Traditional Native American Beauty Secrets You Need to Know

Without the ways of Native American beauty, the world of modern beauty would be much different.

These people taught Westerners the way of life on the new continent and even have influenced modern beauty ingredients. If you are ready to learn natural ways for better skin and hair, check out these traditional Native American beauty secrets.

Blue Corn

Just like today corn was important in Native American culture. They not only used it as food but also in religious ceremonies. Some native cultures or tribes believed that corn was a deity or clan symbol for wisdom and the beginning of life. In many of these religious ceremonies, they rubbed ground blue corn all over the body to purify the skin. They also used this grounded blue corn as an exfoliator.

Bearberry

Native Americans had a natural beauty secret to help with rashes, skin sores, and itchy scalps — bearberry. The natives would combine bearberry tea, grease, and boiled cow hooves to create a salve, which would then go on these problem areas. Bearberry is still in many hair and beauty products for its pain relief properties.

Juniper Root

While experimenting with juniper root, the natives discovered that it produced oil that worked to improve skin and hair. This detoxifying oil removed impurities from the skin and created a healthy shine on hair. They even used this oil to wash horses to make their coats shiny. Today juniper root is in many hair products to help produce shiny, healthy locks.

Prickly Pear

They used prickly pear in skin and hair routines. Native Americans used this cactus as a means to protect their skin from the sun and as a moisturizer. They also used the oil from the seeds to help strengthen hair. Prickly pear has twice the number of proteins and fatty acids compared to argan oil. Thus, making it a great remedy for damaged or mature hair.

Yucca

Another way the natives used plants to help with dry or itchy scalps was with yucca roots. They also used the yucca root to make soap. Yucca root juice is easy to lather, packed with vitamin C and antioxidants, and alleviates hair loss and itchy scalps. Another great element of the yucca root is that it is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and detoxifying.

Next time you visit your local beauty store, try to see how many modern products have any of these ingredients. Without these Native Americans beauty traditions, contemporary beauty items would not be the same.