Amiya’s natural hair care range uses beautiful herbal ingredients to gently cleanse and nourish the hair and scalp. In this series of posts about using herbs for natural hair care, we’ll be getting to know some of the best herbs to use in hair care preparations and some recipes to make at home.

Nettle (Urtica Dioica)

Most often known for its irritating sting and as an unwanted weed, nettle is one of the most useful herbs for the hair and is one of the key ingredients in our Nettle and Rosemary herbal shampoo. It has a long history of being used both internally to treat a range of conditions and externally in preparations for the hair and skin – not to mention its use as a natural fibre, a horse tonic and as a dye. There are even nettle festivals and celebrations, but that may be taking things too far!

For natural hair care, nettle has traditionally been used to:

• Help prevent dandruff
• Promote hair growth
• Protect the scalp
• Nourish and condition the hair
• To help maintain and restore colour to dark hair

Although research into these effects is limited, more is known about the constituents of nettle that can contribute to healthy hair. These include high levels of chorophyll, vitamins including vitamin C, and minerals including silica. It is often used in combination with rosemary, horsetail, sage and lavender – check back in for more posts in this series to learn more about how to use them, or sign up for our newsletter to get monthly updates and offers.

If you’re starting to feel the nettle love then don’t miss Be Nice to Nettles Week coming up in May!

Herbal recipe: Nettle vinegar hair rinse

A nettle vinegar hair rinse is quick to make and can be used regularly in conjunction with a nettle shampoo. It will provide your hair and scalp with all the benefits of nettle, plus the cleansing and softening effects of apple cider vinegar.

Ingredients:

• Approx 500ml boiling water
• Approx 250ml apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons dried nettles (or 6 tablespoons chopped fresh nettles – don’t forget to wear gloves!)

Pour the boiling water over the nettles and leave to brew for at least 10 minutes, but longer if possible. Strain off the liquid and add the apple cider vinegar. That’s all there is to it! Use this as a final rinse after washing your hair with a a herbal shampoo. Surprisingly you won’t be left with a vinegar smell on your hair once it dries.  Remember, herbal remedies and preparations don’t work in an instant, and need to be used regularly over time to benefit from their properties.

You can buy Nettle and Rosemary herbal shampoo, as well as our other natural hair care and skin care products in the online shop.

• Apotheblogary – http://apotheblogary.blogspot.com
  
• Herbs in skin, hair and health care products – Kolbjorn Borseth 2006
  
• 101 Uses for Stinging Nettles – Piers Warren 2006