Tackling dandruff

I never had any dandruff at all as a teen but in the past few years, those pesky flakes have been plaguing my head and causing me endless grief. The tell tale flakes are a constant annoyance and an embarrassing feature on my favourite black tops.

I've tried different anti-dandruff shampoos and conditioners - Head and Shoulders, Garnier anti-dandruff, T-Gel and Selsun Blue. All of these products reduced the dandruff but after a few weeks, they seem to stop working and I am left with dry brittle hair still mingled with large snow flakes. Maybe my scalp got used to the active ingredients, maybe I was producing more dandruff but I wanted to find something that treated and provided a semi permanent relief rather than temporary band-aid solutions.

And finally I found my saviour. Something that is so good, I'm almost willing to call it a cure too all my flakey situation - and all this using natural ingredients that is not harsh on hair at all.

Presenting...

Apple cider vinegar, or the humble AVC for short. That's right folks, no need for a cupboard full of medicated shampoos; vinegar is all you need and your flakes will be gone within a few good washes.

How I use it:  apply small amounts of AVC onto dry hair and massage into scalp. Do this to all areas where dandruff is active. Leave in hair for 5 minutes. If you have wounds or sores on your head, this will sting, so best not to do this if you have any cuts in your head.

Mix 1/3 cup of AVC with my usual shampoo (Clairols Herbal Essence with rosehip and jojoba) and use that to wash you hair as normal. I sometimes have to do extra rinses to remove the sour smell from my hair/head. Condition with my favourite conditioner.

AVC is also fabulous as a final rinse to add shine and softness to hair. You will need to do extra rinsing to remove the smell though.

Cons:
I found the smell of AVC difficult to deal with. I needed an extra round of shampoo on its own and an extra rinse  to removes the last traces of the sour scent.


Other Info: 
When treating flakes, I wash my hair every 2nd day (it is harder to do during winter) and by the end of the week, my flakes are usually non-existent. I then do a maintenance shampoo with AVC once a week after my flakes are under control. My hair is silkier, softer and flake free since I've been following this regime.

I've been told that AVC may strip colour from hair so may not be suitable for those with colour treated hair. I haven't dyed my hair in years so haven't had any problem personally but do be mindful of this when testing it out yourself.

I've also tried this with normal vinegar. The results are the same but the sour scent is much stronger than AVC and takes more effort to wash out.

If you have any dandruff problems that you find hard to control, give this a go. I'm sure most of us already have AVC handy in our kitchen cupboard.

So will you be giving this a try? Let me know how you go if you do.