Curly Girls and Herbal Haircare (for the novice)

[MagmaMaggie]

I am brand spanking new to herbal haircare and embracing my curls so I am in need of some guidance.

Throw your words of wisdom at me pretty please!

[catfish]

Welcome
I'm new to herbal care too but I really like catnip tea rinses. There is a great thread about them and I've read that it encourages good wave patterns in wavy/curly hair.

[brightonwoman]

I don't know squat, but *wave* to maggie!

[Riot Crrl]

I don't know much at all about washing hair with only herbs and stuff like that. Are you using conditioner at all (even conditioners with natural ingredients)? If not, I would imagine it's going to take a fair bit of oil experimentation.

[Starr]

I sometimes wash my scalp using a thin shikakai/amla paste (you want more amla than shikakai). I do tea rinses for occasional conditioning and henna once a month for strength/shine.

The best advice I can give you is to experiment slowly with only one or two things at a time so that you can accurately assess how that item works for you. Another thing you have to be careful of is the consistancy- the grainier it is, the harder it is to get out of your hair, however this can be remedied by straining. Conditioner can help with rinsing if you do use a grainy paste or rinse, but if you really don't want to use conditioner anymore then I suggest looking into mermaid soaks or something similiar.

Herbal haircare is not for everyone but it does work for some. I suggest reading up on the subject in the articles section.

Indian herbs in haircare:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...le&articleid=3