This week I decided to do something a little different for my learning project. Normally when I cook, it is when I am making something to eat. For this recipe, I will be cooking rosemary to make rosemary water, a new trend I've seen on instagram for scalp and hair health. Rosemary water has been used for centuries by many different cultures to help with hair health.
As someone who is currently on a health journey, I have been exercising regularly and have been mindful of my food for close to a year. I do not necessarily have a specific body goal, rather my health goals are more orientated towards fueling my body so I have energy during the day, have less pain from my fibromyalgia, and am giving my immune system the nutrients I need to fight off illness (especially as an educator haha-if you know, you know). During this journey, I have lost a significant amount of weight, which has helped with my chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia. This has led to me losing a significant amount of density in my hair. I've had extremely thick and curly hair for my entire life and would need to get regular appointments to thin my hair to avoid headaches as teenager. I am 19 now and my hairdresser is flabbergasted at the thinness and lack of density in my hair.
I have been following different types of hair influencers on Instagram in hopes of learning new tips on how to protect and heal my hair. I wear my hair in a satin bonnet, I regularly oil my ends in castor oil and jojoba oil, massage my scalp regularly, and today I am trying something new: rosemary water.
I found this video by bybelallure on instagram and it shares great tips for making rosemary water as well as showing step by step how to do it!
I started by walking to the grocery store and picking up a bunch of rosemary sprigs. When I got home, I brought 4 cups of water a boil. Then, I washed the leaves with water and and dropped them in the pot. I turned the setting from High to simmer and let the sprigs simmer for 20 minutes. Then, I set the pot aside to cool. When it was cool, I filtered the water and funneled it into a little root applicator I found on Amazon. Then, I stuck it in the fridge until I was ready to use it!
When I used it, I noticed that my curls absolutely loved this! I have never seen my hair so curly! Whether or not it helps with the density of my hair, I am still going to use it because it is really helpful for refreshing my roots and curls on a non-wash day. If you are going to try this, PLEASE talk to your hairdresser first! I do not want this to lead to someone damaging their hair.
Here is a little infographic I made using Canva about my attempt at making the rosemary water.
Benefits of rosemary water that are commonly talked about are:
promoting hair growth
protecting against hair loss
prevent dandruff
help dry and itchy scalps
In regard to how effective this instagram post was for my learning, it was alright. I think the video the creator made was really helpful and I really like her account, but it is very anecdotal. It's not like Instagram regulates these sort of posts so you kind of have to take it with a grain of salt. I did do other research on this before trying it and putting it in my hair. I read lots of different articles and watched many other videos. I think as with most things, when you are learning something, do your research on multiple platforms.
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