Herbal Essence: Birch Hair Rinse
Original ad for Herbal Essence shampoo, from the 1970's My hair has changed over the years. As a teen, I had oily hair and it needed more frequent washing. When Clairol introduced a shampoo called Herbal Essence in the 1970's, I was drawn to the idea of a product that was natural and herb scented. It made it seem more gentle to wash my hair daily--which is what many of us did. In later years, I used all kinds of products and routines to manage my fine, blonde hair. Nowadays, my hair is creeping toward gray and it's drier with a bit more body. It also seems to shed and break easily so I have learned to wash it less frequently and treat it more gently. Since I had a bowl full of birch leaves left over from making sauna whisks, I decided to use them to make my own herbal essence hair rinse. I found a recipe posted by a Swede, Veronica Setterhall, on her website Naturbunden : Mix a handful of dried birch leaves with about a cup of water; let it steep like a cup of tea. I mad...
