From organic foods to herb based cosmetics, the cycle has turned a full circle, back to nature. Synthetic shampoos are now accused of causing several irritations, including dandruff and excessive dryness of hair and scalp. Now the natural goodness and purity of nature’s gift to beautify hair and skin have been rediscovered. More and more women, all over the world are realising the real worth of natural herbs for cosmetic purpose. Vegetable dyes and rinses were already known in ancient times. But these have come back into fashion in the past few years. Synthetic conditioners, tints, rinses and dyes deprive the scalp of nature oils and proteins.
Herbs are being used to bring life to dull hair, to colour grey hair, and to bring a change in the original colour of the hair and also to clean it.
Rinses like Camomile tea is claimed to give a golden tint to hair, which Chinese tea is supposed to brighten dark hair.
Dyes : Herbs like henna, walnut bark, indigo, which were used even in the ancient times when women first started being conscious of beautifying their hair and skin are still in practice.
Indigo : Gives a blue colour to the hair. It is mixed with henna to make what is called the Persian dye, still widely used in the East. The colour obtained varies according to the proportion of the two ingredients. It must be left on the hair for several hours for the dye to be effective.
Walnut Bark : Gives an attractive brown colour to the hair. Henna is the Persian name for a small shrub. A paste made of powdered henna leaves is of ancient repute as a cosmetic. It has been used by Egyptian and Indian women to dye their finger nails and make intricate patterns on their hands and feet in an orange red colour, which was considered to add to their beauty.
It was and is still used for dyeing hair and beards, as well as horses manes. Moreover, distilled water from the flowers is used as perfume too.
Henna is used by beauticians to get a bright red colour or a burnished copper, or just to get highlights. Henna gives a coppery bronze or reddish effect. Mixed with coffee seeds, the hair assumes a rich brown colour.
Henna when used on grey hair gives a carroty red colour; used on dark hair, it gives a rich auburn tone. Henna is usually applied on strands of clean, shampooed hair while it is still damp and is left on the hair for an hour or so.
Hair, your crowning glory, needs thorough cleansing and gentle care. Synthetic shampoos have been accused of leaving the hair ‘squeaky’—which means they wash off the natural oils from the hair. Herbs like reetha, shikakai, amla have retained their popularity and are used by many to keep hair clean. But to overcome the messy, tedious process of using these herbs, a new brand of herbal shampoos have been introduced. These herbal shampoos claim to be 93 per cent pure, made from herbs procured in India and abroad.
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