Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has antimicrobial properties giving it the potential to be an effective method to ward off scalp infections of certain kinds. Read more...
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Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has antimicrobial properties giving it the potential to be an effective method to ward off scalp infections of certain kinds. There have been medical studies attempting to validate the common usage of ACV.
How effective is Apple Cider Vinegar against bacteria, yeast, and fungi?
At full concentrations, apple cider vinegar (ACV) is effective topically against bacteria, yeast, and fungus. However, once diluted its effectiveness may change.
ACV appears to maintain its effectiveness against bacteria down to a 25% concentration but loses effectiveness for yeast and fungi. If you plan to use apple cider vinegar on the scalp, for example, there can be variable effectiveness depending on the cause of the scalp infection.
How can you tell determine the trigger for scalp symptoms?
For bacteria on the scalp, the infection will often appear as folliculitis or inflamed hair follicles. Yeast can trigger seborrhea which results in itching and flaking. Fungus has the ability to attach to hair follicles and even enter to cause hair breakage and itching.
To create an apple cider vinegar treatment for bacteria, what is the best dilution to work with?
If your scalp issues are related to bacteria, it may be somewhat helpful to consider ACV diluted 1 part ACV to 3 parts water to help prevent. However, if your issues are dandruff related you may need to do 1 part ACV to 1 part water as this should be able to retain more effectiveness to the yeast that triggers dandruff.
Apple Cider Vinegar Recipes
Scalp Treatment Recipe for Folliculitis
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
3/4 cup Water
Mix together. Massage through the scalp. Let sit for a few minutes. Rinse.
Scalp Treatment Recipe for Dandruff (to retain more effectiveness to the yeast that triggers dandruff)
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup Water
Mix together. Massage through the scalp. Let sit for a few minutes. Rinse.
How does ACV work for scalp treatment?
ACV is slightly acidic. Our hair is also naturally acidic from the oils and sebum from our scalp. Hair products often disrupt the pH balance of our hair. When our hair is normal and in the slightly acidic range, the cuticle is smooth. When we add hair products, many of these attach to our hair by opening the cuticle slightly by making the hair more alkaline. Using ACV restores the normal acidity of our hair and resolves product buildup.
Can using apple cider vinegar on the scalp prevent split ends and breakage?
Using ACV occasionally and restoring the acidity to the hair follicle, smoothing out the cuticle, and restoring some of its strength may be able to prevent split ends and breakage.
ACV cannot directly strengthen the hair follicle because its only real function is to restore the pH balance to the hair. By restoring the pH balance the natural strength of the hair follicle has the potential to return.
Are there any downsides to using ACV?
The one downside to ACV is that it inherently lacks oils to accompany it to help restore our hair. It cannot hydrate hair alone- it will need some help from your natural scalp oils or from other oils added. It can only potentially restore your natural hair texture however by smoothing out the cuticle. Remember, our hair is not smooth- it’s actually scaly. When these scales lay flat our hair is stronger and shinier. For hair products to attach to our hair they need to open up these scales and rest inside of them!
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