hibiscus for hair cleansing anyone?

**ratgirldjh** · April 6th, 2009, 01:59 PM

since i know that hibiscus flowers can be used for cleansing hair - and there is a LOT of them readily available here - dried flowers - very cheap and available at every grocery store... i wondered if anyone actually uses this for their normal hair cleanser and how you go about it.

i had thought about grinding them into a finer powder and then making a paste with hot water - like you do with shikakai or amla. would this be a good way to use it?

thanks for any advice.

i do know they have a slight purple or reddish staining effect.

what i'm curious about is do they cause build up if used alone?

do they strengthen your hair? do they do anything for curls or waves???

**freznow** · April 6th, 2009, 02:11 PM

This article on indian herbal hair care contains a few recipes containing hibiscus, as well as hibiscus on its own. It's is somewhat cleansing, but doesn't remove too many oils on it's own.

I have tried it only in my cassia mix, so I don't know how it works on its own.

**ratgirldjh** · April 6th, 2009, 02:16 PM

yes i read the article as well as everything i could find about hibiscus on the internet.

just wanted to see if anyone here uses it and what their results are...

thanks

**mira-chan** · April 6th, 2009, 02:43 PM

I've used it. The article hibiscus recipe is the one I used. I have dry hair so this works great for me, like a herb CO. It doesn't work as well with very oily hair from what I've heard.

I've used dried ground flower, and ground fresh leaves and flowers. Both worked well. The leaves give no red. The dried powder can build up a bit. Fresh paste doesn't build up. It does enhance wave, similar to fenugreek.

**ratgirldjh** · April 6th, 2009, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by mira-chan

I've used it. The article hibiscus recipe is the one I used. I have dry hair so this works great for me, like a herb CO. It doesn't work as well with very oily hair from what I've heard.

I've used dried ground flower, and ground fresh leaves and flowers. Both worked well. The leaves give no red. The dried powder can build up a bit. Fresh paste doesn't build up. It does enhance wave, similar to fenugreek.

well since i have a bunch of the dried flowers - i ground some up and i'm now sitting with the paste on my head. i should have ground them a little finer because it was pretty gloopy - but i got it on there.

i would love if this works well for me because there is SO much of this available here in texas. i live in a hispanic area - and you can practically buy these flowers at convenience stores - much less in groceries for very cheap.

it was messy! but very easy to clean up. so i'm just waiting for my wonderful results

thanks

**mira-chan** · April 6th, 2009, 06:52 PM

Goopy definitely, the goopier the better.

The stuff looks like a mashed up liver explosion much of the time. It is a good thing it rinses off easily.

**ratgirldjh** · April 6th, 2009, 07:05 PM

yes it rinsed off very easily and didn't stain anything - which is amazing to me!

next time i think i will put the dried flowers in a bit of water on the stove and heat it to boiling and then let them cool and dump the whole thing in the blender - i think i will get a better paste that way - my grinder left too many chunks!

my hair is pretty soft from using it though. i wish it smelled more sweet - LOL
for such pretty flowers they don't smell that great to me

do you think grinding the soaked flowers with the soaking water in the blender would work better? grinding them in my coffee grinder doesn't seem to make a very fine powder

**Natalia** · April 6th, 2009, 07:54 PM

I was just thinking of trying hibiscus! I dont have alot of money right now so my experiments are confined by what i have in the kitchen or in this case the garden

. I totally forgot that my mom bought some hibiscus trees last year! Does anyone know if the variety matters? We have three of them each a different color of the same species i just dont know what the species is....? She ordered them online so i am going to try to find them again. They arent blooming right now but do you think the leaves would work?

**ratgirldjh** · April 6th, 2009, 08:18 PM

you can definitely use the leaves. look at the top of these posts there is a link where there is a recipe using the leaves.

mira-chan - i found the wash to be very cleansing
wondering if keeping it on longer makes it more cleansing - or more conditioning?
i left it on for about 20 minutes

my hair is a little too clean maybe - but really it wasn't very dirty
i will see how long it takes for it to get dirty and then try again

**Natalia** · April 6th, 2009, 08:53 PM

Originally Posted by ratgirldjh

you can definitely use the leaves. look at the top of these posts there is a link where there is a recipe using the leaves.

I will have to try that

im so excited now! I havent been well enough to care for the garden so i am going to have to do a little interrogating to make sure nothing has been sprayed. My family thinks organic is overrated on flowers (sighs in fustration).