Horsetail & Rosemary shampoo and Nettle Hair Rinse are natural products you can make yourself. Rosemary herb flanked by basil both of which aid hair growth.
It's springtime! Time to gather and forage for ingredients to make hair- and scalp-healthy shampoo and rinses!
Commercial shampoos contain chemicals that aren't friendly to your scalp or gentle on your hair. Yes, they get your hair clean, but they also dry your hair and scalp, stripping away natural oils that give shine, body and bounce to healthy hair. We want our hair healthy and clean of dirt, styling products, and excess natural oils, but not stripped and desiccated!
If you follow the instructions on some shampoo bottles they'll tell you to wet your hair, apply shampoo and massage it in, rinse, re-apply shampoo, lather, and rinse again.
This "twice shampoo' strategy insures that your hair will be dry, brittle, tangled, and lifeless. It also means that you'll need additional products to moisturize and add body, to de-tangle and meld - temporarily - split ends. Furthermore, commercial shampoos destroy the natural ph balance of hair resulting in a dry, itchy scalp and exacerbating dandruff.
Chemicals and the intense heat of dryers and hot rollers aren't good for the scalp or the hair. They burn and dry the cuticles at the center of the hair shaft causing your hair to become brittle, the ends to split, and encouraging frizziness. There's some evidence that chemicals and excessive heat may cause hair loss due to weakening of hair follicles under constant assault. Daily use of hairdryers and curling irons was particularly implicated.
There was a time when I would dilute commercial shampoos by mixing them with an equal amount of water in order to reduce their harsher effects. Some manufacturers caught onto the Internet advice to dilute shampoo to save money and to create a gentler product...and the effect of this was...
...to create a bottle top that couldn't be removed to prevent customers from diluting the product! Not all manufacturers have done this, but the manufacturers of the two brands I used once-upon-a-time have done so.
I found a way around this bit of chicanery by simply making my own homemade shampoo. As a result my hair and scalp are happier and so is my wallet.
I've been making my own housecleaning products for decades, so it seemed reasonable to consider making at least some of my body care products, as well.
There are several herbs that are good for your hair and smell nice, too. Peppermint, spearmint, lavender, and rosemary add a lovely scent to shampoo. Rosemary and basil have the added advantages of stimulating hair growth by nourishing the follicles.
Nettle and horsetail strengthen hair as both are rich in hair-, nail-, and tooth-strengthening silica. Chamomile is gentle and soothing for those with damaged hair.
While it's satisfying to gather your own herbs to make shampoo and hair rinse, it isn't always possible. I can gather horsetail, but I need to purchase dried rosemary and nettle.
Living in a condo, I'm subject to gardening restrictions. So, I end up purchasing some of the herbs I use and foraging for others.
The local health food store sells bulk herbs and I also order from Mountain Rose Herb Co. (see the link below) in addition to foraging.
Horsetail grows wild along one of the forest trails near my condo.
I'm snipping the freshly gathered horsetail into more manageable lengths for making shampoo and for drying some for winter use.
Recipe: Horsetail & Rosemary Shampoo (recipe may be increased)
2 TBS each of dried horsetail and rosemary/basil (or 4 TBS each for fresh herbs)
1/3 cup of Dr. Bronner's liquid soap
1-cup distilled water
1/4 tsp oil (jojoba, almond, olive, grape seed)
20 drops of essential oil of lavender, chamomile, peppermint or rosemary, or a combination you like (rosemary & peppermint is my favorite combo)
Heat the water in a small saucepan. Add the herbs and bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Horsetail and rosemary simmered and ready to drain.
Strain off the herbs reserving the water in a bowl. The used herbs may be added to a compost pile or dug into the garden. Add a bit more distilled water, if needed, to equal one cup of herb liquid and gently stir in the liquid soap. Add the essential oils and the 1/4 tsp of oil (jojoba, etc).
Mix and pour into a plastic squeeze bottle.
To use, gently rock the bottle to remix the ingredients. Wet hair thoroughly, then squeeze a small amount on top, sides, and back of head. Work into the roots and pull it down the length of your hair several times. Rinse out thoroughly.
Homemade shampoo won't be as pretty or come in lovely colors (chemical dyes) as commercial varieties - and it won't suds up as much either - but it will get your hair just as clean without stripping hair of shine, body, or the natural oils that keep hair healthy and resilient.
It's not the volume of suds that get your hair clean! It's the surfactants in soap - plant oils or animal fats - that are "saponified" in the process of making soap. Or, in the case of commercial detergent shampoos, it's the petroleum-based surfactants. Real soap doesn't create as much lather as detergent-based shampoos and is much easier to rinse out of your hair.
When using your own homemade, soap-based shampoo you'll want to follow with a rinse of an herb-infused, undiluted apple cider vinegar, or diluted - one-to-one with water - freshly squeezed lemon juice with a few drops of essential oil
Soap-based shampoo cleans the scalp and hair and is somewhat alkaline. Following with an acidic rinse conditions hair making it less likely to tangle and nourishes the scalp, as well. This "one-two" shampoo/rinse regimen maintains the proper ph balance of the scalp reducing itchiness and dandruff.
For the vinegar hair rinse you may substitute other herbs such as rosemary, lavender, chamomile, or mint and add your choice of essential oils. Don't use eucalyptus essential oil ! It is too strong even in tiny amounts!
Recipe: Nettle Hair Rinse
1 quart apple cider vinegar
Approximately 4 cups Fresh herbs, or 2 cups dried herbs
10 drops each rosemary and peppermint essential oil
Fill a quart Mason Jar completely with fresh herb material...or fill it halfway with dried material.
Pour cider vinegar into the jar over the herbs until the jar is full. Stir with a chop stick or skewer to remove air bubbles. Add a bit more vinegar, if needed to fill the jar up to the neck. Don't add the essential oils yet.
Screw on a lid and allow the mixture to soak/macerate for about six weeks. Then, strain off the herbs and add the essential oil to the jar and stir in.
Pour some of your herb mixture into a plastic squeeze bottle or a spray bottle. Store the rest in its jar in a dark cupboard or pantry until needed to refill your "use" bottle.
After shampooing and rinsing your hair, pour a palm's worth of herbal rinse into your cupped palm - or spritz it directly onto your hair all over - and massage it in pulling it down the strands of hair. Leave it on your hair and towel dry. The vinegary scent will fade as your hair dries. Your hair will be shiny and nourished and your scalp invigorated!
Recipe: Lemon-Chamomile Rinse
Half of a lemon squeezed and strained
1/3-cup distilled water
5 drops chamomile essential oil
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and strain it through a fine-meshed strainer or several layers of muslin or cheese cloth.
Add the water and essential oil of chamomile. Pour into a plastic cup and massage into hair after shampooing. Don't rinse it out. Towel dry as usual.
With continued use of your natural shampoo and herbal rinse regimen, your hair will recover it's body, bounce, and shine. You'll find that you don't need conditioners, thickeners, repairers.
If you can avoid hairdryers and hot rollers, do so. Seek a style that doesn't require heat and chemicals to attain. Love the hair Nature gave you. It's part of your unique, personal style.
Your hair and scalp will thank you!
Mountain Rose Herbs
https://mountainroseherbs.com/
* * * * *
I gather and dry extra horsetail for winter use. It quickly dries on top of my fridge on wax paper lined trays.
Comments