Washing Your Hair With This Popular Beverage Will Stimulate Growth and Reduce Scalp Buildup

You’re probably already familiar with the many health benefits of green tea. I mean, folks have been drinking the stuff for hundreds of years. But on top of what it does for your body, green tea has a number of beauty purposes that may surprise you. For example, using green tea as a scalp rinse may help you reduce buildup and hair loss.

Green Tea for Hair Thinning and Scalp Conditions

Pouring tea into your hair might seem, well, a little weird. But trust us, once you learn about how helpful this little hack can be, it’ll be one you return to every week.

Green tea has several benefits for hair, the main one being that it’s full of antioxidants, which fight free radical damage to our cells. In particular, when skin cells on our scalp become damaged, it can lead to inflammation and other scalp conditions that cause hair loss and thinning.

Green tea is also a powerful antimicrobial. In the summer time when we sweat more and our scalps hold onto moisture, bacteria can grow and cause buildup and flaking — something none of us want. When applied topically, green tea can help clarify the skin by prevent on the scalp and prevent that buildup. TK THIS SENTENCE HAS SOME EXTRA WORDS?

Last but not least, green tea may help encourage hair growth in a few ways. In fact, you’ve probably seen it in some of your favorite products for thinning hair. For one, a polyphenol (or plant compound) in green tea called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has shown to promote human hair growth. On top of that, it contains caffeine, which studies show stimulates blood flow to our hair follicles while reducing inflammation, which may ultimately lead to thicker, longer locks.

To make a green tea rinse for your hair, brew up a cup as you normally would with one or two green tea bags and eight to ten ounces of hot water. Allow your tea to steep and cool for at least 15 minutes (the tea should be room temperature by the time you’re ready to use it). After shampooing and conditioning your hair in the shower, rinse your hair in the green tea by pouring it over the top of your head. You can also flip your hair upside down to target the back and bottom of your scalp. Allow the tea to sit in your hair for at least five minutes, then rinse with cool water.

For best results, you can use this rinse two to three times per week. We hope this super easy hack helps you grow some thick, shiny locks!

This article originally appeared on our sister site, First For Women.