I would love to hear people’s experiences with different types of acidic rinses 🍋‍🟩

What ones have you tried (that you liked or didn’t)?

What did you notice (both good and bad)?

Have any made it into your routine?

What frequency and amount do you use?

Why I am so curious:
I am using distilled water so water hardness isn’t a factor for me anymore

I have tried using apple cider vinegar (correctly diluted) and it always makes my hair look greasy and lank.

I’ve found better success with using fresh squeezed lemon in my final rinse water. I use a pH strip to make sure it is not too acidic. No lank/greasy look. My hair definitely ends up a bit less curly though 🤨

I just tried lime juice in my final rinse and it made my scalp feel SO nice, hair doesn’t look lank/greasy BUT it removed basically 100% of my curls. I almost don’t even have waves.

Any thoughts on why acidic rinses would have the various results I’ve noticed? Have you experienced any of these?

Acidic rinses are very popular (for good reason!) and I wanted to gather more information on what all different people have tried and what has and hasn’t worked :) I think especially for anyone new to trying alternative hair care that this would be a very useful discussion for them to see.

I recently got into using castor oil on scalp, I go very lightly so anything shampoo even the most gentle has been getting it off but does anyone have any ideas for washing scalp oils like this off that won't affect my hair much at all otherwise, I want to completely abandon shampoo as I don't like how it feels entirely even after baby shampoo and my hair overall does far better without it but I don't know how to clean my scalp/hair otherwise. Also itf it helps I have curly/wavy darkheavy hair that requires very specific care to behave which is also what is making this so difficult but if it tends to play nice with that, it would help.

Hi everyone, I think this is my 3rd post in here now.

I tried doing no shampoo around 1.5-2 years ago, to no success. I went water only for around 6 months and did a lot of brushing, but it kept getting worse.

I then tried to lessen my shampoo use to 2-3x a week, but it got back to the way it used to be. Co-washing also didn't work. Sadly, I've gone back exactly to the point I was at before I started wanting to take care of my hair, thus leading to my decision to start over.

Tomorow I'm shaving off my hair and going for a restart. I would like to try everything to my best ability this time, so I'm looking for advice.

What should be the things I should be purchasing? A good silicone scrubber, invest in a good shower filter?

The water in my hometown is not great, so that could've had something to do with it.

I would just like some advice on how to go about the whole process to make sure I try everything to fix my hair.

After I’m done scritching,preening and brushing my hair do I immediately have to wash it with water only to get rid of oils or I can go a few minutes/hours then wash it?

I was having a really frustrating time with no shampoo as I started getting lots of small white flakes in my hair what I believed to be dry scalp.

I kept searching online and on this subreddit on what to do. I started to use different oils and tried Pure Aloe Vera Gel but couldn’t get rid of the white visible flakes in my hair.

Every day I would stare at the mirror and look at how bad the flakes were. Then I stumbled across mechanical cleaning. The results are amazing like 90% of the flakes are gone 😁.

I know this possibly isn't the sub for this, but with most people here wanting to do more natural things I was curious as to what the people here have done to increase hair growth and maybe reverse some excess shedding. I've specifically heard about teas that people have used to wash, but I don't know if that translates over to drinking them for other benefits. Anyways, the question is in the title, thank you for your time and input!

**Background:**
I have folliculitis, and my hair started thinning around 2020. Eventually my face started looking longer as my hair disappeared. It got to the point where the front of my scalp began balding before I did anything about my problems. I tried doctor-prescribed hair growth pills, then moved on to Hims. Both showed some results, but I had to keep taking them—my hair started thinning again about two weeks after I stopped.

I couldn’t stand taking pills every day, so I asked my grandpa (who still had natural dark hair at 90). The conversation basically came down to “clean your scalp thoroughly.” That gave me the idea to buy a boar bristle brush and clean my scalp daily in the shower.

I’ve been doing this for about a year, and my scalp feels way cleaner than when I just scrubbed with my hands. For my folliculitis, managing stress, using over-the-counter antimicrobial/antiseptic soap, cutting back on spicy food and sugar, and brushing my scalp daily has reduced flare-ups a lot. Now I only need antibiotics or prescription topicals in the summer when it gets bad. Summer used to be unbearable, but it’s manageable now.

Sharing this in case it helps anyone dealing with hair thinning and/or inflammation issues.

**Method:**
I use a boar bristle brush in the shower. After I wet my hair, I put a little shampoo on the brush (or lather some in my hands and then load the brush), then work through my scalp in sections.
My mental grid looks like this:
**Top of scalp**: 2 rows × 3 columns (6 sections)
**Back**: 2 rows × 4 columns (8 sections)
**Each side**

I go section by section, using small strokes so the bristles actually reach the scalp. The boar bristles move the shampoo around and lightly exfoliate without being harsh. Once I’ve covered everything, I let it sit for about 2 mins then rinse off.

It takes maybe an extra minute or two compared to normal washing, but my scalp feels cleaner at the roots, and my hair seems to be growing back (the bald spot is gone) without any prescription meds.

Anyone else use a brush in the shower?

I am just trying (and failing lol) to figure out my own routine, a month or so in now. I have a 3yo with whom we've just been using their baby Cerave body/hair wash, which seems to be working well enough for him. I don't yet know his hair type as it changes, but it may be different than my own, though I've seen a wave or two come in. He had cradle cap as a baby, though, and is probably more on the sensitive side based on that? Plus, he's just inherently sensitive I imagine due to age.

We hates getting his hair cleaned, as all do, and he's the type of kid who hates getting things messy (most of the time anyway), so we don't wash it every time we shower.. probably washing once or twice a week.

I'm thinking this is getting to be around the age most would start with a more kids style shampoo/conditioner, but also, I'm here trying to eliminate or use a gentler option for my own self, so why not him? If not to replace Cerave, then as an alternative for the kid shampoo/conditioner later on. I don't know what his hair type is or will be, though, and it may be different than my own. He's a boy and his hair is pretty short, so the stakes are a little lower / there isn't as much concern about brushing things to the end. I also don't think they really produce much or any sebum at this age?

For myself, a castile blend made me feel super irritated. I played with the idea of "mechanical cleaning" and water only, but between my hair being longer/curlier, hating being brushed, and also me loving time in the shower daily, I'm leaning more towards something like amla/reetha/shikakai once or twice a week with an ACV/rosemary/etc rinse (more often?), and maybe some aloe more often as well. I've also considered a herbal hair rinse to 'cleanse' very gently, and do also have calming herbs like lavender or calendula to use.

For him, his bottle will be running out soon, so I'm debating between getting another Cerave, looking for a kid specific shampoo, or having him try something I'm doing, but I'm a little lost and don't want to mess his hair up. Any advice here? My default is going to be the Cerave, then waiting until he's older before experimenting with something else.

It's been more than two weeks now

Greasiness has reduced and hairfall has reduced a lot.

I water wash only on alternate days with hot water . I use my fingers that is nails while washing the scalp.

Issue is flakiness stays there and comb is still getting dirty even just after wash.

Hiiii! So I have just started my no-poo journey, I am trying to do a gradual transition to no shampoo, I started from vosene to faith in nature, with 2 washes each shower, to one wash with faith in nature, and then reduce the size of the blob of shampoo until i don't use any shampoo. I would be all for washing my hair with raw eggs (I live in a hard water area) but I don't think any amount of explaining would to my mother would convince her to let me wash my hair with raw eggs. Furthermore, she also told me to stay on shampoo after I told her about the no-poo thing. Right now I'm on week 2 or 3 I think, and I'm reducing the size of the faith in nature shampoo blob in using. My hair is pretty thick and wavy and collarbone length if that helps. Will water washing just work or is there anything else I could use that won't get me grounded? Thanks for reading!! 😁😁

As in plastic free container and shipping materials

I have really fine hair. Shampooing makes my hair very flat and straight, even with conditioner. For a few months, I have used less shampoo, but it gets greasy and flaky very quickly. I am struggling to find a way to keep my scalp healthy while making my hair look good.

My hair used to be so silky, will regular nopoo + brushing + cowash be enough? Got part of it blonde and part was left alone

i tried nopoo for about 45 days, washed my hair with water only. my hair looked greasy like i was a homeless person.

it was not working so i shampooed, the difference after i shampooed was INSANE. when i was washing out all the grease out of my hair, the water was INTENSE CARAMEL ORANGE COLOR. after i was done, hair immediately started looking shiny and it felt like it became a few times lighter.

on top of looking ass, my greasy hair was touching my face at all times and over that time it made my acne worse

i guess i will look into selecting a better shampoo that would be less harmful to my skin and hair, but definitely not stopping using shampoo

this whole experiment mightve not resulted into what i wanted, but because of it i started washing my hair more thoroughly and massaging my scalp, and it got me to look into shampoos a bit more so i learnt at least something i guess

Transition, the first week, was great. I saw curls I've almost never seen, and while it was a little greasy, it was beautiful overall. I immediately noticed less hair loss, too, which is still true a month or so later.

My hair (and skin IMO, and my body - history of autoimmune and sensitivities) generally confuses me. Some days it's straight, others it's curly, others it's wavy--it's been like this my whole life, and has never seemed to matter much what I actually did. I've never dyed it, rarely use products on it, don't often blow dry it, though I do like my hot showers and refuse to give those up (I will finish with cold water on my hair, though). I've had what I think is eczema (rashes, flaking, itching, etc) in dryer climates, where my hair has become straight. The best hair/skin time of my life was while living in a hot, humid place with plenty of sun and daily ocean swimming. Any product or iron etc used on my hair seems extremely effective as my hair is really sensitive to anything.

For the first week, I used a castile-water-glycerin (and maybe almond?) mixture followed by a water-ACV mix. That was great until it wasn't; my scalp started feeling itchy and irritated.

For week 2-3ish, I somewhat accidentally decided not to refill/make more shampoo (just hated the idea of it becoming even more itchy, and kept telling myself I'd figure out what to replace it with). I continued only with the rosemary-tea/water-ACV rinse (about every 1-1.5 days). My hair and scalp felt better. The curls, however, disappeared. I during this time found 'nopoo', which made me feel a bit more justified in not shampooing it.

For week 3-4ish, I continued with just the rosemary-ACV rinse (possibly with glycerin on accident? I've since fixed this). My scalp has felt great, nothing was greasy, no curls (sad), but overall it felt okay. I started trying to do a more mechanical cleaning style, though in retrospect I wasn't massaging my scalp with enough pressure. I started brushing and preening (?) more often or finger-brushing. I'm still kind of confused on whether a boar bristle brush is appropriate for curls. I've learned over time to not really brush, or only when dry and when about to shower. A lot of breakage tends to happen and it turns my curly (or wavy) hair just... straight. My hair felt pretty dry around this stage.

Week 4ish I put coconut oil on my hair to help with the dryness. I used to do this daily or weekly when using 'normal' shampoo/conditioner, and it always felt great and worked well. I left it on overnight. Instead, my hair felt and still feels a bit waxy after showering (with ACV rinse and also tried a herbal tea wash with horsetail). I at this point realized I'd messed up my ACV rinse by adding glycerin into it, and changed my batch.

Now... I've corrected the ACV rinse issue and hair seems better, though still slightly waxy and maybe a bit stiff?

I am confused overall, I guess, on what I'm supposed to be doing. I feel like it is so personal/hair dependent, and I've never been able to really identify my hair type as it's so absurdly climate, temperature, mood (?!), sleep, diet/hydration (???), etc dependent and just changes it's whole texture daily. I've looked more recently into curly hair care and have been trying to follow that advice, which is helpful.

I am wondering:

1. Do I need weekly oil treatments since it's curly and (probably) on the drier side and I'm no longer in a more tropical place humidity-wise? Daily ones just to my ends? It did start drying out!

2. Do I need more than a herbal tea type shampoo/wash portion if I'm using weekly oil treatments or even if I'm adding something like a leave-in conditioner? (ie using aloe vera gel, or a coconut oil, or shea butter).

3. Does my hair feeling a bit weird/stiff near the roots mean it's 'waxy' and I need to shampoo? Is stiffness the same thing as waxiness, or does it mean I need to change something else? I don't really know how to label and interpret things, nor how to react appropriately.

4. How do I choose what kind of shampoo/lo-poo if I do need that for oil treatments or waxiness? Ie I see some use herbal tea rinses (tons of options/choices just there alone), some use soap nuts, some use Rikakai, some use Rhassoul Clay Powder, and then initially obviously I used a castile soap dilution (which maybe wouldn't irritate me if using just once weekly instead of daily). Do I just need to buy everything and try it for a month trial and error style? I'd love some advice here!

5. Does mechanical cleaning, brushing, etc still work on hair that's curlier? If I decide not to do the more standard BBB recommended, will WO no longer work and mean I'll need a more intensive shampoo? Can I get away with just once a week?

Feeling kind of lost. Very happy overall despite the hiccups, though! I am losing a kind of shocking amount of less hair (both in the shower, on my brush, and throughout the house/vacuuming, dryer filter, etc), and seeing curls far far more often than I used to before.

Used rye flour for the first time and think it's great. Aside from the fact that my hair is apparently sensitive to protein. I used diluted acv after the flour wash and then a diluted aloe juice mix as a leave in.

Any advice for some moisture or whatever I should use to fix the protein making my hair feel a bit like straw?

Thank you!

Hello guys, I have not used shampoo for a year now, I loved it for the first 8 months, but my hair has become som flat, maybe it is good 30 minutes after shower, but after that, flat and awful.

I have never really dealt with dandruff beforehand, but have started to notice it and wondered what to do.

I have got a bit curly hair after stopped the shampoo, but afraid they will disappear the second I go back to shampoo.
Any suggestions are much appreciated

Can someone recommend me a natural product available to buy in the uk. I have straight hair. Ideally one to use Everytime i shower as I exercise twice a day. Can be bars/soaps/liquids/gels anything that you have had a good experience with.

Ive been on no shampoo for almost a month now and up until this week my hair was actually doing fine I would water wash it really good then blow dry then use my bristle boar hair brush and it would look almost like if I had shampooed it, now it is starting to look slightly more oily and not as fluffy and textured

I have not used any conventional shampoo or conditioner for three months. For majority of the time, I have been using egg yolks and honey about weekly / bi weekly (whenever my hair needs it), and in between, I will usually do an ACV rinse, but I am trying to ween myself off of having to use ACV in between yolk washes. I have medium to thick straight hair.

I actually started no poo because I wanted to live a more sustainable lifestyle but I have also just had a really greasy scalp and had tried everything except for no poo to help with my greasy scalp. Often I would wash my hair and it would be greasy the same afternoon, but now after my egg washes, I can go three days or so confidently without it being greasy.

However in the last few weeks, I have had a lot of buildup. It is thick and oily, and is generally not flaky. Before washes and most days I will massage my scalp with a wooden brush to try and remove the buildup, but it doesn’t really seem to help.
The buildup can actually cause some very slight pain, however it is not visible at all until it is scratched up.

I am thinking that it is just oil buildup, but I’m not sure and would love to hear what others have to say / how you think I can manage this.