Does Fenugreek (methi) powder strengthen your hair?

[*Muffin*]

Why the nettle? For darkness? That's an interesting combo, please tell how you like it.

Here's my reasoning on why I used nettles. It was between nettle tea or burdock root tea, because they are both high in silica, which is a mineral that's very beneficial in hair care (conditioning, thickening). I didn't use burdock root because it produces mucilage, and the fenugreek already produces mucilage. And nettles are also very good for clearing the skin, so I made a big pot of nettle tea and mixed it in both my fenugreek hair treatment and my bentonite clay/amla powder mask.

 

[jamaraa]

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[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

Jamaraa, verbatim what Muffin stated...it has great hair growing/strenthening properties.

 

[*Muffin*]

Ummm....interesting ideas for these herbs. I have taken both burdock and nettles internally, but I've only used nettles on my hair. I use it in the final cold rinse (leave it in).

How long do you leave on the mask?

For about 30 minutes, which is about how long it took the mask to harden. It turned out well. I like to experiment a lot with herbs (which is why I stalk LHC and am about to stalk this Indian hair-care website ). Otherwise I would have never thought to use them that way. On LHC some ladies are using catnip to get softer hair. Interesting...lol.

 

[jamaraa]

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[Aggie]

Thanks so much for your insight. Does fenugreek make your hair curlier or puffier? The last time I used it I believe it made my NG puffier/kinkier. And you're right. It has really good slip .

Oh yeah, and thanks for adding the info about the curry thing. I thought there was something wrong with my nose for a sec. When I open the bag and smell the methi powder it initially smells sweet like maple syrup. But after I've used it my hair ends up smelling like curry, or the room smells like curry. IDK, I have a weird sense of smell.

Actually, it does make your hair curlier. I kinda like it since my hair is so fine, fenugreek gives it a fullish look.

 

[*Muffin*]

Check Long Hair Community (White board) too, if you haven't. They also use catnip and several other herb combos. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=21

Usually, I put my herbs in my henna OR taken them internally OR make an infused oil. I've never done masks before, but you guys are perking my ears a bit.

LOL...that's the forum I was talking about. LHC=long hair community. I love asking them questions about herbs, and they seem very knowledgeable. But then again, I've learned a lot from ladies on this board as well (like Aggie ).

I've tried oil infusions before, but I usually end up mixing a whole bunch of herbs together and infusing them. The next time I do one I'm either going to use one herb or herbs that enhance each other's benefits.

 

[jamaraa]

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[*Muffin*]

Muffin Yes, try doing singles. I rarely do compounds unless I know each herb well. Besides, you can simply mix your singles together!

For some reason I thought you were talking about Indus Ladies.

Aggie my hair's just the same...maybe it works better in the Bahamas! LOL

Oops, now I see how my post was misleading. I mentioned both LHC and the Indus ladies website, but I forgot the name of the Indus ladies website so I just said Indian hair board . Thanks for the tip on oil infusions. Next time I'll just mix my singles together. What kind of oils do you use as carrier oils?

Oh yeah, and here's a thread I started over at LHC, and the info the lady gave me was pretty helpful.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=834296#post834296

 

[vkb247]

Did your mix have slip?

I though I had seriously failed because I was using crushed fenugreek seeds. From Indus ladies and LHC I learned that it is supposed to provide slip but I don't get much of it from the seeds (I open up the tea bag). I made a teas with fenugreek and brahmi. It made my hair darker but wasn't moisturizing at all. I was planning on pulverizing it in a magic bullet to see if I had better luck getting some slip.

 

[*Muffin*]

Did your mix have slip?

I though I had seriously failed because I was using crushed fenugreek seeds. From Indus ladies and LHC I learned that it is supposed to provide slip but I don't get much of it from the seeds (I open up the tea bag). I made a teas with fenugreek and brahmi. It made my hair darker but wasn't moisturizing at all. I was planning on pulverizing it in a magic bullet to see if I had better luck getting some slip.

Yeah, my mix had a lot of slip. I've never tried using the whole seeds. I just buy methi powder at my local indian store (which is fenugreek seed that has been finely ground) and I add boiling hot water (which releases a lot of mucilage. I followed up afterward by DC'ing with a moisturizing conditioner (because my hair sometimes gets tangly when I use things that contain protein) and my hair was more moisturized that when I use my DC alone. Not to mention smooth . Maybe the powdered fenugreek seed would work for you.

 

[jamaraa]

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[summergirl08]

Does anyone know if you can take Fenugreek internally in capsule form and get the same results?

 

[*Muffin*]

Muffin I use jojoba and/or coconut oils. For hair, I like to mix both because they have such great properties. Jojoba absorbs into hair/skin and stops coconut freeze and coconut darkens...both moisturize. I haven't used grapeseed in my mixes, but I've bought oils w/ it as a carrier. That's a nice option too. Tho I own oils made from til (ie sesame) oil, I tend to prefer something a tad ligther in my brews.

vkb powder it. If you have a coffee mill or mortar/pestle, that'll do the job. If not, just buy some powdered and use the seeds to cook w/! Tne seeds are quite hard for your hair purposes and all the goodies won't come out that way unless you grind it. (Whe cooking w/ it, a tiny bit of powder goes ALONG WAY just FYI)

BTW, I'm enjoying this veda talk. It's been awhile since I've talked herbs around here!

I know, isn't it fun? I had jojoba oil, but I ruined it . Remember those oil mixes I told you about before, the ones where I was putting a whole bunch of herbs together. The carrier oil was jojoba oil, lol. So far I have rose hips infused jojoba oil and henna, brahmi, and amla infused jojoba oil (very dark green color). My hair doesn't really like to be sealed with jojoba oil, but it would probably work well if I mixed it in my treatments. My hair is very picky when it comes to oil. So far the only oil it really loves is coconut oil. It kind of likes avocado oil, but it likes it better when I mix it with coconut oil. I think my hair likes lightweight oils.

 

[vkb247]

Muffin I don't think that jojoba is absorbed into the hair so that's probably what it didn't like. Coconut is the ultimate penetrator so you hair definitely has good taste.

I love talking herbs to. Maybe we (Jamaraa - that means you!) should start a dedicated thread!

 

[jamaraa]

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[jamaraa]

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[jamaraa]

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[jamaraa]

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[vkb247]

Definitely general!

This is the information I have about jojoba. It most closely resembles our natural sebum but

"Scientists at the Textile Research (J. Cosmet.Sci 52, 169-184, 2001) tested Olive oil, Avocado oil, Meadowfoam seed oil, Sunflower oil, and Jojoba oil. Their results showed that straight chain glycerides like olive oil easily penetrate into the hair. Polyunsaturated oils , like Jojoba oil, are more open in their structure so they don’t pass through the layers of cuticles very well.

What does that mean in plain English? Olive and Avocado oils penetrate all the way into the hair shaft. Meadowfoam seed oil partially penetrates, and jojoba and sunflower oils don’t penetrate at all. They’re very superficial and don’t really provide any practical benefit."

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/14/two-natural-oils-that-make-your-hair-shiny-and-strong/

 

[*Muffin*]

My hair has good taste .... It's a pain in my backside, it's so spoiled and finicky, lol. It only wants coconut oil. I even tried olive oil, and it hates it (probably because it's thick oil). So I guess I should just stick to what I know, right? My hair won't allow me to be a PJ. I wouldn't mind starting a dedicated thread, though I think you girls(Aggie, Jamaara, vkb247,and the other mixtresses/Veda ladies) know more about herbs and natural things than I do. But I'm learning fast .

BTW, here's some more info about Jojoba oil. I didn't know it was a good scalp cleanser.

http://www.regrowhair.com/non-surgical-hair-loss-treatments/jojoba-oil-for-hair-loss/

 

[vkb247]

That's interesting Muffin. I was thinking that jojoba was a good cleanser because it was like sebum but that article says that it can remove build up sebum which can clog hair follicles.

So now I am totally confused I know that there is a sebum only crew at LHC who believe that all the hair needs is what nature provides. But sebum can clog hair follicles too? If our own juices can block up our follicles than we really do need to wash or something on a regular right? What won't clog follicles?

 

[Aggie]

Muffin Yes, try doing singles. I rarely do compounds unless I know each herb well. Besides, you can simply mix your singles together!

For some reason I thought you were talking about Indus Ladies.

Aggie my hair's just the same...maybe it works better in the Bahamas! LOL

You know, you might be right jamaraa.

 

[Aggie]

LOL...that's the forum I was talking about. LHC=long hair community. I love asking them questions about herbs, and they seem very knowledgeable. But then again, I've learned a lot from ladies on this board as well (like Aggie ).

I've tried oil infusions before, but I usually end up mixing a whole bunch of herbs together and infusing them. The next time I do one I'm either going to use one herb or herbs that enhance each other's benefits.

I never thought to even join the LHC site because it seemed like it was a site only for caucasian women. Because of your thread I saw there, I decided to join today.

 

[Aggie]

Did your mix have slip?

I though I had seriously failed because I was using crushed fenugreek seeds. From Indus ladies and LHC I learned that it is supposed to provide slip but I don't get much of it from the seeds (I open up the tea bag). I made a teas with fenugreek and brahmi. It made my hair darker but wasn't moisturizing at all. I was planning on pulverizing it in a magic bullet to see if I had better luck getting some slip.

Really? Before you give up on the seeds totally, take a look at the fenugreek seed recipe in my fotki and give it a shot. You never know, it just might work for you.

 

[Aggie]

Does anyone know if you can take Fenugreek internally in capsule form and get the same results?

I know fenugreek has a lot of internal benefits but I wouldn't take it internally because I here it increases breasts milk. I'm not pregga but I didn't want to take any chances.

 

[Aggie]

Muffin I don't think that jojoba is absorbed into the hair so that's probably what it didn't like. Coconut is the ultimate penetrator so you hair definitely has good taste.

I love talking herbs to. Maybe we (Jamaraa - that means you!) should start a dedicated thread!

Now this is wonderful idea. How about it Jamaraa?

 

[Aggie]

Should the thread be about a single herb (like this one) or a general one?

Definitely general!

This is the information I have about jojoba. It most closely resembles our natural sebum but

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/14/two-natural-oils-that-make-your-hair-shiny-and-strong/

, I totally agree vkb247. It should be a general thread. Thanks for the link. I will be checking it out.

Anyway, anyone here tried the Nu Gro hair products and have you seen the amount of natural herbs and oils that are in the products? Check out this link on it with the ingredients lists http://www.nugrohairproducts.com/m_19.asp?pa=m_19.

I realized that the products are cheaper here though http://www.texasbeautysupplies.com/nugro.html but they don't have the ingredients lists attached. I am very tempted to try this line.

 

[flowinlocks]

Muffin I don't think that jojoba is absorbed into the hair so that's probably what it didn't like. Coconut is the ultimate penetrator so you hair definitely has good taste.

I love talking herbs to. Maybe we (Jamaraa - that means you!) should start a dedicated thread!

Souds like a good Idea.

 

[vkb247]

Really? Before you give up on the seeds totally, take a look at the fenugreek seed recipe in my fotki and give it a shot. You never know, it just might work for you.

That looks really interesting, similar to the two step soak that was on the first page. I had a heck of a time getting all of the chopped seed pieces out of my hair when I did my brahmi and fenugreek tea/mask. I only used some seaweed powder for slip but it was only slick in the bowl so it didn't help me at all when it was time to rinse. Is your mix easy to rinse out? I had to cowash, air dry (I loved my hair and it was so soft and dark), realize I had lots of bits still in it, and cowash again to get it all out. After all of that the effects were lost