Lena loves lager: I love your site. Thanks for giving intelligent and scientifically sound beauty advice, something that seems to be woefully scarce. So here’s my question: I have heard about people using flat beer as a rinse for their hair, and also I’ve seen shampoo from Lush with beer as its featured ingredient. I’m wondering what exactly it is that people claim beer accomplishes, and whether it really does do what they say. Thanks!
The Right Brain pours a cold frosty reply:
Believe it or not, beer really is good for your hair! Here’s how it works:
It’s about 2 am and the guy at the bar who’s been ogling you over his last 6 or 8 bottles of Bud Light staggers in your general direction. He moves in for kill, getting up in your face and suavely blurting out: “Gee yer hair looksh aweshum! *Hic*.”
That kind of drunken compliment is about the most benefit your hair will get from beer.
But all kidding aside, is there any plausible reason to put beer in your hair? Let’s take a sip, shall we…
Beer buzz
There are several theoretical arguments for putting beer on your hair. Unfortunately, none of them can hold their liquor.
Beer contains protein which is good for strengthening hair.
While beer does contain corn, wheat, or rice protein it’s not in the correct form to deposit on your hair and form a stengthening film, which is how proteins work.
Beer has a low pH which can tighten the cuticles and make your hair shiny.
The pH of beer is low due to dissolved carbon dioxide but it’s not enough to make a difference to the condition of hair.
Beer contains herbs known as hops which are natural astringents that have beneficial tightening effect on the scalp.
Hops are present at a very low level and are not in contact with your skin long enough to have a measurable effect.
Beer contains alcohol which is good for removing dirt and grease from hair.
The cleansing power of the relatively low amount of alcohol in beer pales in comparison to shampoo.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
While beer won’t HURT your hair (other than making it smelly), it certainly doesn’t provide any technical benefit. We say save it for drinking!
What do you think? Have you ever tried to use a food or drink product on your hair? Beer, eggs, mayonnaise, or yogurt? Did it give you tasty tresses? Leave a comment and share your secrets with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
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sounds like it would be a waste of a good beer…or even a not so good beer.
What about apple cider vinegar?
Ive actually used Mayo on my hair and it does nothing but dry it out even more.
Dear Beauty Brains, you are a ray of light in an eminently irrational field. You are my Bible, my North star, my compass.
Concering beer rinses: my mother, who lived in Italy, said she used it as a sort of gel to make her fine hair feel thicker. Once dried, it gave her hair some volume, and helped hold the curls in place.
I have used mayonnaise packs to condition my hair before washing it, after making sure nobody was around to see me look like an open-face sandwich.
However, I don’t believe that there is any virtue in mayonnaise itself. Any fat would probably do.
I actually won a salon package containing a shampoo once, the main ingredient of which was beer. I was pretty skeptical to begin with, especially since I am always overly cautious to use any styling product or beauty cleanser which I haven’t tested before.
But I was pleased to find that this shampoo was able to do what other shampoos didn’t, and that’s leave my hair incredibly soft. I have long, frizzy hair, and most shampoos that claim softness might provide a nice effect in that direction, but generally come with some downside, either leaving my hair flat, or more frizzy, or maybe a bit tooo shiny.
Granted, you might attribute the success of the “beer shampoo” (as my friends and I warmly called it) to some other ingredient in the mix; but, though time may fail me, I really believe it was a very natural mix, with beer being the key ingredient.
Diya, apple cider vinegar is clarifying, I believe – due to its acidic pH, it helps remove all the gunk that our shampoos and conditioners leave on the hair. But it doesn’t have the magic “it will make your hair shiny” qualities people talk about.
Also, white vinegar after bleaching your hair helps stop the chemical reaction, also known as the “aaaah my scalp is on fire” reaction.
Cristina V., the brains recently covered that only coconut oil, olive oil, and I believe it was palm kernel oil were able to be absorbed by the hair. So not all oils are created equal.
Cristina: If your Mom was leaving the beer on her hair and letting it dry, there’s a much great chance it might actually do something compared to rinsing it off!
I used beer once but I don’t think it did much to my hair but then once isn’t really enough to see any kind of result. But, I love the smell though : )
uhm i’m acually look around to help me prove that beer ca affect the hair in a good ways but unfortunately i cant find any proves im doing my I.P project hope you guys can help me thanks