The scribe Ahmosi walked briskly through the dusty streets of Thebes, at one point he reached the bank of the Nile, it was a cool and quiet place, surrounded by palm trees that overlooked the muddy water of the sacred river furrowed a little further from a felucca. Ahmosi, however, that day did not have time to admire the beauties of his land, he had to think about how to satisfy the request of his pharaoh, the great Amenofi. He had to draw up a papyrus in which to write down all the Egyptian wisdom. It was an immense work, which had been engaging Ahmosi for weeks. The scribe had gone to talk to the peasants, doctors and herbalists and was compiling a handbook with the plants and their remedies. Some he knew, others were completely unknown to him. In his treatise he had talked about aloe, honey, dates and many other herbs, but something was missing, but what? Ahmosi was thinking of this as he rubbed an ointment on his temples, a fresh and fragrant ointment prepared with… mint, of course! He hadn't talked about mint, the plant sacred to the god Thot, capable of protecting digestion and mental processes. Ahmosi thus added the last remedy to his list. He admired his work, rolled it up and went to bring it to his pharaoh. Ahmosi no longer saw his papyrus and certainly could not imagine that centuries later it would be under the admiring gaze of thousands of people, preserved in a glass case. Yes, because the manuscript we are talking about really exists, it takes the name of Ebers papyrus, from the name of its purchaser, and is located in the university library of Leipzig. We do not know by whom it was written but we like to think of a scribe, perhaps named Ahmosi, dedicated to his work, immersed in a research from one part to the other of the kingdom of Egypt to write down medical knowledge. And, in this papyrus, mint certainly could not be missing, considered by the Egyptians to be one of the most precious herbs, as it is still today. Science has confirmed the tradition and attributed to mint health properties for the stomach and nerves. And a recent study also demonstrated that mint is a remedy for hair loss, which can be observed especially at the beginning of autumn or in times of stress!
Mint and hair loss
Mint essential oil, thanks to its main active ingredient, menthol, is anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant, thus helping to soothe irritation and itching of the scalp and reduce oxidative stress (Oh et al , Toxicol Res, 2014). Not only that, mint oil has been shown to act against hair loss by supporting and improving microcirculation, increasing the number of hair follicles and strengthening existing ones. After 4 weeks of application, mint oil was also able to improve the appearance of the hair, making it stronger and healthier and stimulating its growth (Oh et al, Toxicol Res, 2014). Another research made it possible to observe that the synergy between menthol, contained in mint oil, and vitamin E makes the anti-fall action on the hair even more powerful. In fact, the two active ingredients act by promoting the proliferation of keratinocytes, which are epidermal cells responsible for the synthesis of keratin, a protein that forms the building blocks of our hair, giving it body and texture (Ahn et al, Pharmaceutics, 2020).
Mint cosmetics against hair loss
A first method to use mint essential oil for hair health and beauty is to add a drop of essential oil to a little of your shampoo, apply, massaging the scalp, and then rinse with water. Alternatively, you can prepare a hair pack. In a small bowl, mix 2 drops of peppermint essential oil with 2 tablespoons of pumpkin oil. Topical pumpkin seed oil, thanks to its content in fatty acids, phytoestrogens and antioxidants, has been shown to promote hair growth. Not only that, given the presence of vitamin E in this oil, it is possible to count on the synergy between this vitamin and menthol to counteract hair loss (Hajhashemi et al, Avicenna J Phytomed, 2019). Apply to damp scalp, massage and leave on for ten minutes. Then rinse with your shampoo. The important thing is to always use mint oil diluted and not pure on the skin!
