Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is known for its many benefits for hair. It detangles and cleanses hair and helps fight hair loss, a few reasons why it features in many hair care products and DIY hair care routines. Suppose you're interested in using apple cider vinegar to boost your hair health. In that case, you may wonder if it can affect your hair color, particularly if you've recently had it dyed or color-treated. Does apple cider vinegar affect hair color? In a good or bad way? We will break it down for you.

Table of contents:

• Does Apple Cider Vinegar change Hair Color?
• Can Apple Cider Vinegar turn Hair Red?
• Can Apple Cider Vinegar tone Hair?
• Locks in Color
• Removes Minerals responsible for Brassiness
• Eliminates Product Build-up
• How to use Apple Cider Vinegar as a Hair Toner?
• Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Toner recipe

Does Apple Cider Vinegar change Hair Color?

Apple cider vinegar will not interfere with your hair color. That's because it's only mildly acidic, with a pH of 2-3.

It can help balance your hair's pH. Hair's natural pH is between 4.5 and 5.5 or slightly acidic. Bleaching and shampooing tend to make hair more alkaline. Apple cider vinegar can help restore your hair to its natural state.

Can Apple Cider Vinegar turn Hair Red?

Apple cider vinegar's amber hue won't turn your hair red, brown, or any other color. For notable red highlights, it's best to visit a professional hair colorist or salon near you!

Can Apple Cider Vinegar tone Hair?

The functions of toner are to add pigment to hair color that has faded over time and to cancel unwanted colors like yellow tones or brassiness, says Jonathan Colombini, L'Oreal Paris style and color expert in fashion and beauty magazine Elle. Apple cider vinegar does make a good toner - here's why.

Locks in Color

Depending on whether your dye is temporary or permanent, your hair color can fade and lose its depth after a few weeks to several months. Premature color fade is attributable to excessive washing, long and frequent exposure to the sun, and hard water. When your hair starts to acquire warm, brassy, and yellow tones, it loses its luster and starts to look dull. Apple cider vinegar closes the hair cuticle, helping lock in color and reduce fading.

Removes Minerals responsible for Brassiness

Apple cider vinegar is a chelating agent, a compound that binds to heavy metal ions and makes them more removable/excretable from the body. Turmeric, dandelion root, kelp, and amino acids are all-natural chelating agents. When used on hair, apple cider vinegar helps remove the minerals from hard water responsible for making your hair dull and brassy.

Eliminates Product Build-up

Ever struggled to get product build-up or excess oil and grime out of your hair? Apple cider vinegar does a great job of eliminating build-up, improving luster, and maintaining the color's vibrancy.

The bottom line

Does apple cider vinegar affect hair color? No. It does not impart any color to your hair or strip hair color. Instead, it has protective effects for colored hair.

As apple cider vinegar seals in color, counteract the effects of hard water on colored hair and reduces dullness and tonal changes from excessive product build-up, it can be recommended as a hair toner. If you get your hair color-treated every few months, you can consider ACV to enhance the longevity and shine of your hair color.

How to use Apple Cider Vinegar as a Hair Toner?

The good news is that apple cider vinegar toner works well for all hair types and can be easily made at home. For the best results from your DIY toner, use unfiltered apple cider vinegar, which is rich in nutrients beneficial for your hair.

Dilute apple cider vinegar with water before applying it to your hair. Even though it is slightly acidic, it can irritate or burn your scalp and damage your hair.

Apply the ACV toner to damp hair to ensure it is absorbed well and can work its magic. On dry hair, the toner will not be absorbed fully. The toner could get further diluted on wet hair and its effectiveness reduced.

Applying apple cider vinegar toner every day is too much of a good thing. Overuse will likely damage your hair and scalp.

How long will the toner last? This will depend on your hair type and how often you wash your hair. If you have dry hair, consider using the ACV toner once a week. Apply the toner after you've shampooed your hair. After rinsing off the toner, condition your hair as you usually do. If you have oily hair, step up the application 2-3 times a week. And if your hair is parched and textured, you could apply the toner every other week.

Observe how your hair looks and feels. You'll then have more clarity on the optimal application timing for your situation.

Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Toner recipe

Apart from toning your hair, this recipe also works well as a hair rinse, detangler, and dandruff control.

What you will need

• Apple cider vinegar
• Water
• Spray bottle

What to do

1. Fill the spray bottle with equal parts of apple cider vinegar and water.
   
   
2. Shake the bottle so that both ingredients combine well.
3. Spray the mixture on damp hair.
4. Let the mixture sit on your hair for 15 minutes, and rinse with cool/lukewarm water.

Parting tips

• Never reuse leftover apple cider vinegar toner. Estimate the number of ingredients needed for your hair length and volume. It will help prevent wastage and allow you to make your ACV toner single-use.

• Wash your hair with shampoo before every application.

• Stick to a spray bottle, as it will give you more control over the application. Adding the ingredients to a container or glass may make it difficult to coat all of your hair with the mixture evenly.

• Apple cider vinegar makes a great hair mask for chemically treated hair. WOW Skin Science's Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Mask revives dull hair, cleanses product build-up, and restores hair balance with nourishing plant actives.
  

• Given the host of benefits from using apple cider vinegar on your hair, you may want to incorporate it into your hair care regimen in more ways. We recommend trying WOW Skin Science's Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo, a top-rated product for clarifying and rebuilding hair.