Rosemary and Grey Hair - Part II



Twists streaked with silver

 Rosemary...I was hoping for a fast moving solution to what seems like an insidious problem. And writing about it must have increased the speed of my going grey. It's now doing it one, two and three strands at a time, and if I cut it out I would have a 1/4 gash in the front of my hairline! I did some research about the topic to see if there was a natural solution to changing my hair fate and rosemary came up as the most common remedy. I know I could cover it in a few minutes or hours, but I'm not ready to experiment with henna or hair dyes since it may affect my hair's texture.

In February I did a post about rosemary and its purported abilities to slow the growth of, and possibly even reverse my silver streaks. A little more than a month ago I finally began my quest to darken my hair. I added it into my routine in what I hoped to be a simple and effective way; mixing rosemary essential oils in with the oil I use on a daily basis.




Grey - after Rosemary



Grey - before Rosemary



























My usual hair regime consists of the daily steaming of my hair in the shower, dampening it every few days, and co-washing or washing as needed. After I get out of the shower I generally oil my hair with whichever oil I favor at the time. I prefer coconut oil in the summertime, but I will intermittently add or substitute grape seed or olive oil. I also then seal my hair with either my own Shea butter mix or some other Shea-based product every few days. To add my rosemary to my mix, I included one part rosemary essential oil to two parts grape seed and olive oils. It turned the oils into a dark greenish-brown mix that I thought would absorb into my hair shaft along with the grape seed oil. After three weeks of doing this on a daily basis, my hair looked no different. I then moved on to putting the essential oil directly on my largest patch of grey, but I saw only the merest hint of my hair darkening.

I've now moved on to more aggressive tactics.

Ground Rosemary and Sage

 

My current process is a Rosemary and Sage Tea. My recipe is as follows:

1 Tbsp. Ground Rosemary

First Batch

1 Tbsp. Ground Sage

2 Cups Boiling water

Large bowl or pitcher

Water to cool

Coconut oil

Plastic cap

Pour the powder into cheesecloth, a teabag, or a very fine mesh (stockings folded over several times will work). Secure the cloth (like a teabag). Pour boiled water into the bowl or pitcher. Seep the cloth in the boiled water as you would a tea for at least 5 minutes. The water will become a very dark brown. You can cool the mixture by either adding water or letting it sit until it has cooled. I coated my hair with coconut oil; poured some of the mixture over my head (and soaked my ends in the mixture for a few minutes); covered my hair with my plastic cap; and went to sleep. You can leave the rinse in overnight as I did, or for about half-an hour at a time before rinsing it out.

In the stories that I've read, people tended to in spray the tea or pour it on the hair on a daily basis, letting it soak in for 15-30 minutes then rinsing it out, and over the course of several weeks, their hair darkened to its original color.

I've added a coconut oil base because I wanted to pair the rinse with an oil that can penetrate the hair shaft, but you may wish to delete that step. I'm also going to try the tea as more of a paste (using less water) to see if there needs to be a higher concentration of rosemary/sage to water ratio. I have not seen any difference thus far, but a strand of grey hair that I allowed to soak in the left-over tea did turn a golden brown by the next day. I'm hopeful and I will keep you posted.

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Write by: Unknown - Friday, June 8, 2012