Metnane Herb (Thymelaea Hirsuta)

✨ Metnane — The Silvery Herb of Moroccan Hair Rituals

Metnane is the dried herb of Thymelaea hirsuta, known in Arabic as المتنان and المثنان, in Darija as Mitnan or Metnan, in French as passerine hérissée, and in English as hairy thymelaea. It is a small evergreen shrub that grows wild on sandy coasts and dry, stony hills across Morocco and North Africa. Once dried, its tiny scale-like leaves turn a soft sage to silvery green, mixed with pale woolly shoots that give the plant its name: hirsuta means hairy. It has a dry, green, slightly earthy scent.

🌿 Traditional and Cultural Uses

Metnane has long had its place in the jars of the Moroccan attar (العطار). Women traditionally used it for their hair: a Metnane rinse, or a spoonful mixed into henna, was believed to strengthen the hair and help it grow long and thick. Grandmothers prepared it as a wash for the scalp, and folk herbalists applied it to the skin for small skin troubles. Across North Africa, traditional herbalists also included Metnane in old remedies associated with blood sugar and blood pressure, a use that belongs to folk medicine rather than home preparation.

🧴 How to Use

• 💆 Prepare a cooled Metnane rinse for the hair and scalp after washing.
• 🌿 Grind a little of the dried herb and add it to your henna paste.
• 🫒 Soak the ground herb in olive oil to make a traditional hair and scalp oil.
• 🛁 Add the cooled infusion to a traditional bath or skin wash.

🥣 Traditional Hair Rinse

1. Place a handful of dried Metnane in a pot with about 1 litre of water.
2. Bring to the boil, then let it simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
3. Leave it to cool completely, then strain out the leaves.
4. After washing your hair, pour the rinse over the hair and scalp, massage gently and rinse off with clean water.

🧾 Ingredients

100% dried Metnane (Thymelaea hirsuta): leaves and small pieces of shoot, with nothing added.

🔬 Product Profile

A wild-growing Mediterranean shrub of the Thymelaeaceae family, from Morocco. Supplied whole and dried as loose, small leaves with some woolly shoots, not as a powder, so you can soak it as it is or grind it yourself for henna and oil preparations.

📦 How We Sell It

Loose, whole dried Metnane leaves, available in 100g, 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg.

⚠️ Usage Note

For external and traditional use only, not for eating or drinking. Keep away from children and pets.

🌤️ Storage

Keep Metnane in a sealed pouch or jar in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and moisture. Stored well, it keeps its colour and scent for up to a year.