3 Reasons Why Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar Destroy Your Hair – And What to Use Instead
From the FutureDerm.com Facebook page:
What can you tell us about the no ‘poo trend (washing with baking soda in place of shampoo, and apple cider vinegar in place of conditioner)? Is it actually better for our hair? I works well for me- but I would like to learn if it has actual benefits before I make it my regular regime.
-Kendra
Dear Kendra,
Hair can be thought of like a fine leather: With the improper treatment, it can become stripped of its natural oils, resulting in a dried, limp, colorless remnant of what used to be.
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Hair is like leather: Deplete it of its natural oils, and you're left with a dried, crackly mess.
Thankfully, like fine leather, hair can be maintained and restored. One common belief is that natural ingredients like baking soda and apple cider vinegar leaves hair softer, cleaner, and more healthy than traditional shampoo. However, keep the following in mind:
Problems with Using Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar to Wash Your Hair
Most shampoos are formulated with a neutral or slightly acidic pH. Baking soda in water alone is basic, despite what you may have heard to the contrary.
1. Baking soda is a known irritant that will cause your hair to dry out and break over time.
With a pH of 9 – one hundred times more basic than water – baking soda is a known alkaline irritant (Journal of Cutaneous Pathology, 1989). According to renowned dermatologist Dr. Audrey Kunin, M.D., “The first principle of shampooing: make sure your shampoo says it is pH-balanced and avoid those that are alkaline. Alkaline shampoos strip the hair’s natural oils and disrupt the acid mantle, causing dehydration and leading to porous, fragile hair.” (The DermaDoctor SkinStruction Manual, 2005)
Yes, it is true that baking soda helps regulate pH— keeping a substance neither too acidic nor too alkaline. When baking soda comes in contact with either an acidic or an alkaline substance, its effect is to neutralize that pH. However, as any cosmetic chemist can tell you, this effect occurs when baking soda is in solution with other chemicals. When baking soda is in water alone, guess what the pH of the solution is? You guessed it: A very basic 9, much more alkaline than plain ol’ water.
2.) Apple Cider Vinegar Has Some Benefit – But Can Still Make Hair Brassy.
Apple cider vinegar is an antifungal that can make hair shinier, but its acidity can also make hair color change before going out in the sun (think lemon juice!) (Photo credit: AndyRobertsPhotos)
Apple cider vinegar arguably has more going for it as a hair rinse than baking soda. While I can’t find conclusive evidence to prove that apple cider vinegar is great at fighting dandruff, it can fight certain fungal infections. Studies have shown that apple cider vinegar is effective in fighting Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. (Thi-Qar Medical Journal, 2011)
Due to the slightly acidic pH of apple cider vinegar mixed with 2-3 parts water, some experts believe it can also extend the life of hair color when applied immediately after hair dye is rinsed off. Most hair dyes are alkaline, which opens up the hair cuticle. When hair color is applied, it can then penetrate to the hair’s inner cortex, where it can react with the hair’s pigment molecules to produce a color change. Acidic solutions applied after, like apple cider vinegar, may reseal the cuticle. This flattening may not only help hair color last longer, but also flatten the cuticle, making your hair easier to comb and a bit shinier.
Still, overdoing it with apple cider vinegar can cause more damage than it is worth. Anyone who has applied lemon juice to their hair can tell you that acidic solutions will cause your hair to become lighter, drier, and more brittle over time. Those “blessed” with black hair, like myself, can tell you that the acidity will also bring out the brassy tones in your color, leaving you with lovely orange hair Zoe the muppet would envy. If you still don’t believe me, keep in mind that many perming solutions have an acidic pH, breaking disulfide bonds within straight hair.
3. You’re depleting your hair of natural oils.
Putting a few drops of oil on your hair after shampooing helps, but you're still not moisturizing your scalp. Better: use a shampoo with natural replenishing oils that is suitable for your hair type.
One terrible thing about using baking soda and apple cider vinegar alone on your hair is that these do not contain any oils that can be beneficial for your hair. The best shampoos replenish natural sheen to the hair which they have just stripped as a part of the cleaning process.
There are a number of moisturizing ingredients in shampoos that can replenish your hair’s natural oils; these include (but are not limited to):
- Jojoba oil
- Sweet almond oil
- Squalene
- Emu
- Phospholipids
- Argan oil
But by taking the “do-it-yourself” approach, you are taking away the ability for shampoos to gently replenish oils from root to tip. Instead, you’re drying out your scalp, and likely replenishing oils only on the ends of your hair. Not cool.
The Real Source of the Misunderstanding
Not all chemicals are bad. Really. I promise.
If I hear one more “expert” say that “chemicals” are ruining your skin, hair, or the environment, I’ll scream. Chemicals have prolonged many more lives than they have cut short, in the form of potent antibacterials, antifungals, antibiotics – you name it. Just one hundred years ago, the average life expectancy was 51 for men and 56 for women (Berkeley.edu). The reason we’re living 25-30 years longer isn’t improved nutrition or more “natural” products – it’s medicine, pharmaceuticals, chemicals.
That said, I’m not going to defend the deplorable actions of some companies for the last few decades, either. By including known irritants like sulfates and phthalates into some of their products, the beauty and cosmetics industry has lost the trust of many of their more health-conscious consumers.
Which would you choose? Turns out white willow bark (left) and aspirin (right) work the same way in the body. Aspirin is just more concentrated.
But instead of turning to the solid research that lead to life-extending drugs and medicines for possible replacements, we instead believe somehow big pharma and major cosmetics companies are “bad.” For instance, we’ve turned to plant extracts. Ask any natural product advocate on the street about white willow bark and aspirin, and she’ll tell you white willow bark is “good” and aspirin is “bad.” Yet the active compound in white willow bark is exactly the same as in aspirin. Scientists can extract the active parts of many plants of white willow bark, isolate it, and shazam! – you have the same active ingredient as in aspirin.
My point in addressing this is one of caution: Do not trust products just because they are “natural.” It may fit in more with a natural, holistic lifestyle, but you can actually be putting yourself in more danger. Some people I know dreamed of becoming a cosmetic chemist from the time they were a child. They studied hard, went through years of schooling, some got PhDs, then got tons of formulation experience, and made fantastic shampoos - and you’re mixing baking soda and putting it on your scalp like your great-grandmother?! It does not make sense. New technologies and their chemicals are not all bad. Some, in fact, are fantastic for your hair. [Read more: 3 Hair Thickening Ingredients That Really Work]
What to Use Instead
If you want all-natural, Wen by Chaz Dean does a great job of balancing all-natural cleansing with moisture-replenishing oils.
That said, I can’t fight millions of dollars in marketing for all-natural products. So, if all-natural is what you seek, I have found the following all-natural products, formulated by cosmetic chemists, with replenishing oils and non-harsh non-detergent cleansers:
- Chaz Dean’s Wen line
- Sea Chi Organics Leave-on Moisturizing Treatment and Hair Growth Formula
- Avalon Organic Botanicals Clarifying Shampoo (good for once/month or so)
If you are not necessarily looking for all-natural products, please refer to How Do I Make My Hair More Youthful, Shiny, Full, and Thick? on FutureDerm.
Bottom Line
Three take-home points:
- 1.) Please never use baking soda on your hair. It is associated with breakage and damage.
- 2.) You can use apple cider vinegar (1 tbsp/1 cup of water) occasionally, meaning twice/month or less. I do not recommend using it before going out in the sun or for those with dyed dark hair – the acidity can bring out brassiness.
- 3.) Please try to consider the fact that “chemicals” are not always “bad” and “natural” is not always “good.” If you don’t believe me, consider the fact that we’re living 25-30 years longer now than 100 years ago due to medicine, drugs, and chemicals. Please stop trying to make your own products, unless you have a degree in the sciences and a job at a lab!
Hope this helps!
Love,
About Author
Founder and CEO Nicki Zevola started FutureDerm as a medical (M.D.) student studying to be a dermatologist. She is an award-winning scientific researcher and writer. She currently is concentrating on FutureDerm and developing FutureDerm's one-of-a-kind products. She can be found on Google+ and Twitter.
View all Nicki Zevola posts.(124) Readers Comments
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luna
i have VERY dry curly hair .. i mix a small amount of baking soda w/ my shampoo…after i put tons of cond. in it ..my hair is thicker , shinier..and less frizzy . i dont do this every time . about once a month . and i love the way it makes my hair look !
J
I use dilute ACV every day to every other day on my hair as a rinse with a shampoo bar and my scalp is healthier and hair softer than it’s ever been in my life. I get compliments on how shiny and healthy my hair is all the time. My hair is black and it has stayed black. I’ve used this regimen for a year and I’ve never received so many compliments from complete strangers on the street. (It’s weird.) So my personal experience definitely hasn’t coincided with what you state in your article.
Maria
I washed my hair with baking soda and vinegar for about a year and the result was better than any shampoo could have done. All the frizz went away and to my surprise, lots of new hair started to grow. I switched to bentonite clay recently as this makes my hair even nicer and smoother. I do therefore not agree with what you say, I would never go back to use shampoo. I had sever dermatitis and the symptoms only started to fade when I switched my cleaning products and toiletries to natural products only.
Considering that the skin is the largest organ of our body, I think it is very important to know what you apply to it. Bicarbonate Soda and Vinegar are both edible and available in any shop to the public. Most ingredients of a shampoo are toxic and not safe for humans. Most even irritate the skin leading us to buy a new “miracle cure” that should help us to relief the symptoms.
I still liked your article, seeing it through the eyes of a scientist wanting to promote the use of shampoo / increase cosmetic firms profits. That’s all it is about in the end.
Maria
I washed my hair with baking soda and vinegar for about a year and the result was better than any shampoo could have done. All frizz went away and to my surprise, lots of new hair started to grow. I switched to bentonite clay recently as this makes my hair even nicer and smoother. I do therefore not agree with what you say, I would never go back to use shampoo. I had sever dermatitis and the symptoms only started to fade when I switched my cleaning products and toiletries to natural products only.
Considering that the skin is the largest organ of our body, I think it is very important to know what you apply to it. Bicarbonate Soda and Vinegar are both edible and available in any shop to the public. Most ingredients of a shampoo are toxic and not safe for humans. Most even irritate the skin leading us to buy a new “miracle cure” that should help us to relief the symptoms.
I still liked your article.
islandgrrrl
This article is completely incorrect – Baking soda (bs) and ACV are being used in a highly diluted state from most people using this haircare routine. My hair is a complete mess after using a normal sodium lauryl sulphate shampoo or even a ‘natural’ shampoo. It is coarse, wiry and dry hair, so, for me, the goal is to weigh it down, clarify without drying. BS and ACV are the only gentle way to clean it and condition it all at the same time.
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toyston
I totally disagree. Baking soda/vinegar are working great on my hair. It’s far less dry than it used to be.
scott
with regard to your third point about life expectancy. it really has nothing to do with drugs. the biggest factor that has been shown to lengthen life has been sufficient caloric intake. in spite of all of the unhealthy things we ingest it is why we live longer. now, heart problems, diabetes and such stem from what we ingest and science allows for abused organs to function longer at a far less quality. with that stated, if one eats sufficient calories and healthy food combined with exercise, they will probably live the longest without drugs of any kind.
i also suffered from a type of keratosis of the scalp which led to a lot of hair loss. shampoos irritated the heck out of it. what helped most was giving up gluten in my diet. gluten binds to the villi of the small intestines preventing absorption of vital vitamins and nutrients, which the scalp depends on. baking soda has clarified my scalp, removing redness and irritation. i simply mix a little in with my shampoo. but honey treatments to my scalp worked wonders as well. 2 trips to the derm and all i got was standard tests and steroids to put on my head. they helped temporarily, but the problem always came back when i took 2 days off from use a week.
bottom line shampoos alone and medicine–0
holistic treatments and dietary changes—-all the difference in the world
Allison
I’ve been using baking soda and apple cider vinegar on my hair for over two months now and I’ve noticed a change. My hair has looks and feels healthier than it did when I was using commercial shampoo. My scalp doesn’t feel half as dry as it did before. It took a week or two for my hair to start showing a change, but after that, it looked much better. I’ve had family members touch my hair after a wash and were surprised at how clean it felt. This is really the only article I’ve been able to find that decries baking soda and ACV.
brodie
The best part of this article is the comments section. I agree with the other commenters. Baking sofa and vinegar all the way (my hair is very long so I use coconut oil on the ends after towel drying). It’s a bit ridiculous for the author to claim to be an award winning ‘MD’ and talk down a cheap and effective method of cleaning hair so as to market their own interests.
Bridget
I heard that the acid in the vinegar, once on your hair, has an “alcohol chemical” effect and the impurities in your cortex will be rinsed out. Is this true??
Chris
There’s a reason the longest living people are in a remote village in japan and it’s not pharmaceuticals; it’s lifestyle and more importantly community. In the life expectancy you quote it’s unfortunately a statistical misrepresentation of less people dying at younger ages (this goes for any mention throughout human history). The italian, french, and asian paradoxes are not result of chemical technology that really only serves to keep unhealthy people alive. They don’t cure anything but people can manage and continue. The nature-nuts are just as bad as the science solves everything people. I don’t recommend baking soda and ACV without coconut oil pre-wash as that’s the ingredient a lot skip out on and might experience dryness without.
Marcie
Thank you for writing this article. I’ve been using baking soda & apple cider vinegar for over a month now and recently started noticing some problems in the form of really bad breakage. Initially I really liked it because using this method allowed me to cut down on waste & I found I only had to wash my hair once or twice a week. (I had to wash daily with normal shampoo) I hear what you are saying in this article & I understand why you are recommending against home experiments, but for those of us that are trying to reduce waste & the excessive use of plastic from our daily lives, do you have any suggestions?
Katarina
This is article is pseudo sciencey. Why no mention of coconut oil? You know too little on the topic, and yet you’re trying to tell us what to do?
Becca
To the person earlier who mentioned breakage: After reading about different shampoo/conditioner alternatives, the first thing I did was using a clarifying recipe I found online to remove existing product build-up. As soon as I did this, I realized I had a ton of split ends I’d never even seenof before. From what I’ve read, commercial conditioner just covers up weak strands and glues the split ends together. I think using ‘no poo and natural oils is for those who want to improve the quality of their actual hair and growth, not just cover it up.
Kim
Everywhere I’ve seen ‘no poo, they do the BS&V. I’ve never heard of anyone using one without the other.
YES, baking soda is alkaline. It does open the cuticle,(like dyes do). And it does strip the hair of its natural oils.
YES, vinegar is acidic. It does flatten the cuticle. And it (like lemon juice) can sometimes lighten hair in the sun.
THREE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
**Number 1**
You point out that baking soda is an irritant, but EVERY detergent is an irritant. As a matter of fact, pure SLS/SLES (used in regular soap/shampoo) will cause irritation on contact with skin. Baking soda does strip your hair of oils, but so do commercial shampoos/soaps. Isn’t that the point!? That is why, with BSV, you do NOT wash every day as you do with commercial shampoo. The whole point of using baking soda is because it’s less irritating and oil-stripping than regular shampoo. This is why when you start BSV your hair won’t be dry, it’ll be greasier (at first) because it’s used to the harsh shampoos every day, causing overproduction of oils. BS does way less oil stripping, which is why your oil levels drop over time and you don’t have to wash as often.
**Number 2**
Apple cider vinegar undiluted (which is usually diluted) is about a 4-5 pH. Human hair has a slightly acidic pH of 4.5-5.5. Brassy hair?? My hair is black, and I have personally put lemon juice, vinegar, and beer in my hair and sat out in the sun in hopes that I’d get some lighter locks. Nothing. Furthermore, no ‘poo users usually dilute the (already diluted) vinegar even more. Lemon juice and white vinegar have a pH around 2 which is wayyyy more acidic, and most store shampoos use pure citric acid as an ingredient. The brassy color change is only a reaction to sunlight. If you wash the vinegar out thoroughly, (and believe me, you will KNOW thanks to the smell) then there can’t be any color change. The reason for dry or brittle strands is because less porous hair seals things in (like hair color) but can lock out moisture. This doesn’t matter because BSV uses alkaline baking soda to open up the hair cuticle and let moisture in before sealing with vinegar. Also, not sure where you got your info, but almost every popular hair perm treatment I know of has a pH around 9, which is very alkaline. As a matter of fact, the lower ones (“acid perms” w/ pH usually 5-6) are more gentle which is why they produce less curl and cause less damage.
**Number 3**
You leave out a key aspect of BSV which is the reaction that takes place. The solution of sodium bicarbonate (BS) is alkaline, and opens the cuticle. But, the vinegar is acidic which will NEUTRALIZE the solution and close the cuticle. One without the other may be harmful but not BSV. Sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid combine to create carbon dioxide (gas) and sodium acetate (a salt). The CO2 will just go into the air and the sodium acetate will dissolve in water and go down your drain. BSV won’t have negative effects if it’s done right.
I do agree with adding in natural oils for strengthening and moisture, and I believe a lot of the no ‘poo people do this with various hair masks and hot oil treatment. It’s definitely a bonus.
**FINALLY**
So what if baking soda is alkaline and ACV is acidic? ALL commercial shampoos use an alkaline-acid (usually SLS – citric acid) combination; they just add a lot of toxic extras. Do you know anyone who had his/her hair ruined by using BSV for a prolonged period?? Also, have any of you tried washing glass with baking soda solution followed by a vinegar solution? When you immerse the glass in vinegar solution, gas bubbles go up and the glass comes out clean. Both sodium bicarb and vinegar are easy to wash out of your hair with just water. There is no reason to fear damage, especially because it is not a daily routine. If I am wrong, and there actually is some degree of damage BSV causes your hair, it cannot POSSIBLY be worse than dyeing, perming, relaxing, or bleaching your hair.
Ashley
Wow, this article has had some back lash…
I have used BS and ACV on occasion and thought it made my hair feel real nice, but I have never used it solely. Considering it though.
The life expectancy stat has been so debunked it’s retarded. People that made it past adolesence lived to be as old as people are now but they didn’t do it with heart disease and diabetes.
I think after my own personal research, I’ll just believe the different things work for different people and you have to experiment with what works best for you. If you spend a lot of time dying and chemically altering your hair, you may have to depend on chemicals to maintain it. My niece will have a hot mess if she washes her hair more than once a week. My hair gets gross and shiney with oil if I dare to miss a day.
Price
This is absolute crap and nothing more than a sales job for Wen. Wen, also, is absolute crap. All one has to do is a quick Google search for “Wen.” That junk absolutely is responsible for such hair horror as breakage and falling out. As an aside, I would never trust the first so-called professional who advocates chemicals or natural ingredients. It’s junk science and it’s absolute crap.
john
I use plain sodium bicarbonate and water for shampoo & I rinse with vinegar and lemon juice and water….no dandruff and hair feels clean —- I have some regular oils like lemon and cinnamon ( Whatever is on sale!!) I rub into my hair …..I quit using the fancy anti-dandruffs and shampoos because they were irritarting my scalp…..it was almost as if the more I used the anti-dandruff, the w=orse it got….
Linda
I was reading this article and was getting somehow discouraged until I started reading all the reviews that said exactly what I was thinking. I have looked into WEN and they are a horrible company! I am going to start using a Baking Soda and ACV regime but haven’t figured out the best way to do it for my hair.
Emma
Loving BS&V. Have been using for about two months now and get loads of comments. I have long naturally curly hair and it feels lighter and more manageable. It’s quite fine as well but the ACV seems to help as a detangler. I have always had problems with an itchy scalp so I just add a few drops of tea-tree oil to the baking soda mix and that’s done the trick. Reading the article I got a bit worried there for a moment as my hair has been a bit dry at the ends and I don’t want to damage it. How exactly do you use the coconut oil for best results?
Mandy
I started the ‘no poo’ method about two months ago now. After only one try at the BS/ACV method I found that it was not for me. After getting the go ahead from my hairstylist I decided to go all out and try the water only method. This was a big risk for me as my hair was always oily , but I figured it was worth the experiment. It took about three weeks and some practice and study to find the best routine for me, but my hair has never been more beautiful. No smell (I was worried about that!), no frizz, perfect shine, and *gasp* I found out that I really was one of those girls with the gorgeous curls! So sad it took me 30 years to figure this one out.
angela
Do any of you ladies who use ACV have highlights? Im a brunette with blonde highlights and I’m worried after reading this article it will mess the highlights up.,,,
Maria
I noticed my mom’s hair getting dramatically thinner over the past few months. She informed me yesterday that she has been using ACV and baking soda and almost lost all of her hair. I’m sticking to sulfate-free shampoo and Argan oil.