Tea rinses?

[SopphireGem]

I've heard of tea rinses being used for the hair and I would like to try using tea rinses myself. How should I use them in my hair? What benefits do they have for the hair?

[Diamond.Eyes]

They honestly didn't do anything for me. Just dried out my hair :shrug:.

[Amanah]

I tried rinsing with green tea, I didn't feel that it was helpful
it made my scalp feel like it needed to be washed.

[Amber_Maiden]

they didn't do much for my hair either, but I do like the smell of my hair afterwards!

[Ticky]

Another one here who didn't see any change after a tea rinse :D

[PixxieStix]

I think it was ktani who used a catnip rinse for her hair and the benefits for her were amazing, she didn't use conditioner and saw an end to her split ends. I haven't done too much research though and haven't tried myself, sorry!

[fridgee]

They honestly didn't do anything for me. Just dried out my hair :shrug:.

^ this. But other people love them. Gogirlanime had great results with black tea rinses for reducing shedding and some people find rooibos tea rinses increase growth speed. The teas tend to be acidic so the close the cuticle on the hair making it shiny, in theory. I've never got on with them, however dilute I make them they still seem too drying. :shrug:

[GrowingGlory]

The WO thread and threads and articles about herbs will provide some recipes and user experiences.

[ladylowtide]

I have found that if I get oily quickly in the middle of my no wash time. I apply some strong rooibos tea to my roots and it seems to dry up the oil. It is definitely to trying for the length though.

[Iolanthe13]

I think it was ktani who used a catnip rinse for her hair and the benefits for her were amazing, she didn't use conditioner and saw an end to her split ends. I haven't done too much research though and haven't tried myself, sorry!

I'm currently trying out ktani's routine. My chemically dyed and damaged hair hasn't felt this good since it was all virgin. There are fewer split ends every time I S & D. It's definitely worth a try; it hasn't been drying at all.

[SopphireGem]

Thank you for all your replies! I guess tea rinses aren't too great for the hair. What types of tea do people usually use if they do a tea rinse? Are any of these teas beneficial for the hair? http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/iq.asp?xs=325C8BA8ABC14456BBB4CD972790CB9F&SearchText=herbal+infusions&searchimage.x=11&searchimage.y=21

I was also wondering: can tea rinses be used instead of shampoo?

[Nimrodel]

When I'm making nettle tea I stew some leaves for my hair too. It leaves it feeling lovely and soft, and doesn't make it more oily at all.

All I do is boil a few bunches of leaves in a pan for maybe 5 minutes, strain it off (leave it to cool!!!), and use as a final rinse after washing. Nettles are brilliant! :)

[EndlessSunshine]

I use rosemary steeped for two hours in hot water. I boil the water and crush some rosemary and put it in my tea ball and just let it sit as it cools. I use that as a final rinse sometimes.

[Sady]

I have a sensitive scalp and if I use to much shampoo my scalp will be really agitated for many days afterwards. Tea rinses help me with this. I also find that they are good if I justwant to rinse my hair, but its not so oily that it needs shampooing, so they can sometimes help strecthing shampoo washes. I really like sage, hisbiscus or rosemary rinses.

[Nimrodel]

A couple of drops of rosemary EO always goes into my ACV rinses too.

[Zapookie]

I do a rooibos tea rinse with a bit of tea tree oil. It helped stop the itchies for a while, but they've come back again. I find the tea rinse helps my hair to air dry a lot quicker than without it.

[MonaMayfair]

I've been doing a catnip rinse (leaving in for an hour then washing out) and it made my hair silky and shiny.
I also spray my roots with rooibos tea (I have it in the fridge in a spray bottle)
A lot of people feel it makes their hair grow more quickly, but I can't definitively say if it does for me. It feels nice though...

I tried a rooibos rinse on my whole head once and didn't see any benefit, but I do always use chamomile tea to mix my cassia.

[Nimrodel]

I've been doing a catnip rinse (leaving in for an hour then washing out) and it made my hair silky and shiny.

I like the idea of that, I love the smell of catnip... but so do the cats!! They hardly let me sleep at the best of times, I imagine it would be even harder with them both attached to my scalp by the claws all night long!!

[papera]

I use camomile tea rinses and sometimes fennel ... camomile is to highlight my hair and fennel tea is supposed to be good for dry hair ..

I'm not really sure if it makes a difference though. I have the feeling that camomile does highlight my natural highlights, but I seem to be the only one who notices that :p (my natural hair colour is a dark ash-blonde/ blonette). I also think it gives a rather golden glow to my hair.
With fennel tea I do have the feeling that it "coats" my hair slightly and helps against dryness, but I haven't tried it as often as camomile tea.
Anyway, my hair always feels nice after I washed and rinsed it, so it does not have any side effects for me and that's why I keep going ;)

Just check the forum for recipes and try it out! :D

[SwordWomanRiona]

My hair loves tea rinses. I rinse my hair with red tea once a week, after shampooing, and leave it in (I've also tried black tea, but switched to red because I was afraid of the blck tea darkening my hair). Results for me are soft, shiny hair, a bit less oiliness and some red highlights. I began tea-rinsing to get red highlights, but it also works for my oiy scalp (because of tea's astringency). That's why some people without an oily scalp reports dryness after tea-rinsing. For me it works great, and I've noticed no dryness at all, not even in the length and ends (which are not greasy naturally).

Rinses are a thing that one has to experiment to really see if their hair likes them, imo. So if you haven't have dry hair, I'd give them a go.

I made a thread about tea rinses, so in case it helps here's the link: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=68071

[SwordWomanRiona]

I have a sensitive scalp and if I use to much shampoo my scalp will be really agitated for many days afterwards. Tea rinses help me with this. I also find that they are good if I justwant to rinse my hair, but its not so oily that it needs shampooing, so they can sometimes help strecthing shampoo washes. I really like sage, hisbiscus or rosemary rinses.

Yep, that's one of the reasons I tea-rinse, to help stretch washes. I also add hibiscus, or rosehip to the tea, from time to time, but that's only for more red, and I have the idea that hibiscus doesn't help so much with the greasies (having noticed my hair getting greasy sooner than when I ony use tea), so I don't use it very often...

[SwordWomanRiona]

Thank you for all your replies! I guess tea rinses aren't too great for the hair. What types of tea do people usually use if they do a tea rinse? Are any of these teas beneficial for the hair? http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/iq.asp?xs=325C8BA8ABC14456BBB4CD972790CB9F&SearchText=herbal+infusions&searchimage.x=11&searchimage.y=21

I was also wondering: can tea rinses be used instead of shampoo?

Sorry for replying again, but I'm a tea-rinse-fan! :)

The benefits that tea rinses have are among the following (I'm speaking from my own experience):

-Red highlights
-Soft, shiny, bouncy hair
-The astringency of tea helps control a greasy scalp and works against dandruff. It can have a drying effect on other people's hair, though. For example, it works great for my hair (greasy scalp and normal length and ends), but had a drying effect on my mum's hair when she tried it (non-greasy scalp). The good thing about rinses, though, is that their bad effects go away when washing again (so it's not very dangerous to try them beforehand!)
-The smell (if one likes it, as I do)
-I've read somewhere that it also helps promote hair growth and has beneficial effects on the scalp in general.

Tea rinses don't work for everybody. For those with dry hair, it will dry it further, generally.
It may be used instead of shampoo, although in my case I don't think it would suffice, because my scalp gets very greasy, so I need both things.
I think all kinds of tea can be used - red, green, black,...I've heard a lot of good things about Roiboos tea. but I haven't tried it yet.
About the link, I think all those can work on hair, yes, although the benefits and effects will vary depending on the person and the kind of herbal infusion used. There's a good article by Nightshade in the articles section about herbal hair treatments. I've found it very useful.

[krissykins]

I love chamomile tea rinses. They condition my hair wonderfully and add a golden touch of color to my hair, which looks so nice in the summer. :D Another LHCer recently sent me some catnip for hair rinses, but it's still a bit problematic for me. Hopefully I will figure out how to use it properly soon. :p