My love affair with green tea rinses began when my hair was relaxed, I was suffering with postpartum shedding, and I just wanted a way to slow down the shedding. You can read about my many adventures with green tea rinses here, here, and here.
RELATED: Herbal Tea Rinses to Combat Shedding
I don't shed like crazy anymore, but in honor of tomorrow's #WashDayExperience themes, I decided to experiment with tea again. This time---for a Green Tea Infused Oil Rinse!
How I made it:
- Place 3 green tea bags in a glass mason jar. (I used Celestial Seasonings Green Tea)
- Cover with 1 cup of warmed extra virgin coconut oil (or other carrier oil of your choice).
- Bring a pot with 2-3 inches of water to the brink of boiling. Turn off heat. Place the jar in the the water for 15-20 minutes.
- Carefully remove jar from hot water. Cover with lid and steep overnight.
And here are semi-scientific reasons green tea oil rinses rock:
- Tannins- is an astringent compound that binds to and precipitates proteins in plants. The tannins in tea can attached to the hair shaft making the hair appear fuller. Tannins have antibacterial properties that can help soothe itchy/flaky scalp issues that would increase shedding. The tannins also tighten pores, which better protects your scalp from excessive oil and dirt while strengthening your strands to prevent damage.
- Caffeine- Green tea has 35mg of caffeine. Caffeine is known in the hair world for stimulating the scalp, increasing blood flow, and thus allowing your scalp to get more oxygen and more "food."
- Pantheol, Vitamin C and Vitamin E- Pantheol, which is found in tons of hair products, acts as a humectant, drawing moisture into the hair and helps prevent split ends while conditioning. Vitamin C is known as an antioxidant thought to help heal the scalp. Vitamin E also acts as an antioxidant that aids effective circulation in the scalp due to increased oxygen uptake in blood.
- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil- Coconut oil has been shown in studies to be the only oil that prevents protein loss while helping hair retain moisture. It reduces hair porosity making it spectacular for chemically relaxed hair which is typically higher porosity. Washing your hair can cause hygral fatigue, which is a fancy way of saying damage caused by frequent swelling (absorbing moisture) and shrinking (losing moisture) of hair fiber.
To apply the rinse to my scalp, I used a narrow tip applicator bottle (Like this one of these) in the shower after conditioning. I let it sit for a few minutes then rinsed. My hair felt crazy moisturized strong but soft. (Don't worry, I'll give you all the details in tomorrow's #WashDayExperience!}
Have you ever tried a green tea rinse for you hair? What's your favorite recipe?
Besitos!
KLP
This 'experiement' looks interesting. What sparked the idea?
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to do an oil rinse for a couple of weeks now---so I thought to just combine the Tea and oil together and see what happens. LOL!
DeleteThanks for asking chica!
Can I use any other oil for the oil rinse?
ReplyDeletehttps://lauralivll.wordpress.com
I don't see why not!
DeleteI look forward to the wash day post. Does green tea rinse also help with hair breakage?
ReplyDeleteI can't say definitively that it does, but it does make my hair strands feel "harder" more resilient, and stronger. Try it on your hair and see what happens!
Deletehmmmm this sounds mighty interesting. I opted not to do this week's Wash Day topic because teas have seriously irritated my scalp in the past. I'm wondering though, with the addition of the coconut oil if that would curtail it.
ReplyDeleteNote to self: try it!
That's a good question! What I liked the most about using EVCO is that I had a little leftover. So once it solidified, it was super easy to apply to my ends and to even treat my scalp. #winning!
DeleteWow, I am definitely going to try this recipe. Your scalp must have felt ahhmazing! Thanks for the facts as well, I didn't know that coconut oil reduces hair porosity :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd it explains why---even when my hair was relaxed---I had normal porosity. Yay!
Delete