How to Use Tea to Help Your Hair Grow

It's an embarrassing topic to speak about, but it's a reality that does happen as you get older and there is something you can do about it naturally.

Many people are of the impression that it's mostly men or sometimes ONLY men who are affected by this, which makes it harder for those women who also suffer from this condition to wear themselves confidently in public. The truth is both men and women suffer from hair loss at some point.

Human beings are supposed to shed between 50- 100 strands of hair per day, every day as part of a natural balance to allow new strands to grow. When you start shedding more than 100-125 strands a day (without any new growth taking its place), then that's a cause for concern. This is what's known as "Alopecia".

Types of hair loss:

Men and women both experience some type of hair loss for various reasons, namely: Anagen Effluvium: This is hair loss caused by certain medications like chemotherapy. Telogen Effluvium: when too many hair follicles grow at the same time, resulting in hair falling out.

Female Pattern Alopecia: this type of hair loss occurs over the top of the head and along the sides, most commonly in women due to tight braids/ hair being tied into ponytails too often, etc.

Male pattern hair loss: unlike in women who experience hair loss after 40, for men, it can take place at any time once puberty hits and progresses over time. It's common for a circle to develop on the top of the head or for the spot above the temples to start thinning out, creating an "M" pattern on the forehead.

Can tea help with hair loss?

Apart from being a perfect afternoon treat, a cup of tea is the most powerful liquid you can hold in the palm of your hand for various health reasons, including preventing hair loss.

There are numerous benefits you can gain from using tea on your hair, not just from drinking it, namely:

1) Stopping hair loss: The magic is in the caffeine which suppresses the hormone responsible for your hair falling out, called, "DHT".

2) Helping your hair to grow back - Ever heard people say caffeine is bad for you, well that may be true in unbalanced amounts on the inside, but for your hair it's exactly what it needs to stimulate your hair follicles, increasing blood flow and circulation to your scalp.

3) Preventing split ends: if you suffer from a lot of split ends and don't know what to do, make Green Tea your best friend (we have lots of varieties to choose from, just click our link).

4) Repairing your hair: There's an ingredient in green tea called Panthenol that is the key factor in repairing your hair, together with the other vitamins and antioxidants found in the tea. The tea not only prevents breakage but strengthens your strands as well, so there's eventually no split comebacks.

5) Soothing inflammation and irritated skin on the scalp: apart from containing antioxidants, tea is also an anti-inflammatory that is perfect for soothing itchy and irritable scalps. There are miracle workers in the tea that remove the dead skin cells that block the hair follicles, leaving them clogged and causing dandruff and itchy scalps.

5) Keeping hair soft and shiny: This is where the antioxidants come back to remove the build-up, helping your hair to absorb the nourishing minerals and vitamins it needs and protecting it from UV rays, preventing further damage and leaving you with that shiny glossy look, but naturally. 

Types of tea and how they help the hair

• Green Tea: Acts as an exfoliant, stimulating circulation and blood flow and clearing blockages in the hair follicles. This tea also promotes hair growth. To use in your scalp- make the tea, dilute it by 50%, rub it into your scalp and leave it to soak for 15 minutes, then wash it out with shampoo.

• Black Tea: Contains lots of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants like tannins that give hair the shine, body and gloss we all look for, neutralising the free radicals. It also enhances naturally dark hair, giving it a pop of colour and preventing grey hairs due to the Theaflavins and Thearubigins contained The best way to use this tea is to apply it directly to your scalp only using a spray bottle, rinse it out in the shower, then apply your conditioner as normal. 

• Rooibos Tea: contains certain proteins and more importantly anti-inflammatory agents that help soothe irritated. You can read more about the benefits of rooibos here

Tea Recipe for your hair

Take 2 or 3 teabags/ teaspoons of loose tea and boil in 6 cups of water for about 30 minutes. Whilst the tea is cooling down, make sure your hair is cleaned and damp.

Apply the tea to your hair and leave it to sit in for about 10 minutes before rinsing out. Don't forget to make yourself a cup of tea as you wait (check out our range of delicious ranges to choose from insert link).

Follow up with your conditioner and style as desired.

Tip: For extra shine, spray the tea in your hair throughout the day and enjoy a shiny look.

As a bonus tip, have a look at your shampoo ingredients list for any sulphates. Try and avoid these types of shampoos and see how a better shampoo with your tea treatment will get you lasting shine, healthy hair and thicker growth.

Using tea in your hair and on your scalp performs 2 very important jobs:

For the scalp- tea removes build-up, which creates a much better environment for speeding up hair growth and reducing inflammation.

For the hair itself- build-up is removed, clearing the strands to absorb the moisture, nutrients, and vitamins it needs to improve its texture and lustre.

Happy hair, happy you

- Ari