Informant: My informant, G.L., is 19 and was born and raised in West Lake Village. G.L. parents both run their own company together. She has one older brother and her family is mainly Italian but is completely Americanized.

Folklore: “My grandma use to use this formula on my hair when I was younger to get it smooth and softer. She would boil water and make chamomile tea when I was taking a shower. After it cooled down she would place the tea in a large cup. At the end of your shower she would gradually poor the tea on my hair and let it soak in for 15 minutes. The tea was meant to enrich hair color and radiance and prevent dandruff.” G.L. was taught this from her grandma when she was really young but stopped doing it when she got older. G.L. cannot remember if the process worked when she was young, but she tried to do it once in high school and didn’t feel like it had much effect on her hair. Although, she did say the tea did make her hair smell pleasant for following couple of weeks.

Analysis: I can’t say that I’m too knowledgeable in homemade formulas for women’s hair, but I have never heard of this formula before. I did grow up with a twin sister and she told me she has never heard of doing this either. I think it’s interesting to see how this formula got started because it seems so random, but there are stories on the internet that say this formula works