In walks hibiscus for your hair.
The star of the hair show is here.
Ever experienced hair loss, dry ends, hair breakage, dandruff or premature greying? I am here with you! At 51, my hair started falling out like crazy, not to mention the wave of ‘pandemic grays.’ Therefore I am on the hunt, just like you, to solve it, hence my decision to write about the uses of hibiscus powder.
I want to put your mind at ease — you are not alone on this hair rollercoaster! This is a fairly common problem with women’s hair. Many of the issues that women have with their hair arise from diet, hormones, and product damage and for this reason the hibiscus is a flower power hero!
“When words escape, flowers speak.”
Bruce W. Curry
There are many solutions out there for solving the complexities of our well-earned locks, but today I’m going to fill you in on one in particular. Hibiscus. {And the crowd cheers.} Do not despair friends, the hibiscus flower and its leaves can be used to restore split ends, smooth breakage, moisturize the scalp, put the grays in reverse, and also help your hair grow back.
First of all, what is hibiscus powder?
Hibiscus powder comes from a flower native to warm temperate and tropical locations around the world. You may witness the costume of this gorgeous flower adorned in red, white, pink, orange, yellow and multi-color. If you’ve ever seen one close up, it’s quite a large flower, ranging from 4-6” wide. Did I mention gorgeous? Can you imagine a backyard full of these? Time to move to Hawaii. Ahhh.
Can using hibiscus powder help with gray hair?
Hibiscus has been used for centuries in Ancient Ayurvedic treatments for dying hair. Additionally, it is loaded with antioxidants and vitamins that boost the production of melanin, which is a pigment that gives the color to your hair.
Will using hibiscus powder actually help your hair grow?
Yes. Please. Here’s the trick. Combine the hibiscus flower powder and the hibiscus leaf powder. In clinical studies, it is shown that the leaves of hibiscus promotes hair growth in rats. There is a reason women all over the world, in particular India, add the leaves when making their hair tonics, masks, and oils.
How can you use hibiscus powder for your hair?
I recently learned of three methods on Youtube and I will outline these below with some great videos I found. Disclaimer ladies: These techniques are probably best to use if you have dark hair, or if you want to enhance your color with a crimson hue. 6 months ago I stopped dying my hair a red shade and I’m now treating my hair with henna. Henna is a short-lived game, therefore I need all the help I can get with the hibiscus treatments.
In the video below, ‘Proud mane‘ has a pretty entertaining intro but If you want to jump straight to the mask instructions, go to 4:20. I have also included a recipe just after the video to make life easier on the ladies.
Method #1:
Hibiscus Fenugreek Hair Mask
Ingredients
- 2 cups distilled water
- 1/4 cup fenugreek powder
- 1/4 cup hibiscus powder
- 2 tbsp hibiscus leaves
- 2-3 tbsp oil of choice (jojoba, MCT, olive oil, grape seed, almond)
Directions
- Bring water to a slow boil
- Add fenugreek powder
- Whisk fenugreek until most of the lumps are out
- Stir in hibiscus powder, stove still on low heat, whisk until lumps are gone
- Cover with lid and let sit overnight or 8 hours.
- The consistency will be “oooshie” thick, according to proud mane.
- Spatula into a glass bowl.
- Mix in oil of choice for 2-3 minutes until the color of the mask turns a lighter color.
- Section hair and rake into each section and apply to all of the hair including scalp.
- Let sit on hair all day.
Method #2
In the video above, Sheetal uses fresh hibiscus flowers, which is great if you have them in the yard as she does, but if you do not, the hibiscus powder works perfectly well.
Hibiscus Conditioning Hair Oil
Ingredients
- 2-3 Tbsp Coconut oil
- 1 tbsp hibiscus powder
Directions
- Heat coconut oil in small pan
- Add hibiscus powder and stir well
- Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool
- Apply oil to scalp and to the rest of hair
- Leave in as long as preferred. Several hours or overnight
- Shampoo
Method #3
Hibiscus Aloe Conditioner
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup organic hibiscus powder
- 1/2 cup Indian Healing Clay
- 2-3 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/3 cup healthy conditioner of choice
- 1 tbsp jojoba oil, olive oil, or MCT oil
- 1 tsp aloe powder
- 2 cups aloe vera juice
- peppermint oil
Directions
- Add all ingredients except aloe juice and peppermint oil into glass container
- Heat aloe vera juice on a conventional stove until warm.
- Mix the aloe vera juice into other ingredients a little at a time, making sure not to make the texture too runny. The final product should be like the consistency of yogurt.
- Add a few drops of peppermint oil.
- Apply to entire head of hair including scalp
- Cover hair with plastic bag
- Leave on hair for 45-60 minutes
Conclusion
I have already ordered my hibiscus powder and my hibiscus leaves, and I am personally ready to UP my hair game. I’ll let you know how it goes in a future blog post or a youtube video, if I ever get the courage to start making them.
Peace out friends.
