Rosemary's Sage Natural Hair Colorant

Some of my beautiful Sage in my Kitchen Herb Garden

I found this natural 'remedy' on Facebook when a friend posted the link ... so being its all natural and made with herbs, things I am into and which I just happen to grow in my Kitchen Herb Garden ... it sounded like something worth giving a try.

Yea, I'm a little skeptical BUT definitely hopeful that it works ... at least to some degree.  Along with my lupus comes crazy bouts with psoriasis, which, right now, among other places, is in my scalp (one side).  Though I've had it before ... this time I'm having trouble getting it to clear up completely, even with the chemical drugs the doctor has given me for both internal and external use ... its being stubborn and will not completely clear up ... which leads to a problem ... I CANNOT have my hair colored ... at least, not until it is cleared.  Sure don't want my hair falling out (heck I've had that too but that's another story).  So TODAY ~ August 14, 2013 ... I started using this 'Tea' to see if it really works! Oh and I like to call it Rosemary's Sage Tea ... cause I like the sound of it!

This was my first batch of harvesting Sage ... I thought for sure this
would easily make 1/4th cup of Rubbed Sage ... NOT!

Here it is AFTER its been dried ... not much huh?

Here's my second batch of harvesting Sage ... this along
with the first batch made EXACTLY 1/4th cup Rubbed Sage!!!

This is how I hung it to dry in my Laundry Room.

Basically, this is what the article I read stated:

"This recipe is for a natural hair rinse to gradually conceal graying hair. This homeopathic natural hair rinse will brighten and color grey hair naturally."

What you will need:

1/4 cup Rubbed Sage

1/4 cup Rosemary Leaves

(Organic, if possible)

1 cup Distilled Water

My ingredients for the 'Tea'

Lucky for me I grow my own herbs so harvesting was relatively easy ... at least the Rosemary was ... I just cut off a branch from one of my many Rosemary plants and stripped off the leaves.  Now the Sage, which I normally use by harvesting the leaves and using them directly in recipes, took a little more effort.  I've never gone to the trouble to make Rubbed Sage, though the flavor is much stronger then just using the leaves fresh from the garden.  You can find instructions on making Rubbed Sage here:  http://www.ehow.com/how_8634966_make-rubbed-sage.html#page=0  To buy this much Rubbed Sage in the grocery store would be costly as I'm pretty sure a bottle or tin of it doesn't contain 1/4th cup and it took me quite a bit of leaves to get 1/4 cup Rubbed Sage!!!  So here's another link if you'd like to buy some in bulk: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

Here's where I was getting ready to 'rub' the Sage.

Here's what Rubbed Sage looks like.

TO MAKE:

Put Distilled Water into a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a gentle rolling boil.  Add the Herbs, cover the pan, and remove from heat.  Let mixture steep for at least 30 minutes.

Place a coffee filter into a colander, and place the colander on top of a bowl. Pour the Rosemary's Sage 'Tea' slowly into the coffee filter.  Some herbs may fall into the filter but don't worry if they do.  Set the pan aside.   Take a large spoon and gently press on top of any solids to extract all of the liquid.  Don't want to miss a drop after all the work getting to this point!

Getting all the liquid out!

Discard filter and any solids.  Pour Rosemary's Sage 'Tea' into a clean, sterilized glass jar or bottle and allow liquid to cool.

Final product ~ Rosemary's Sage Tea

Discard after 7 days and make fresh.  Store in a cool place ... I chose to refrigerate mine.  Tea can be warmed by placing bottle in warm water.

TO USE:

There is 2 ways you can use this on your hair ... I chose the second one since my hair is not gray all over ...only at the roots.

* After shampooing and rinsing as normal: Position head over a large bowl; pour a small amount of the Rosemary's Sage Tea over hair.  Massage in thoroughly.  Repeat, letting any excess run into the bowl.  Do this 5-10 times.  Dry hair as normal.  Pour any remaining Tea back into your glass bottle, and store in the refrigerator for next use.

** In between shampoos, put a small amount of Tea on a cotton ball and dab onto any visible gray areas.  I dabbed it by parting every few inches, dabbed along part and repeated all across my head ~ just like the colorist does when she touches up the roots.  

Supposedly ... most people see a noticeable difference in hair color after only one month. The Tea helps soften and minimize the gray color. Gradually gray color fades and hair returns to its natural color.  Also ... "This is not an overnight solution or a quick fix like commercial hair dyes.  It is a tried and tested formula that works."

We shall see!  I'm not posting any BEFORE pics yet ... if this works even just a tiny bit ... I will update this post with BEFORE and AFTER pics, I promise.  Stay tuned!

Here's the link of the original article:

http://m.voices.yahoo.com/how-professional-look-home-hair-color-227774.html?cat=69

UPDATE ~ October 3, 2013

Ya'll I gave this a legitimate try using it for just over a month. It DID NOT work for me and I had high hopes that I would have SOME change or at very least toning down of the gray. So I am not uploading any before and after pics as I had NO difference whatsoever!