* I borrowed my contribution to Not Dabbling this week from another one of my blogs, Bathtime. Things are crazy this week in the Fiber Friends studio, so I hope you don’t mind a little re-post action while i stabbidy stab my way through some orders! – Miranda from PocketPause.com
Rosemary and sage are my favorite herbs for hair care, hands down. Great for shine, softness and tangles, these herbs are especially great when paired with nature’s best cleaning ingredient: vinegar. For those of you washing your hair the ‘no poo’ way, you may be frustrated with sticky hair. For folks like me with chronically itchy scalps, you might give this recipe a shot to see if it helps you as much as it helps me. Since switching away from bottled shampoo, i’ve looked for recipes i can make myself to give my hair some TLC, and this stands out as my favorite (and easiest) recipe since i first concocted it several years ago. I think you’ll love this recipe, so give it a shot! Worried about smelling like salad? Infused vinegars are great in any cleaner recipe that calls for vinegar, and they smell great. I like to infuse white vinegar with lavender and rosemary, which pairs wonderfully with a tea of rosemary and sage.
Herbal Hair Rinse
- Fistful each fresh rosemary and fresh or dried sage, preferably in bloom
- water
- vinegar – white, apple cider, or white infused with herbs for several weeks to a month
This recipe is a cinch: Cover herbs with water, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for 15-45 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool on the stove. Feel free to leave the tea to steep over night. Strain off liquid into a large mason jar and discard the herbs. Add an equal or greater amount of vinegar to this tea and store in the fridge. The vinegar should keep the tea from spoiling, but i like to refrigerate mine just in case. Fill an old shampoo (well cleaned) or other bottle with hair rinse and keep in the shower. After washing your hair (with baking soda, commercial shampoo, or one of my shampoo bars), simple drizzle some of this tonic directly onto your scalp and tresses. No need to rinse!
Enjoy shiny, softened hair and a calm scalp after several showers using this herbal tonic. Do you use vinegar to clean around your house? Try infusing it with different herbs, citrus peel, or flowers. I’d love to hear how you like this hair rinse, so please send us your comments if you give it a try!
Fantastic! I switched over from bottled shampoo a couple years ago, but hadn’t found a good conditioner. On this (lavender I think!)
Great post! Will give it a try.
Very interesting. I’ve failed with no poo and the shampoo bar. Maybe I’ll have better luck with this….
[...] No Poo? No Sticky! DIY Hair Rinse Recipe (notdabblinginnormal.wordpress.com) [...]
Lately i’ve been using my shampoo bar or baking soda, rinsing with a herbed vinegar rinse. instead of making an herb tea and mixing it with vinegar, i just slow infused the herbs into the vinegar. it’s working AMAZINGLY and conditions like nothing else!
i’m currently scouring the internets trying to find a no poo method of cleaning hair while still smelling like my previously used etsy hair products. Do you have any tips? I’m not trying to cover up the vinegar smell while in the shower, i’m trying to have my hair smell like something. Its clear to me that I will have to use either an essential oil or the actual plant. I’m trying to get my hair to have a patchouli scent.
Hello! This is what i would recommend: A. you could grow some patchouli and infuse the ACV (vinegar) with it…. B. you could infuse with sage and rosemary as i recommend and add: a hair polish! I prefer rosemary essential oil, but you could get some patchouli essential oil and put several drops into some sweet almond or jojoba oil and give yourself post shower applications of that: just a tiny bit of the hair polish in your hands, rub together well and massage into your scalp/ hair tips. Let me know how you like that!