PERT shampoo with 首烏

首烏 (shou wu) is a chinese herb that is believed to have properties that can turn gray hair black. this herb is often marketed as fo-ti (or foti) in the west. the plant is found in china, taiwan and japan. according to legend, a man named Mr. He was lost in the forest for many years. when he finally found his way back to his village again, his hair was still as black as it had been when he was a young man. his skin looked silky smooth and he still had the energy of a young man. as the "herban" legend goes, he told everyone that he had survived in the forest by eating the herb 首烏. so many people started calling the the herb "he shou wu," or "black-haired (mr.) he". people claim that 首烏 can do more than just combat gray hair, it can also fight premature aging and lower cholesterol, among other benefits.

at many chinese apothecary shops, you can find 首烏 in tonic form -- a black liquid drink. probably not too tasty. so the genius marketers at pert shampoo (who do a pretty good job at marketing all over asia) came up with their own shampoo that contains 首烏. how about that? an american company that targets a localized market -- taiwan -- using traditional medicine. is that what we could call glocalization?

anyhow, i bought this shampoo and its accompanying conditioner a few months ago, as i do have my own "crown of splendor." i haven't used it consistently, but i can tell that on the weeks i do use  it, that i definitely don't notice the gray as much. i'm going to keep using it. it sure smells good--and using it is much more pleasant than drinking the tonic, i'm sure!