I tried (drank and rinsed my hair!) Apple Cider Vinegar for 30 days and documented my overall experience. One product for skin, hair and health, read on to know how to use it and why to use it and which ACV to use. Bringing you “How, Why, What and Which” of Apple Cider Vinegar in a single post.

Disclaimer- Please read it carefully.

“Dear Readers,

Every person is different, what suits one might not suit another. Please consult a doctor before trying any new health/fitness regime. Owner of this blog shall not be responsible for any injuries/side effects whatsoever. This is a personal experiment and the results are based on my own experience. The purpose of this website is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.” Happy Reading! xoxo

When they say “Your selfie is 90% your hair” I never use to agree until I noticed that I had the most horrible hair related issues (and split ends, and dandruff and so on! Thanks to Dubai weather!). I was always conscious of my hair (Remember that cringe-worthy ad of Head and Shoulders!) I was frantically searching for a solution to stop this before it was too late. Tried changing my shampoo and conditioner (we will talk about these two in upcoming posts!) I took Hair Supplements (read the blogpost here)

And then lightning strikes and I decided to try Apple Vinegar Cider! I spent hours and days and maybe months reading and researching about it and in the end felt I wish there was Just One Single Post that would give me the basic “What, Why, Which and How” of using ACV. This is when I decided to write this post.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar? (ACV)

You must have heard about Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) lately unless you live on Mars! Just kidding, well these days almost everyone seems to be talking about it. For centuries, vinegar has been used for various household and cooking purposes. It is also an ancient folk remedy, claimed to help with all sorts of health problems. It seems to be the In-Thing these days, from adding it to salads to rinsing hair, from making a facial mask to drinking it (Did I mention that I drink it once or twice a month for detox!)! The list of uses is endless, the possibility of what you can do with it is just unbelievable. So what Is this Apple Cider Vinegar aka ACV? Basically it’s just rotten apples, just kidding (ignore my lame jokes!)

WebMD describes Apple cider vinegar as, “Mostly apple juice, but adding yeast turns the fruit sugar into alcohol — this is fermentation. Bacteria turn the alcohol into acetic acid. That’s what gives vinegar its sour taste and strong smell.”

Why use Apple cider vinegar?

Well, I can probably write a book on this and still have reasons left! Let me try to list out the categories where you can probably use ACV:

• Weight loss
• Detox
• Flushes out the toxins
• Skin (A boon for people with Acne and Oily skin)
• Hair
• Gums
• Cleaning (Yes!)
• Bath soak
• Foot Soak
• Salads

Phew, I promise I can go on and on for this!

Which Apple Cider Vinegar to use?

With so many brands and so many types of ACV present in the market, it is almost impossible to decide which one to go for. Obviously you don’t want to go for something that will give you unsatisfactory results. Look for ACV that is Raw, Organic and Unfiltered, if possible with “Mother” in it. (I found this mother part really funny but it just means that it has those tiny-winy particles still in it.

and finally ‘How’ to use Apple Cider Vinegar?

My personal Experiment with Apple cider Vinegar (for Hair)-

So, here is my experience with it! As you must have figured out by now, I am up for anything that is Natural and Organic, when I started doing my own Research on ACV I was swept off my feet to see the number of uses (and benefits!) it has. It was almost like a Genie in a bottle waiting to be freed and cast his spell on me (Over-dramatic. Blaming it on Bollywood movies.) I realized the maximum time I spent was in deciding which brand to use! Took almost a month to find ACV that was Organic, Natural, Un-distilled, and also had Mother in it. I didn’t want to go blindly with Braggs, even though it has been regarded as the undisputed king of ACV world. 

To begin with, I diluted 1 cup of ACV in about 1-litre water. After I had shampooed my hair I lowered my head in the basin and poured it from root to tip. Let the water pass through your hair and wait for the water to drip down. Give it around 5 minutes. Then towel dry as usual. Side by side, I also drank Apple Cider Vinegar every morning for detox and so see if it actually does anything!

Steps to prepare the Hair Rinse:

1. Mix 1 cup of ACV in 1000ml of water.
2. Rinse your hair with this after shampooing.
3. Leave it on for 5 min.
4. Towel dry your hair.
5. Hello Beautiful and Healthy Hair!

The first that I noticed was, it smells horrible. For a person who loves to smell good always and makes sure that everything around is smelling good as well, this was a Big Big turn off, although the smell went away after an hour or so. I continued this for 10 days, I noticed there was a noticeable reduction in the split ends, my hair was more manageable. I continued using it for another couple of days.

Steps to prepare Apple Cider Vinegar Drink:

1. Take a glass of lukewarm water.
2. Add a teaspoon of honey (preferably organic).
3. Add a teaspoon of ACV (refer to what’s mentioned in the post on which ACV to buy)
4. Drink this first thing in the morning at least 30 minutes before eating anything.
5. Don’t forget to brush your teeth after drinking it as ACV is acidic and can harm the teeth enamel.

Honestly, It does taste horrible and I kept reminding myself that it’s all about developing a taste! I started with half a teaspoon and I also took a gap of 2 days to see if my body reacted normally (Very important, don’t just start a new regime without testing it first and giving your body time to adjust). Somehow I actually got used to that bitter-sour taste and if you ask me now I don’t loathe drinking it as much as I did it initially! (Hurray!)

After 10 days–

Observation:

1. My hair is manageable (coming from a person who struggles with frizzy hair, you got to give it a point!)
2. Split-ends have reduced a bit.
3. A slight reduction in dandruff has reduced, not too sure at this point.
4. Drinking ACV hasn’t helped me with anything so far. I do, however, feel that I am pooing more than usual! Lol (So tempted to insert a Poo-Joke here!)

I kept the bottle in my washroom to make sure I don’t skip this routine and it was easier to remember when I had this Dark bottle staring right in my face! Observation after completing 20 days-

After 20 Days–

Observation:

1. My hair has a subtle shine, which is very unusual for me, I have the frizziest-hair you can imagine!
2. Hair feels smooth, again Very unusual for my hair!
3. I feel I am getting used to this pungent smell. Aaarrgggghh. Not sure if this is a plus point!
4. I am all smiles while writing this but I feel I am breaking out way lesser now! I usually have a pimple or two always on my face (Well! Let’s say most of the times).
5. Haven’t reduced any weight but my stomach is a little less flabby! (Tell me I am not imagining this!)
6. I feel really light after drinking it.

I am excited like a kid in a science project, I couldn’t wait for these 30 days to pass. Here’s a confession- I missed my routine twice in the last 30 days! Once, I had to attend a party and washed my hair in a frenzy and once because… well… I just didn’t want to do it! Call it a mood swing. LoL 

After 30 Days! (drum rolls please)-

Observation:

1. By this time I was (almost) immune to this horrible smell! Plus point!
2. My hair IS NOW Smooth and Shiny.. not a lot much though!
3. Split ends are reduced and I cannot be happier! 
4. I noticed a significant reduction in hair fall as well as dandruff, not sure if it was because of ACV or just seasonal, I took it as an effect of ACV!
5. Hair looks more voluminous.
6. My hair didn’t get greasy easily.
7. My skin has cleared out a bit.
8. Somehow, I did actually lose a little weight, like 1 kilo (Though it wasn’t my plan) it might be as this ACV made me poo so much?!
9. It is not a very drastic change yet my tummy does feel less flabby.
10. One of the best after-effects of drinking ACV was, it made me feel really energetic and fresh (even without drinking coffee I felt really wide awake!)

I continued my hair rinse routine (Though, I am not drinking the detox drink in the morning as I am focussing on putting on some weight), unbelievably! As I never thought I would rinse my hair with something that smelled so gross, although I must admit I made it a point not to go out immediately after washing my hair! It isn’t easy to smell gross and go out, which means now I wash my hair a day before going somewhere. The results have been better than I thought they would be and that is what got me hooked to Apple Cider Vinegar.

Overall Observation:

1. My hair feels fresh and the roots don’t get greasy that quickly.
2. Noticeable reduction in split ends.
3. Hair looks healthy and voluminous.
4. Reduction in hair fall (Insert dancing emoji here!) 
5. Not sure if that’s because of ACV but my hair growth is better than before.

After doing this experiment for 30 days, the bottle of ACV has found a permanent place in my washroom. I try to stick to this regime, if not every single time then at least 80% of the times I wash my hair and then rinse it with ACV.

Let me know if you tried this, or if you know any skin/hair care regime that involves Apple Cider Vinegar. Also, I would love to answer if you have any concerns/queries, just shoot it.

Also, in case you are a dog-parent, don’t forget to read How yo Use Apple Cider Vinegar for you do here.

Read more such posts here.