don’t simply use the same cleansers we use on our bodies? The answer is quite simple really: Your Hair & Scalp need an acidic environment.
By ‘acidic’ I am talking about the natural pH, or Potential of Hydrogen, of the hair & scalp. This natural acidic pH of human hair, generally between 4.5 & 5.5 on the pH scale, prevents the growth of bacteria & fungi, & it also keeps the hair cuticle closed & the scalp healthy. This is how “Shampoo” came to be & it is also why using an acidic rinse on your hair provides such amazing benefits.

It seems like an acidic rinse would dry out & weaken hair, but the opposite is true! By closing down the cuticles, an acidic rinse strengthens & protects hair strands. The outer layer of each strand or hair shaft is composed of layers of overlapping scales, similar to snake skin. These scales are known as the cuticle. Your scalp & hair are protected by a thin acidic film called the acid mantle, which plays a very important role in caring for your hair.

The acid mantle causes the cuticle scales to lay flat, locking in moisture, making each strand stronger, & causing each strand to be more reflective. [flat cuticle = SHINY hair] Everytime you wash your hair, you disrupt your acid mantle, causing the cuticle scales to peel up on their ends & also leaving your scalp unprotected.

With open, raised cuticles, your hair cannot lock moisture in & is weakened, causing the strands to break more easily. Additionally, if you have hard water [Hello! New England!] you will find that the minerals in your water stick to those raised ends of cuticle, creating build up. The results are pretty tragic – an itchy, dry scalp & dull, dry, lifeless looking hair that breaks easily – while your body works to rebuild & fortify your acid mantle. And this happens every single time you wash your hair! THIS is where an acidic rinse comes in like a hero to save the day! Using an acidic rinse will reset your pH & acid mantle, remove build-up from hair, close your cuticle strengthening hair shafts, & add beautiful shine, easily fixing every single one of those issues!

Those using traditional shampoos & conditioners should use an acidic rinse once a week to clarify their hair, remove mineral buildup, & fortify their acid mantles. For those of us using SLS-Free Shampoo Bars, you will ABSOLUTELY have the best results if you follow washing with an acidic rinseEVERY TIME and this is why–

Good-quality, natural Shampoo Bars are formulated specifically for hair with pH in mind. When produced properly, natural shampoo bars will have as low a pH as possible. For example, our Du Jardin Shampoo Bars are super-fatted & have salt water added to lower their pH. This helps significantly, but the bars are still soap & therefore still mildly basic/alkaline in pH.
Since healthy hair must be slightly acidic in order to protect the scalp & keep the cuticle closed, following your cleansing with ANY natural shampoo bar with an acidic rinse is the best way to close the cuticle, balance your pH, & restore your acid mantle.

When discussing switching to natural Shampoo Bars, you may have heard of the dreaded “Transition Period” as a deterrent to changing over. However, use of an acidic rinse basically negates this awkward hair phase.
Traditional [toxin-laden] surfactants like SLS generally overstrip the hair, which causes your body to produce more & more sebum in an attempt to replace what you keep taking away. Most people find that their bodies stop over producing sebum pretty quickly once SLS is removed from use – especially when a regular Acidic Rinse is used.
Once you quit over stripping your natural sebum & begin to fortify your acid mantle, you will find your hair & scalp are MUCH happier. Many find their hair looks cleaner longer, is softer, & is much more manageable. The scalp stops being itchy & flaky.

Almost every one of our SLS-Free Shampoo Bar customers tells us that they need to wash their hair much less frequently & find it to be much less dry once they have used natural bars for a bit! Again, using an acidic rinse will reset your pH & acid mantle, remove build-up from hair, close your cuticle strengthening hair shafts, & add beautiful shine.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF RINSES: There are many options & types of acidic rinses, some are shelf stable & some you can make yourself each week for your own use. Most Acidic Hair Rinses use one of 3 things to acidulate them: ACV or Apple Cider Vinegar, Citric Acid, or Lemon Juice.
You can easily & inexpensively make your own rinse by keeping a bottle with 1 or 2 TBS of lemon juice per 1 cup of water at hand. That ratio is slightly different if you want to use citric acid or apple cider vinegar instead of lemon : 2 TBS : 1 Cup water.

You can easily make your own rinse at home

Apple Cider Vinegar has the very best effect

All of these are effective & simply a matter of personal preference-- although I will say, if you can handle the scent of the ACV, you will be rewarded with well balanced & incredibly shiny hair! It certainly seems to have the very best effect of hair. The strong vinegar scent dissipates completely by the time your hair is dry, but is so powerful when applying that many find it a deterrent, myself included.

One of the biggest requests we had from customers has been for a shelf-stable Acidic Rinse option & I am delighted to say I have formulated one I am proud to offer. Our Restorative Hair Tonic is now available & makes it even easier to leave traditional shampoo behind! Formulated with apple cider vinegar for best effects, but masking its strong odor with a delightful blend of essential oils, it provides additional soothing & strengthening benefits to the scalp & hair over a simple water/acid mix.

shop our acidic hair tonic

THE HOW: Okay– now that we have learned about WHY acid rinses are a great idea, let’s look at HOW to use them. Truly, using a rinse is a simple, easy step, indeed easier even than using a bottled conditioner. Your chosen rinse can be applied in the shower or once you are out.
I prefer to use mine just before getting out of the shower: Once I finish my shower & turn off the water, I apply my rinse, squeezing a bit of my rinse out in a couple different spots around my scalp. I then work it through my hair & rub it into my scalp a bit before wrapping my hair/head with a towel. Those with long hair may find a wide tooth comb makes it easier to distribute for them. I leave the towel wrapped on while I brush my teeth & use my skincare. I then take off the towel & brush my hair–
Voila! I am ready to roll!

I do not rinse my rinse out & I find this works best. Allow hair to dry naturally or blow dry afterwards as you normally would. People with particularly hard water find using distilled water when making their own rinse has fantastic effect as well

I hope this has clarified the subject of acidic rinses for you! [sorry for the terrible pun– I couldn’t resist!] For those of you looking for more information on Making the Switch to Natural Shampoo Bars from Traditional Shampoos, please check out our Learning Center post on that here.

Remember, SMALL CHANGES + DAILY = BIG DIFFERENCES