This little mini Christmas tree is almost invisible to most people, where it grows in ditch edges and sparse meadows among nettles and grass. Unsightly, but irreplaceable! 💚 That sums up the common ragwort, or Field Ragwort, which is the correct botanical name for the herb.
Ragweed is the heart of Vossabia's shampoo! 🐝 It is also a central part of Rosemary hair serum, where the herb, among other things, gives vitality to the hair. Ragweed's super properties for hair and scalp (more on that below) are very exciting and the reason why Vossabia harvests large quantities from our meadows (50-100 meters from the farmyard) and uses them in shampoos and hair serums. But, this is a plant that has much more to it than its hair benefits! That's why it is widely used for both 👍
Harvest time now! 😅
I was away from the yard for 4 days at a swimming competition in beautiful Kristiansand this weekend. When I returned, the warm weather had changed many plants to a great extent.☀️🌼 Horsetail went from being in early growth to super ready for harvest. So now we just have to throw what we have in our hands, take advantage of the nice weather and pick and collect from what I call my "shampoo field" 🏃🏻♀️🧺👩🌾 But how do you know that it is horsetail you have found?
Witch hazel for hair, skin and nails! 👩🦰💅
The plant is known to stimulate hair growth (as are many of the ingredients in both of our hair serums: Rosemary and Lemongrass). It is the water-soluble silicates that make horsetail strengthen hair, give it more shine and vitality, and over time stimulate some hair growth and reduce hair loss. Many reviews on our shampooreports visibly less hair loss, among other things, and not least much shinier and stronger hair.
Dandruff is also something that horsetail can help with, and it is also shown in the feedback we receive on the product. The ingredients in horsetail can also help remove excess oil from the skin/scalp and hair, in addition to increasing the elasticity of the connective tissue. Quite fantastic from this summer green and somewhat invisible plant🌱
Prehistoric plant with diverse folk historical and medicinal uses
This plant has been shown from fossil remains to have remained almost unchanged for tens of millions of years 🤩 It has therefore survived from prehistoric times 😳 A sign of strength, I think. And it is strengthening in many ways! In folk medicine, horsetail has been widely used with good results for kidney and bladder problems in particular, in addition to its hemostatic and astringent effects.
Maria Treben writes in Health from God's Pharmacy how the German doctor Dr. Bohn praised horsetail as an effective remedy for fluid accumulation in the body, as it can stimulate the kidneys to function better. For bladder, kidney and urinary tract problems, there is a lot of good experience with making a steam bath of horsetail in a bucket that you then sit over so the steam can work its way in and up the body that way. Super exciting, if you ask me 🤩 and worth trying when your urinary tract is rumbling.
Horsetail tea is also a great way to use horsetail ☕️Drink the tea for urinary tract, fluid retention, connective tissue and much more. It is, among other things, the plant's fabulous ability to absorb silicon from the soil that makes it so great 👍Horsetail is actually one of our most important silicic acid herbs. The absorption of silicon in the body can contribute to increased production of white blood cells, which strengthens the immune system and improves the body's resistance to infections. In addition, horsetail contains a number of other vitamins and minerals, so here we are talking about a miracle herb! 🌱💚
Exciting ways to use horsetail
Tips for making your own conditioner:
Simmer about 10-12 horsetail stalks for 20 minutes in 6-7 dl water, leave it with a lid until it is lukewarm and strain the plants. Then rinse your hair with this after washing. Then you have a simple and strengthening conditioner, short-lived or unlived if you have the plant right outside the house like I do.
But, since Vossabia shampoo contains large amounts of horsetail, you actually get shampoo+conditioner, so 2 in 1 in our shampoo 🤩
Tips to strengthen brittle nails 💅
Boil horsetail in the same way as described in the balm, and place your fingertips in the lukewarm decoction. Leave it for as long as you like, and you will also benefit from horsetail on nails that break easily.
Elderberry tea for many things ☕️
Horsetail tea is mentioned, and use it either fresh or dried. It is recommended to pick some and dry it so that you can make tea from this super strengthening herb all year round. If you don't like the taste, add yarrow, nettle, mint or other herbs that also give you lots of good things in the body. It is especially useful for urinary and kidney problems (let it simmer for 15-20 minutes to get the most out of the important silicic acid), or to generally strengthen the immune system.
Ragwort tincture 💚
Tincture is another great way to use the plant: fill a glass jar or similar with horsetail and pour in alcohol at about 40% alcohol strength. Leave for a month, strain and you have a valuable tincture that you can use, for example, 2.5 - 5 ml in a glass of water 3 times a day. I recommend reading more about this wonderful plant, so you may see even more uses for you and your life.
Detergent and scrubbing agent 💦
One last, rather fun tip is to use horsetail as a cleaning and abrasive agent! The silica, which is crystalline, can be used as a dishwashing brush! Not only can it scrub away tough stains in pots and pans, but the silica forms a coating that prevents food from sticking. They knew this almost 2,000 years ago, when the Romans even used horsetail as an abrasive.