Herbal Hair Serums & Mists

 

Continuing on from last week’s blog on  Herbal Hair Rinses, we can now move on to herbal hair serums. We’ve already covered  hot oil treatments, but serums are slightly different. You can use them daily or as often as required and they aren’t as much work as a full hot oil treatment, but still come with numerous benefits.

 

As always, you can customise your hair serum to suit your hair needs. Here are some of the best ingredients to add to your serum based on common requirements:

 

Antibacterial and anti dandruff -  tea tree essential oil,  burdock root,  rosemary,  sage,  peppermint,  nettle,  marshmallow,  chamomile, comfrey,  horsetail.

 

For breakage and split ends:  keratin

 

For hair growth -  argan oil,  castor oil,  coffee oil (contains caffeine which stimulates follicles for better hair growth),  keratin, AHAs such as  lactic and  malic acid,  hyaluronic acid,  collagen,  nettle,  horsetail,  aloe vera,  rosemary.

 

For healthy, conditioned hair -  keratin,  hydrolyzed wheat protein,  green tea,  collagen,  lavender, calendula,  jojoba,  argan oil,  almond,  D-panthenol

 

Oil Based Hair Serums

Oil based hair serums incorporate all the goodness and nourishing properties of oils. Oil serums are particularly good for dry and frizzy hair, curly hair and thick, textured hair. The oils will give great shine and help manageability. 

 

Lightweight, easily absorbable oils are best for hair serums. Go for oils like argan, jojoba, almond, grapeseed, walnut or apricot kernel. Heavy oils such as olive, castor and even coconut oil can be more difficult to apply to hair without it feeling completely greasy. The trick when applying is to use very little - you only want to lightly coat your hair strands, not drench them. Squeeze a pipette-full of oil into your palms, rubs your hairs together then evenly coat your hair using your palms. You can apply to damp hair too. Argan oil works particularly well for thick and textured hair but you can use a blend of argan oil and other oils, or make up your own oil serum completely. 

 

Aqueous Based Hair Serums and Sprays

Aqueous or water based hair serums use botanical infusions and can be leave-in serums or hair mists. Refer to  Herbal Hair Rinses for the best herbs to use here. Then we jazz up the herbal spritz even more with some star ingredients: add in 15 drops each of keratin, collagen and hydrolyzed wheat protein per 100ml (you can leave out one or more if you don’t have them but the keratin and collagen do come highly recommended).

 

Water based serums have the advantage of being very easy to apply and massage in, but without any greasiness from oils, and they can be left in the hair to dry. It will just feel like you have slightly damp hair. 

 

Recipes

Conditioning Hair Mist With Keratin

1 T  lavender

1 T  marshmallow

1 T   green tea

1 cup freshly boiled water

30 drops  keratin

30 drops  collagen

30 drops  hydrolyzed wheat protein

3ml  Geogard 221

Pour the boiling water over the herbs and leave to steep for 2 hours. Once cool, strain out the herbs and stir in the Geoard. Then add the keratin, collagen and wheat protein. Add to a spritzer bottle and use daily on your hair.

 

Anti Dandruff Hair and Scalp Serum

1 T  burdock root

1 T  nettle

1 T  rosemary

1 cup freshly boiled water

10 drops  tea tree essential oil

3ml  Geogard 221

Pour the boiling water over the herbs and leave to steep for 2 hours. Once cool, strain out the herbs and stir in the Geoard. Then Add in the tea tree, shake and decant into a spritzer bottle. To use, always shake well first to disperse the tea tree oil and the spritz onto hair and target the scalp.

 

Argan Oil Hair Serum

50ml  argan oil

50ml  jojoba

10 drops  rosemary essential oil,  geranium essential oil or  lavender essential oil (or use a blend)

Add all ingredients to a pipette bottle and shake gently to combine. 

To use, squeeze the pipette into your palms, rub your hands together then smooth the oil lightly over your hair. If you have lots of hair you may need a little more, and a little less if you have very short hair. Don’t get too much oil in your hair or it will look greasy. You want just enough to lightly coat your hair and give a shiny, healthy look. You can also take some oil on your fingertips and massage into your scalp. Again, don’t overuse here or it will make your hair look oily. Another way to apply a hair serum is to add the oil to your hair brush and then brush your hair. You can also target areas such as your tips or roots.