Once I rested in the summer in the village. I steamed in a real Russian wooden bath. My girlfriends (local village girls), seeing that I was going to the bathhouse, asked: "And what herbs for hair can not be picked?". With this simple question, my interest in herbal cosmetics began. Indeed, in the fresh air, among the wooden buildings, in the Russian steam room there are no preservatives, promotions, my favorite Dead Sea cosmetics, but there is another unmodeled, but natural beauty.
It is curious that I was advised nettles and what would fall under the hand, my friends were not walking reference books on natural cosmetics or herbs, they did so, went to the bath with a bouquet of herbs that came under their hands, and came out happy resting in a halo of purity and aroma of Russian herbs.
As a true and certified townswoman, with a scientific approach and other delights of civilization, I can only envy them. Envy and find out the effect of different herbs on the hair.
Nettle
Nettle – it is used in decoctions, when the leaves are dried, and when the nettle grows under your feet, you can simply pluck it with boiling water, let it brew and rinse its hair. A decoction of nettle softens the hair, gives it elasticity and shine, it is believed that it protects against gray hair and other misfortunes, such as dandruff or accelerated hair loss, strengthens hair and hair follicles.
It turns out that nettle is quite a mild remedy and is suitable for dry hair. It is recommended to use nettle with the addition of vinegar for rinsing, and you can do without vinegar). This combination of fresh nettle and vinegar is used in a more complex recipe that reduces hair loss. After cutting fresh leaves, pouring them with water in a ratio of 1 to 5, stand for 4 hours, then boil over low heat for about half an hour, adding table vinegar. The resulting drug is massaged daily before bedtime to massage the scalp. It is possible every other day) for a week or two or until the results are encouraging.Protecting the hair from accelerated loss, the decoction simultaneously protects and, if necessary, treats them from dandruff, only it is recommended to use it daily, 10 days in a row.It is curious that nettle is also used for oily hair, but also not just, but slightly tormented with the preparation of the composition. In the mixer, fresh nettle leaves are broken into gruel, to which sea salt or ordinary food salt is added, waiting until the salt is absorbed, the finished gruel is carefully rubbed into the roots, wrapped or simply put on a cap for bathing. After 15 minutes, rinse off. It is easier to insist nettle leaves for 1-2 hours, rinse washed hair and dry and do not wash off. The process is repeated for up to 2 months in a row. You can make a tincture of nettle on vodka by mixing gruel obtained from nettle leaves with vodka in a ratio of 1 to 10. After 8-12 days, the mixture is filtered. Use the tincture, diluting with water 1-2 times a week. To strengthen the hair in the broth, there can be not only nettle leaves, but also roots, naturally, cleaned of the ground.
Yes, it looks like my village girlfriends were right, nettles are perfect for rinsing any hair, I naturally do not regret that I immediately took their advice and my hair was beauy and smugly gleamed.Moreover, in the reviewed recommendations, nettle can be used both separately and adding other herbs for hair.
The most healing leaves of nettle dioecious and burning during the flowering period.
Stinging nettle cells contain silicon histamine, choline and formic acid.
Although nettle is added to various works of cooks, and nettle soup in the spring is a real meal, supplying vitamins to the body weakened by winter hibernation, there are a number of contraindications.
Nettle is contraindicated in pregnancy, especially in recent months, and with thrombophlebitis.
Birch
One of the most powerful plants of Russian nature, of course, birch. And in the distant past, and today it is treated, cleansed and … rinse your hair. In the context of the Russian steam version, the option is understandable and simple, no wonder they soak a birch broom! Including in order to use the resulting infusion. Infusion of birch leaves strengthens the hair, they become shiny and silky, protects against oily dandruff, gives volume to the hairstyle. Hair becomes more manageable and styling well, the effect is especially noticeable when styling very soft hair. If there was no birch broom under your hands and in general you are not in the steam room at the moment, but rinse your head with birch leaves, you already want, then the infusion is easy to get by insisting in a glass of water 2 tablespoons of chopped leaves, after 15-20 minutes you can filter and use. If a decoction of dry leaves (can be bought at the pharmacy) and freshly plucked insist 2 hours, then rinsing their hair or rubbing the broth into the scalp, you can protect the hair from accelerated loss.
Birch leaves contain essential oil, anthocyanins, saponin, flavonoids, tannins, coumarins, phytoncides, ascorbic acid, carotene, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, accumulate manganese, barium and especially zinc. Birch leaves are collected during its flowering period, when they are sticky and especially fragrant, emit a lot of phytoncides. When they are dried, even the air in the room is disinfected. The most healing are birch leaves collected before the Trinity, but for cosmetic purposes you can collect the leaves at a later date – in June-July.
To enhance hair growth, birch buds and leaves insist for 2 hours. The finished infusion is rubbed into the scalp after washing the hair. You can make an infusion only from the kidneys on vodka. The kidneys are kept in vodka for 2 weeks and diluted with water before use.
Birch buds contain essential oil, flavonoids, tannins, resins, higher fatty acids, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, accumulate zinc and selenium.
You can wash your hair with birch sap, the juice protects against rapid salting of the hair, strengthens the hair, removes dandruff, the hair after washing or rinsing is shiny and elastic.
Medicinal agents from birch are contraindicated in colitis, chronic dysentery, as well as with the introduction of penicillin. Caution in their use is necessary for people suffering from nephritis (especially in acute form), and pregnant women.
Camomile
Pharmacy chamomile is a plant as if created for blonde hair, chamomile makes it possible to lighten hair and give a lively golden shine.
You can put the inflorescences of chamomile in boiling water and let it brew, rinse the resulting broth to rinse the hair so that it becomes silky and acquires a lively shine. When there are no fresh flowers under your hands, you can use dried ones: they are brewed at the rate of a tablespoon per glass. Constantly rinsing the hair with such a decoction, you can get rid of dry dandruff, strengthen the hair and reduce their loss, lighten blonde hair and give them a light golden tone. If you want to get a more pronounced golden shade or a natural hair color is dark, then a more concentrated decoction of up to 200 grams of dry chamomile per half a liter of water is made. Pouring the flowers with boiling water, they are kept for 5 minutes on a small fire, then they are allowed to brew without heating for about an hour. After filtering, you can rinse your hair and dry it without rinsing it off. For me, the mystery is what the trick is, but often in recipes for the care of blonde hair with chamomile, they write that the hair does not need to be wiped and dried better in the air.
Chamomile inflorescences contain essential oil. The most valuable components of it are chamazulene, prochamazuleny (matricine, matrikarine). Flavonoids, carotene, ascorbic acid, organic acids, polysaccharides are found in the flowers.
Hypericum
One of the plants widely used in medicine and cosmetology is St. John's wort. Its decoction helps to reduce the saltiness of the hair and prevents their excessive loss.
Ingredients: fluorescent coloring substances hypericin and pseudohypericin, flavonol glycoside hyperin (hyperoside), which gives quercetin, rutin and other flavonoids during splitting; a significant amount of carotene, tannins of the pyrocatechin group, essential oil, bitter extractive substances, choline, ascorbic and nicotinic acids, traces of alkaloids, resinous substances and phytoncides.
The plant has a high biological activity and requires caution, it is recommended to use St. John's wort inside after consulting a doctor or phytotherapist. Special attention should be paid to the stimulating effect of St. John's wort on the nervous system, on the optic nerve, the possible reaction of the body to the combination of direct rays of the sun and St. John's wort. It is not recommended to use St. John's wort with high blood pressure.
It is very interesting that St. John's wort contains a significant amount of androgens, without having estrogens in its composition, sometimes in the literature on phytotherapy or aromatherapy you can find this – this is a male plant or this is a female plant. The use of only a "male" or only a "female" plant constantly and without observing a sense of proportion (first of all, of course, inside) can lead to the most adverse consequences. I think that in cosmetology, i.e. using herbs for hair or skin, do not forget about caution.
If we go to specifics, then St. John's wort can balance injuries containing estrogens (female plants), for example: medicinal sage, meadow clover, common hops, corn columns and peppermint
. I remember him from childhood, from broken knees and small abrasions, when friends from fun and carefree games suddenly became serious and concerned and demanded: "Put plantain, it will pass quickly." As an herb for hair, plantain is less well known. It is used as a decoction of fresh and dried leaves to accelerate hair growth and to ensure that the tips do not split. Fresh leaves are finely chopped and insisted at the rate of 1 tablespoon of leaves per glass of boiling water. If the broth is prepared from a mixture of plantain leaves and walnut, then, as they say, the hair will be more obedient and it will be easy to style. Plantain is used for different types of hair. For dry hair, decoctions of herbal mixtures are suitable: plantain, chamomile and linden blossom. To reduce the release of fat by the cells of the scalp, plantain leaves are used in a mixture with oak bark (2: 1) or in equal proportions a decoction of yeast leaves, hop cones, mother-and-stepmother leaves and horsetail, or plantain leaves, leaves of mother-and-stepmother, nettle and heather.
Tansy
A curious remedy for dandruff and excessively active activity of the sebaceous glands of the scalp is a decoction of tansy flowers. At first glance, nothing unusual: 1 tablespoon of flowers is poured with boiling water (2 cups) and infused for an hour, but it turns out that you can wash your hair with a decoction without soap. According to the recommendations, wash for a month, every other day. Although in my opinion in this case the main thing is to stop in time, to treat overdried brittle hair is less pleasant. Tansy plant generally involves a cautious attitude, it is poisonous when taken orally.
Tansy can also be used to strengthen and protect against germs, but rinsing its hair. In the evening, you need to take a three-liter jar, fill with water and throw 100 grams of flowers into it. In the morning, when the flowers are infused, wash your hair using egg yolks instead of shampoo. Strain and warm up the infusion of tansy and just rinse their hair with it, wrap the hair with a towel without washing off the infusion and wait half an hour. Then unfold the towel, comb, without washing off the infusion again, dry the hair. During the day, you can repeat the procedure 3 times, but before going to bed, it is better to wash the hair with ordinary water.