henna for cleaning hair? anyone try this?

[ratgirldjh]

i was wondering if anyone every tried using henna powder to clean their hair. i know that it takes out dirt and oils, etc. when you use it - so i was wondering if either making a paste and using it like shikakai (not long enough for dye release) or putting a tablespoon of powder in a liter or so of water and shaking it up and pouring it through your hair would clean the hair of excess oil and dirt and maybe give it a conditioning effect? and maybe eventually a little color boost?

anyone ever try this? i saw on the cassia thread that some people do use cassia for cleaning...

just wondering... as i'm always looking for a soap free easy to get ingredient to clean my hair

[Aisha25]

I do it like a regular hennaing make paste with tea and lemon so my scalp doesnt itch after I rinse the henna out plus the lemon helps to clean them too:) Leave it for long time then just rinse it all out my hair is very nice afterwards like when I shikakai.

[mellie]

It would definitely color your hair though - do you want that?

[ratgirldjh]

a little color would be nice - but i have a lot of silver and don't want to have to henna - but i thought if i used it as my wash method the slow build up of color might be nice....
probably if i try this i will just get some senna and see how that works. i would probably oil my hair first and use it as a cleanser - wonder if it will get off a heavy oiling?
the only thing about the senna is i have the silver hairs and really like them silver - i'm just looking for alternatives to soap that are easy to get - i know i can get senna or henna
i have used chickpea flour and didn't like the beany smell it left in my hair and i've also used shikakai and amla - but i have to drive very far to get them and wanted to use something i can get at my neighborhood

[ratgirldjh]

aisha - do you oil your hair before the henna? also does it turn your hair red?
i have very dark hair with silver and don't want the silver to turn red. maybe i should use senna instead...

[Aisha25]

I dont think that using henna will be good for you cause it will color your greys a nice orangy auburn color. Yeah I use oil before well the whole week before henna but not a heavy oiling it wont get it out so good:lol:

[ratgirldjh]

that's what i was thinking :(
and also the senna would color them yellowish
i've tried besan and other ground beans and lentils and they all cleaned good and left my hair nice - but i didn't like the way they left my hair smelling - i'm very sensitive to smells

aisha - do you have any ideas? for something that i can buy at the grocery store and doesn't leave my hair smelly???

thanks

[Aisha25]

yeah I am in same position I have to buy in bulk for my hair as my indian shop is 30mins away in the next town. Sorry:flowers:

[Isilme]

henna wouldn't be a good option for you if you don't want to go the whole way from pumpkin to at last deep eggplant. There is a certain wash clay you can use, it's called rassoul (or rhassoul, or a couple of other spelling options) that you could give a try though.

[ratgirldjh]

isilime - thanks for reminding me about clay! i have used bentonite (i can get it easily) and it actually worked well for me - soft shiny hair! i will have to try it again. i've never even seen rhassoul here :(
but really i need to stop doing stuff to my hair and just go WO for a while to let it get back to normal - LOL
but now i want to go and put clay on my hair!!!

[ratgirldjh]

aisha - haha! that is my exact problem! the indian store is at least 30 miles away!

last time i bought 20 packages of amla powder! i wish i had gotten more shikakai!

maybe i will try the clay again

[Aisha25]

I swear sometimes its like you have to bring at least $50 bucks just so you have enough for hair stuff:lol: When I go i have to remember to bring list so I dont run out of all my spices too:rolleyes:such a pain

[ratgirldjh]

i really just want to be able to get all my hair care needs from my local grocery
then i don't have to panic and worry when i am getting low
but it is so much fun to try new stuff - LOL

thanks for your help :)

goes off to put clay into her hair....

[mellie]

Have you tried aritha? If you have henna available locally, they probably have aritha. I use whole soapnuts (aritha) on my hair and I love it! Plus it doesn't stain my silver hairs, either! You can also find it as a powder, although I personally have not tried it as a powder, only whole. I am very happy with it, it is my sole shampoo for almost a half year now!

[ratgirldjh]

i have not tried aritha - or soapnuts
but i do think they have the powder at my indian store
do you know how i would use the powder?
i have heard it is more cleansing than shikakai and i am wondering if the powder would dry out my hair - it is dry and prone to breaking after so much washing with soap and shampoo bars lately.
i started COing because my hair was breaking so much that i was worried.
this could be because it has been so cold and dry here - and also i loved washing my hair with soap or poo bars so much that i tend to over do it... probably because i have never been able to use soap on my skin and i love soap...

right now i'm just co-ing using suave tropical coconut or giovanni TTT and my hair stopped breaking almost immediately - but i miss the fullness and shine that i got from soap and ACV.

i am going to try to keep to the COing for a little while and then go WO until i figure out what to try next
sad that i can't use poo bars or soap for long term - i loved that they were all natural and smelled so good.
next time i go to the indian store i will see if they have soapnuts

[mellie]

I haven't had any problems with soapnuts drying out my hair at all, as long as I use lemon in the recipe. When I tried it without lemon, strangely enough, it did dry out my hair a bit. Also some people oil their hair too, to help with any drying, although I don't do that myself. Here's some pics I just took yesterday:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=477847&postcount=1352

I know that tina1025 uses the powder, she makes a foam with it and applies it to dry hair. You might want to email her if you'd like her recipe! :-)