Tag: hair tonic

Sage To Darken Gray Hair And Promote Hair Growth

Natural Remedies

Culpeper says of Sage that it ’causes the hair to become black’.

Garden sage has many therapeutic uses.

In the garden, its flowers provide medicine and nectar for the bees, as well as a herbal tonic to the neighbouring plants.

It is well-known as an aid to oral hygiene.  It has strong antiseptic qualities and is supposed to whiten tooth enamel.

Sage is still used today in some tooth-pastes.  It is reputedly one effective remedy for bleeding gums,  and improving gum health:  The crushed fresh leaves are massaged several times a day onto the gums and teeth.

The tea is gargled to relieve sore throats, colds and flu,  and ulcers in the mouth.

It can be effective to reduce fevers, and has been used in the past for thyphoid fever. (see ‘Herbal Remedies  and Homeopathy’ published by Geddes and Grosset.)

It is a valuable nerve medicine, and is a useful stomach remedy for improving a weak appetite.

Natural Herbal Hair Dye and Tonic:  Sage can help restore healthy hair and improve the colour.

Strong sage tea encourages hair growth and darkens the hair, if it is used on a regular basis. Many herbalists describe it in their writings:  see John Heinerman’s ‘Encyclopedia of Fruits Vegetables and Herbs’.

Rosemary is another wonderful herb which can help hair growth, but it does not have such a darkening effect on the hair, as sage does.

Recipe For Sage Hair Dye:  Here is a simple, natural hair dye and tonic which you can try.  It is perfectly safe to use, as it does not contain any harmful additives such as you might find in commercial dyes for darkening the hair.

Take two cups of fresh sage leaves and put into a stainless steel saucepan.

Add one cup of dry black tea leaves

Add half a cup of cider vinegar and eight cups of water.

Simmer very gently, with no lid, for one hour on a very low heat.  You should have around half the original quantity of liquid left at the end of an hour.  If you need to add a little more water, make sure you do so well before you finish simmering the brew.  If you add more water at the end of the simmering, then your mixture will not keep so well.

Take off the heat after an hour of simmering.  Set aside to cool.

Once your sage mixture has cooled properly, strain it off.

To the liquid remaining add the same amount of vodka.

Put into a bottle with a screw-top lid and store in a cool place.

Massage around a tablespoonful of the sage infusion into the hair each day.  Use more or less, depending on how much hair you need to cover.

Massage the sage tonic well into the roots of the hair as well, so that it feeds the scalp and hair follicles.  Massaging the scalp with the sage tonic will help the hair to grow again.

The oils in the sage leaves will put a natural shine to the hair.

Once the hair is sufficiently darkened, which may take several weeks, you can reduce the amount of applications each week.  Once or twice a week may be enough to maintain the darker colour.

Sage is really very good for the hair in so many ways.

Alternative Sage Tonic Without Alcohol:  You could make up your sage tea without the alcohol if you wish.  Only, remember that your mixture will not keep for longer than a week, and it must be kept in the fridge.  You could make up a lesser amount, enough to last a week, and then make up a fresh brew of tea for the following week.

My new book is available on Amazon:

 

Birch Tree Leaves And Apple Cider Vinegar For Hair Growth

Natural Remedies

Herbal Hair Treatment: Birch And Cider Vinegar Hair Tonic

The medicinal qualities of the Birch Tree are well known.  For rheumatism, arthritis, gout and dropsy, the birch remedy has been much used in the past, according to the old herbalists of yesteryear.

Nelson Coon wrote in his book ‘Using Herbs For Healing’ that salicylic acid is obtained from the Sweet Birch  herb when it is distilled.  Salicylic acid is a component of aspirin, which is often prescribed for rheumatic complaints.  So there is an explanation for why Birch tree remedies have been so much used in the past for treating this and related conditions.

Note:  Salicylic acid is also found in the bark of the White Willow Tree.  This remedy was commonly used to treat headaches, rheumatism, and all sorts of aches and pains before the synthetic form was discovered, namely aspirin.

Read my earlier post on how Birch Tree leaves have been used to treat kidney stones, insomnia, rheumatism, arthritis, dropsy and gout:

Birch Tree Leaves for Kidney Stones

Birch For Hair Growth:  Oil extracted from Birch bark is similar to oil of Wintergreen, which is well-known as a stimulant to encourage hair growth.

Several modern herbalists have written of the value of Birch Tree Leaves in treating baldness.  We find references to its use in treating baldness in the writings of John Lust, who recommended pounding up fresh leaves with your mortar and pestle, and then massaging the juice into the scalp.

Birch Leaf Tea is also a good stimulant for hair growth, and to give the hair a nice shine.

But here is my own method for making a hair tonic which combines cider vinegar and Birch Tree leaves.

Simply pick a good handful of fresh Birch Tree leaves.

Chop the leaves up a little, or bruise them in your mortar and pestle.

Then put them into a jar and cover the leaves with apple cider vinegar of a good quality.

Screw on the lid and leave to infuse in a warm place for two weeks.

Shake the Birch Leaf mixture each day to bring out the nutrients.

After two weeks, strain off the liquid into a bottle which has an air-tight lid.

Use as a tonic on the hair after washing it with your regular shampoo or soap.

Simply massage around two tablespoonsful of the Birch Leaf Tonic into the hair, straight after towelling the hair semi-dry.  Leave the tonic on the hair while it is drying.

The cider vinegar neutralizes the alkaline effect of shampoo or soap, which makes for a healthy scalp.  Cider vinegar also has a helpful effect in that it encourages good circulation to the roots of the hair.

The other benefit to the hair is that the nutrients in the apple cider vinegar, combined with the Birch Tree nutrients will nourish the scalp and help to stimulate new hair growth.

Sage is another wonderful herb for the hair.  See my earlier post on how to use sage as a hair tonic.

My new book is available on Amazon: