Herbs Used For Hair Care and How To Make An Herbal Infusion

I have been on a hair kick lately so I thought I would Post a bunch of all natural uses for herbs in hair care. I am also adding a recipe to make an easy herbal infusion for using the herbs of choice. Some I have tried and some I haven't. It would be interesting to see if anyone else has used herbs for hair care and how they have worked for you. I am always looking for great tips, lol.

HERBS USED IN HAIR CARE:

Herbs for Dry Hair:

Burdock root, comfrey, elderflowers, Lavender , marsh mallow, parsley, sage, stinging nettle.

Herbs for Damaged Hair:

sage, rose, calendula, chamomile, burdock, thyme, rosemary

Herbs for Oily Hair:

Calendula, horsetail, lemon juice, lemon balm, lemongrass, lavender, mints, rosemary, southernwood, witch hazel and yarrow.

Herbs to Prevent and Treat Dandruff:

burdock root, chamomile, garlic and onion bulbs (powerful but unpleasantly scented), goosegrass, parsley, rosemary, southernwood, stinging nettle and thyme.

Herbs that Soothe the Scalp:

Catmint (leaves and flowering tops), chamomile, comfrey, lavender, thyme, Yarrow

Herbs for Fine Hair:

chamomile, clary sage, rose, lime blossom, birch

Herbs for Curly Hair:

lemon, burdock, lavender

Herbs to Provide Luster and Body for Thin Hair:

Calendula, goosergrass, horsetail, Licorice, lime flowers, nasturtium, parsley, rosemary, sage, southernwood, stinging nettles and watercress.

Herbs for Hair Shine:

Horsetail, Parsley, Nettles, Rosemary, Sage, Calendula

Herbs for Hair Growth:

Aloe, Arnica, Birch, Burdock, Catmint, catnip, Chamomile, Horsetail, Licorice, Marigold, Nettles, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Southernwood and Stinging nettle

Herbs for Thinning Hair:

Burdock, Catnip, Nettle, Chamomile, Lavender, Rosemary, Saw Palmetto, Thyme, Yucca


Simple Ways How To Make An Herbal Infusion:

Method 1

Place herbs in a glass container. Pour 2 cups boiled water over the herbs to cover. Cover glass container with a tight fitting lid or a saucer to keep steam from escaping. Allow to cool then strain the herbs.

To use an Herbal Infusion:

Use as a final hair rinse after shampooing and conditioning.

Can be added to homemade shampoo
Method 2

1.)Place about 1/2 -1 cup roots, herbs or flowers in a teabag or tea ball before adding to 43 cups water.


2.)Simmer or steep in water for 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Drain herbs.

3.) Apply as a final rinse, AFTER shampoo and conditioner.
For a stronger tea, place herbs in a glass jar. Pour boiling water over herbs, cover and let sit for anywhere between 24 hours to a week.

Witchy "POO"

For the last few years I have been doing a lot more concious thinking when it comes to using chemicals in our everyday lives. I LOVE being green. Screw Kermit - it IS easy being green, plus it is just down right healthy for us and most importantly the planet. So lately I have been into making my own shampoo. I have tried several different recipes and the one I like the most is the one I am posting here for you to use too if you like.

I have become a big fan of Castile Soap. It's totally all natural and has so many uses and one bottle goes a long way.

For this shampoo recipe I used Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap thats Lavender scented.

Hey who says my homemade shampoo has to look homemade. I put a cute label on it so it doesn't just look like a poopy old bottle. I am a cheap witch bitch so I recycled a Bath and Body foaming soap container that I got for a gift a while back. What can I say? It works, lol.


Here is the recipe:



Simple Shampoo Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup liquid Castile Soap
1/2 teaspoon sunflower or other light vegetable oil

Directions

Mix together all the ingredients. Store in a bottle. Use as you would any shampoo, rinse well.

You can add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to create you own scent also if you like. I just use the lavender castile soap myself because the scent is so relaxing at the end of the day and just fills the bathroom with the soothing scent of lavender as I wash my hair. Oooooh Aaahhhh!

*Note: When you make this it is not thick like store bought shampoo which people complained about on a lot of different sites as I was hunting for the perfect shampoo recipe BUT FEAR NOT, I have the perfect solution for that by simply using a bottle for foaming hand soap it works perfectly!


People also bitched about the way thier hair felt after they used a castile soap shampoo recipe and as I scoured a multitude of comments on countless sites, one particular comment stood out from the others. Someone said that it takes about 7 or 8 washes to notice a difference because the castile soap is removing the build up of hair product. So I gave this a whirl and it is really true... the more I use it the shinier and softer my hair gets and my hair has been fried and dyed so much it ain't funny. It has even gotten to the point where if I didn't want to use conditioner I could skip it...but I like conditioner... so I guess I am now off to find the perfect all natural hair conditioner,lol, now thats going to be a task.

Beautifully Wyckked - all natural beauty recipes

BANANA HONEY MASK

Mix half a banana with 2 teaspoons of honey apply to face and leave for 5-10 minutes then rinse.

Follow it up with this honey tonic - Add 1 teaspoon of honey to one cup of warm water apply with a cotton ball and leave it on.

This makes your skin feel so smooth and good afterwards and the smell is heavenly. I am very allergic to bananas when eaten so this recipe is great because I can still enjoy what the banana has to offer, other than the taste, lol.

Beautifully Wyckked - all natural beauty recipes

LAVENDER BATH BOMB
Makes 7 medium sized Bath Bombs

1 1/4 cups cup of Baking soda or Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 cup of Citric acid
2 -6 tsp of Almond Oil or Apricot oil
1/4 cup of Dried lavender
1/2-2 tbs Water
5 drops of food coloring(optional)
10-15 drops of Lavender fragrance oil or essential oil

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until well mixed.

Drizzle in the almond oil and stir until mixture is moistened. Add more oil and fragrance and stir until well mixed.

If the mixture is crumbly then add more oil or a dash of water.

Roll the mixture into a ball using your hands or press it into a lightly oiled mold. Use a bath bomb mold or a chocolate mold or whatever you like. I used those little silicone cupcake molds.

Let it gently slip out from the mold and then put the ball or shape on a sheet of wax paper and leave it to dry till it is hard.

*It may take several hours to dry. I like to let the dry for a day or so just to be sure.

* Also I found that the first time I used the bath bomb little lavender flowers got all over the tub, which was ok with me but after that I have put these in a pretty organza drawstring bag and tossed it in the tub so the lavender won't clog the drain.

To use: Run a bath.  Once the bath is ready, drop in the bath bomb and enjoy the fizzy fragrant little bit of luxury!

Store them in an airtight container.

Use 1 Bath bomb per bath.

Beautifully Wyckked - all natural beauty recipes

pH Balancing and Revitalizing Skin Toner

1/8^th cup of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves(Do NOT use THYME OIL because it is quite volatile and venomous if not used correctly!)
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine

Boil herbs gently with apple cider vinegar and white wine for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the herb mixture steep and cool for about one hour. When cool, strain and discard the herbs from the liquid. The toner is now ready to use.

Apple cider vinegar tones the skin as well as balances ph levels, helps shrink pores and has a gentle exfoliate quality.

Rosemary reduced the appearance of broken capillaries, acts as a natural astringent that helps with cell renewal and puts the kibosh on acne and blemish breakouts.

The wine has alpha-hydroxy properties that encourage cell growth and renewal.

The thyme has antiseptic properties and also creates a very slight warming action which promotes good blood flow.

The bay leaf also has astringent and pore reducing qualities.