Why acidic water is good for your hair, but no-poo isn’t

No-poo is a no-no

If you have really long hair like I do, you know how tough it can be to care for. You may struggle with tangles, split ends, and worse. In desperation, you might be tempted to try no-poo, where you wash with baking soda, and rinse with acidic water made with apple cider vinegar, but don’t do it!  Your hair will end up weak and brittle (like mine did). Don’t despair, the culprit isn’t your hair! The problem is the baking soda. Your hair and scalp have an acidic pH balance, and baking soda is an alkali, your hair hates it. In fact, alkalizing your hair is probably one of the worst things you can do to it.

What baking soda does to hair

When you mix baking soda and water, you end up with a mixture that has a pH of about 11, which is strongly alkaline. Your hair has a pH balance of about 6, slightly acidic. so the difference between the pH of that baking soda mixture, and your hair is about 7 pH, and that’s a lot. The pH scale is logarithmic, each step up is an order of magnitude. This means that baking soda and water has a pH that is one million times more alkaline than your hair!

The surface of your hair is called the cuticle, the cuticle is made of tiny shingles that protect the inside of the hair, called the cortex. When you alkalize your hair, you force the tiny shingles that make up the cuticle to open, which exposes the hair’s cortex to damage. Baking soda is a strong alkali, it chemically tears at the cortex of the hair, eventually destroying it.

Did you  know? Hair removal creams, like baking soda, are strong alkalis, they work by weakening the hair follicle so much that it simply falls off.

Why no-poo seems to work at first

When I first tried no-poo, and got past the stage where my hair constantly felt greasy and itched, my hair felt great. It was clean and shiny. Imagine my surprise, a few weeks later, when the tangles and breakage came back with a vengeance. What was happening was, the apple cider vinegar rinse was closing the hair cuticle after the baking soda did it’s damage. So my hair felt great for a few weeks, until the damage that the baking soda did to the cortex became apparent. The baking soda was literally undermining my hair’s health, and then the apple cider vinegar rinse was hiding it from me.

Baking soda will do this to any kind of hair, but the type of hair you have affects how long it will take until you notice the damage. My hair is ultra fine, so the damage became apparent quickly. If you have coarse hair, it would take longer for you to notice the damage, but eventually you will. Baking soda is stronger than your hair, and given enough time, it will destroy it.

Non-SLS Shampoo and acidic water rinse a better alternative

So baking soda is definitely out, but you should still avoid shampoo with harsh chemicals like SLS. You should even avoid using cleansers with tea tree oils, because those are harshly alkaline as well. The best alternative for your hair is shampoos made with shea butter, it’s gentle enough to use every day.

Acidic water rinse is the best thing you can do for your hair

Whether you use ionized acidic water, like I do, or you use apple cider vinegar in water, an acidic water rinse is the best thing you can do for your hair. If you have a water ionizer and can make acidic water, use it. You can’t go wrong with ionized acidic water, it’s a weakly bonded acid so it can’t damage your hair. You get all of the benefits that come from the acidity, without the risk of stripping color like you do with apple cider vinegar.

Be careful with apple cider vinegar rinses

The reason apple cider vinegar can strip your hair color is that the acid in vinegar is acetic acid – a strongly bonded acid. Acetic acid is strong enough to strip your color, or break down a perm. Because of this, you should never use more than a capful of vinegar in about 16 ounces of water. If your hair is colored or permed, use only a half-capful

Acidic Ionized Water – The ultimate hair rinse

Acidic water from a water ionizer may be the very best thing you can do for your hair. Because it’s a weakly-bonded acid, it can’t strip your hair color. But because it is acidic, it is easily able to dissolve hard water residue and styling product build up in your hair. As a result, your hair looks and feels amazing even if you have to wash it every day like I have to. I have to wash my hair everyday because I ride my bicycle to work, a round trip of about 20 miles.

Fact: Acidic ionized water is gentle enough to use every day. I’ve used it daily for the last 3 years, and the results are simply amazing!

What acidic ionized water does for hair

Acidic ionized water will gently dissolve and rinse away any residue in your hair, if you have hard water, you will be amazed at how much healthier your hair feels and looks. As you rinse, the acidic pH closes and compacts hair cuticles, this will make your hair naturally shiny, and incredibly soft. Because it pH balances your hair, you will soon say goodbye to split ends and tangles.

You will see and feel the difference in your hair immediately, as soon as you rinse it, your hair will feel smoother and more manageable. When it dries, your hair will be softer, shiner, more manageable and have more body than you’ve ever experienced. Once you’ve tried an acidic water rinse, you’ll never want to wash your hair without it again.

How to do an acidic water rinse

Wash your hair as you normally would. After you’ve rinsed your shampoo out, it’s time for the acidic rinse. Starting from your scalp, pour the acidic water on your hair, letting gravity pull it down to your ends. Once you’ve used up your bottle of acidic water, you can then use conditioner as you normally would. Conditioner coats your hair, so it locks in the benefits of the acidic water rinse. Rinse out the conditioner as you normally would. Then enjoy your amazingly healthy, shiny hair!

Better hair, better health: Discover why ionized water from a water ionizer makes you healthier – inside and out – call us today at 877-959-7977