HERB - Cecille's Herbal Hair Care Entry....

[Lana Swift]

Cecille here..........

Greetings to all who have taken the time and trouble to email me their comments and suggestions!

I especially wish to acknowledge Francesca de Onorati (you can stop holding your breath now...)
for her questions.  
 
Although Cecille is a strong willed, Norman woman, she is not too stubborn to ask for help/directions from those who are knowledgeable !  
 
I am certainly not offended with critique, questions or comments offered by the list regarding anything I submit.

The list is an open forum and should be used for that purpose!

OK.... now that I have had some sleep, I will try to address the questions and comments regarding my Herbal Hair Care entry.

1. "...include sources and bibliography, like a term paper"....
OK will write these down.
 
2. "...quote exact language when possible"...
OK, will do.

3.  ...finding Medieval Names of Herbs.....
I am still working on finding the Medieval names for my herbs.  
I can not seem to find anything from th local libraries and on line.  
I went to Amazon.com and Borders.Com,  but they did not have any early herbals for sale.

Suggestions?????

4.  My herbal hair care product entry is actually the old "Queen of Hungary" water.  I was fascinated by it's recipe and its many uses.  
 
Hungary Water and or Queen of Hungary Water has been used as a hair rinse, a facial toner (astringent), a mouthwash, a headache remedy, a foot bath and a toilet water.  
 
I have found Queen of Hungary" water is mentioned as being used by 1370, but my internet bibliographies do not site specific reference.
 
I knew from various readings that these herbs and the vinegar were available and used for various purposes in the Middle Ages.

5.  How does it work?.......  
 I use it as a final hair rinse (and do not rinse it out),.  
 
Since the mix is acidic, it removes shampoo residue left in hair.  
The vinegar also seems to soften the hair.  It is also used for itchy scalp, dandruff, and to add luster to drab, dull hair by helping to restore the natural acid of the scalp.  
 
At first I think I put too much vinegar (I made the vinegar from scratch ...) in the mix. It seemed to sting my scalp a little too much.  Maybe my scalp was just too sensitive.  
 
I added a little more Rose Water (made that from scratch too...will write that up), and every thing seemed to be OK then.
  
I hoped by making the Rose Water and vinegar from scratch as opposed to just buying the stuff at a health food store, I would get extra points for the level of difficulty.

I knew the culinary and medicinal usage of the following herbs, but I did have to research why they would be used in Queen of Hungary Water in regards to it being a hair care product. 
 
Sage:  is added for dandruff control.

Lemon Balm (Melissa)  Not sure why besides scent.  It does contain citronella which is an insect repellent.......

Comfrey:  Not sure why, besides perhaps that it is an astringent and stimulates cell (scalp and new hair growth ?),  proliferation due to  the prescience of allatonin.

Chamomile:  adds golden highlights

Lemon peel:  adds golden highlights, relieves dry scalp, aids in dandruff and lice control.  It also stimulates underactive sebaceous glands.

Rosemary:  promotes darker highlights and hair growth.

Calendula:  is soothing to scalp and adds golden highlights.

Lavender:  is used for its scent.  It also is a scalp treatment for  itchiness, dandruff, and lice!

Rose Water:  is a scalp smoother.  (when I make this rinse for my teenage boys, I substitute "Witchhazel" for the Rose Water, as they have very oily hair and scalp.) 

As a result of using the Queen of Hungary Water, my hair smelled wonderful and was shinier than usual.
 
It is difficult to put a lustrous sheen hair that is  artificially blond (OK, so I have it colored/bleached),   It did nothing for detangling however (but I think this had more to do with the fact that my hair is chemically altered), .  
 
Because my hair is very light golden blond, I was rather leery of the hair darkening effects Rosemary can produce.  My mixture had no color darkening effects on my hair.
 
I have to admit the Rosemary was really easy to come up with.  There is a big hedge of it around the village pharmacy.  I just as my pharmacist (who owns the place....don't worry, he does not use pesticides on this stuff), if I could snip some off.  Now I have carte blanch to his Rosemary!
 
I am also quite fortunate to live only 2 miles from an organic herb farm / learning center. 

6.  The recipe I used was taken exactly as written from 
"Herbs for Natural Beauty, " by Rosemary Gladstar.

7.  I still have not come up with a container / vessel for this product...
but am interested in additional comments regarding the presentation.  
I can come up with a linen cloth and the wooden comb. 
 
Any other suggestions regarding objects to be used in the presentation?  
  
8.  As for all of the actual written portion of my product.... 
I have planned to use some computerized font "Book of Kells" borders and pictures to decorate computer specialty paper (simulated vellum/parchment "look" from Kinkos).  
 
I am going to use an "Anglo-Saxon Caps" font to do the write up, as it looks period, and has especially nice capital letters.  
 
I am going to glue the printed computer paper onto to a 8" X 10" piece of cardboard that also has a triangle glued on the back of it (like a foot, making it into an upright display).   

9.  "...Your Kingdom's criteria looks much simpler than mine."    
I'll say!  Interesting as the SCA originated here in California and rather close to my area.  {I have often wondered why one standard is not the norm throughout the entire SCA be it for competition, fighting, or garb, or what ever be it ..... but that is another discussion...} 

10.  Regarding the herbal guild I belong to...  
Alas...it just does not seem to meet.  
I ask my Laurel questions usual on line, but I have only been to one actual Herbalist Guild meeting since I joined, a year ago.  
 
Meetings just do not happen.....I think it is because we are so spread out geographically, and my Laurel has some severe health problems.  She is unable attend to attend many events.  
 
I was hoping that we could at least hold quarterly meetings at major Principality events.  Maybe I can work on that!

11.   How much of this mixture should I present for display purposes, 250ml, 500 ml? 

Cecille de Baskervyl

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