For most of my hair journey, I have been using tea rinses to harvest many of the benefits that tea has to offer. I have used from the caffeine teas like green tea and 5 roses black tea and also the South African red, Rooibos tea which does not have caffeine but is full of anti-oxidants and other good stuff. But now, I have found a new love and that is the herbal tea I want to tell you about.
Chamomile tea is my new love in the land of tea rinses. Of course I did not know anything about it until recently and I still wonder where this amazing tea was hiding all along or was I living under a rock like what my teenage son normally says. This tea is just so packed with good stuff and even the first time I used it, we clicked like we were just meant to be.
Chamomile is a flower that can grow in the wild and can also be cultivated especially now when more people are becoming aware of its health benefits. The flower part of this herb is what’s useful and can be used either externally or internally by making a tea which is basically an infusion of the flowers in hot water. And chamomile has many benefits including health when ingested, the skin, and also for the hair when applied topically. In this post I am more interested in the hair benefits. Please let me know in the comments below if you want me to write posts on the other benefits of Chamomile tea.
Benefits of Chamomile on hair
Packed with antioxidants, potassium, zinc, iron and magnesium, chamomile flowers have a lot of health benefits to offer especially for an irritated, inflamed scalp.
- Chamomile flowers are antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial, which is all good news for the scalp.
- It soothes irritated or inflamed skin/scalp thereby reducing the itch and making you scratch your scalp less.
- Prevents and reduces hair loss. Most hair loss cases are a result of inflammation of the scalp and the subsequent scratching that results from an itchy inflamed scalp. When inflammation of the scalp is reduced or corrected, then hair loss will be prevented. I am not sure if it helps to regrow hair back or thicken thinning hair but if the scalp is healthy enough to resume healthy hair growth, growing thicker hair may be a possibility.
- Chamomile tea rinses help with eliminating or controlling dandruff and dry itchy scalp.
- Can be combined with henna to give dark hair brighter highlights.
- Used as a final rinse, it gives hair a healthy glow and sheen.
My Chamomile Tea Rinse Recipe
What I used
- 2 to 4 Chamomile & Rooibos tea bags. (I got mine from Pick n Pay)
- 1 litre of hot water in a jug (I use filtered water but any water should do)
The Tea Rinse
- Place the tea bags in the hot water and let them seep until the water temperature cools to room temperature.
- Wash hair and condition. Pour the cooled chamomile tea over the scalp and hair.
- Do not rinse out. Let the excess water drip or bloat it out with a T-shirt. Apply leave-in conditioner and style hair as usual.
I have done the chamomile tea rinse so many times now and I am so loving how clean my scalp is and the soothing feeling all over my scalp after every wash. Chamomile tea has given me a reason to look forward to wash days. I still use the tea bags because that is what’s readily available to me at the moment. I read that the actual flowers are the best and I am already looking for ways to get a hold of them. Otherwise for now, I will continue enjoying Chamomile tea as a tea rinse and a hot beverage. I love my chamomile tea!
Do you know any other tea rinses or herbal rinses for hair you absolutely love and would like us to know about? Please share in the comments.