Hello guys! Today I have prepared another post for you about natural methods of hair care, i.e. Medical Soapwort in hair care. This extraordinary herb not only naturally foams and cleans perfectly, but also helps us fight for healthy skin, soothes any irritation, and gives our hair exceptional softness, shine and volume.
Soapwort is one of the best-known herbs with soothing properties for our hair, and also reduces greasy hair. It also has a similar effect on the skin, because it moisturizes, softens and soothes it, soothes irritations, strengthens and nourishes the hair. Supposedly used, it systematically regenerates scales damaged by chemical means or mechanical damage.
I was very curious about the effects of this herb mainly because I only associate soapwort from DIY no poo home shampoo , for which the recipe has been circulating in the blogging world for a long time. Thanks to the saponin contained in the root, mydlnica is our Polish natural shampoo suitable for hair care and cleansing. It’s amazing how such a simple meadow herb can foam, you can see it even when rubbing its leaves. So the next time I washed I did my tests, both using soap suds as a shampoo, as a conditioner and as a rinse after washing my hair.
If you are interested in what else we can use this unusual root for, I invite you to the rest of the post.
Medical Soapwort- properties and use on hair
Medicinal soap (Saponaria officinalis) is a perennial plant belonging to the clove family. It has valuable healing and health properties: the herb and root of soapwort is rich in mineral salts, it also contains glycosides, carbohydrates and saponins.
Soapwort is one of the best-known herbs with soothing properties, because it moisturizes, softens and soothes irritations, strengthens and nourishes the hair. Supposedly, when used systematically, it regenerates cuticles damaged by chemical means or mechanical damage, and reduces greasy hair. Soapwort infusion, due to its cleansing, antibacterial and antifungal properties, is a frequent ingredient of herbal mixtures recommended for seborrheic scalp inflammation, hair loss and dandruff.
Medical Soapwort- as a hair shampoo
The soapwort root is a natural remedy that is great for washing, caring for and improving the condition of your hair. It is the best known herb that comes true and is often used in traditional and drugstore hair shampoos. Thanks to the saponin contained in the root, mydlnica is our Polish natural shampoo suitable for hair care and cleansing. It’s amazing how such a simple meadow herb can foam, you can see it even when rubbing its leaves.
However, we can prepare our soap suds shampoo at home.
Preparation is easy: pour 2 tablespoons of soapwort root with a glass of warm water and leave it for a few hours to swell. Then cook for about 15 minutes, strain into a bottle and leave to cool. Remember that such a shampoo is rare and will only slightly foam if you heat it up beforehand. Washing your hair is different from traditional washing, but it is effective and easy to get used to.
Unfortunately, we can only store it in the refrigerator for a few days, but I always freeze extra portions in small bottles and take it out as needed – not only for washing my hair.
Soap dish as an ingredient of shampoo in the no poo method
Remember that such a shampoo from the decoction itself is rare and will slightly foam. To increase the effectiveness of the herbal shampoo, you can prepare a combo recipe with the addition of other washing ingredients, such as rye flour, soda, eggs or honey. You can also add clay, oils or other herbs with saponins to the soap decoction, depending on the needs of the skin – washing nuts, fenugreek, thyme, Indian herbs, and linden.
How to wash your hair without shampooing? The no poo and no waste method
Soapwort – addition to shampoo / conditioner washing hair
A decoction of the foaming herb is perfect for washing with the cup method, i.e. softening the effect of detergents in ready-made shampoos from the drugstore. We can also tune a conditioner for washing hair or emulsifying. By combining cosmetics with a decoction of soapwort root instead of tap water, washing your hair will be gentler and more nourishing, but also more frothy. I really like such washing with a soap suds based on soapwort – the addition of herbal decoction will not only dilute and add slippage to the conditioner, but it will foam even more.
The preparation is simple: add a fairly strong decoction of soapwort root to a portion of shampoo or conditioner, in the proportion that suits you.
Soapwort for hair – rubbing
The hair soap can also be used neat, as a soothing and strengthening lotion, or a DIY lotion made with other herbs, extracts and additives. I have not tried this method yet, but I have plans. However, very often when making a rinse or shampoo, I pour and enrich my rubs with a few tablespoons of soapwort decoction.
Such a lotion will have a refreshing and cleansing effect, strengthens the bulbs and prolongs the freshness of the hair. After the treatment, the hair is no longer excessively greasy, the scalp will be soothed – it will stop flaking and itching, and thus the loss of hair will be reduced.
Soapwort – as a hair rinse
Like any herb, we can also use soapwort as a simple rinse – it will give us volume, hydration and oral softness and heal the scalp. When used regularly, it reduces excessive greasy hair, eliminates itching of the scalp, regenerates and strengthens the hair.
From the first use, it amazed me with its effects in the form of volume, shine, hydration, softness and smoothness of the hair. The rinse does not smell bad, although when cooking the herbs smelled like gray soap. The hair was also reflected nicely at the root.
The preparation of the rinse is similar to the hair shampoo , you only need to dilute it a bit more. Pour 2 tablespoons of soapwort root with 2 cups of lukewarm water and leave it to swell. Then cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes, drain the infusion, strain it and fill it in a bowl with tap water.
Soap box – as a dry shampoo
We can easily make this cosmetic from soapwort root, which we ground into dust in an electric coffee grinder. It has an effect similar to clay or starch on the scalp – it refreshes, adds volume to stale hair and absorbs excess sebum. We can also mix it with another DIY dry claw and give away extracts and essential oils, which additionally have a healing effect on the scalp. Remember, however, that for the shampoo to be effective, it must be a well-ground and double-sifted powder.
Soapwort – where to buy?
As you can see, there are many possibilities of using soapwort for the beauty and health of our hair, so I encourage you to try it out and test it yourself. All my recipes are easy to prepare, they are effective, and a bag of herbs, which will last for many months of use, costs about PLN 4 and is available in almost every pharmacy, especially online, at doz.pl, on Allegro, in herbal plants. However, I highly recommend you to buy the shredded root, and not whole, as I do – it will be easier to use. I recommend trying one of my treatments for long, healthy and beautiful hair!
Let me know how the soap soap has done for you in hair care!
Ania
