You may have heard of Pandan leaves as a common ingredient in many Thai dishes. These green, slender, pleated leaves are often used to wrap fish or shrimp, or are ground into a paste popularly used in desserts to add sweetness or color. Its fragrant aroma makes it a natural culinary choice, but Pandan leaves have many alternative uses that make it versatile beauty product as well!
Check out all the functions of this multi-talented plant:
1) Enhance hair color
For those of you with darker, blacker hair, try pandan leaves to add shine, sheen and depth to your color. To try this at-home method, take seven pandan leaves, wash, and then cut into pieces. Bring a quart of water to boiling and then add the leaves. When the water is greenish, remove from heat. Let stand overnight and next morning, add the juice of three ripe noni. Use this mixture to wash your hair – use three times a week to see the best results!
2) Reduce dandruff
Pandan leaves aren’t just for those of us with darker hair colors – it also helps relieve scalps from dry and itchy dandruff. Again, take pandan leaves, wash, and finely mince them. Add the minced pandan leaves to half a cup of warm water. Massage this mixture all over your head into your scalp. After allowing time to dry, rinse your hair with clean water to wash the leaves out.
3) Prevent hair loss
In addition to pandan leaves, find about ten fresh, young hibiscus leaves, a handful of urang-aring leaves, five leaves of mangkokan, ten jasmine petals, and one rosebud. With this aromatic bunch of flowers and leaves, you’ll create an extremely potent poultice. Wash all ingredients, chop roughly, and put into a pot over the stove. Additionally, add half a cup each of coconut oil, sesame oil, and walnut oil. Bring this mixture to a boil, and then remove from heat. Allow the mixture to cool and then filter the leaves and flowers using a strainer. Once cooled and filtered, your product is ready for use – apply to the entire scalp with a mild massage. This is ideally done at night before bed, which allows the oil to work its magic overnight while you sleep, and then you can wash your hair the next morning. Try this two to three times a week for best results.
Get your own Pandan leaves: Dried Pandanus Leaves Small Bag