Horsetail Hair Rinse for Shiny, Healthy Hair
If youโve ever dealt with horsetail in your garden, you know that itโs a nasty weed thatโs super invasive and incredibly difficult to get rid of.
Horsetail will literally grow just about anywhere, and once itโs in your soil, it takes nothing less than an excavator to get rid of it. At least, thatโs been our experience anyway.
We first noticed it on our own property when we ordered our first shipment of soil last year: We had thick tarps laid out on the ground with the soil spread over top. The tarps were laid out on the ground for a couple months in the spring, and when we finally cleared all the soil, we noticed horsetail had grown right through the tarps!
Weโve battled this invasive weed ever since. Itโs taken over our greenhouse, our front and back garden beds, our berry patch, our pumpkin patchโฆ Itโs even growing in our fire pit! If that ainโt a testament to the fact that it will grow just about anywhere, I donโt know what is.
In fact, Iโve even read that horsetail is one of the first weeds to grow back after a volcanic eruption decimates everything in its path. It literally grows out of the ashes!
The worst part is that when you pull this weed out by the root, it spreads even more. The best way to manage it is to cut it at the base of the stem with a pair of scissors or garden shears, but that can take ages considering the sheer volume of it that grows in any given area. Not to mention, it grows right back in a matter of days.
Needless to say, we have lost the battle with horsetail on our property, but I recently discovered a way to win the warโฆ
How horsetail can benefit you
For starters, horsetail is actually not a horrible weed to have in the garden, as invasive as it may be. Since it requires very little nutrients to survive, it therefore doesnโt take many nutrients away from other plants growing nearby. So while it can be frustrating and unsightly, horsetail can coexist quite peacefully with most of our other plants as long as we donโt let it get too out of control.
Horsetail is also very high in silica, which is a chemical compound made up of silicon and oxygen that is beneficial to human health. Silica is especially beneficial for healthy skin, hair and nails, keeping these body parts strong helping to prevent brittleness.
You can actually benefit from making a tea out of horsetail, and when taken orally horsetail is said to aid everything from brittle bones to bladder and kidney problems. But horsetail can also be applied externally.
Related: Rosemary Hair Pomade With Essential Oils
Itโs been said that First Nations traditionally used horsetailโs abrasive stem as a sort of sandpaper-like file for smoothing carved items and even for filing their nails and brushing their teeth.
I wanted to find a way to put horsetail to work for me, because if you canโt beat it, embrace it, right? I decided to make a sort of extract out of it with apple cider vinegar, which also supports healthy, shiny, strong hair when used as a hair rinse.
How to make and use horsetail hair rinse
By combining both horsetail and apple cider vinegar together, you can create a powerful, all-natural hair rinse that is extremely beneficial for your hair while also putting horsetail to good use instead of just letting it take over your garden.
If you donโt have any horsetail in your garden, first consider yourself lucky. Next, go for a walk n the wild. Horsetail grows just about everywhere (with the exceptions of Australia and New Zealand by my research), so chances are you can find some growing wild somewhere near you. While it can grow just about anywhere, your best bet is to look near watery areas like rivers, ponds and marshes.
To make the hair rinse, simply stuff a Mason Jar about โ
of the way full with fresh horsetail and then cover with raw apple cider vinegar. Make sure that all the horsetail is submerged as any horsetail sticking up above the liquid could start to mold. I use a wide-mouth, quart-sized Mason jar to make my hair rinse in and I place a small jelly jar on top of the mixture to push the horsetail below the surface so it doesnโt float above the liquid line.
Store your infusion in a cool dark place for about 4-6 weeks for best results, shaking gently every few days to help it infuse. Strain out the horsetail and discard (I throw it in the garbage as Iโm nervous to spread more horsetail in my garden by putting it in my compost). Continue to store infused apple-cider in a cool dark place when not using.
To use, rinse through your hair either after washing or between washes. I like to rinse and leave it in, combing it through my hair. But you can also comb the rinse through your hair and then rinse it outrightly with water. Do not follow with any conditioner or any other products.
Voilร ! Youโve got yourself an all-natural hair rinse, beautiful, healthy hair and youโve put some of that horse tail to good use.
Have you ever used horsetail before? Have you found a way to get rid of it in your garden? Please share any tips you have for dealing with horsetail in the comments section below!
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Signs of life abound, even in the dead of winter! โฃ
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๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐'๐ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ: โฃ
Breakfastsโฃ
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Eat well friends:)
I hope you had a wonderful and restful end of holidays, and are also feeling ready to get back on track with your daily schedule here in the new year. It can sometimes feel like a lot to get going, but those "regular days" help us to regulate our rhythms, and in turn help us slowly, gear up for the Spring season ahead. โฃ
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In our Winter Issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine, my friend and fellow homesteader, Ashley Constance of @alittleselfreliant wrote "Breaking Your Cabin Fever" a list of ideas for staying productive over the winter months. โฃ
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Homesteading is a year-round lifestyle, andโฃ
for whatever reason, homesteading is most often thought of as a three-season โactivity.โ โฃ
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1. ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ. โฃ
2. ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ.โฃ
3. ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ถ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ. โฃ
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So much of homesteading centers around preparing for winter. But what happens when winter finally arrives?โฃ
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Sure, we could just hunker down and relax, enjoy the fruits of our labour and rest until spring returns and the really busy seasons begin again. But the very nature of most homesteaders is that we tend to enjoy keeping busy. In other words, we tend to go a bit stir crazy sitting around on the couch for too long.โฃ
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Now, let me just make this clear before we continue: I think itโs VERY important to take time to rest whenever possible so that you can feel rejuvenated and be more productive when you really need to be, but if youโre looking for some (mostly relaxing) homesteading activities that you can do throughout the winter months to help keep you occupied, Iโve got a few suggestions for you:) โฃ
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My full list of winter homesteading activities can be found here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/winter-homesteading-activities/ โฃ
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Happy homesteading!
Can this be put In A spray bottle to spray on after a shower?
You could put it in a spray bottle, but I do find it’s best to rinse it out rather than leave it in after a shower due to the vinegar smell.
Can I use pure liquid horsetail extract instead, and what amount would I use? Thanks so much.
Hi Lin,
I don’t suppose you could use a liquid extract, however the vinegar in this recipe acts as the solvent so you’re essentially making a homemade extract. I wouldn’t know how much to use if using a liquid extract as I’ve never used this myself, but a premade extract would be stronger than using fresh horsetail so I would err on the side of less.
Is the vinegar rinse poured on to your hair straight or is it to be diluted in water first?
You can do either or. I usually pour it on straight and then work it in in the shower and rinse it out.
May i just soak in water hours and rinse 3 times a week
Hi Amanda,
You can certainly make a tea with it and save it to rinse your hair. Just pour hot water over the horsetail and allow it to steep for a few hours.
The reason Anna infuses it in raw apple cider vinegar is to combine the benefits of both the horsetail and the ACV.
Can I use dried horsetail
Hi Ana,
For most vinegar infusions you can use either fresh or dried. However, use only 1/3 to half of the amount of dried herbs (horsetail, in this case) as it will rehydrate absorbing the liquid and expanding. And then check within the first few days to see if you need to add more vinegar because of the absorption. Otherwise, that should be fine.
I recently started simply making a tea with horsetail by pouring over boiling water and leaving it for 2 to 3 hours then using that to rinse my hair. I leave it on. I noticed my hair was softer by the second use. Now, each day I make a pot of horsetail tea, drink a small cup of it and leave the rest to infuse so it’s ready when I take my shower
I love the idea of a horsetail tea. It is definitely a very useful plant, but when it’s invading your garden it’s a nightmare! May as well put it to good use. Maybe I’ll try drinking some of it too!
Doesn’t it make your hair smell like vinegar afterwards?
Not once you rinse it out.