Fall is all about apples. Apple cider, apple pie, apple crisp and apple sauce are all yummy fall treats. Besides satisfying your tummy, apples can also help your hair. Apple cider vinegar is great for your skin and hair. It naturally removes buildup and adds shine.

I know you’re thinking about what could possibly be in your shampoo that’s toxic. Shampoo can contain petrolatum. It is derived from petroleum (the stuff used to make fuel and tar) and is found in other products like conditioner, shaving products and tanning products. In addition, shampoo can also contain coal tar and coal tar dyes, products of coal processing, which are known to cause cancer. Crazy, right?

I’ve read about the “no poo” methods and it just doesn’t work for me. “No poo” is when you wash your hair with just baking soda or aloe vera, anything but shampoo. So for my hair, I use Burt’s Bees Mango shampoo with a little bit of baking soda. For a conditioner, I use an apple cider rinse. Baking soda gives your shampoo some extra cleaning power and apple cider rinse is a perfect conditioner. This rinse comes from Naturemoms.com and requires two ingredients: apple, cider vinegar, and water.

Apple Cider Rinse:
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup water

Combine ingredients in a container that is easy to use for pouring. Shampoo as usual; pour a little of the rinse, making sure you coat the ends of your hair and avoid your scalp. Rinse as you would conditioner.

This recipes is flexible, but try it just like this for now. You can make adjustments to it later. For me I like to use a ratio of one part apple cider vinegar to two parts water. Some people recommend shampooing only the roots and conditioning only the ends. I found success with shampooing all over before I condition my ends. If your hair comes out looking greasy or looks like it never dried, use less apple cider vinegar (I learned that the hard way).

Need help finding the ingredients? Get the link at the bottom of Fresh Face Forward’s Recipe page at freshfaceforward.org/recipe-guide.

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