Horsetail Hair Rinse for Shiny, Healthy Hair
If you’ve ever dealt with horsetail in your garden, you know that it’s a nasty weed that’s super invasive and incredibly difficult to get rid of.
Horsetail will literally grow just about anywhere, and once it’s in your soil, it takes nothing less than an excavator to get rid of it. At least, that’s 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!
We’ve battled this invasive weed ever since. It’s taken over our greenhouse, our front and back garden beds, our berry patch, our pumpkin patch… It’s even growing in our fire pit! If that ain’t a testament to the fact that it will grow just about anywhere, I don’t know what is.
In fact, I’ve 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 war…
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 doesn’t 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 don’t 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
It’s been said that First Nations traditionally used horsetail’s 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 can’t 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 don’t 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 ⅔ 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 doesn’t 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 I’m 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.
Voilà! You’ve got yourself an all-natural hair rinse, beautiful, healthy hair and you’ve 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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(Continued in comments...)
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This month's issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine is all about Food Justice.
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I don’t like radishes. But I love to grow them, which has created quite a dilemma in the past. That is, until I discovered ROASTED RADISHES!
Talk about a game changer! Roasting radishes completely takes the bite out of radishes (ya know, that spiciness that fresh radishes are known for). Plus, the addition of honey butter elevates even the most boring side dish of radishes to a dish you’re gonna wanna lick clean! Not that I’ve done that or anything 😳
My favourite radishes to grow are an heirloom variety called French Breakfast radishes (pictured here). They’re long and cylindrical rather than round and they’re an absolute beauty in the garden and on a plate!
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I’ve gone from disliking radishes to literally salivating over this dish, so much so that I had to share the recipe!
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Recipe link in bio @thehouseandhomestead or go to https://thehouseandhomestead.com/roasted-radishes-with-honey-butter/
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In the fall I love watching orb spiders spin their webs that capture the last of the summer rays and the first of the fall raindrops on their silky threads.
Even in the bathroom (why do spiders gravitate to the bathroom??) I always try not to kill the spiders that I find, but relocate them to the garden instead. A healthy garden is teeming with spiders and worms and butterflies and bees. A healthy garden is full of healthy life, and just like good bacteria helps ward off bad bacteria in our bodies, so too do the “good bugs” help to control the bad bugs in the garden, and spiders are one of the most beneficial bugs when it comes to that!
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As much as it may seem like we have nothing in common, if you take a moment to just observe nature or sit in stillness by your garden gate, you’re sure to realize we all have more in common than most people might think.
Some people want an ocean view or a high-rise apartment with a bird’s eye view of the city. Me? I’ll never get tired of waking up to this (weeds and all!) 😍
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My mom and dad divorced when I was just 9 months old. I have no memory of them ever being together, and remain my mother’s only child.
It was definitely a struggle at times. When I was a kid I was constantly reminded that money didn’t grow on trees and that, while we lived comfortably, there was never any extra for the “fun stuff.”
I watched my mom cry many times because of how hard it was to be a single mother on a tight income. Sometimes I would pull whatever money I had in my piggy bank and offer it to her to help pay for groceries. She always refused, but I know it was hard on her to want to give me the world while simultaneously having to use coupons just to get by, and it was hard on me watching how hard it was on her.
But while I didn’t grow up wearing name-brand clothes or getting whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it, my mom was determined to put whatever extra money she could save toward giving me some of the best experiences life had to offer and making memories together that will last our lifetimes.
When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to go on a discounted school trip to Europe. My mom encouraged me to go and told me she would help pay for it. So I signed myself up and when I found out they were looking for parents to help chaperone the trip, I immediately asked my mom to come along. I promised her that I would work hard and save up enough money to pay for my own trip so she could afford to come too.
We made it happen, and it marked the beginning of roughly a decade of adventures together travelling all over the world.
In the end, the experiences we had have helped shape me and my appreciation for all that this beautiful world has to offer, and the memories we made together will forever remain some of my most cherished.
Yes, there were times we struggled, but thanks to my mom, I can truly say that I’ve had a blessed life, and am grateful every day for all of the sacrifices she made in order to literally give me the world. She didn’t just teach me the value of a dollar, she taught me that time spent together is worth more than anything else we could possibly spend our money on.
Thanks mom. I love you as big as the world 🗺 ❤️
🪴The May issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine just dropped! This month’s issue is all about the wonderful world of herbs and herb gardening!!!
Herbs have always been an integral part of both good food and good health, often at the same time!
The great emperor Charlemagne famously said that "Herbs are the friend of the physician and the pride of cooks."
Indeed, both physicians and cooks would be nothing without herbs, and so you can see how useful having an herb garden can be for us modern homesteaders who often aim to cook most of our meals from scratch with ingredients grown on our own property AND be our family's own primary health care provider.
First up we're showcasing 10 less common herbs that are totally worthy of a place in your garden. From culinary herbs like lovage and chervil to medicinal herbs like comfrey and marshmallow and dual purpose herbs in between, if you're looking to expand your herb garden beyond the standard culinary herbs you're familiar with, this guide breaks down everything you need to know about growing and using these lesser known herbs at home.
Our guest interview this month is with CeAnne Kosel, founder of @farmhouseteas. CeAnne's journey into herbalism began with a discounted pack of calendula seeds and led her to starting what has become a successful business mixing and selling herbal teas and other all-natural herbal products. She's here sharing her story, her advice for anyone wanting to break into the business side of selling herbal products and her formula for crafting herbal teas that are as healing as they are delicious!
And of course, no issue would be complete without a few good recipes to keep in your back pocket (or herb cabinet). This month we're tipping our hats to the art, flavour and finesse of French cooking with three distinctly French herb blends that will help take your home cooking to a whole new level. Plus, don't miss CeAnne's bonus recipe for homemade Allergy Tea, perfect for spring! (Aka. allergy season).
To read the May issue, subscribe for FREE via the link in my bio @thehouseandhomestead or go to thehouseandhomestead.com/magazine.
Happy herb gardening!
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!