Lifestyle Choices

A head of beautifully clean, bouncy, shiny hair is indeed an enviable asset. Once again, in order to achieve those smooth, shiny locks, you need to eat foods that are fresh and healthy — plenty of fruit, vegetables and salads. Drink lots of water and make sure that you get enough sleep — eight hours each night will do wonders for your hair. Regular shampooing, conditioning and brushing will further serve to beautify it and is well worth the effort. Old-fashioned beauty tips like adding egg to shampoo as a protein conditioner for dry hair, and lemon juice in tepid water as a final rinse for oily hair, ‘kill hold good. And rosemary, nettle or yarrow tea rubbed into the scalp will stimulate hair growth.

The vast array of shampoos, conditioners and setting lotions available today can be confusing. The general trend, however, is to the natural shampoos that are now on the market. Take a close look at the ingredients to find a product which is suitable for your particular hair type. To give the shampoo that extra something add a herb tea or infusion, eg chamomile, rosemary or nettle.

For fair hair, make a strong chamomile tea (1 cup flowers to 500 ml (2 cups) boiling water). Allow to stand and steep, then strain and add to the shampoo, in equal quantities of tea and shampoo. Shake well and shampoo in the normal way. Chamomile is a softener and brings out the highlights in fair hair. For dark hair, add rosemary or sage tea to shampoo; these are both revitalising herbs. For normal or oily hair, add some verbascum flower or nettle tea, or a beaten egg white. For dry, brittle hair, add a beaten egg yolk.

Herbal Shampoo

250 ml (1 cup) nettles, yarrow or rosemary

500 ml (2 cups) boiling water

Pour boiling water over the herbs. Stand and allow to steep for 20 minutes, then strain. Pour the tea into an enamel saucepan and shave into it 1 cup of a good, pure soap (I use a baby soap or goatmilk soap). Heat the mixture, stirring constantly until the soap is melted. Then set aside to cool. When it is lukewarm, add a few drops of essential oil, eg rose, jasmine, honeysuckle, lavender etc (my favourite is rosemary). Pour into a bottle and use as a shampoo. Shake up just before using. This shampoo will keep for about a month.

Herbal Shampoo for Oily Hair

250 ml (1 cup) yarrow

500 ml (2 cups) boiling water

25 ml (2 tbsp) apple cider vinegar

Pour boiling water over the yarrow. Add cider vinegar. Stand and allow to steep for 20 minutes, then strain. Pour the tea into an enamel saucepan and shave into it 1 cup of a good, pure soap (a baby soap or goatmilk soap). Heat the mixture, stirring constantly until the soap has melted. Set aside to cool. When it is lukewarm, add a few drops of essential oil, eg rose, jasmine,honeysuckle, lavender, rosemary. Pour into a bottle and use as a shampoo. Shake up just before using.

Soapwort Shampoo

Shampoo your hair once with an ordinary shampoo. Then shampoo and soak your hair in soapwort shampoo. This is made by boiling up a potful of soapwort leaves, flowers, roots and stems in just enough water to cover them. Boil for 20 minutes, keeping the pot covered. (Use an enamel or stainless steel pot.) Remove from the heat, stand until cool, and strain before using. Soak the hair in it as long as possible. Rinse with rosemary water. This is especially effective for dry, over-permed, over-dyed or heat-damaged hair. It is also good for dry, unmanageable hair after an anaesthetic or a long illness.

Herbal Rinse to Stimulate Growth

250 ml (1 cup) nettles

125 ml (1/2 cup) rosemary

125 ml (1/2 cup) southernwood

125 ml (’/2 cup) watercress

125 ml (1/2 cup) yarrow

1 litre (4 cups) water (rainwater if possible) 25 ml (2 tbsp) cider vinegar

Boil up the herbs in the water for 5 minutes, then set aside to cool. Strain. Add the cider vinegar. Use this rinse on your hair after shampooing. Massage well into the scalp.

Treatment for Damaged Hair

This is a special monthly treatment that works wonders on hair which has lost its lustre, or is brittle and falling out. It is excellent, too, for over-bleached and dyed hair.

Brush clean hair vigorously, bending forward from the waist so that the head falls forward. Choose an unsaturated oil such as wheat germ, maize, sunflower or almond oil, and heat 1 cup of oil until just hot enough so as not to be uncomfortable. Add 6 drops of rosemary or lavender oil. Wet hair well, then towel dry. Saturate a pad of cotton-wool in the oil and apply to the scalp, sectioning the hair out of the way until it has all been covered. Massage the oil in deeply. Wring out a hand towel in hot herb water — as hot as you can bear. Pour 3 litres (12 cups) boiling water over 500 ml (2 cups) rosemary or nettles. Let it cool a little before straining. Wrap the hot towel turban-like over the head. Cover with a plastic shower cap.

As soon as the scalp feels cool, repeat the hot, wet towel procedure — or sit under a hot lamp or hair dryer to maintain the heat. Try to keep the treatment going for at least an hour. Wash out with a good shampoo. You will probably need 2 or 3 shampoos to get the oil out completely. Make a herbal brew, adding a dash of apple cider vinegar, as the final rinse. Rosemary makes a good brew 500 ml (2 cups) rosemary in 4-5 cups boiling water. Stand until just pleasantly warm enough to use.

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