No shampoo, no soap: post your recipes

[rouxlala]

This is exactly the thread I've been looking for!! Thank you!

[lilelf]

Occasional poster and lurker here (don't get to get online much).
I know this thread is old, but the idea was so great, I felt the need to resurrect....and add.
I have been alternating rye flour (water and sifted rye to make a runny paste) and Indian herbs I premix ( which also work wonderfully as facewash). No real measurements, just dumping, but the mix I have been using is: amla, shikakai, brahmi, amla, need and fenugreek. Mix into a runny paste with water and maybe add some eos.
Application is the same for both:
Apply to wet hair, gently scrub. Let sit till I finish scrubbing the rest of me, then mermaid rinse out, followed by a quick cup or shower rinse (I normally take baths, so cup rinse is the most common for me). My hair can be quite tangle afterwords, depending, but brushes out fairly easily once dry. Just my two cents. HIH someone looking.

[duchess67]

This is quite an interesting thread to read through. I used to wash my hair with herbs long ago, but stopped using it because of the inconvenience. Makes me want to start using herbs again to wash my hair.

[duchess67]

What essential oils do you mix with all herbs?

Occasional poster and lurker here (don't get to get online much).
I know this thread is old, but the idea was so great, I felt the need to resurrect....and add.
I have been alternating rye flour (water and sifted rye to make a runny paste) and Indian herbs I premix ( which also work wonderfully as facewash). No real measurements, just dumping, but the mix I have been using is: amla, shikakai, brahmi, amla, need and fenugreek. Mix into a runny paste with water and maybe add some eos.
Application is the same for both:
Apply to wet hair, gently scrub. Let sit till I finish scrubbing the rest of me, then mermaid rinse out, followed by a quick cup or shower rinse (I normally take baths, so cup rinse is the most common for me). My hair can be quite tangle afterwords, depending, but brushes out fairly easily once dry. Just my two cents. HIH someone looking.

[Ophidian]

Thanks for sharing lilelf! I mostly use herbs but tried rye once and liked it. My only issues with it were rinsing (which probably would have been a lot better if I had strained/sifted it), and tangling which I don't get with herbs. I might try it again with an ACV rinse to see if that helps.

[elfgirl]

I'm so glad I found this thread!! Am going to see about making herbal recipes for the future

[curly girl fla]

I used to do ayurvedic herb wash/conditioning all the time, then drifted on to other things...and since i saw this resurrected thread I pulled out my herb stash-still seems good. I've been using a mixture of shikakai, aritha , brahmi, bhingraj, neem & amla to wash, then condition...use either a small amount of morrocco method euro oil, sheamoisture smoothie or annabelle's perfect blends hair cream to detangle and moisturize and my simple flax gel the past two days...love it. Makes my curls pop, less frizz, soft hair. I just wish it wasn't as time-consuming as it is since I am a daily washer. I will continue to rotate herb wash, morrocco method cleansers, and co wash (annabelle's and jane carter) as long as I can.

[Ophidian]

Hi Curly Girl! It is a bit time consuming. I wash twice a week and even at that frequency I'm thinking of making a batch of my wash mix once a week and hoping it will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.

[Katia_k]

I'm nervously holding a few packages of herbs in my cart at henna sooq. Most interested in using herb-pastes for washing, as straining is kind of a pin in the butt. I'm ordering bringraj, brahmi, hibiscus petal powder, and shikakai. Just wondering if anyone has recipes for pastes specifically.

Also, I'm curly and only brush my hair conditioned in the shower. I'm assuming I don't want to comb my hair with the paste in. So do you guys apply a normal conditioner afterwords? Or should I maybe use ACV to make it comb-able? I can't just finger-comb; I shed way too much when I do that. But I'm scared to comb it with nothing in it and cause a lot of breakage. My hair is not strong...

[Ophidian]

I'm nervously holding a few packages of herbs in my cart at henna sooq. Most interested in using herb-pastes for washing, as straining is kind of a pin in the butt. I'm ordering bringraj, brahmi, hibiscus petal powder, and shikakai. Just wondering if anyone has recipes for pastes specifically.

Also, I'm curly and only brush my hair conditioned in the shower. I'm assuming I don't want to comb my hair with the paste in. So do you guys apply a normal conditioner afterwords? Or should I maybe use ACV to make it comb-able? I can't just finger-comb; I shed way too much when I do that. But I'm scared to comb it with nothing in it and cause a lot of breakage. My hair is not strong...

Hi Katia,

Straining can be a pain, but I figure it's either that or have to make sure I get all the bits out of my hair later so I strain through a fine mesh tea strainer or a muslin bag.

My go-to way to use herbs is to make a gravy, which is a bit thinner than a paste but thicker than a tea. I find this more cleansing than a tea but much easier to work with than a paste. This is just my experience, it's probably good to try different methods until you find one you like.

Your gravy will have a more shampoo/conditioner like consistency if you either use an herb that is very mucilaginous and thickens the liquid once it sits for a while (I use methi/fenugreek), or brew your herbs and then make a slurry using Tablespoon or so of cornstarch or arrowroot powder in a splash of water, whisk it up well, and then stir into the herb liquid over low heat until it thickens. If you want to comb your hair this might be your only way to go, as many of the cleansing herbs have a dry/gritty feeling before you rinse them out which is not conducive at all even to finger combing of you are using a tea or paste.

I use a 2-in-1 recipe, but I know others use a cleansing mix first and then apply a separate one for conditioning. Other people use herbs to wash but then apply regular conditioner. Of the herbs you have in your cart, shikakai is cleansing and I believe the rest are more conditioning. But if you want to comb you could always follow with your normal conditioner. There's lots of ways to go about this and it can be as simple or as complicated as you like . Of the herbs you mention, I have experience with shikakai and hibiscus, but not bringraj or brahmi.

In case you are interested, my wash mix recipe is:

2 Tbsp shikakai powder
2 tsp methi powder
1 tsp amla powder
1 Tbsp dried hibiscus petals
1 tsp honey
Boiling water to make 1 cup

I oil my hair the night before and make the mix the morning of my wash day. I boil the water and pour over herbs and honey in a quart mason jar until it reaches the 1 cup line. Stir well, then allow to steep all day. In the evening, I strain the liquid and transfer to an applicator bottle with a pointy tip. I apply the wash mix to dry hair in sections, massaging in well until my scalp is covered. Then I add a little more water to the bottle, shake, and use this to wet the length, squeezing/pressing it in to distribute. Even though it's pretty slimy I don't comb unless I use more methi and it is super gelatinous.

If you want to go the paste route, I have heard that mermaid soaks or washing in a basin can help get the bits out but don't have personal experience with it. I would definitely be inclined to advise that you comb with a conditioner in afterwards instead of trying to comb with the paste. I find that the slimier mixes are a lot gentler on the hair if I want to manipulate it during the wash.

Good luck, and keep us posted!