Scalp & hair

A nettle rinse after washing the hair is one of the most widespread Central European household tips of all, and the catalogue holds exactly that set under this topic: stinging nettle, rosemary, common sage, wild thyme, English lavender and lemon balm. With them, cleavers and candlenut.

The form is always external and repeated — a rinse, a macerate, a massage into the skin. The aim is itching and flaking, not hair density.

Dandruff with an oily scalp is not a lack of care but most often seborrhoeic dermatitis linked to a yeast that normally lives on the head. The documented treatment is antifungal shampoo, and that is a different category from a rinse.

For hair loss the same holds even more sharply: the commonest cause is androgenetic and is governed by hormones and genetics. No rinse changes it, however old and however widespread the tradition.

Well-defined hairless patches, scarring areas, heavy scaling with pain or pus, and sudden extensive shedding after an illness or childbirth need a diagnosis — with scarring forms, time decides.

If an inflammation of the scalp is under treatment, a herbal macerate does not belong on it without the doctor's agreement. And keep irritating preparations away from the eyes.