How To Make Natural Citrus Dye To Darken The Hair

‘Herbs For Health And Beauty’ by Margaret Roberts describes this oil as an ‘Arab remedy for darkening grey hair’.  It is a remedy made just from the green peel of green citrus fruit. It will take about three months to mature, so get your ingredients together to put some down now, so that you can have your oil ready to use in three months time.

Verona-399Photo by Lok

Home Made Citrus Oil To Darken Hair

Take eight GREEN, unripe oranges or grapefruit.  Thinly peel off the green rind of the unripe fruits, and chop it up finely.  Put the peel into jars which have screw top lids.  Warm up enough sunflower oil, or corn oil, to cover the peel in the jars.  Leave in a dry place such as the pantry, for three months to infuse.  After three months time, your citrus oil for darkening the hair will be ready. Massage through enough of the oil to cover all of the hair, and scalp.  Gently massage well into the scalp, then cover with a shower cap and leave for half an hour.  The hot wet towel treatment could be used to increase the colouring action of the oil on the hair.  After half an hour, shampoo or soap the oil out of the hair in the shower.  Several applications of soap or shampoo will be needed to get the oil out.

Use this citrus oil treatment once a week.  After a while, with regular weekly use,  the darkening of the hair will become apparent.

Citrus Oil Treatment will also help to stimulate the hair growth.  Citrus Dye to darken the hair will also work as a conditioner on the hair, to give the hair lustre and body.

Natural Organic Home Made Herbal Hair Dyes

Commercial Hair Dyes are mostly VERY bad for the health.  This is because the harmful  chemicals which are in them get absorbed through the pores of your skin.  After entering through the pores of the skin, they enter the blood-stream, and find their way to the liver and other parts of the body.  The liver stores nutritive elements for the body to use, but it also stores harmful chemicals as well, which is why using cosmetics on your skin, using herbicides, pesticides, and other chemicals, should be avoided.  Chemicals stored in the liver can cause cancer, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and other diseases.

It is best to  avoid using those harmful commercial hair dyes, and use natural herbal hair dyes instead.  These don’t have the same vibrant colours which commercial hair dyes have, but they are still effective for either darkening or lightening the hair.

Powdered henna is a popular herbal dye and conditioner which is used for dying the hair, as well as the fingernails. This can be bought at many health food shops, and at shops which stock Indian spices.  Henna herb usually produces  a bright red colour, which can give wonderful red highlights to dark hair.  If your hair is going grey, though, then henna powder does not work so well on the hair as a dye.

Here are a few suggestions for dying the hair with some other, easily procured,  natural herbal hair dyes which you might like to experiment with.

Natural Herbal Red Hair Dye With Privet Leaves and Guavas.

Boil up  two cups of  privet  leaves and two cups of red guavas  in just enough water to cover.   Simmer for twenty minutes.  Let the mixture cool, then strain, add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  Use the mixture to rinse the hair with.  This colour will become more intense if the rinse is applied once daily for three days.  This rinse could make your hair dry, so be mindful of that if your hair is already dry.  A few drops of almond oil could be massaged into the scalp and hair after the dye has dried.

Other vegetable and herbal material which can be used to make a red dye for the hair are:  chopped raspberry leaves, chopped raddish leaves or radishes, chopped beetroot leaves or beetroot, and cranberries.  You would use 2 cups of your chosen vegetable or fruit, to 2 cups of privet leaves, just the same as the recipe above.  Myrtle leaves can be used instead of privet leaves, in which case you would use 2 cups of myrtle leaves to, say,  one cup of chopped beetroot and one cup of chopped  radish leaves.

Natural Herbal Hair Dye With Brown Colouring: 

Strong Sage Tea for brown colour:  Simmer one cup of chopped sage leaves in two cups of water for 10 minutes.  Let cool, add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and use as a hair rinse.

Strong black tea can be added to the sage tea for added effect.

Walnut Herbal Dye for dark brown colour:  Pick 20 green walnuts which still have their outer husks on.  Put into a bowl.  Chop one cupful of walnut leaves and add to the bowl.  Sprinkle over one rounded tablespoon of sea salt.  Pour over just enough boiling water so that the walnut leaves and green nuts are covered.  Leave overnight.  Use the next day as a rinse.  This rinse will  darken the hair the more often you use it, so it could be applied several days running. Again, this herbal mixture is quite drying:  It might not be suitable for all hair types.  You could try massaging a little almond oil into the scalp after the dye has dried.

Alternatively, 2 cups of walnut leaves could be chopped and simmered in enough water to cover, for 20 minutes.  Let cool, strain, and add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

Other herbal material which produces a dark dye for the hair: rosemary leaves, stalks and flowers,  globe artichoke leaves, marjoram leaves, and elderberries and  elderberry leaves.  Select two cups of the herb, chop up, cover with boiling water,  and simmer for 10 minutes.  Leave overnight to infuse.  Strain and use in the same way as for the other herbal rinses, massaging into the scalp and hair for three days in a row.

Herbs To Lighten The Hair:  Simmer for 10 minutes 2 cups of chamomile flowers, or privet or myrtle flowers, in just enough water to cover.  Leave to cool, then add two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  Use as a rinse for the hair.

Rhubarb Root To Lighten The Hair:  Boil one cup of rhubarb root in two cups of water for 20 minutes.  Let cool, then add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  Use as a rinse on the hair.

Hollyhock Flowers To Lighten The Hair:   Use 2 cups of hollyhock flowers and 2 cups of water.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool, then add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and use as a rinse for the hair to help lighten it.

Use Honeysuckle To Lighten The Hair:  Use 2 cups of flowers, stalks and leaves from the honeysuckle plant.  Simmer in 4 cups of water for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool, add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and use as a hair rinse.  More effect is noted if it is used over a period of several days.

 

Importance of Magnesium In Preventing Heart Attack and Lowering Stress

Magnesium The Magician of Minerals

‘Your Health – Vitamins and Minerals’ by Russell Frank Atkinson, 1982, Doubleday Australia, Lane Cove, NSW, gives results of research which put magnesium at the top of the list of life-supporting minerals.

Russell Atkinson states: “One researcher, Dr Harry Rubin, Professor of Molecular Biology at Berkeley, believes that magnesium is the central control of cellular life because it integrates all the processes.”

Magnesium, like calcium,  works as an antispasmodic which can be used as a sedative. It has a soothing effect on the tissues. Because of its tranquillizing effects, it is sometimes used to treat delirium tremens, epilepsy, and convulsions, according to Russell Atkinson in 1982.

Magnesium is important for the heart and the nervous system.  Russell Atkinson says that low magnesium levels cause cardiac necrosis and heart failure.  If you observe this list of ailments caused by lack of magnesium, you will understand why magnesium is so important for helping to prevent that heart attack:  Lack of magnesium can result in  anxiety, muscle twitching, heart palpitations, tachycardia, spasmodic jerking of muscles at night while drifting off to sleep,  called ‘myclonian jerk’,  confusion and lack of coherent speech, and, in severe cases, delirium with hallucinations, convulsions and coma.

Why Too Much Salt is Bad For The Heart:  Magnesium assimilation in the body is spoiled by the presence of sodium, which is why too much salt in the diet is a bad thing.  Too much sodium will produce a magnesium deficiency. This is why we should be moderate with our salt intake, and why people at risk of heart attack must have very little salt.

Deficiency of magnesium: Magnesium is important for the growth of bones and in maintaining healthy teeth.  Deficiency of magnesium can result in bones becoming brittle, as well as the teeth.  Hair can begin to fall out with lack of magnesium.  This is because magnesium is an integral mineral for digestion. If you are deficient in magnesium, then you begin to suffer deficiencies of other vitamins and minerals as well, as well as suffering poor digestion.

Deficiency of magnesium can result in too much calcium being taken up in the kidney tissues, resulting in kidney stones.

Processed Food Contains Little Magnesium, which is a good reason to avoid processed food.

Artificial Fertilizers Affect Magnesium Levels in Plants:  Plants grown on soils where artificial fertilizers containing potassium are used will have a reduced level of magnesium than when these fertilizers are not used.  This is not the case where organic fertilizers are used:  Organic, bio-dynamic fertilizers do not interfere with the body’s natural processing of vitamins and minerals.  Organic fertilizers will feed the soil with the very minerals and vitamins which nature intended for it.

Research Shows Magnesium Is Helpful For Heart Disease:  Dr Hans Selye, who used ‘parenteral magnesium sulphate therapy’,  is quoted in the 1958 ‘South American Journal’ with this message:

“The value of parenteral magnesium therapy in acute and chronic heart disease has once again been affirmed.  125 cases of angina have been treated by five workers with 66% remission of pain….

64% of acute coronary thrombosis or acute coronary insufficiency have been treated.  Of these, only one died in a heart attack.”

Russell Atkinson ends his section on Magnesium with the statement that, since magnesium can alleviate and prevent so many common disorders, it appears strange that magnesium is not used more widely in medicine.

It seems not a lot has changed since 1982:  Preventative medicine where diet, herbs, minerals and vitamins, and homeopathy,  are all effectively used to both prevent and treat certain diseases, still comes second to prescription medicine in popularity.  This is because drug companies have resisted the truth – that there is no need for the majority of  us to suffer long standing sickness in life.

How To Make Herbal Soap With Oatmeal

Home Made Herbal Soap Recipe:

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Because this soap recipe uses caustic soda, it is best to make it outside, or, if inside, near a wide open window.  You do have to be careful not to breathe the fumes:   Caustic soda burns, so be very careful  not to get any on your skin, or to breathe its fumes, whilst using it.  If you have an accident and do get a drop on the skin, then wash off immediately under cold running water.  The recipe uses only a small quantity of caustic soda – 3 teaspoons – but you still need to exercise care.  Do not make this soap recipe when there  are children around.

Use herbs such as rosemary, comfrey, clary sage, feverfew, lemon geranium, lavender buds, or finely chopped lemon peel.

Take 50 gm, or 2 oz of your chosen fresh herbs.  Chop up very finely.  Pour over 1/4 pint of boiling water, which is roughly 3/4 of a teacup.  Leave to infuse for 1/2 an hour.

Now line your soap dishes.  You can use any small bowls, such as Chinese or Japanese sauce dishes.  For the quantity of this recipe, you would need no more than three. You can use either fine plastic glad wrap, or greased paper, or a small piece of fine cotton cloth, such as gauze, or muslin to line your soap dishes.   If using cloth, wet it first, then wring it our before lining the wee bowl.

Now strain your herbal infusion into a glass or china bowl – you must not use metals with caustic soda.  Gradually sprinkle over the caustic soda, using a plastic or wooden  spoon.

Now, in a medium sized cooking pot, put 1/2 pint of olive oil, 4 oz of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of glycerine.  Gently warm up and mix together.

Take off the heat and carefully add it to the caustic soda and herb mixture, stirring well as you add it.  Now beat the whole mixture for about 20 minutes.  This can be done with a hand beater, or with an electric hand-held whisk.  The beating is an essential part of the process, as it puts air into the mixture, which creates the soap.  Then, when it is done, add 2 tablespoons of fine oatmeal with 2 tablespoons of the essential oil of your choice:  Patchouli, or rosemary, lavender, neroli, ylang ylang, all make beautifully perfumed soaps.  You could use cedar or tea tree if you wanted a more masculine tone.

Stir in the oatmeal and essential oils, then pour into your wee lined china or glass moulds.  Leave the soap to set for about 3 days.  After this time, you can remove your set soap from its mould, wrap in clean waxed paper, or some glad-wrap.  Let the soap mature before using.  It is best kept  in a dry place for around 2 to 3 weeks.

These little soaps make neat gifts for people.  They can be wrapped in coloured cellophane paper and tied with ribbon.

Constipation Treatment With Simple Leg Massage

Leg Massage and Acupressure Points For Constipation: My psychic friend Bernhard Petersen uses leg massage treatment to help a great variation of  health complaints. His method is to divine the specific acupressure points for individual cases, which are usually to be massaged in a definite order, once, or sometimes, twice, a day.

Here is a simple general treatment for leg massage which may be effective for helping constipation, especially if 8 glasses or more of water are taken each day.  It is an exceedingly easy thing to do, and is no bother at all, because you can do it in bed at night.

This leg massage technique will be good for the general health, as well as for stimulating the bowels.  It will help lymph flow, and also increase circulation to the legs.  It could be used to help varicose veins, so long as you do not have swollen veins on your thighs.  It could be done to help migraine sufferers also. Leg massage is helpful for getting a good night’s sleep.

What You Do: Simply lie  sideways in your bed, without the pillow, so that the head is on the mattress.  Lying on the left side,  bend your legs up a little towards the trunk of the  body.  Put the bent right leg forward of the bent left knee underneath.  Now make a fist with your right hand.  Using the clenched knuckles, start at the right knee.  Press the knuckles in just above the kneecap, and slowly slide the knuckles up outside of the thigh, until you get to the hip. Repeat, going back to the area above the kneecap, and massage up the thigh. Cover all the area, going from knee to buttocks, and from knee up the front of the thigh also. Keep the massage up for about two or three minutes.

The Mind Power of Elimination:  Finish off with massaging the hip area for a minute.   This area is important, because it is supposed to be the location of  ‘The Mind Power of Elimination’. Negative, sad, or unhappy  emotions are often held in this area, which can cause constipation. Press the knuckles into the groove, the hollow  just below the hip, at the beginning of the buttock.  Staying in the one spot, press the knuckles in deeply, and gently move the flesh  around clockwise.

Massaging this upper thigh area, by the hip and buttock, will help to release tension and negative thoughts, especially worries about money, material possessions and security.  Massage to the ‘Mind Power of Elimination’ point is a help for  kidney trouble, the liver, diabetic conditions, and the intestines.

That is all there is to it.  Now, turn over onto your right side, and repeat the same thing.  Bend the knees, and put the bent left leg forward of the bent right leg. Clench the left fist, and use the knuckles to massage the thigh from the knee upwards to the buttocks and hips.

This constipation treatment should be practiced every night in bed before you turn out the light.  Remember to drink at least 8 glasses of water during the day as well.

Note:   Catherine Ponder, who wrote ‘The Healing Secret Of The Ages”,  A. Thomas and Company, North Hamptonshire, U.K., 1967, has a chapter on elimination problems, and ‘The Mind Power of Elimination”.