The last time I was in Zimbabwe I wrote about Feso the hair line. I “knew”about the plant but had never really used it myself. My mother used to use it when she was a little girl like a lot of people her age and never used it again.
When we were in Gutu, I asked my cousin to show me where it grew and it was just a minute from their houses. I grows close to the ground like most weeds do and we picked a few. When we got back to Harare I completely forgot about it and after a few days it looked like this. My bad. But……it still worked. When you crush the leaves between your fingers, feso produces a shampoo like substance which makes it suitable for cleaning your hair.
I wanted to extract this almost foamy substance so I put it in a blender with some water.
Unfortunately the blender was not strong enough to crush everything. However, my mom was able to use the extract on her scalp and helped calm the itchiness that she experiences. This was a science experiment gone wrong for a couple of obvious reasons but I was able to use the plant. Even though I do not fully know or understand the science that makes this plant work, I know that it works for hair.
The most amazing aspect of this, is that for years possibly hundreds of years, the people that lived in Zimbabwe knew that this plant works for hair without any scientific proof. I wonder if someone just tried it one day, or did someone receive some kind of vision. It makes me wonder about the stories you read and hear about like mukwerera(rain making ceremony) or people praying for food under a muzhanje tree and food appearing. It makes me wish there was some video and or books written by the people living during those times!
