Herbs for Hair Growth
Apple Cider Vinegar
Photo taken by Merrilyn on Holly’s camera, 25th December, 2012.
Herbs which have a high silica content are extremely beneficial for the hair, skin, teeth, bones and nails.
Silica-rich herbs can be taken internally as a tea, which will help your general health. They can also be applied directly to the scalp to good effect, as minerals from these tea solutions are absorbed into the hair tissues so that your hair roots will benefit.
Silica-rich herbs also have the effect of making the hair shiny when used as a final rinse after shampooing. This is because a fine layer of silica is imparted to the hair which thus evenly covers the scalp and all hair strands. The effect of having this silica remaining on the hair and head is very strengthening, not only to the hair, but to the cells of the whole physical body and also to the auric body.
Silica-rich herbs for hair growth are:
Borage
Comfrey
Hollyhock
Nettle
Oat Straw
Rosemary
Yarrow
Other herbs which are good for the re-growth of hair are: calendula or marigold, juniper, lavender, maidenhair, nasturtium, onion, sage, soapwort, sweet flag, watercress, white birch, and white willow.
Oat- Straw Tea.
This is one of the highest herbal sources of silica, which means it is very beneficial to the health of your hair, bones, teeth, skin and nails. It will also put a shine to your hair. The tea is very palatable, and soothing to the nervous system.
To make oat straw tea: Boil up a heaped tablespoon of oat straw in a pint of water for ten minutes. Apply the cold tea to the scalp and hair after washing, and drink some oat straw tea every day for good health. Keep the tea in the fridge for up to two days, and then make some fresh brew up.
Nettle, Urtica dioica, or stinging nettle.
Nettles used to grow naturally in New Zealand. You would often find patches of nettle in the bush, and they were always to be found growing around the edges of a chicken coup.They are great at finding nutritious, lime-rich soil to make a home in, which is why their calcium/silica content is exceptionally high. Unfortunately, nettles are rare these days, and this is because we are too keen as a nation to spray out, with toxic chemicals, anything which looks like a weed. Also, the small allotments of land which allowed people to keep chickens and grow vegetables have almost become a thing of the past: Land is nowadays very expensive to buy, or rent, and if you are lucky enough to have a plot of land, it is likely the local council will prohibit you from the keeping of farmyard animals if you live in or near a town. So bang- there goes your manure-rich, enhanced soil where your nettles might have grown.
Nettles have been regarded simply as weeds by most people, and their true medicinal and nutritive value has been largely ignored. Nettles, like oat straw, rank very high in their silica content, iron and other minerals.
To make a nourishing hair and scalp rinse:
This recipe uses apple cider vinegar, which is a good tonic to use on its own to aid hair-growth. Here, it is combined with nettles, which gives a highly nutritious result. It is very beneficial for the hair:
Boil 4 oz of nettle leaves in 2 cups each of cider vinegar and water for ten minutes. Leave the leaves in the liquid for 24 hours. Bottle and keep in the fridge. Use after washing the hair. Rub some into the scalp each day, massaging well into the roots. Don’t wash it off, but leave on so that your scalp can absorb the nutrients. This tonic will put a shine to your hair.
See merrilyn’s other posts on hair health entitled Regrow Hair; Best Vitamins for Hair Growth; Iodine Scalp Remedy
Photo taken by Merrilyn on Holly’s camera, 25th December, 2012.