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 made up a quart pitcher of it and let it infuse in the sunshine for an afternoon.

Hair rinse is the antithesis of what we are addicted to in shampoo: lather that builds up like a puffy cloud. This bubbliness is the result of adding sulfites to shampoo, like sodium lauryl sulfate, a chemical compound made from petroleum. While it is true that sulfites effectively wash away oil and dirt, they are probably stronger than needed. According to consumer watchdogs, they strip hair of beneficial oils, dry it out and even weaken hair follicles. Not to mention that as those foamy bubbles swirl down the drain, they make their way into the environment and are not great for the ecosystem.

When I was ready to try my birch hair rinse, I wet my hair thoroughly and then filtered out the leaves while pouring the birch tea through my hair. I worked it into my scalp and combed it through with my fingers. I finished with another water rinse. Over the next 24 hours I noticed a couple of things. My scalp felt clean and refreshed. My hair felt a bit stiff and coated as opposed to the slippery, silky feeling after a soapy shampoo. This may be for the best. The cleansing essences in leaves and plants are tannins which apparently penetrate the hair shaft, smoothing and protecting it.

All photos © Jack Steinmann, 2026

I can see using birch hair rinse between shampoos to maintain healthy, stronger locks. I still want the occasional squeaky clean aprés-shampoo feeling. When applied to skin and hair, with water and some friction, tannins from plants help cleanse and balance body oils and ostensibly offer antimicrobial protection and reduce inflammation. For those of us looking for more natural and gentle ways to stay clean and healthy, the lesson from the sauna is keep it leafy green.

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