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How to Balance pH in Hair Naturally
Edited by Carolyn Barratt, Manel kaabi, Maniac, Mantha8225 and 2 others

Potential of Hydrogen, or pH, is the measurement of how acidic or alkali a substance is. It is judged on a scale between 0 and 14. Anything between 0 and 6.9 is acidic, 7 is neutral, and anything between 7.1 and 14 is alkaline. Human hair and scalp oil, sebum, has a pH balance of between 4.5 and 5.5. This natural hair acidity prevents fungi and bacteria in the hair and scalp, and keeps the cuticle closed and healthy. Many of the hair products that people use disrupt the natural pH of the hair. A substance that is too alkaline will cause the hair cuticle to open, while a substance that is too acidic will cause the cuticle to contract. This article will tell you how to balance pH in hair naturally.

Assess your current hair. There are a number of conditions that can indicate the pH of your hair. It is important to establish a general pH before you can balance it to the healthy level.
If you have problems with fungi or bacteria on your scalp, it is likely that your scalp and hair are too alkali. Usually, this means that you are using a product that has a high pH above 7, and it is stripping away your naturally acidic sebum that fights bacteria.
If you have permanently dyed or relaxed hair, your hair was first treated with a highly alkali substance to expose and change the hair's cuticle, and then, it was "neutralized" with a highly acidic substance to flatten the cuticle again. This is a damaging process and slightly acidic hair products are needed to keep the hair cuticle lying flat.
If you have curly hair, then your cuticle is already partially open. It is especially important for people with curly hair to return their hair to a slightly acidic pH level, since the open cuticle prevents natural acidic sebum to keep the entire hair at a pH level between 4.5 and 5.5.
If you have straight hair, you should use hair-care products that are pH balanced, but may not need to apply extra products because the sebum moves through your hair, creating a natural pH balance.

A pH between 4 to 7 works well on hair.