The following recipes were collected by Kirsten Anderberg over a 30 year period. She makes no medicinal claims about these
recipes and cautions people to make sure you know what herbs and plants you are dealing with before using them.
Herbs for Hair: * Rosemary - Boil a pint of water, then take off the heat, add a handful of rosemary and let it sit an hour. Then strain and use as a final hair rinse after washing.
* Nettles - Same instructions as above, but replace the rosemary with stinging nettles, helps with dandruff and dry scalp, helps strengthen hair
* Comfrey - Same as above but add comfrey leaves or root instead, makes hair really soft
* Mint - Same as above...
You can also rub essential oils of the above herbs onto boar's hair brushes and then through hair and scalp...
Eucalyptus Hair Rinse: Bring 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup eucalyptus buttons to a boil, then turn down heat and let them simmer, covered, for a half hour. Then drain, add 1 cup cold water, then pour over scalp and hair and
leave it on for 5 minutes, then rinse off. This is really good for camping, etc. to keep bugs off of you, and also just a nice rinse. Use between shampoo and conditioner.
Avocado Hair Treatment: Mash an avocado while slowly adding about 1/2 cup of coconut milk. Mix until smooth. Apply to hair and leave on haid for 10-15 minutes then wash out. Moisturizes and rejuvenates...
Fruit Hair Conditioner: In a blender, mix 1/2 banana, 1/4 avocado, 1/4 cantaloupe, 1 T wheat germ oil, 1 T yogurt (and the oil from one Vitamin E capsule, if you want extra conditioning). Blend until
smooth then work into hair, leave on 10-15 minutes, then wash out.
Egg Lemon Scalp Treatment: 2 egg whites ** 2 lemons, juiced
Whip egg whites with strained lemon juice. Rub into scalp to remove flaky residue.
Nettle Dandruff Tonic: 1 t. dried nettles ** 1 c. vinegar
Bring to boil then cool. Apply to scalp while massaging. Rinse out. Helps cure dandruff.
Mint Degreasing Hair Rinse: 5 T. chopped peppermint leaves ** 1 pint water ** 1 pint cider vinegar
Put leaves and water in pan and bring to boil. Turn down heat, simmer 15 min., remove from heat, let sit 1 hour. Strain, then add vinegar. Use 1/2 pint after shampooing.
Honey Scalp Treatment for Dandruff and Itchy Scalp: 1/2 t Vitamin E oil * 1 T raw unfiltered honey * 2 T olive oil * 1/2 t liquid lecithin (optional)
Heat all the ingredients in a double boiler, above water...you do this to slowly heat the ingredients together. Once it starts to simmer, take it off the heat, don't boil
it. Gently massage this mixture into pieces of hair, from the scalp to the ends, until the whole head is done...massage for 3 minutes, then wrap hair with goo in it in a towel until
it all cools off. Massage the scalp again a few minutes, then wash and condition.
I highly recommend Mountain Rose Herbs (click on the banner below)...they sell high quality, fresh, organic herbs, perfect for your homemade cosmetics...
Horsetail Soapwort Shampoo: 7 T. snipped fresh horsetail stems * 7 T. grated dried soapwort root * 1 gallon water
Soak grated soapwort root in water overnight, then drain. Boil water, add the horsetails and grated soapwort root that sat in it overnight, and boil for 15 minutes. Take off of heat,
and let sit for one hour. Strain, bottle and refrigerate. Use 1 cup of shampoo to wash hair.
Intense hair conditioner #1: 1 T. blackstrap molasses, 2 egg yolks, 2 fluid oz. oil (almond, olive, etc). Beat tog molasses and yolks until stiff paste. Add oil, mix. Apply to dry hair, work through the ends up toward the roots. Leave 15-20 min and wash hair. May need to wash twice to get out conditioner.
Intense hair conditioner #2: Mix 1/2 c. honey and 1/4 c.olive oil for dry hair or 2 T. olive oil for normal hair, Work a small amount into hair until coated. Cover with shower cap for 30 min, remove cap, shampoo well and rinse...
Lice and Hair: My naturopathic doctor told my son and me to put mayonnaise (real mayo made with eggs) on our hair, from scalp to the ends, and then to put on a shower cap and leave it on overnight. Supposedly that kills
all the lice. Wash your hair well after the shower cap treatment, and you need to do it again in a day or two for eggs that hatched...beware, you made hate mayo on things for a while after this treatment.
Recommended Reading: Natural Hair Care Comix and Stories, by Mary Lee and Suzanne Perelman, copyright 1973
DISCLAIMER: Do not eat or drink tea from any plant you have not fully studied and identified properly. Please consult with your local alternative herbal care specialist before using herbs you are not familiar with.
Kirsten Anderberg. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint/publish, please contact Kirsten at kirstena@resist.ca.
Kirsten Anderberg. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint/publish, please contact Kirsten at kirstena@resist.ca.