Ayurveda is an ancient holistic health system which originates in India. The practice of ayurveda is essentially for the prevention and treatment of ill health but also incorporates skin and hair care.
There are many ways in which you can use ayurveda to achieve or maintain healthy hair with the use of ayurvedic herbal powders:
Herbal Infusions - water based - simply add around 5g of your chosen powders to 95g of water, place in a double boiler (heatproof dish placed over a pan of simmering water) on the stove for around 20 mins. Remember to check the water/herb mix does not evaporate, if it does just add a little more water. Once heated and the herbs are infused, strain the mix with a sieve or muslin cloth. Your herbal infusion is then ready to use.
You can pour this over your hair, massage gently in and then rinse well as some of the residue from the herbal powder may stay in your hair. Other ideas: You could also add a little of the herbal infusion to your regular shampoo or place it in a spray bottle and use it as a spritz to freshen up your hair.
Herbal Infusions - oil based - the method is the same as above, except you will need to mix your chosen powders with a suitable vegetable oil e.g olive, sesame oil and leave the oil/herbs in the double boiler a little longer, about 1 hr. Once ready to use, the herbal infusion could be used as a hot oil or preshampoo treatment or a light layer to seal moisture into your hair, as a scalp oil or exfoliator, as an addition to your conditioners (1 to 2 tbs). Ayurvedic herbal oil infusions are also really useful to add to homemade hair masks (e.g with Bentonite Clay) or henna (natural hair colourant) treatments to add slip and to counteract the drying effects of using clay or henna.
To help you decide which herbal powders would be best for your hair, here are some of the most common herbal powders used in ayurvedic hair care:
Amla (Indian Gooseberry) - promotes hair growth, prevents hair loss, helps reduce premature greying of the hair, soothes and tones the scalp
Brahmi - promotes hair growth, strengthens the roots, improves thickness, darkens the hair
Shikakai - strengthens hair roots, clears dandruff and scalp infections, cleanses the hair and scalp, cooling to the scalp
Aritha (Soapnuts) - as per Shikakai
Bhringaraj (means King of Hair) - also known as Maka - helps prevent premature greying, improves strength and promotes growth
Before using any of the Ayurvedic herbal powders, please check that they are safe for you to use. Herbs are very powerful and are not always suitable for people with certain health conditions and during pregnancy or lactation.
Zoe Penny, Natural Hair and Beauty Product Designer & Retailer
Natural Ingredients and E Book Guides for DIY Hair and Beauty Product Creators
reviveholisticbeauty.com reviveholisticbeauty.com
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