Fenugreek, or methi, has a long history in Ayurveda as being one of the most productive plants. It has been used to improve digestion, relieve eczema, and help with breastmilk production. However, its use in hair masks is what caught our undivided attention. Across the world, Indian women have the strongest, healthiest hair of any other country. Indian hair is the most commonly used hair for wigs and hair extensions for this very reason!
Developed by leaders in skin care, SAVE ME FROM's Clinically Proven Hair + Scalp Treatments use a Fenugreek complex 5x more potent in plant nutrients including polyphenols, niacin, vitamins A, B and C, formulated alongside caffeine to feed the scalp + help stimulate the hair follicles.
Fenugreek Hair Benefits and DIY fenugreek masks
Indian women's secret? They use a fenugreek paste to treat alopecia, dandruff, thicken fine hair, and to produce longer, stronger, shinier hair.1 This process can be as simple as using the paste while taking a bath, or as an overnight mask to cleanse the hair of impurities and strengthen it. However, this process can be time consuming and messy! In the process, you have to soak the seeds 6-7 hours, drain the excess water, and then blend the softened seeds into a paste. When the paste is kept in an airtight container in the fridge, it lasts for only about a week. With that kind of shelf life, you're probably going to end up throwing much of it away.
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Some common questions you might have about these fenugreek hair masks:
Can I use fenugreek hair masks to thicken hair?
Does fenugreek make hair grow?
How long do I leave in a fenugreek mask?
Do I do the fenugreek hair mask overnight?
Can a fenugreek hair mask decrease hair fall?
In the rest of this article, we will answer these questions and offer you the chance to see how we've not only harnessed this amazing Ayurvedic spice but found a way to innovate it for a breakthrough formula that your hair desperately needs!
What are fenugreek or methi seeds?
Basically, fenugreek is a legume. The seeds are yellow in a brown pod, and while they have a bitter taste, they are well-known for their nutty smell- somewhat similar to maple. In fact, the smell is so distinct, fenugreek seeds are often used for imitation maple syrup and coffee. This distinct smell has an underlying consistency in each SAVE ME FROM product.
Fenugreek has been proven to have antifungal and antibacterial properties, fighting the same bacteria that causes dandruff, without the same side-effects as other synthetic drugs, though with the same effectiveness.3
One study was even able to show that extracted fenugreek was an effective treatment for hair loss, stimulating hair growth and cutting the amount of hair growth time in half!3
They are high in fatty acids such as linoleic and oleic fatty acids, commonly used in skincare remedies. When we say they are high in these fatty acids, we are not kidding! The seeds alone contain about 7.8% oil, some of the highest concentrations of oil in any seed!2
Parts of the fenugreek hair benefits:
- Proteins: treats hair fall and nourishes the hair
- Lecithin: emollient that helps strengthen and moisturize
- Vitamins: A, B1, & C promotes hair growth, improves shine, strength, and thickness, and protects hair from free radicals (also known as pollution)
- Mucilaginous fiber: absorbs the water to create it into a paste, creates good conditioning and softening effects for your hair
- Amino Acids: promote hair growth and strength, maintains the proteins in the hair including your naturally occurring keratin
Other health benefits of consuming fenugreek:
Studies have shown that eating Fenugreek as a supplement or as seeds can be incredibly helpful to your digestion, blood sugar levels, and to aid weight loss. However, if you are allergic to peanuts or chickpeas, be careful ingesting fenugreek as a supplement as it can exacerbate this allergy. If you want to supplement your diet with fenugreek, we suggest that you consider adding the seeds straight into your diet, rather than using a supplement, but there are benefits to both. If you are pregnant, ask your healthcare provider before eating fenugreek or consuming a supplement because it can cause contractions.
- Dietary fiber: when ingested, fenugreek seeds and leaves can regulate your blood sugar levels due to lowering your glucose absorption
- Phytochemicals: anti-diabetic, antioxidant, & gastroprotective substance
- Lecithin & choline: helps dissolve cholesterol and fatty substance, promoting weight loss
- Benefits of fenugreek for skin include using it as a cleanser, toner, exfoliant, moisturizer, reducing blemishes, anti-aging, and to treat acne.
How do I make a Methi mask for hair?
Fenugreek masks are common in eastern countries as a hair growth remedy. You can make a paste out of fenugreek seeds or powder. The typical time frame in making a paste or a gel is between 24-48 hours depending on how you make it, and stores for up to a month in the freezer.
This is what the process of making a DIY fenugreek mask looks like:
How to make a Fenugreek mask using Fenugreek Seeds or Powder
Okay, truthfully, you will still need to make the seeds into a powder if you purchase the seeds. Fenugreek seeds can purchased on Amazon for between $5 - $15 depending on the properties of the seed, how much is in the bag, and where it was harvested. These factors can also make a big impact on how effective it is on your hair. Lower grade fenugreek seeds aren't going to be as potent and effective, and organic tends to be the better route to go. Not only that, but look for fair-traded seeds, as this is important to assisting the economies of the countries where they are harvested.
Grind seeds into a powder
You must first grind the seeds into a powder using a food processor, if you have one. Not being able to grind them into a powder could mean the paste isn't as potent and effective on your hair and scalp.
You can also purchase fenugreek powder. The cost is similar to the seeds, but, again, the cheaper you go with it, the less likely you will get something that is organic, potent, and/or fair-traded.
Soak the fenugreek or methi seeds overnight
There are actually a few ways you can do this. Some people like to soak the seeds in yogurt, oil, or a water alternative. Others just like to soak it purely in water.
The soaking process is more complicated than it sounds. The fenugreek, methi, powder needs to be right consistency or using the paste can become too risky to use!
- If you use too much water the fenugreek won't gel.
- If you use too little water and apply the paste to your hair, it can then dehydrate your hair making it less hydrated than it was before you tried the mask.
- If you soak the seeds too long at room temperature (12+ hours), the paste can go bad before you get a chance to use it.
- If you don't soak the powder long enough, the paste doesn't congeal completely and it won't be effective on your hair and scalp.
Add other ingredients to the fenugreek paste
The powder can be used alone when soaked, but you'll get a better impact if you combine it with oil, yogurt, or some kind of infused water, like coconut water. In some recipes, adding ingredients might come immediately, or after soaking.
How to apply fenugreek paste to hair
This is also a tricky part. You will want to have made enough to cover your scalp and all of your hair to get the full effect. Many women leave it in for about 30 minutes and rinse, others will leave it in overnight.
For an overnight treatment, you will want to cover it with a cap so you won't get the gel-like mask all over your sheets. This treatment can do a lot of work in repairing damage and adding nutrients to your hair, however. Many women do this process about twice a month.
How do I store a DIY fenugreek paste?
It will only keep in the refrigerator for a month. You can store it in the freezer for up to 6 months, but you'll need to freeze them in individual portions. If you try to freeze a whole batch together, you will have to defrost the whole thing. We don't recommend refreezing after it's been defrosted. Leaving it at room temperature can make the paste go bad, like any fresh food.
How do I get rid of the smell of fenugreek?
Some people don't mind the smell of the fenugreek paste, it's kind of a mix between nutty, maple, and licorice, so using these pastes can be difficult on the nose. This is one of the many reasons why recommend using our products instead of making your own! Our fenugreek infused products all have a different, but fresh smelling scent with just a hint of maple, making it a pleasurable experience to use the product!
Why you should try one of our fenugreek infused reboots instead...
Our Tip to Root Hair Reboots all contain our patent-pending Fenugen technology. The main ingredient? Fenugreek.
Here are just a few of the reasons why our reboots are a better alternative to homemade fenugreek masks:
- We source our fenugreek from organic, fair-trade farms near the Blue City in India. Not only did we want the highest quality ingredients, but we wanted to make sure we knew that we were obtaining this ingredient fairly.
- Our high-end eco-extraction process for our fenugreek has proven to provide higher potency and quality of polyphenols and antioxidants. That's just something you can't ignore and means you don't have to use our products as often or as much of it to get the full effect.
- Our reboots are much easier to store and last significantly longer, conveniently placed on your bathroom counter (or wherever you choose to do your hair!)
- Our reboots contain not just the benefit of fenugreek, but many other hair damage repairing ingredients such as creatine, silk worm, and panthenol to promote healthier hair growth, reduce split ends (by up to 97%!) and balance your scalp. We really care about your hair from beginning to end!
Fenugreek Hair Benefits in our Fenugen Technology
When we learned about this breakthrough ingredient, we realized we wanted to fully harness the potential of this incredible herb. Through a lot of research, we were able to discover an eco-extraction process that will take the fenugreek herb and extract it to maximize its potential. We then took some other amazing, complementary ingredients and formulated our patent-pending Fenugen.
When tested in an independent lab, our Fenugen formula containing extracted fenugreek was able to:
- Produce 5 times the total polyphenols than mixed oils alone
- Produce 4 times the antioxidant activity than mixed oils alone
- Reduce split ends by 84%-97%
- Improve shine by 20%-82%
- Improve hydration from 100%-200%
Hair with split ends and no Fenugen mask treatment vs. Hair treated with Fenugen mask treatment
So, whether you are someone who loves taking vitamins for hair growth, have fine hair, struggle with hair breakage, or worried about your hair falling out, we know you’d benefit from our damage-specific products! We want the best for you and your hair!
The Ayurvedic Spice Made from Fenugreek Seed for Hair
Do you need a fenugreek mask for hair? It's worth mentioning the proven hair reparative benefits of Fenugen. Inspired by Ayurvedic medicine, we've harnessed the fenugreek's rich phytonutrients including medium and long chain fatty acids, terpenoids, polyphenols, phospholipids and vitamins A, C and B variety vitamins and paired these with bio-boosters like ubiquinone (also known as Coenzyme Q10 for hair), organic karanja (also known as pongamia) and medicum chain triglycerides (MCT’s derived from coconut). You’ve guessed it, like a Red Bull for your scalp, Fenugen is also a rich source of nicotinic acid (niacin), nicontinamide (niacinamide) and trigonelline. These phytonutrients include niacinamide hair benefits and have been shown to promote healthy blood flow to help enhance the nutrition essential for follicle survival, boost keratin and ceramide synthesis, restore barrier function and empower you with hair that emerges from the scalp healthier with more resistance to damage. Through a patented eco extraction process, we've magnified these phytonutrients into our clinically proven technology. Fenugen possesses the rich nutrients of fenugreek seeds in a complex 5x more potent in polyphenols. These nutrients include Vitamin A, B Vitamins, Vitamin C and more. With daily and consistent, long-term use of this concentrated hair cream (that you dilute into a silky scalp serum with water), hair bonds are rebuilt, hydration is restored helping to reduce frizz, the scalp is energized and nourished from within allowing hair that's more resistant to damage to emerge. Rooted in Ayurveda, our Save Me From hair products are clinically proven to transform hair from tip to root, inside and out.
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- Gupta A, Malviya R, Singh PT, Sharma KP. Indian Medicinal Plants Used in Hair Care Cosmetics: A Short Review. Pharmacognosy Magazine. 2010;2(10):361-364.
- Sulieman AM, Ali AO, Hemavathy J. Lipid content and fatty acid composition of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) seeds grown in Sudan. International Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2008;43:380-382.
- Wijaya WH, Mun'im A, Djajadisastra J. EFFECTIVENESS TEST OF FENUGREEK SEED (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) EXTRACT HAIR TONIC IN HAIR GROWTH ACTIVITY. International Journal of Current Research. 2013;5(11):3453-3460.
