There are many ingredients in modern beauty products that were used by Native Americans. The ancient elders discovered the skin care and beauty benefits of plants like aloe vera and jojoba, hundreds of years ago.
Here are some interesting plants used for healthy skin and beauty.
Aloe Vera
Native Americans used aloe vera to sooth and heal the skin, as well as to hydrate and protect it from extreme climates in areas like dry deserts. It was also used to treat sunburn and for soap.
Bearberry
A remedy for an itchy scalp. A tea was made from this evergreen shrub and mixed with grease and boiled cattle hoofs to use as a salve for an itchy, scaly scalp, baby rashes and skin sores.
Blue Corn
Corn was very important in ancient Native American life and still is today. Blue corn was a food staple of many Native American tribes, including the Hopi, Pueblo, Navajo and Zuni for hundreds of years. In addition to being used as food, it was also used for religious ceremonies like the naming ceremonies of babies, and marriage and funeral rituals. Corn was actually considered a deity in some cultures and a clan symbol for certain tribes. For the Hopi it represented the Eastern rising sun and the beginning of life and wisdom.
Called flour corn, blue corn is coarser than yellow or white corn and is used for flours and cornmeal. Many Native Americans used ground corn to cleanse and purify the skin. It was rubbed onto the skin before ceremonies to rid the body of impurities. Ground corn also acts as an exfoliator, ridding the skin of dead cells thus encouraging cell renewal.
Creeping Juniper
Juniper root for shiny locks. The berries from this evergreen scrub (also called creeping cedar) were made into a tea that was used as a wash for skin problems. Juniper root was also soaked in water to wash the horses, making their coats shiny. It’s now used in hair care products for shiny and healthy hair.
Fireweed
Winter skin protection. The inner stem of the root was dried and powdered and rubbed onto the hands and face in winter to protect the skin from the cold. (It was also used to waterproof rawhide.)
Prickly Pear
Cactus for skin hydration. An anti-inflammatory, the leaves of the prickly pear were used to make a moisturizer to protect the skin from the sun. It also speeds up cellular turnover leading to improved skin texture and appearance.
Saw Palmetto
Saw Palmetto was used by Native Americans for hair, scalp and skin care. Due to its ability to balance hormones in the body, it was used by Native American women to get rid of facial hair. It is now believed saw palmetto regulates excessive hair growth in women by suppressing DHT production in the body (a hormone produced by testosterone).
Sweetgrass
This flat-leafed bladed grass is considered sacred. It is smoked to purify individuals and their surroundings, and is used in ceremonies. It is even handled in a special way and with respect due to its spiritual powers. Some Native American women decorated their hair with sweetgrass. As a wash, sweetgrass was used to treat windburn and chapped skin. The tea can also be used as a hair tonic to make the hair shiny and fragrant.
Wild Mint
Wild Mint for hair and skin. The Cheyenne Indians in Montana used a decoction of the wild mint plant as hair oil. The Thompson Indians of British Columbia used the whole plant soaked in warm water to make a solution that was used in hair dressing. Mint was also used in bath water to alleviate itchy skin.
Wild Rose Bush
A mash of rose hips was made for skin problems. Now cosmetic companies use rose hips oil in creams and lotions to sooth the skin, as well as in anti-aging face creams, because it is thought that rose hips oil can reverse wrinkle formation.
Yarrow
Yarrow for Fragrant Hair. Native Americans used an infusion of the leaves from this strong-scented perennial plant as a hair wash. The Okanagan Indians of British Columbia mixed the leaves and stems with white clematis (a perennial with bright yellow flowers) and witch’s broom branches to make a shampoo.
Yucca
Yucca for hair growth. The yucca plant was used by several Native American tribes to encourage hair growth and to prevent baldness. The roots of young yucca plants were used for shampoo. The crushed roots were soaked in water to make a hair wash. Other methods involved peeling the bark of the root, which was rubbed in a pan of shallow water to make suds to rub into the hair and scalp. Yucca was also used as a hair wash for newborns by the Zuni Indians to help their hair grow healthy and strong.
Sources: Native American Ethnobotany Database/University of Michigan-Dearborn
Exploring Kainai Plants and Culture/Galileo Educational Network
Here are some interesting plants used for healthy skin and beauty.
Aloe Vera
Native Americans used aloe vera to sooth and heal the skin, as well as to hydrate and protect it from extreme climates in areas like dry deserts. It was also used to treat sunburn and for soap.
Bearberry
A remedy for an itchy scalp. A tea was made from this evergreen shrub and mixed with grease and boiled cattle hoofs to use as a salve for an itchy, scaly scalp, baby rashes and skin sores.
Blue Corn
Corn was very important in ancient Native American life and still is today. Blue corn was a food staple of many Native American tribes, including the Hopi, Pueblo, Navajo and Zuni for hundreds of years. In addition to being used as food, it was also used for religious ceremonies like the naming ceremonies of babies, and marriage and funeral rituals. Corn was actually considered a deity in some cultures and a clan symbol for certain tribes. For the Hopi it represented the Eastern rising sun and the beginning of life and wisdom.
Called flour corn, blue corn is coarser than yellow or white corn and is used for flours and cornmeal. Many Native Americans used ground corn to cleanse and purify the skin. It was rubbed onto the skin before ceremonies to rid the body of impurities. Ground corn also acts as an exfoliator, ridding the skin of dead cells thus encouraging cell renewal.
Creeping Juniper
Juniper root for shiny locks. The berries from this evergreen scrub (also called creeping cedar) were made into a tea that was used as a wash for skin problems. Juniper root was also soaked in water to wash the horses, making their coats shiny. It’s now used in hair care products for shiny and healthy hair.
Fireweed
Winter skin protection. The inner stem of the root was dried and powdered and rubbed onto the hands and face in winter to protect the skin from the cold. (It was also used to waterproof rawhide.)
Prickly Pear
Cactus for skin hydration. An anti-inflammatory, the leaves of the prickly pear were used to make a moisturizer to protect the skin from the sun. It also speeds up cellular turnover leading to improved skin texture and appearance.
Saw Palmetto
Saw Palmetto was used by Native Americans for hair, scalp and skin care. Due to its ability to balance hormones in the body, it was used by Native American women to get rid of facial hair. It is now believed saw palmetto regulates excessive hair growth in women by suppressing DHT production in the body (a hormone produced by testosterone).
Sweetgrass
This flat-leafed bladed grass is considered sacred. It is smoked to purify individuals and their surroundings, and is used in ceremonies. It is even handled in a special way and with respect due to its spiritual powers. Some Native American women decorated their hair with sweetgrass. As a wash, sweetgrass was used to treat windburn and chapped skin. The tea can also be used as a hair tonic to make the hair shiny and fragrant.
Wild Mint
Wild Mint for hair and skin. The Cheyenne Indians in Montana used a decoction of the wild mint plant as hair oil. The Thompson Indians of British Columbia used the whole plant soaked in warm water to make a solution that was used in hair dressing. Mint was also used in bath water to alleviate itchy skin.
Wild Rose Bush
A mash of rose hips was made for skin problems. Now cosmetic companies use rose hips oil in creams and lotions to sooth the skin, as well as in anti-aging face creams, because it is thought that rose hips oil can reverse wrinkle formation.
Yarrow
Yarrow for Fragrant Hair. Native Americans used an infusion of the leaves from this strong-scented perennial plant as a hair wash. The Okanagan Indians of British Columbia mixed the leaves and stems with white clematis (a perennial with bright yellow flowers) and witch’s broom branches to make a shampoo.
Yucca
Yucca for hair growth. The yucca plant was used by several Native American tribes to encourage hair growth and to prevent baldness. The roots of young yucca plants were used for shampoo. The crushed roots were soaked in water to make a hair wash. Other methods involved peeling the bark of the root, which was rubbed in a pan of shallow water to make suds to rub into the hair and scalp. Yucca was also used as a hair wash for newborns by the Zuni Indians to help their hair grow healthy and strong.
Sources: Native American Ethnobotany Database/University of Michigan-Dearborn
Exploring Kainai Plants and Culture/Galileo Educational Network
Responses to "Ancient Native American Beauty Secrets"