Mostly people oil their hair as a conditioning practice. There are lot of different method, some like to oil on dry hair, some on wet hair. We will only use a little bit of coconut oil on the ends to keep the hair moist. The idea of pre-oiling before washing with Indian herbs is apparently to seal the hair so that all the moisture doesn’t get washed out with the dirt, because the herbs can be drying to the hair. It creates a good balance.
Shikakai a is a small shrub-like tree which grows in India. It’s pod-like fruit is collected, dried and then ground into a fine powder. There are many different ways to use the herbs. What works for some fails for others but following basic recipe will work for most:
- 1 tbsp amla
- 1 tbsp shikakai
- 1 tbsp aritha
- 1.5 cups freshly brewed hibiscus tea with a touch of vinegar in it
Put in a squeeze bottle and use as you would shampoo. Tilt your head back and apply the stuff on the scalp, then rub it in. Leave it on for about 5 minutes, then rinse out.
Some people recommend Heenara Hairwash Powder as it contains Shikakai and other Indian herbs already mixed together:
- Aritha
- Shikakai
- Amla
- Kapoor Kachli
- Chandan
- Rose Petals
- Mehandi
- Maka
- Wala
Put a heaping teaspoon in a large (50 ounce) bottle, then add about a cup of very hot water and shake the heck out of it. Then add a lot more simply warm water, shake it like crazy again, ending up with about 40 ounces of muddy water. Use the whole bottle over your head to wash hair with, dumping several times, not pouring the whole lot on at once. Very gently massage it into your scalp, then rinse it all out. It rinses out pretty easily, and does not leave anything behind.
Precautions
Avoid getting the stuff into your eyes–it hurts.
Using more of shikakai (anything between 2 tablep to 5 tablespoons) removes all the oils in the hair (from pre-oiling)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nEEMwwpcg
