When life gives you lemons....

Make Hair Tea! Last Sunday, I was cooking when I reached up into a cabinet to grab some spices and herbs, and I noticed movement in one of the containers that holds my dried herbs. So, I grabbed the container, opened it up – and it was full of weevils. So, then I had to take all of my herbs down and check them for bugs. The good thing is that many of these herbs were long past their freshness date, but I had been lazy about throwing them away. So, I decided to clean out my herb cabinet. At least 3 containers had bugs. I threw them out and washed the containers and the cabinet with soapy water and essential oil.Three glass jars of herbs: dried lavender, calendula flowers and rosemary – were bug free, but they were also outdated. So, I decided to make a hair tea with them.I boiled about 2 quarts of water with 1 Tbsp. of each herb – then let it steep for 20 minutes. After that, I strained the tea, added ¼ cup organic apple cider vinegar and bottled it into 2 quart-size mason jars. You can use after it cools, or refrigerate it. It’s really nice to pour over your hair when it’s hot outside. Just before using, add your favorite essential oil. I added about 8 drops of Lavender oil and stirred it well (helps to take out the smell of vinegar). Then, I poured it over my head… Hair looks great and smells good! You can use this as a hair rinse in place of washing once or twice a week. It cleans hair and helps to strip residue left behind by shampoo and conditioner.

As I am striving to get to "zero plastic waste", I am making more of my own products at home. I use shampoo bars for regular hair washing, but I still haven't found a great conditioner recipe. This hair tea can soften hair like conditioner and make it manageable for combing - but I wouldn't use it every day as it can be a bit drying. Namaste!