Homemade Hair Care

I recently found a great book, Herbs for Natural Beauty by Rosemary Gladstar. (This may be old news to some of you.) She's a little New-Age-y, but she uses God's creation & His bounty in good measure & w/respect, so I can look over the occasional comment to glean what I need.

One of the things she talks about in this book is hair care. She shares some really good advice & specific essential oils to use for different hair types & the effects they have on our hair:

Basil ~ Oily ~ Promotes growth
Chamomile ~ Fine to normal ~ Gives golden highlights
Clary Sage ~ All types ~ Dandruff treatment
Lavender ~ Normal ~ Scalp treatment for itchiness, dandruff & even lice!
Lemon ~ Oily ~ Gives golden highlights; treatment for dry scalp, dandruff, lice, & under-active sebaceous glands
Myrrh ~ Dry ~ Treatment for dry scalp, dandruff, lice & under-active sebaceous glands
Patchouli ~ Oily ~ Dandruff treatment
Peppermint ~ Dry ~ Promotes hair growth
Rose ~ Fine ~ Soothes scalp
Rosemary ~ Oily ~ Dandruff treatment; promotes hair growth
Tea Tree ~ Oily ~ Treatment for dry scalp, dandruff, lice & under-active sebaceous glands
Ylang-Ylang ~ Oily ~ Dandruff treatment

Her tips to keep hair healthy are simple, common-sense & completely do-able:

• Eat a healthy, balanced diet. The same good diet you eat for glowing skin will feed the garden of your hair
• Use only gentle, non-detergent-based shampoos
• Rotate between 2 or 3 favorite shampoos. Even the best shampoo will tend to create imbalance if used continuously [I totally agree w/this! I have done this for quite a while ~ I trade between the recipes I've shared w/you on this blog & a couple of great organic shampoos found at health food stores ~ KW]
• Wash you hair infrequently, only once or twice per week. At 1st this will feel uncomfortable. But the "squeaky clean" feeling we have been taught to achieve is, in essence, hair that has been stripped of its natural protective oils [I see her point here, but . . . ewww :-P ]
• Condition you hair monthly w/a natural herbal rinse
• Massage your scalp thoroughly every few days, or at least once weekly.
• Brush your hair as often & for as long as you can each day. Be sure that your hairbrush is kept clean; a good rule to follow is to wash your brush each time you wash your hair

Simple . . . do-able . . . affordable . . . my favorite combination. :-)

Blessings from Ohio...Kim<><