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Rooibos tea is no doubt a tea that you have heard about, if you haven’t had some of it yourself. But you may not have heard that rooibos tea might help with your hair loss. If you are wondering if rooibos can really do this or not, then we should start by taking a closer look at this tea.
About Rooibos
Rooibos is a tea that has been popular for quite a while, and it shows every sign that it will remain so. There are many reasons rooibos is a staple tea. One of these reasons is the fact that it is a dark tea that is also caffeine-free. It is also low in tannin, which some people try to avoid due to bitterness.
This tea is originally from South Africa and comes from a shrub with the scientific name of aspalathus linearis. This name basically means red bush, even though the small, needle-like leaves are green and the flowers are yellow.
It is these leaves, with some stem, that are processed and which then are used to make rooibos tea. First, the plant is cut by hand, and then it is bruised to encourage oxidation. It is the oxidation part that gives rooibos the rich color and flavor it is known for.
This tea has a mildly nutty, earthy, almost sweet taste. Unlike some other teas, rooibos is not one that requires the taste to grow on you. Either you like it or, very unlikely, you don’t.
Rooibos tea can sometimes even be ‘graded,’ which is to say that some sellers offer better quality than others. A higher-grade rooibos has more of the needles and less of the stem. This gives the rooibos a richer flavor and less of a slightly bitter aftertaste.
The higher-grade rooibos is actually sold before local markets can get it. This is the opposite of teas like green tea, of which the higher-grades of it don’t often leave the country. Finally, one last noteworthy thing about rooibos is the fact that there is such as thing as green rooibos tea. The main difference is that it is less oxidized and has a grassier flavor.
Benefits Of Rooibos
Now that you know a bit about rooibos, hopefully you can already start to see some of the benefits of it. Rooibos tea is commonly used for things like soothing upset stomachs, promoting better sleep by helping with insomnia, helping babies with colic, and a handful of other things.
Rooibos is even good for your skin in that it can be used to relieve eczema and helps with allergies. This is because rooibos has some anti-inflammatory properties to it, which are also beneficial for encouraging hair growth.
Other than that, rooibos also has a notable amount of antioxidants in it. Antioxidants are well-established for being beneficial in a lot of different ways, and they can even help with hair growth. This is because those free radicals damage your hair, and antioxidants prevent that.
Aspalathin, for example, is one antioxidant that is found only in rooibos tea, and something that can also reduce your stress hormones, which can be another cause of hair loss. It even helps regulate your glutathione metabolism as well. This glutathione basically acts as one of your body’s detoxifiers.
Rooibos also has an effect on angiotensin-converting enzymes, which was proven by a study. This enzyme helps control your blood pressure. Also, rooibos increases your levels of polyphenols, which is good for your HDL cholesterol that keeps your LDL in check.
There was even one rooibos study done that showed that rooibos tea might improve your osteoblast activity. This is the process that develops your bones, meaning that your bones will be even healthier and stronger with rooibos.
Finally, though not proven, some feel that rooibos helps with things like weight management, cataracts, blood sugar, digestive efficiency, etc. As far as your hair goes, the fact that it is anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and has soothing properties makes it perfect.
Cautions Of Rooibos
As an herbal tea that doesn’t have any chemicals or strange ingredients in it, there is very little that you have to worry about when using rooibos in any way. That said, even something like rooibos can be harmful in excess amount.
The fact that there is no oxalic acid in rooibos means that it is safe to drink for those suffering from kidney stones. However, too much of the rooibos can actually be bad for those that have liver disease, kidney disease, or certain hormonal cancers.
There is even some belief that rooibos can interfere with chemotherapy treatments. Again, this is more so in excess amounts, but it is still a concern worth considering. If you have any truly serious health conditions, you should always talk to your doctor about changes in your diet.
Other than that, excess amounts may not be safe for women who are pregnant, and there is also some research that suggests that rooibos may have a subtle but negative impact on male fertility, even though in more reasonable doses it may actually help with sperm concentration.
Any of these side effects of rooibos are very rare, but they are still possible. Though other possibilities are even less common, most rooibos side effects are going to be centered around your liver, kidneys, and reproductive organs.
That said, these side effects that rooibos can give you are almost exclusively for if you are ingesting large amounts. If all you are doing is using rooibos topically, then none of the things I just mentioned should concern you.
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How To Use Rooibos For Your Hair
There are a few ways that rooibos can be used for your hair. The first, and definitely most obvious way, is to simply drink it as a tea. Rooibos can come either in a teabag, or you can get it in loose leave form. The teabags of rooibos are easier to find, and you can get them in most stores that have a large selection of teas.
Either way, you brew rooibos just like you would a regular tea and drink it however you usually have tea. Some people feel that rooibos should be brewed for longer, but this isn’t strictly necessary. The more processed the rooibos is, the more likely that some of the goodness has been removed as well, so choose where you source your rooibos from carefully.
You can safely drink several glasses of rooibos on a regular basis. However, the benefits of the rooibos will peak at around four or five cups of it. Since it has no caffeine in it, you can have your rooibos at any time of the day or evening.
Other than drinking rooibos, you have two other options. The first is to use the rooibos as a tea for a hair rinse. If you have a hair mask that requires some water, you can use rooibos tea instead. In each of these two ways, you shouldn’t be adding any sugar or anything else to the brewed rooibos, of course.
The other way you can use rooibos in your hair is by adding it to your shampoo. Yes, this means having tiny rooibos pieces in your shampoo or other similar hair product, which not everyone likes. However, putting it there both allows the shampoo to absorb some of what is in the rooibos. Just be sure to rinse extra well afterward.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, rooibos has a lot of benefits that make it worth using for your hair loss. Even having just a cup of rooibos every once in a while can be nice for your hair. The green rooibos, in particular, may have even more antioxidants than green tea.
So, get some teabags or some loose rooibos and see what you think of the taste. Rooibos isn’t likely to hurt your hair, and sometimes hair growth can use every little nudge in the right direction.
