Hibiscus Flower - Part 4 - Hibiscus Hair Tonic

I typically cover my white with henna/indigo but I want to try something different.  Also, I am going to pick 20 to 30 hibiscus flowers as called for in the recipe and dry them myself.  This color treatment is suppose to be great for covering greys and providing a rich deep dark colour to your hair. I found this recipe for a hibiscus treatment for both color and conditioning:

"Suitable for those with dark red, brown and/or black hair.

Uses:
1. To strengthen the hair from the papila root to tip
2. To cover premature greys
3. To immediately seal the hair cuticles, stop hair breakage and repair split ends

Preparation time required:
10 to 15 minutes

Over low heat, warm 450-500 ml of water
Add 20-30 dried Organic Hibiscus flowers
Simmer, making sure NOT to let the mixture boil or evapourate - too much heat will destroy the goodness in the Hibiscus.
Remove from heat
The water would have turned a dark purply-pink.
Cool and store in a clean dry jar overnight
In the morning, wash your hair with our Babassu Shampoo Bar, rinse, and then instead of using your regular commercial conditioner use the Hibiscus infusion to condition your hair and scalp.

Do not rinse out.

Cover hair with a towel or cling film.
Leave the infusion on your hair for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
Rinse until all of the colour is gone.
Your hair and scalp will look & feel soft & moisturised.
..and your greys will be naturally dyed & nourished..

Source: Anita Grant

Hibiscus Flower - Part 3 - How to Apply Hibiscus to Hair

The red hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Tahitian women. A single flower is tucked behind the ear. It is used to indicate the wearer's availability ...
The crushed dried flowers are used as a hair dye as each hibiscus flower yields a natural dark purplish dye which may be used to color premature grey hairs.

Hibiscus Flower - Part 2 - Benefits

Hibiscus flowers have become popular these days, espcially with the natural hair community.  It is also popular in the long hair community as well and is reputed to promote exceptional hair growth. 

The benefits of Hibiscus treatment:

• Prevents hair loss
• Enhances growth of hair
• Discourages split ends
• Thickens hair
• Prevents premature greying of hair.

A very simple traditional recipe is to cook some red hibiscus flowers (whole, not powder) on low fire in coconut or sesame oil and let it cool. This oil is then massaged into the hair. Red Hibiscus or Jabakusum as it is known in Hindi, is known for its hair growth related properties.  Be sure to rinse the oil out with very mild shampoo otherwise it will nullify th effect of the oil.

For those that do not like to oil their hair, the whole hibiscus flowers can be made into pulp in the mixer and applied to the hair for thirty minutes and then rinsed out with water.  Or the powder version can be used mixed with water to make a paste.

Hibiscus Flower - Recipes and Uses - Part 1

The natives of southern India uses the Red hibiscus for hair care purposes: the red flower and leaves, extracts of which can be applied on hair to tackle hair-fall and dandruff on the scalp. It is used to make hair protective oils. A simple application involves soaking the leaves and flowers in water and using a wet grinder to make a thick paste, and used as a natural shampoo.
Shade-dried and powdered flowers are used for cleaning the hair and to prevent hair loss (alopecia).

Dried hibiscus is used as an ingredient in the Meera Herbal Hair wash powder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hair Oil: (taken from a magazine)
Grind hibiscus flowers and take the juice. Take coconut oil in equal quantity to the juice, and boil together on low flame. Before the smell of the coconut oil comes out, remove from fire. Using this oil daily will stimulate hair growth.
If you use this oil with a few drops of vitamin E oil, and massage scalp and use the hot towel treatment on scalp, and then rinse in plain water (twice a week), the oiliness in the scalp will be reduced and you will have shining hair.
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Hibiscus Hair Pack:
Hibiscus leaves – 10, henna leaves – 20, full Shikakai – 2. Grind all three together and apply on scalp as hair pack. Rinse after 10 minutes. Wash your hair this way once a week. Hibiscus removes the dandruff and makes the hair shiny. The Shikakai cleans the hair.
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Homemade hibiscus leaves-shampoo for silky shiny hair:
Boil 10 hibiscus leaves in water. The leaves will become soft. Discard the leaves, add shikakai to the water and use it to wash hair.
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Prepare a hair oil with the following ingredients: a)Coconut Oil / Sesame oil (Which ever you prefer). Coconut oil is better for long term use. b)Curry leaves c)Shoeflowers

In an iron skillet mix the following ingredients in the 3:1:1 ratio. that is 100 gms of shoeflowers and 100 gms of curry leaves for 300 gms of coconut oil. Heat on medium flame till it stops forming bubbles. Do not heat beyond this point. Remove from the fire. Cool and strain into a clean bottle using a muslin cloth.

Apply this oil using your finger tips or using cotton swabs on ur scalp. Massage gently for 10 minutes with your fingers. Do not hurt you scalp with your nails while massaging. Wash with cool water after an hour. You can use any mild herbal shampoo or herbal hair-wash powders, while washing.

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Hibiscus Hair tonic:
Hibiscus flowers = 10 gm, cinnamon stick – 10 gm, fenugreek – 5 gm, dried champak flowers (Michelia Champaca) – 5 gm. Put them in ½ liter of coconut oil and keep in the sun daily. After a week, the essence will blend into the oil.
Use this oil daily. Hair will be clean, and will start growing well. Hair will be fragrant.

From the Long Hair Community Discussion Board.