Using Vinegar to Rest Skin and Hair Microbiome

Using Vinegar to Rest Skin and Hair Microbiome

Shannon Wiener

🌙 PHASE 1 — RESET (Days 1–7)

Goal: Calm inflammation, lower sugar, restore pH balance on skin.

🥗 Diet

Eliminate refined sugar, alcohol, fruit juices, white flour, and processed foods.

  • Focus on clean, anti-inflammatory meals:
  • Herbs, garlic, turmeric, ginger
  • Fish, eggs, steak or plant proteins
  • Healthy fats: olive oil, coconut, avocado
  • Fermented foods: yogurt, sauerkraut, vinegar

Drink plenty of water with a splash of fruit vinegar or lemon — supports digestion and pH balance.

🧘🏽 Lifestyle

  • Aim for 8 hours of sleep.
  • Get morning sunlight — even 10 minutes helps regulate skin and microbiome rhythms.
  • Light sweating (walking, gentle exercise) to clear pores. 
  • Heart Rate Variability: For exercise focus on weights and bursts of cardio that increase your heart rate, rest and repeat

🌺 Topical Care

  • Scalp & Skin Rinse (2–3x/week):
    Using Sour Flower's vinegar combo of Awapuhi or the Salty Aloe.
    Pour 2tbs or more, depending on how much hair you have, over wet hair/scalp, massage gently, let sit 2–3 min, rinse.
  • Rest days: rinse with plain water or herbal infusion (ʻawapuhi, chamomile, or green tea).
  • Avoid harsh shampoos, detergents, or alcohol-based products. These kill the good bugs! 

🌿 PHASE 2 — REPOPULATE (Days 8–14)

Goal: Support healthy microbes (gut + skin) and rebuild moisture barrier.

🥗 Diet

  • Continue low-sugar, but now add even more fermented foods:
    • A spoon of sauerkraut or kimchi with meals
    • Vinegar drinks (diluted) or small amounts of kombucha
    • Miso broth or yogurt (unsweetened) 
    • Continue high-mineral hydration — sea salt pinch in water once daily.
    • Try Sour Flower sauces that have been fermented
    • Start making your own lacto-fermented products like pickles - -super easy, google lacto fermentation - its basically 2% salt over anything you want and let it sit out for 2 days 

🌺 Topical Care

  • ʻAwapuhi–Vinegar tonic every 2–3 days.
  • Optional - On alternating days, massage coconut or jojoba oil into scalp/skin for 30 min before rinsing — these oils are less likely to feed Malassezia and other harmful bugs
  • Gentle exfoliation: a soft towel or a few drops of vinegar on a damp cloth to lift flakes. A dry brush works fantastically. 

🧘🏽 Lifestyle

  • Keep reducing stress load — meditation, breathwork, or time outside.
  • Moderate sweating/exercise supports lymph and skin circulation.

🌸 PHASE 3 — BALANCE (Days 15–21)

Goal: Transition into sustainable long-term rhythm.

🥗 Diet

  • Stay 80% clean and whole-food-based. Keep in mind that 70% of the food packaged in the grocery store is not food at all, it is poison.. its what got us to needing this reset in the first place!! Be careful out there. 
  • Reintroduce small amounts of fruit or dark chocolate slowly; watch skin response.
  • Keep vinegar or lemon water as a daily ritual — gentle, ongoing microbial balance.

🌺 Topical Care

  • Maintenance rinse: 1x/week vinegar + ʻawapuhi; 1x/week gentle oil pre-treatment.
  • Keep products minimal and skin contact with nature frequent — sunlight, seawater, soil microbes all help maintain diversity.

🌀 Optional Enhancers

  • Supplements: Zinc (10–30 mg/day), B-complex, and omega-3s if diet lacks them.
  • Sun: Your hair and skin are literal solar panels, you are no different than a plant. You absolutely need to be getting sun --- its the best remedy an it is FREE
  • Fermented tonics: You could even use a diluted Sour Flower Vinegar as your internal tonic (1 tsp in water before meals) — supporting both gut and skin microbiomes.
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