Hibiscus tea is a herbal tea that is made by steeping certain dried parts of the hibiscus plant in hot water. It is a refreshing caffeine free tea that can be enjoyed both hot or cold. When steeped, hibiscus tea comes out in a beautiful red and tastes somewhat sweet and tart, like cranberries.
Drinking hibiscus tea has many benefits for the body. In addition to that, using hibiscus tea can be helpful for your hair as well. Hibiscus has often been a popular choice for hair growth by herbal healers.
How to Use Hibiscus Tea on Your Hair
All you need is brew the tea in a cup of hot water. After it is cooled down, soak your hair in the hibiscus tea and leave it on for an hour or two. You might like to use a spray bottle and spray the tea on your head as this might make it easier to apply. After an hour or so, you can rinse it off and apply conditioner as usual.
In addition, you can also try a yogurt hair mask. Simply grind hibiscus flowers and leaves into a paste and mix it with yogurt to make a smooth hair mask. Apply it on your hair and leave it on for about an hour. Afterwards, wash it off with a gentle shampoo and condition your hair.
Helps Your Hair Grow
Hibiscus tea has been promoted by herbal healers as something that can help your hair grow, although these claims are not backed by clinical research. Currently, it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for hair growth.
Hibiscus has been seen as an Ayurvedic herb to help hair grow and is often found in some herbal hair oils. Because hibiscus tea is a good source of vitamin C, it can help boost the collagen production in your body. Growing hair and keeping it healthy requires collagen. Through drinking hibiscus tea, you might be able to boost your collagen levels and therefore improve your hair condition and help it grow longer and faster.
Condition Hair
Hibiscus also contains natural amino acids in the flower. These amino acids are able to form as keratin, which is known as the building block of hair. It is a type protein that makes up your hair, skin and nails. People who use keratin on their hair often report finding their hair to be more smooth and easier to manage. It works by smoothing down the overlapping cells that form your hair. These overlapping cells are called cuticle and it should absorb the keratin and lead to your hair looking slightly more fuller and glossier.
In addition to containing keratin, hibiscus also contains mucilage. This is a gelatinous substance that is viscous and fibrous. In fact, mucilage is one of the ingredients that are used to make your products slippery. This is good for your hair as it is able to help reduce the tension when you are detangling your hair. Think of it as essentially a detangler, it will help you to remove the knots without causing any more additional breakage to your hair.
One thing you should note is that some people might experience build up on your hair. It really depends on your hair type and I believe you should try it out and see whether it works for you or not. If you find that the build up on your hair is too much, you can try using vinegar to rinse it to help reduce the build up or try using the tea on your hair before you shampoo.
Treating Baldness
In Ayurveda medicine, it is believed that your hair roots might be damaged due to the excessive heat in your body. This might have lead to hair loss for you. A hibiscus yogurt hair mask might help rehydrate your scalp and reduce the damage done from excessive heat in your body by providing essential nutrients to both your hair and scalp.
Treating Dandruff
If you suffer from dandruff, you might want to consider doing a hibiscus yogurt mask. Hibiscus is able to act as like an astringent and help reduce the oil that your head secretes. The hibiscus leaves are able to even help maintain the pH balance of your hair and keep your scalp feeling soothed and maintained.
Bottomline
Hibiscus might seem like a miracle worker with all the benefits that it provides. However, you do have to note that there is not enough scientific research to show that hibiscus may actually be able to provide you with all these hair benefits. Using hibiscus for hair has not been approved by the FDA. If you are not sure about whether you should be using hibiscus, you should always talk to a doctor or a medical professional before trying it out yourself.
There still isn’t enough legitimate evidence to support the benefits of hibiscus for your hair. I personally found that my hair did feel slightly smoother after doing a hibiscus hair mask. It was nice, but I do not think it was much different from a typical store bought hair masks or other DIY types of hair masks.