自製漢方賦活頭皮何首烏洗髮精 | DIY Chinese Medicine Scalp Shampoo with Fo-ti Root

Jul 31

Jul 31 自製漢方賦活頭皮何首烏洗髮精 | DIY Chinese Medicine Scalp Shampoo with Fo-ti Root

If you know anything about Chinese medicine or have watched Kung Fu Panda, it’s all about the Qi/Chi, or the airflow through our bodies. When there’s a blockage of Qi, that’s when and where symptoms occur on your body. I’ve always had a sensitive scalp, but it’s really been flaking out since last year with the pandemic stress. My “Master Shifu” - a Chinese astrology lady who, traditionally dabbles into the art of Qi - told me that my scalp flakiness is due to Qi blockage around the head with all the worries I’ve had to face. She suggested applying ginger, or rather ginger water on the scalp to warm up and increase flow to the scalp. I’ve decided to up it a notch and whip up a ginger based shampoo.

Additionally, I was interested in playing with some he shou wu or tuber fleeceflower root, also known as fo-ti root, which has known properties to prevent grey hair and hair loss in Chinese medicines. Although I’m embracing going gray naturally, hair loss prevention can’t hurt. Since I live in Taiwan, I have access to Chinese medicine specialty stores and therefore to dried he shou wu pieces. If you don’t, you can always use fo-ti root powder which is available online or on Amazon.

I didn’t expect much differences or results with this shampoo at first. I just thought it’d be something different and fun to whip up, with some funky ingredients. However, I have been able to reduce my Scalp Care Routine of scalp scrub or clarifying scalp serum from weekly to bi-weekly or sometimes longer without my scalp flaring up; while none of my recent stress has disappeared. Magic!

I use the base of my DIY Easy Silky Shampoo, and basically switch out water with he shou wu and ginger tea. I’ve also used ginger essential oil to enhance ginger’s Qi flowing factor. Alternatively, you can also try extracts from licorice roots, and wild yam, which are also widely used ingredients in Chinese medicines. I’ve used these extracts in my DIY Scalp Balancing Serum. Originally, I only used ginger tea and essential oil without he shou wu nor the extracts and it improved my scalp condition too. Feel free to swap out the fanciness if you do not wish to stock up on too many ingredients.

First, I dump the ginger slices and he shou wu slices in a cup of water and bring it to a simmer. I let it simmer for about 25 ~ 30 minutes. Strain the ginger he shou wu tea through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup. If you are left with too little water, you can either top it up to 100ml with water; or simply add additional extracts to a total of 100ml. If you are left with more than needed, I’d usually add some broad spectrum preservative and save it for use next time. Alternatively, you can put the remaining liquid in a spray bottle and use it on the scalp to massage, like my Master Shifu suggested.

Let the tea cool to room temperature or to at least under 50°C if you are as impatient as I am, then add the surfactants, conditioning agents and extracts. Much like my DIY Easy Silky Shampoo, I use a small whisk to mix by hand to avoid excessive foaming. You’ll notice that I’ve doubled the portion, because it’s not fun to simmer 50ml of root tea and spend all the time for a teensy batch. It’s a pretty awesome shampoo and I’d like more anyway. Once the mixture comes to a harmonious texture, I’d add a mix of peppermint and ginger essential oil. I’m not the biggest fan of the scent of ginger essential oil, but I do want to ensure the benefit of scalp Qi revival is added. So I use a little peppermint to mellow it out. You can of course use any essential oil you prefer. I’d stir and mix well, add the broad spectrum preservative, stir and mix well again, then bottle it to let it sit overnight or for a day before use.

我使用的原料比例:

生薑 Ginger thumb size or 4~5 slices
何首烏 He Shou Wu thumb size or 4~5 slices
水 Water 約 100ml apprx.
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天然椰子油起泡劑 70% SLES Sodium polyoxyethylene Lauryl Ether Sulfate 30ml | 2 tbsp 湯匙
葡萄糖起泡劑 (癸基葡萄糖甘 APG) Decyl Glucoside 30ml | 2 tbsp 湯匙
椰子油起泡劑 Cocoamidopropyl Betaine 30ml | 2 tbsp 湯匙
化妝品級柔軟劑 | 陽離子界面活性劑 | 聚季銨鹽-7 | Polyquaternium-7 15ml | 1 tbsp 湯匙
潤絲調理陽離子 | 十六烷基三甲基氯化銨 Centrimonium Chloride 5ml | 1 tsp 茶匙
精油 essential oil of choice 1ml | ¼ tsp 茶匙
複方抗菌劑 Broad Spectrum Preservatives 1ml | ¼ tsp 茶匙（或依產品建議比例，一般北美DIY部落客建議Liquid Germall Plus這個品牌）