Those of you who wash with Shikakai and/or Aritha, what do you condition with?

[♘ Miss Carousel]

My normal Vo5 conditioner seems to be working well, but I'm curious as to what y'all use. Are there any conditioners you feel work especially well with ayurvedic herbs?

[Deborah]

When I wash with Indian herbs, I add in a teaspoon or so of Methi. For me that makes conditioner unnecessary.

[♘ Miss Carousel]

That sounds ideal, but I don't know where I'd get it in the states in powdered form.

[Neoma]

That sounds ideal, but I don't know where I'd get it in the states in powdered form.

Methi is powdered fenugreek seeds. You can get it at any Indian grocery.

It's great because it provides slip.

Dried hibiscus flowers (whole or pieces brewed into a strong tea) or powder added to your cleansing blend, will also provide a lot of slip.

Neoma's Purple Sludge

Mix1 tablespoon amla powder
2 tablespoons shikakai powder
2 tablespoons methi powder
2 tablespoons dried hibiscus flowers

Pour a cup of boiling water over the first three ingredients. Put the hibiscus in a tea ball and add them to the rest of the brew. Cover and steep 30 minutes. Remove the tea ball.

You can use it as soon as it cools sufficiently or keep it a few days in the fridge. I always use it on oiled hair. Finger-comb in the shower under running water to remove the herbal debris. May stain light hair or surfaces.

[Deborah]

I just toss the herbs and the methi into a large, 48 ounces or more, plastic bottle. Then I add in about 1/2 to one cup hot tap water and shake the heck out of it. Then I add in warm water to fill the bottle most (but not all) of the way up, and shake it like crazy again. I pour the whole bottle over my head, massage in a little and rinse very, very thorougly. Done.

I tried doing it other ways, but this is the easiest by far for me, and it works great.

[Katia_k]

I mix hibiscus powder into my shikakai, put everything in a mason jar, and stir it up. Usually let it sit overnight. I've mixed other things into it too, but my hair seems to like simple best. This conditions fairly well.

[Pajarita]

Methi is powdered fenugreek seeds. You can get it at any Indian grocery.

It's great because it provides slip.

Dried hibiscus flowers (whole or pieces brewed into a strong tea) or powder added to your cleansing blend, will also provide a lot of slip.

Neoma's Purple Sludge

Mix1 tablespoon amla powder
2 tablespoons shikakai powder
2 tablespoons methi powder
2 tablespoons dried hibiscus flowers

Pour a cup of boiling water over the first three ingredients. Put the hibiscus in a tea ball and add them to the rest of the brew. Cover and steep 30 minutes. Remove the tea ball.

You can use it as soon as it cools sufficiently or keep it a few days in the fridge. I always use it on oiled hair. Finger-comb in the shower under running water to remove the herbal debris. May stain light hair or surfaces.

Now you've got me curious to try this! I would like to migrate to using a natural product that still provides adequate 'slip'.

[Neoma]

Now you've got me curious to try this! I would like to migrate to using a natural product that still provides adequate 'slip'.

Pajarita, I go through phases when I use nothing but herbal washes. They work well for me, but I find them to be a bit time consuming.

There are some people here on LHC who do herbal washes all the time.

Please let us know how it goes for you.

Oh, and for the record, I now no longer use shikakai, because I find it too drying. I just make Purple Sludge without it.

[Caribbean_girl]

I pre-oil my hair the night before herbal washes. Conditioning isn’t necessary for me because my hair ends up with oil residue after the wash, it usually comes off over the days as I rinse my hair with water though so it isn’t a problem for me.

[TheMandaRose]

I mix my aritha with aloe Vera gel and hibiscus tea then let set for at least 6 hours before I use it. I made herbal vinegar by soaking herbs like mint, sage and rosemary in apple cider vinegar and I’ll put a tablespoon of each in a quart of water and will rinse with that after using the soap nut wash. My ends still get a little dry and tangly so maybe I need more vinegar? To combat the dryness I’ll put a small amount of aloe gel or jojoba oil in my palm, rub my hands together and run it through my ends only. Unfortunately it’s easy to get way too much and look stringy after.