You may know a thing or two about citric acid for your skin, but did you know that citric acid is often found in hair care products as well? Heralded as a powerful ingredient to mitigate hair breakage and other signs of damage, there are plenty of citric acid benefits for your hair.
That’s why we’ve decided to lift the veil on this super antioxidant to find out how citric acid works – and how you can maximise its hair-strengthening properties.
Read on to explore the many benefits of citric acid for hair.
What is citric acid for hair?
Part of the alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) family, citric acid is an organic acid commonly found in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and limes. Citric acid is often used in hair care formulations to lower the pH level of your scalp and hair after applying other products. One major advantage of citric acid is that it’s suitable for daily use on all hair types – making it a popular hair care ingredient for shampoos, conditioners and treatments.
What does citric acid do for hair?
Before we can dive into specific citric acid benefits for hair, we need to make a pit stop to discuss pH levels. The pH scale measures how acidic something is; healthy hair and scalp are moderately acidic, with pH levels of 3.67 and 5.5 respectively1.
Many hair care products are considered alkaline (pH levels higher than 7), which means that they can increase porosity. High porosity hair struggles to retain moisture, which leads to visible signs of damage like breakage, dullness and frizz. By lowering the pH in many hair care products, citric acid benefits hair by reinforcing weakened hair bonds to improve the look and feel of hair.
5 citric acid benefits for hair
Between chemical processes and excessive heat styling, there are lots of stressors that can trigger a calcium buildup on your strands and weaken your hair bonds. Thankfully, though, citric acid benefits damaged hair and improves texture in a number of ways. Citric acid:
Reduces breakage and improves the elasticity of hair strands
Amplifies shine
Increases softness
How to use citric acid in your hair care
Powered by a unique hair bond repair complex and citric acid, the L’Oreal Paris Elvive Bond Repair range is designed to strengthen strands in weak hair, damaged hair and dry hair.
Here’s a step-by-step guide that incorporates citric acid benefits for hair:
Working to fortify the hair from the inner layers, Bond Repair Pre-Shampoo Rescue Treatment is formulated with our highest concentration of bond repair technology and citric acid to leave strands feeling stronger and softer.
Simply apply a liberal amount of pre-wash treatment onto your damp hair from scalp to ends. Leave on for five minutes, rinse, and prepare yourself for the extra shine you’ve been dreaming of.
Step 2: Use a fortifying shampoo
The advantages of citric acid-enriched shampoo are seriously unmatched. We recommend introducing the Bond Repair Shampoo into your hair care routine to strengthen the hair fibre from the inside out.
After your pre-shampoo treatment, apply a generous amount of shampoo onto your scalp, working into a lather. We suggest washing your hair twice to fully cleanse the scalp. Be sure to rinse all traces of product after washes.
Step 3: Nourish with a strengthening conditioner
Conditioner plays an important role in helping to achieve softer hair, but it also protects hair shafts from further damage. The Bond Repair Conditioner formula will dive right into the hair cuticle to moisturise dry, damaged hair. With these citric acid benefits, you’ll soon be on your way to smoother, salon-level hair that looks stronger, softer and shinier – the triple threat of the hair care world.
After rinsing off your shampoo, apply the Bond Repair Conditioner to the ends of your hair. Leave on for at least two minutes to allow the product to seep into the hair shaft.
Step 4: Finish with a leave-in serum
Serums are an effective tool to impart targeted ingredients to damaged hair. So, you can complete your hair bond routine with the Bond Repair Hair Leave-In Serum, which penetrates deep into the hair fibre to deliver citric acid benefits and other caring ingredients to each strand. The result? Shiny, healthy-looking tresses that are softer to the touch.
To apply, rub two drops between the palms of your hands and disperse evenly through the lengths and ends of wet or dry hair.
1https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4158629
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