Citric acid for hair: its benefits and how to use it

Citric acid is an alpha hydroxy acid often seen in many skin and hair care formulations – derived from citrus fruits, which offer a variety of benefits when used in hair care.

Citric acid benefits for hair

It all comes down to a good pH scale. As a quick reminder, the pH scale ranges from 0 to 14: 0 is the most acidic, 7 is neutral, and 14 is the most alkaline. For reference, citric acid has a normal pH of about 2, and is an excellent pH balancer. Exactly what does that mean? When used in appropriate concentrations in manufactured hair care products , it lowers the pH to the ideal level. Healthy hair falls within the pH range 4.5-5.5, but many of the hair care products we use on a daily basis have a much higher pH and are more alkaline. In this case, citric acid helps reduce this.
But what does that translate to when it comes to the look and feel of your hair? Too alkaline pH tends to open up the cuticle, the outermost layer of hair, called shingles on the surface. When these “shingles” are open, your hair looks dull, flyaway, and coarse. Keeping your hair at this optimum pH helps keep the hair cuticles airtight. This means it can better retain moisture and reflect light so hair looks healthy and shiny.
It has some benefits for the scalp as well. Maintaining a target pH of 4.5-5.5 helps prevent microbes from growing on the scalp.
Regardless of the hair care benefits , an appropriate pH is important to the product’s function. By using citric acid, the formula can be optimized to a certain pH to ensure product performance and product safety.
How to use citric acid for hair
There is nothing specific that you need to worry about or think about when it comes to citric acid in hair care. The ingredient is found in all types of products, and probably many that you already use on a regular basis; In other words, it’s not one of those super potent and highly active ingredients that you need to look out for, and don’t worry about avoiding.