Conditioning Herbs for Hair

[CavyQueen]

Hi! What are the most conditioning herbs for hair to be used in a tea rinse but do not tint the hair? I have burdock root, comfrey root, lavender, marshmallow, nettles, catnip, and calendula. What other herbs are good hair conditioners? Thank you. :)

[ktani]

Catnip can tint hair a light blonde. Comfrey is toxic (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=222191&postcount=6) and should not be used as a conditioning tea in any quantity, nor ingested.

[MandyBeth]

DO NOT USE COMFREY! It's toxic, impact is liver. What can happen per my dr who is open to homeopathic methods, is that the insult may not be seen until a new agent is used, but the liver can't filter it.

[CavyQueen]

DO NOT USE COMFREY! It's toxic, impact is liver. What can happen per my dr who is open to homeopathic methods, is that the insult may not be seen until a new agent is used, but the liver can't filter it.

Thank you MandyBeth!!!! I will throw it out right now!!!!

[CavyQueen]

Catnip can tint hair a light blonde. Comfrey is toxic (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=222191&postcount=6) and should not be used as a conditioning tea in any quantity, nor ingested.


Thank you ktani!!! I am getting rid out the comfrey root and will not use the catnip!

[MandyBeth]

Catnip doesn't show on dark hair, cassia works but may tint. Chamomille is ok also.

[ktani]

Catnip doesn't show on dark hair, cassia works but may tint. Chamomille is ok also.

Chamomile also tints hair, a golden colour.

Catnip stains a light blonde. I use it to cover my grey/white. It will not show up on darker shades of hair colour. The yellow stain is between a warm and ash tone and is not bright yellow or gold.

ETA: CavyQueen
Toxic is not just underlined and in red in my previous post. It is a link to this post, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=222191&postcount=6.

Calendula is marigold and can tint hair a red/gold.

You have to look at the colour of the infusion or tea you make of any herb. Any tea that has an obvious colour, has the potential to affect hair colour. How much depends on the hair and how strong the tea is when brewed.

You may also be interested in this thread on herbal cautions, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=16840.

[MandyBeth]

Hrm, need more gray hair. I don't see changes, but I'm mid ash brown, aka mouse, so ash changes hide.

[Girl Detective]

methi powder (fenugreek) can be used as a conditioner, though I'm not sure if that's quite what you mean (conditionER more than conditionING) - it makes hair 'slippery'

[Girl Detective]

I've also heard that rosemary is a great rinse for hair, but I've never tried it myself, and that sage is used for weak hair or hair loss

[ChloeDharma]

methi powder (fenugreek) can be used as a conditioner, though I'm not sure if that's quite what you mean (conditionER more than conditionING) - it makes hair 'slippery'

This is the best conditioning herb i've found. I follow it up with an ACV rinse and it leaves my hair really silky.

Rosemary i never really found that conditioning but it is excellent for the scalp.

[marisa]

Reading this I was alarmed about comfrey being considered toxic as I use a salve I bought at Whole Foods a few years back for stings, burns, scrapes. It's fantastic.

So I googled and found quite a few articles. I thought this one was informative~
http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/March09/wisewoman.htm

[ktani]

Reading this I was alarmed about comfrey being considered toxic as I use a salve I bought at Whole Foods a few years back for stings, burns, scrapes. It's fantastic.

So I googled and found quite a few articles. I thought this one was informative~
http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/March09/wisewoman.htm

Nice article. However, it is inaccurate and irresponsible on comfrey's toxicity. Governments do not issue warnings or advisories, ban products for sale and require specific labelling based on one study. The precaution against children, the elderly and pregnant and breastfeeding women not to use topical or oral comfrey under any circumstances is not based on one study either, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=222191&postcount=6.

That one study statement is ludicrous to me to be printed anywhere. Many such websites sell or promote comfrey products. The internet can be very dangerous in terms of marketing hype about toxic products, that would have one believe that they are safe under all circumstances, when in fact, reputable, peer reviewed, scientific research demonstrates otherwise.

University of Maryland Medical Center: peer reviewed information on comfrey - Reviewed by VeriMed 11/11/2008
"Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are also absorbed through the skin, and harmful amounts may build up in the body. You should take care when using an ointment containing comfrey ... and you should never use it on broken skin.
Precautions
Children, the elderly, and pregnant or breastfeeding women should not use comfrey products -- either orally or topically -- under any circumstances."
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/comfrey-000234.htm

"VeriMed is a nationwide network of practicing clinicians and scientists from elite medical centers and academic institutions, including the top ten hospitals ranked by U.S. News and World Report."
http://www.verimedhealthcare.com/about.html

Last Reviewed by EBSCO Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Review Board (https://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=e0498803-7f62-4563-8d47-5fe33da65dd4&chunkiid=35926), August, 2010 This website has the same information as the University of Maryland Medical Center and more.
"Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey can be absorbed through the skin. .... been recommended that when using comfrey preparations, the daily amount of pyrrolizidine alkaloids should not exceed 100 mcg. .... few products .... labeled to indicate their pyrrolizidine alkaloid content. .... the common analytic methods used for testing pyrrolizidine alkaloid content may fail to measure a certain chemical form of these toxins .... leading to results that are too low by a factor of ten or more. For all these reasons .... may be prudent to avoid topical comfrey products entirely."
https://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=e0498803-7f62-4563-8d47-5fe33da65dd4&chunkiid=104671

2010
"In the past 20 years, scientific studies have reported that comfrey may be carcinogenic and hepatotoxic. Various countries, including the United States, have asked companies to remove oral comfrey products from the market, and topical products are required to advise consumers not to use on broken skin."
http://www.naturalstandard.com/index-abstract.asp?create-abstract=comfrey.asp&title=Comfrey

[MandyBeth]

A HUGE change has occured. People use more products that are risky to the liver. Plus, lead was safe, it's natural, don't think we want to use it now. Also, anyone can write anything, doesn't mean it's good. Thus, I like evidence that is proven.