Best way to utilize Shikakai powder?

[Deborah]

Cocolover,

I should probably clarify about my muddy water technique. I take the mixed up herbs and hot water in the shower with me, wet my hair and self thoroughly, then apply the herbs/water to my hair and wash it. I only let it sit on my hair probably 2 or 3 minutes, then I scrub a little more and rinse it out.

It sounds like you put the mixture on dry hair, then let it sit for a long time. Maybe that long sitting time is why it is hard to rinse out. This is just my guess. I never have any even slight amount of grittiness left in my hair after rinsing.

I'm not claiming to have figured out any 'better' way to use these herbs. I'm a complete tyro. But maybe I have accidentally stumbled on a method that allows for easier rinsing - beginners' luck, or something like that.

[Angharad]

I regularly use shikakaipowder for washing my hair. My hair is naturally dry and curly and the best washing method for me, is to have an oiltreatment the night before washing (or a few hours before washing). Just use some olive or neem oil (those are my favourites for pre-washing treatments) on damp hair and wrap your head in plastic foil.

Use just a little bit of shikakaipowder (2/3 tablespoons will suffice) mixed with some water into a past and just dab it on to your hair, let it stay for about ten minutes, then give your hair a gentle massage and rinse it out ; after that use a (cone-free) conditioner.

When I'm rinsing the conditioner out of my hair, I already feel the softness that washing with shikakai always "provides". It is one of the moste gentle ways of washing my hair (ghassoul is also great!) and I have to do it this way so my hair benefits the most!

[Shell]

Maybe you should apply it to wet hair? I use a pretty runny mix as well. Do you pre-oil?

For more recipes and advice, check out the Indian Herb article linked in my sig.

[cocolover]

Hmmm...I'm going to have to try using it in the shower. What I can't stand is getting in the shower, then out, then back in. Is there enough benefit from it just sitting for 2-3 minutes? I do pre-oil, but not heavily. When I oil heavily my hair is still oily post-wash.

[Shell]

I generally just leave it on for the duration of the shower, and I pre-oil but not heavily. I put more on the ends and almost none on the scalp.

[kdaniels8811]

I mix my herbs with warm water and squirt with a clean mustard bottle onto my scalp. Take a kitchen trash bag folded into a triangle and put it on my head like a kerchief, this keeps the drips down. Leave it on for 20 minutes, take a shower and rinse it all out at the end of the shower. Herbs do wonderful things for my hair.

[cocolover]

Okay, so today was wash day and I tried applying to wet hair in the shower, but had the same difficulty getting everything rinsed out. I get out and comb through my hair and grit is falling all over the floor. My hair looks like it has dirt in it until it dries and the rest kind of falls out throughout the day.
Can I get the same hair benefits from a strained tea of shikakai and amla?

Shell-why do you apply more to the ends, doesn't it dry them out? I thought you were supposed to concentrate on the scalp, like with shampoo? It is usually my scalp that needs to be cleaned, not my length.

[chotee]

Okay, so today was wash day and I tried applying to wet hair in the shower, but had the same difficulty getting everything rinsed out. I get out and comb through my hair and grit is falling all over the floor. My hair looks like it has dirt in it until it dries and the rest kind of falls out throughout the day.
Can I get the same hair benefits from a strained tea of shikakai and amla?

Shell-why do you apply more to the ends, doesn't it dry them out? I thought you were supposed to concentrate on the scalp, like with shampoo? It is usually my scalp that needs to be cleaned, not my length.

Always shikakai has the tendency to stick to hair. For that reason after scrubbing very gently into the scalp i try to rinse my hair in a tub of water. I keep changing the water till i feel the hair is really clean. You can add a few drops of eo in it if you want some smell. I sometimes do it in a clean basin too. It is cleansing and drying and i think pre-oiling is a must. I always try to oil my hair the night before. Also, i think its better not to soak hair in shikakai for more than 15 min as its really drying. The last time i used shikakai, i changed the receipe a little. i made a soap nut (reetha) water with rosemary leaves and hibiscus flowers and mixed in shikakai powder. I store it in the fridge and then use the tea to clean the hair. But i think gravy works better on oily hair. and if you have really soaked your hair in oil, using it on the ends might help remove the oil.....i use it on the ends too...and yes, i add amla powder to my tea as well. You have to experiment different ways till you find what suits u best....

[Diamondbell]

I too don't leave Shikakai in hair/scalp for too long. I add ritha to shikakai sometimes.

1) I oil scalp about 1 hour before wash.
2) Before wash, I keep the Shikakai powder mixed in water for ½ an hour at least in a vessel, because it is just better that way.
3) I start washing hair and put shikakai-mixture only on wet scalp.
4) I have the Shikakai only in muddy consistency (no straining).
5) After leaving in on scalp for maximum 15 minutes, I wash off.

[HotRag]

I too don't leave Shikakai in hair/scalp for too long. I add ritha to shikakai sometimes.

1) I oil scalp about 1 hour before wash.
2) Before wash, I keep the Shikakai powder mixed in water for ½ an hour at least in a vessel, because it is just better that way.
3) I start washing hair and put shikakai-mixture only on wet scalp.
4) I have the Shikakai only in muddy consistency (no straining).
5) After leaving in on scalp for maximum 15 minutes, I wash off.

You don't pre oil your lengths and ends then?