Over the past year, I’ve been careful to keep track of all my symptoms. I don’t keep a health diary like some people do. I’m not that organized. But I do have a list of my major health issues and any noticeable trends so that when I go to the doctor, I can give them a clear picture of what’s happening. However, there’s a few weird symptoms I always forget to mention. Like the fact that I sometimes get really sore spots on my scalp if I go a day or two without washing my hair. There’s no rash or red spots. It’s just sore. And then it slowly goes away after I wash my hair. Weird. It doesn’t always happen. Just at those times when you think, “Man, I just washed my hair with that super organic, super expensive shampoo that should have killed everything that could be making my scalp sore.” That’s when it comes back.

I’ve wondered if it was some sort of invisible scalp fungus. I don’t want to have a icky scalp fungus. So I’ve treated my hair to all sorts of great, organic shampoos, full of good stuff like tea tree oil that’s supposed to get rid of fungus. And still it comes back.

So, having googled my scalp condition about a thousand times, I finally turned to using apple cider vinegar. I used it a few times in Africa after reading about the benefits of rinsing your hair in vinegar, but the smell always stuck with my hair. I hated it. I kept reading, though, how the smell should go away after you rinse your hair out. “I must have done it wrong,” I thought. “And this will definitely get rid of the sore spots.”

So I’ve been using ACV. The sore spots come back. I use the ACV. I rinse super well. And… I smell like a vinegar factory for a week. No joke. I can wash my hair over and over with my great smelling shampoos and still I smell like vinegar. I think I could wash my hair with a whole botanical garden and I’d still smell like this stuff. My mom says she can’t smell it. But I can. Who wants to go to sleep at night to the smell of vinegar? Not me. The sore spots? Still coming back. ACV, you’ve failed me in so many ways.