Natural Hair Growth Treatments from the Past

Antique Recipes to Cure Hair Loss

May 7, 2009 Cindy Ausbrooks

Hair loss is not just a modern problem. Its effect can be seen throughout history, but its legacy is a trove of hair growth treatments passed down through the centuries.

Mention of natural hair growth treatments, tonics, and pomades can be found in most antique herbals and family recipe books. These natural hair growth remedies can still be made at home today, and used to treat all types of hair loss in both men and women. Although lacking scientific evidence to support their claims, these treatments have been used for centuries to fight hair loss and baldness.

Hair Growth Recipe to Preserve and Thicken

In the book The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, by a Lady, written in 1760, the author described the following herbal hair loss treatment.

An Approved Method Practiced by Mrs. Dukeley,

The Queen’s Tyre Woman,

To Preserve Hair and Make it Grow Thick.

Add a handful of rosemary flowers and half a pound of honey to one quart of white wine. Distill together, and then add a quarter of a pint of sweet almond oil. Shake well, and pour a small amount into a cup. Warm to blood temperature, rub into the scalp, comb through until the hair is dry and repeat daily.

The Baron’s Cure for Hair Loss

Baron Dupuytren (October 5, 1777 – February 8, 1835), a French anatomist and military surgeon, gained worldwide fame for his hair loss pomade, which he claimed could cure hair loss and baldness. The recipe for this natural hair loss remedy is as follows.

Baron Dupuytren’s Hair Growth Pomade

Ingredients:

• Rosemary spirits
• Nutmeg spirits
• Ethyl alcohol (vodka may also be used)
• Boxwood shavings

Directions:

1. Combine six ounces of boxwood shavings with 12 ounces of ethyl alcohol or vodka.
2. Distill for ten days, strain, and discard the shavings.
3. Combine the boxwood spirits with two ounces each rosemary and nutmeg spirits.
4. Apply the solution to the scalp and massage in daily to increase hair growth.

Rosemary and nutmeg spirits may be purchased at drug stores, or other botanical sources. They may also be prepared at home using the same method for making boxwood spirits.

Water Lily Hair Growth Treatments

In the book, Herbal Simples, written by William Thomas Fernie in 1895, water lily is suggested as an herbal hair loss treatment. He writes that an ointment made of the root of the large white water lily will “prevent falling out of the hair” when applied to the scalp. He also remarks that the fresh juice expressed from the leaves of the white water lily, when used to wash the head and scalp, will prevent the hair from falling out.

The juice of the water lily root is acrid, Fernie cautions, and can cause the skin to redden when applied directly. If you decide to try this herbal hair growth remedy, apply some of the juice to a small patch of skin first. As always, if you have any doubts about the proper use of these natural hair growth treatments, consult a qualified medical or herbal practitioner prior to use.

Check out Natural Hair Loss Remedies for more ideas on increasing hair growth naturally.

References:

Buchman, Dian Dincin. The Complete Herbal Guide to Natural Health and Beauty. Connecticut: Keat’s Publishing, 1995. Print.

Fernie, William Thomas. Herbal Simples. Harvard University, 1895. Print.

The copyright of the article Natural Hair Growth Treatments from the Past in Natural Medicine is owned by Cindy Ausbrooks. Permission to republish Natural Hair Growth Treatments from the Past in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Rosemary makes a wonderful hair growth tonic.