Bunga Raya / Hibiscus

Bunga Raya or the Hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia and Hawaii..

It has medicinal value. It is astringent, has been used for curing ulser, its cooling properties- used to bring down fever. Some drink it as tea - although some say if you want to get pregnant avoid it- hmmm ...

Anyways- Asians use it for hair. The Malays, Indonesians, used the leaves and flowers before the use of commercial shampoo. The white hibiscus said to prevent grey hair.. Indians use the red hibiscus. It is said to be very good to reduce excessive secretion/ oiliness of the hair and scalp, reduce pore clogging and restore acid/alkaline balance of the hair an eliminates toxins, promoting growth ( Nadkarni 1954, Kurump 1970)

Alamak kena tanam banyaklah pokok ni kat rumah. I have only one ..botak pulak nanti.

Recipe No 1

Large handful of hibiscus leaves

water to cover

Crush leaves loosely with hand. Barely cover with water. Boil for 20 minutes and strain

Massage on to hair and rinse

Recipe No2

10 flowers

150-200 coc0nut oil

Boil the above let it stand for 10-12 hours. Strain and use

You may add neem ( daun semambu) now we need a whole new topic on these. or mint to the above recipe.

Spa at Bali Hyatt recommend these essential oils

Dry hair-- geranium, sandalwood, palmarosa, lavender

Damaged-- geranium, lavender, sandalwoond, frankincense

Grey hair-- camomile, sage, lavender , rose

hairloss- rosemary, juniper, lavender

dandruff- eucalyptus,rosemary,cedarwood, tea tree.