Cleansing with garden herbs - experiment

[Gothic Lolita]

I've been interested in herbal cleansing a long time ago, but I only ever found recipes for Indian herbs - something I can't find anywhere. I just wanted to share this with everyone who also can't find or grow them locally and is interested in experiments and alternatives to shampoo.

I've a nice big garden with lots of herbs and flowers in it and have been researching the saponin content of herbs that grow in my garden or are easy to buy. Of course, it's a bit early to reap, but a bit is already there.

For my experiment I used:

1 tblsp dried hibiscus flower - I believe fresh one wouls work as well
1 twig of fresh rosemary
several twigs of thyme
1 tblsp of fresh balm leaves
about 10 daisies, complete with peduncle and flower

I but the fresh ingredients in a bowl and hackled them roughly with my scissors. Then I put them along with the hibiscus leaves into a teabag.
I boiled about 250ml water and put the teabag in there and let everything cook for 15 minutes, then took the bag out and let the tea cool down a little. Smelled interestingly of herbs and fruit tea :D

Then I got into the shower. Note that my hair was super greasy to begin with. Normally I wash every second day, but today was the third, so I brushed in very well with BBB. also because in the Indian Herbs article it says, that you should pre-oil.
I wetted my hair and rinsed in thouroughly, then poured one part of the tea over my scalp in small sips. Please close your eyes here - I didn't and it burnt! :o

Then I massaged the whole stuff in and waited a while, then poured the rest of the tea over my hair and waited a little longer - in total maybe 3 minutes.
Rinsed it out and my hair felt wondeful! Not stripped, not tangly, like normally after shampoo, but less oily and well conditioned.

I put on a little conditioner on my length, but I thing I could have gotten away without, which is otherwise not imaginable. And I didn't even put the tea directly on my length, just massaged into my scalp.

Now it's dry and I really like the result! It isn't super clean like it would have become with shampoo, but I believe that if I had left on the tea longer and wash with less greasy hair, it would do just as good. A definite plus is that I needed way less condish than usual, probably not at all, must try this out.

Only downside is that my roots don't have their usual shine although they didn't get stripped, still clueless why.
But in general this was a nice experiment and I will continue researching and trying this out!

[ratgirldjh]

What a great idea! I love doing stuff like this. Hibiscus is definitely cleansing. To make it more cleansing you could add more hibiscus flowers or leaves.

[Lile]

nice recipe:-)
I'm just wondering what about blonds.....
In my last three washes I diluted a bit of shampoo with rosemary,nettle,catnip,marigold teas,but it turned out to be a bit darkening.
So the next time I would add only marigold and catnip,or maybe a bit of chamomille as well,just to keep my hair on the blond side(it's between brown and blond.)
No clue about the saponin part,since I use a bit of shampoo anyways.
Lemon balm makes water a bit dirty green colour too,so I guess it's not fitting blondes either.


What about thyme?What colour is "thyme tea"?

[Gothic Lolita]

I believe blondes should at least leave out the rosemary, but I've never heard of balm or thyme that stained the hair. Thyme is a really light green tone, I don't believe it has coloring aspects.
Maybe the hibiscus could be too much for blondes, the liquid was really blood red and with repeated use could probably turn the hair reddish. Doesn't concern me as a redhead, but for blondes this might be different.

I think it also will be lovely to dilute my shampoo with this, as I normally would with water. This wash/rinse was so conditioning that it would work quite nice with shampoo and wouldn't leave my hair so tangly and stripped afterwards, but still clean!

[Finoriel]

I used hibiscus as a final tea rinse while washing with egg/honey/citric acid. It´s been a quite popular tea rinse for quite some time. And it definitely added colour to my hair... not in a pretty way imo.
Normally I try to keep my colour on the lighter side of red, I just love bright copper red. Hibiscus stained somehow darker purplish red, also towels, plastic shower drapes. I did not like it at all, I look sick as soon as I have something purple near me. The colour builds up gradually when using it long term, but after quitting the stain also fades gradually... not sure if it would stay on blond hair though.
Even people with darker hair experienced the colour altering of hibiscus when following a gentle routine like a herb routine (or no harsh shampoos).
If you like your colour like it is :wink: don´t use hibiscus flowers.

As far as I know, the saponin in the daisies (bellis perennis) is not so much in the flowers, it´s in the leaves.

[ktani]

Safety of Bellis perennis or common daisy
2009
".... Many complementary techniques are practiced by healthcare professionals with formal training, in accordance with the standards of national organizations. .... this is not universally the case, and adverse effects are possible. Due to limited research, in some cases only limited safety information is available. Allergies Avoid in individuals sensitive or allergic to Bellis perennis products or any of their ingredients. Respiratory allergies have occurred in sensitive individuals. Side Effects and Warnings .... Bellis perennis appears to be well tolerated when used at homeopathic doses. As an herb, however, Bellis perennis may affect the clotting cascade, resulting in blood clotting. Common daisy may also result in stunted growth, although there is a lack of scientific evidence supporting this. (http://www.healthline.com/natstandardcontent/bellis-perennis/2) Patients at risk for coagultion disorders such as strokes or blood clots, or patients with anemia should use cautiously. Pegnancy and Breastfeeding Bellis perennis is not recommended in pregnant or breastfeeding women due to a lack of available scientific evidence. Avoid use at traditional herbal doses during pregnancy and breastfeeding because of the possibility of growth retardation in the fetus and infant. .... This patient information is based on a systematic review of scientific literature edited and peer-reviewed by contributors to the Natural Standard Research Collaboration (www.naturalstandard.com):" (http://www.healthline.com/natstandardcontent/bellis-perennis/2)

[Gothic Lolita]

Thanks, ktani for this information. Since I'm not planning to use this daily and am not pregnant or breastfeeding, Im not worried about the daisies. But of course, it's good to know!

Finoriel: I didn't believe that hibisucus would also show up on redheads! I like my hair just like in my avatar pic and repeated hibscus rinses would prabably alter the color. But it'S nice and conditioning, so I'll stick to it. Not daily though, but once in a while should be fine.

[ktani]

Thanks, ktani for this information. Since I'm not planning to use this daily and am not pregnant or breastfeeding, Im not worried about the daisies. But of course, it's good to know!

Finoriel: I didn't believe that hibisucus would also show up on redheads! I like my hair just like in my avatar pic and repeated hibscus rinses would prabably alter the color. But it'S nice and conditioning, so I'll stick to it. Not daily though, but once in a while should be fine.

You are most welcome! I think that it is important to know possibilites with plants as some members here have reported ingestion side effect symptoms from the topical use of some plants.

[freznow]

Thanks, ktani for this information. Since I'm not planning to use this daily and am not pregnant or breastfeeding, Im not worried about the daisies. But of course, it's good to know!

Finoriel: I didn't believe that hibisucus would also show up on redheads! I like my hair just like in my avatar pic and repeated hibscus rinses would prabably alter the color. But it'S nice and conditioning, so I'll stick to it. Not daily though, but once in a while should be fine.

It also depends on the individual and the quality of the hibiscus - just like some people get lots of color from different types of henna, others get barely noticeable amounts. The good thing about hibiscus is that, if you get color and don't want it, it does tend to wash out unless one has rather light hair already.

I didn't know there were saponins in daisies. I wonder if we have any in our garden...

[ktani]

It depends on the amount of saponins in a plant, in proportion to other constituents as well. I used linden tea to wash my hair a few times as well as colour and condition with it because it contains saponins too. It got my hair relatively clean but coated (the mucilage) and stringy and not as clean as I prefer. It is a matter of degrees. I do not want to overclean my hair but I definitely do not want to underclean it either.

[Gothic Lolita]

Yes, that's true, the quality plays a big role. But one could also use hibiscus leaves, they don't color.

I don't want unclean hair either, and I'd like it a bit cleaner for my taste. I'm looking out for soapwort in my garden, but if I don't find any, I'm planning to try out a paste with cassia. That wouldn't be more cleansing, but the paste would stay better in my hair. Or I'll try out healing earth (don't know if that's the proper English name)

[ktani]

Only downside is that my roots don't have their usual shine although they didn't get stripped, still clueless why.
But in general this was a nice experiment and I will continue researching and trying this out!

There is mucilage in both hibiscus (http://www.cababstractsplus.org/abstracts/Abstract.aspx?AcNo=19810391604) and daisies (http://www.drhauschka.com/natural-skin-care-products/glossary/Default.aspx?rng=ad&pn=1#), enough to be noted and quite a bit in some strains of hibiscus. Linden tea, which built-up horribly on my hair, contains only 3% mucilage.

Hibiscus leaves contain mucilage too.
"The fleshy red calyx is used in the preparation of jams, jellies, and cold and warm teas and drinks. .... The mucilaginous leaves are used as a topical emollient in Africa." (http://www.drugs.com/npp/roselle.html)