amla,ritha and shikakai paste = grainy mess

[xochitl77]

Hi.
I went to my local Indian grocer and bought a box of the Hesh Ritha powder. And I also received bulk orders of amla and shikakai powders from "From Nature With Love".
After reading the posts on how many people use these powders I decided to try them too. I added them to my shampoo last night (vatika henna shampoo). I added half of teaspoon of each powder to a dollop of the shampoo and mixed until it tuned into a deep dark brown paste. I rubbed it into my scalp and it felt like I was rubbing in sand! Did I do something wrong? Is this the way it's suposed to feel? Am I only supposed to use water to make the paste? My hair did feel very squeacky clean , but It was very dry and extremely knotted afterwards. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions as I don't want to waste any of the powders. Thanks.

[Twitter]

The powders are pretty grainy. I've always used an acid rinse (ACV usually) and that helps with detangling. Also, mixing the powders with shampoo seems a little bit overkill, aritha and shiakai are already quite cleansing, so that could also be contributing to the dryness. Have you tried pre-oiling? That might help with dryness also.

[lynnala]

I agree with Twitter, I think adding the herbs to shampoo was overkill. The idea, I believe, is to use them instead of shampoo. And yes, they do feel gritty. I would try them just mixed with water (let the mix sit for a bit, because the herbs soak up the water and you might need to add more), and if your hair still feels dry, try pre-oiling. I've discovered that I don't need the pre-oiling, as I have very fine hair, but I do use aloe vera gel after an IHW.

[Queenie]

I mostly just use shikakai and amla. It gets my oily hair clean, but not squeaky clean. The paste is pretty grainy but I even scalp wash with it (with my length in a braid) and I have no problem at all with rinsing it out. If I don't rinse enough there will come some gritty stuff out when combing while still wet. Once it's dry, it's unnoticeable.
Herbs are wonderful to use, they just take some experimenting and getting used to! Enjoy!

[Velouria]

I've done a few herb washes (successfully), all of which have been in the form of a strained tea. With my tangle-prone curls, there's no way I'd attempt a paste wash.

I did a wash w/ those 3 herbs also...I took 1 tsp. of each, mixed w/ 8 oz. of warm-to-hot water (not boiling, as cooking kills the saponins, the cleansing constituent in these herbs), steeped overnight, strained and used as a cleansing rinse. If you do this, be careful not to get any in your eyes! It stings just like soap.

I agree that they're meant to be used in place of shampoo, not combined with it.

[Queenie]

If you do this, be careful not to get any in your eyes! It stings just like soap.
Oh yes. I found out about that yesterday :?

[curly girl fla]

I actually prefer to make a thick paste, and often I use the same batch to wash and then condition, depending on what I've mixed together. I think a thick mud is less messy, and I can work it in to my scalp fairly well. Then I add a bit of water to move it around the length. I am always surprised that the grainy mud rinses fairly clean without having to add conditioner or do an acv rinse. And, yes, man, oh, man, it kills the eyes!

[jivete]

I just mix mine in water in the shower. I have a little squirt bottle and I add some of the herbs, about 12 oz of water, shake and squirt over my hair, let it sit while I soap up and then rinse out. I don't have a problem rinsing it clean, but it does leave my tub a little dirty looking.

[icydove]

Many people find aritha much more harsh than shikakai. Pre-oiling your hair and/or mixing conditioning herbs with the aritha should help. But yes, mixing it with shampoo is overkill.

I make a tea with Indian herbs and strain it before use. It doesn't work for everybody, but my hair loves it.

[Jeep Girl]

Ah ha! I was wondering about this... I have a hair coloring bottle with the nozzle top and I was thinking about cutting a patch out of an old pair of nylons and putting it on the bottle then screwing the top on. (the nylon to act as a strainer) I don't need to be fighting trying to get pasty gunk out of my hair.

[xochitl77]

Thank you all for your replies. I will try the different methods of usage next time I wash my hair. And yes adding it to the shampoo was too much. Somehow I thought maybe adding the herbs would have given the shampoo some 'boost' or something. :rolleyes: