Kombucha Vinegar Conditioner

About a year ago I started using apple cider vinegar to condition my hair. It worked so well that I started adding chamomile to the vinegar. In the past couple months I have gone one step further and started making kombucha vinegar (by simply allowing some kombucha to sour to vinegar) and then infusing it with chamomile flowers and using this for conditioner. It has worked remarkably well.

My original post, Baking Soda Shampoo, outlines the various things I used for shampoo, like eggs and marshmallow, and finally settled on simply using baking soda. That post also explains how I made my apple cider vinegar hair conditioner.

Apple cider vinegar has a strong vinegar smell to it, which isn’t too bad when your hair is dry. The kombucha vinegar doesn’t have this smell and when you infuse it with chamomile flowers it smells lovely. I use chamomile in my conditioner since they were traditionally used to ‘brighten’ blonde hair, plus I like the smell. If you are dark haired try infusing your vinegar with fresh rosemary instead. Rosemary has an affinity for dark hair. Rosemary also stimulates hair growth, and the vinegar can actually be left in and not rinsed out at all and may be something to try if your hair is thinning as well.

I am hypersensitive to manufactured fragrances and haven’t been able to use most commercial hair products recently and since I am on the GAPS diet I am very careful about what I put on my body or allow into my household and baking soda and vinegar are a couple of my favorite cleaning ingredients.

It is pretty cool to be able to make your own conditioner at home from sugar, black tea and chamomile flowers. Granted the whole process from start to finish takes about a month, but you can always use A.C. vinegar in the meantime.

On another side note, the kombucha vinegar also stings less than the apple cider vinegar and tastes better if it runs down your face and gets in your mouth! I just love kombucha, not only can you drink it and heal your liver and clean up your gut, but you can use it as a cosmetic (it is great for your skin), a conditioner and people are even making coats out of kombucha leather! Gotta love it.

P.S. Are you doing the 30 Day Kombucha Challenge spearheaded by Kombucha Mama? Swap your soda! Get sugar out of your diet and fill your gut with beneficial micro-organisms.

This post was shared on Wildcrafting Wednesday at The Woodwife’s Journal

4 Comments

  1. Dianne says:

    Hey there! 🙂 I love my kombucha and have it daily, in addition to adding it to my chamomile/nettle hair rinse.. Nettle added for a sensitive scalp 😉 How long and what method do you use to infuse the kombucha vinegar with the herbs? Heated/cold? Also, I have on occasion used the vinegar as a toner and would be interested in hearing how you use it 🙂 Straight and rinsed? Left on? Mixed with something else to moisturize? I was thinking of making a chamomile/aloe/kombucha spritz toner but wasn’t sure if the kombucha staying on would be irritating. Your perspective is appreciated 🙂
    Best,
    Dianne

    • hellaD says:

      Nice! I love that you add nettle I will have to try that sometime!

      Good questions, I can’t believe I left out the details on my chamomile-kombucha infusion. Usually I stuff a bottle full of dried chamomile flowers, add the kombucha vinegar until it is completely covered. I often have to top it up after a day as the dry herbs absorb the vinegar. I usually let the vinegar sit for a couple weeks, and then strain it, which results in a lovely infusion.

      When I use the kombucha vinegar for my hair I usually dilute it 1:1 with water and pour it on my hair and then rinse it out after a few minutes. I have used it as a toner for my skin and it is quite lovely. I generally only use a bit of rose hip oil to moisturize my face and neck after a shower. I think the kombucha spritzer for the face would actually be really good if you sit in front of a computer screen all day as it might help to protect it from radiation from the monitor as well. I have also heard it is good to wash your face off with a bit of bentonite to help with that issue, so maybe adding a bit of bentonite to a spritzer used for such a purpose would be helpful. (This is all speculation at this point, I haven’t tried it for that)

      That chamomile aloe kombucha spritzer sounds delightful. I don’t think the kombucha would be irritating if left on.

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