Organic dried and chopped marshmallow root to make natural hair conditioner for all hair types and a natural hair detangler. Marshmallow root hair conditioner leaves the hair soft, shiny, silky and light, making it ideal to emphasise natural curls and waves. The marshmallow hair conditioner gives great body to the hair making the hair look fuller and leaving the hair easy to style. As a detangler it reduces hair damage caused by combing and brushing and makes the experience much more satisfying.

Unlike conventional conditioners, the hair does not go limp and oily after a few days and the conditioning and thickening effects last until the next hair wash. If you are looking for a truly environmentally friendly hair conditioner that really works, then look no further.

Ingredient INCI Althaea officinalis root

Our marshmallow root has a light sweet aroma, rather like marshmallow and the extract has a gorgeous slippery feel.

The Benefits of Marshmallow Root Hair Conditioner

Principally due to the high level of mucilage and polysaccharides, using marshmallow roots as hair conditioner has the following effects:

• Makes the hair soft and flexible
• Gives a lustrous shine
• Thickens hair strands – the mucilage binds with hair strands.
• Gives natural body and bounce to the hair
• Enhances natural waves and curls
• Promotes hair growth
• Reduces split ends and hair damage
• Helps balance a dry and itchy scalp
• Tames frizzy and flyaway hair
• Nourishes the hair and scalp
• Long last conditioning effects
• Well tolerated on sensitive skin and scalp
• Helps to protect the hair from UV radiation damage
• High in hair and scalp nutrients
• Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and well tolerated by hyper-sensitive skin and skin prone to eczema, rosacea and psoriasis
• Eye friendly, normal hair conditioners sting the eyes and can cause eye damage, not so with the marshmallow extract

How to Make Hair Conditioner from Marshmallow Root – Method 1 – Zero Energy

1. Simply soak 1 heaped tablespoon or 5g of marshmallow in 200ml of water over night.
2. Strain and use.
3. Allow the marshmallow root to dry (spread it out on a piece of a cloth or a tea towel) to obtain one further decoction, albeit a bit weaker. Or go straight ahead and create an additional batch using either method.
4. Assuming this second batch would be more than you would need to use, refrigerate or freeze it for future use.

How to Make Marshmallow Root Extract – Method 2

1. Add 1 heaped tablespoon or 5g of marshmallow root to 300ml of water.
2. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
3. Strain and reserve the liquid for use as a hair conditioner.

You can also combine the methods, by pre-soaking the marshmallow roots before simmering them to reduce the processing time and increase the amounts of mucilage released.

How to make Natural Hair Detangler and Long Hair Combing Aid

Make your marshmallow root extract as above.
Place the weaker second extraction in a pump spray mister bottle, or dilute a stronger first extraction.
Spray on the hair to dampen the hair and comb or brush.

At this point in time, my hair is longer than it has ever been (nearly reaching my waist). Since abandoning shampoos 13 years ago and starting to wash my hair in clay, I have stopped getting split ends. I’d like to continue growing it, but the main issue is that I can be a bit impatient when combing my hair in the mornings and I can end up pulling outs hairs. To reduce the self inflicted damage, I now dampen the hair by spraying in marshmallow root ‘detangler’- absolutely, I will always use a the detangler when combing my hair in the mornings.

I also think it would work well on children with long hair as hair combing and brushing before school can be a tad traumatic!

Store any unused Marshmallow Root Hair Conditioner in the refrigerator for 1 week or keep excess in the freezer.

One the roots have given up all of their mucilage, please just compost the remains and the paper packaging.

How to Use Marshmallow Root Hair Conditioner

Wash the hair and remove any excess water from the hair, such as by stroking the hair, gathering long hair together and twisting it, or rubbing the hair briefly with a towel.

Apply the marshmallow hair conditioner by pouring it bit by bit from a small jug, stroking the hair conditioner on with a small sponge, or using a squeezy bottle. Be sure that your natural hair conditioner is on both the scalp and the hair.

Leave the marshmallow root hair conditioner in the hair for the normal duration – a few minutes, or for longer if time allows.

Give the hair one very quick rinse (just a few seconds) in fresh water. Or, to maximize the thickening effect, forgo the rinse.

How to use Marshmallow Root as a Natural Hair Mask

Make the marshmallow root hair conditioner as above
Apply to dry hair and leave for 10-20 minutes
Finish with a quick rinse.

How to use Marshmallow Root as a Natural Hair Dentangler and Hair Combing Aid

Place some of the strained marshmallow hair conditioner in a pump spray bottle
Spray a light mist on the hair and comb. The difference is astonishing and the comb moves through the hair with very little friction!

Other Cosmetic Uses for Marshmallow Root Extract

Eye Treatments – for dry skin on the eyes and dry eyes.

Make a compress, by dipping a section of muslin or linen cloth in the freshly prepared marshmallow root extract
Place the wet cloth over the closed eyes.
Leave on the eyes for 10 minutes.
When finished, simply wipe any excess off the eye lids.

A compress can be used anywhere on the body when the skin needs soothing such as after over-exposure to the sun or wind, rubbing from clothes or reactions from heat such as vehicle heating systems. Relief can also be obtained by spraying the extract on the skin and rubbing it over to give complete coverage.

Using Marshmallow Root in Cosmetic Formulations

Use as an ingredient in soap making, face and body cream formulations, anti-itch and anti-inflammatory salves and lotions.

Packaging

Our marshmallow root is packed simply in a greaseproof paper bag inside a brown paper bag with a set of instructions. It would be a good idea to transfer the chopped roots into a clean jar for storage where, as a dried herb, it will keep for a year.

The 3 Top Natural Hair Conditioners

We currently have 3 types of natural hair conditioner for sale all of which are the raw resources of nature.

Organic Marshmallow Root as above.

Seaweed which works in a similar way to the marshmallow root but this time it is the fucins (a mucilaginous substance) in the seaweed which imparts the conditioning effect. We sell Organic Irish Seaweed as dried fronds. The seaweed hair conditioner is highly nutritious and contains substances which can boost thyroid production. The downside, is that the seaweed smells strongly of the foreshore, however you can’t detect the smell in the hair once the hair is dry.

When I henna my hair, I always hydrate the henna with seaweed in the hope that over the duration of 3 ½ hours I will benefit from its natural minerals and hormones. However the last time, I hennaed my hair, I simmered the seaweed together with the marshmallow roots to get the best from both. Luckily they can be both be prepared with the cold or hot extraction method and it takes the same time to release their conditioning mucilage.

We also have Organic Cassia, a leaf powder. This is especially indicated for damaged hair and also it has a good thickening effect.

The Ethics of Using Marshmallow Root Hair Conditioner

• Vegan
• 100% natural and sustainable
• Additive free
• Plastic free
• Demeter Certified Organic and Soil Association Organic
• 100% Biodegradable
• A zero energy hair conditioner (if you use the cold soaking method)
• Extremely effective
• Great value for money
• Safe for the whole family including dogs
• Reduces water consumption
• Plus if all goes well – this year we will be growing and preparing our own marshmallow root giving a product transport miles of just a few miles.

To buy organic marshmallow root, please select from the dropdown menu:
50g at £6.00
100g at £10.00
200g at £20.00

FAQs

Is using organic marshmallow root as hair conditioner good value?
Yes, I think it works out at exceptional value. 5g of marshmallow root used twice makes up at least 400ml of hair conditioner, which depending on the length and thickness of the hair gives 2-5 conditioning treatments. 100g of the root gives 20 batches. Or 40-100 conditioning treatments. A treatment works out from about 2.5 pence.

Can you cook with this marshmallow root?
We buy the marshmallow in with a food certificate, but as we are not a ‘food business’ we don’t sell the marshmallow for consumption.

Can you use the marshmallow roots as herbal remedy for arthritis, coughs, UTIs, digestive issues, ulcers, heartburn etc?
We haven’t registered our marshmallow for use as a food supplement or as a herbal remedy, so I am afraid we can’t help with these questions at all. Please direct your questions to a registered herbalist.