Indian herbs transistion period??

[BlackfootHair]

So I decided to switch to Indian herbal washing for all the benefits. I've only used it twice so far, but decided to ask a few questions.


For those of you who regularly use Indian herbs, was there a transition period you experienced? Scalp oil, dry hair?

I have 2c/3a hair. I noticed that when I get out of the shower, my hair is impossible to detangle, so I wait for it to dry. With herbal washing, there is no nice curl pattern that befalls my hair. It's just very puffy and clean.

I use warm water (just under 12 oz distilled water), and add:

1/2 tbsp each:
Aritha
Shikakai
Amla
Tulsi
Brahmi


1/4 tsp kapoor kachli

I add all these things in a mixer bottle now reserved for my washings. I let them set overnight. In the shower, I wet my hair, and slowly pour the shaken foamy mixture over my hair. I fold the length up off my neck and continue my shower. Lastly I rinse and rinse everything off.

I've read that fenugreek adds slip to the hair. I bought methi seeds and will add about 1/2 tbsp to the mix.

I bought a strainer to strain the mix from now on.

I do oil beforehand.

Why does the hair feel stiff after and herbal wash? I'm happy with the results otherwise. I recently dyed my roots brown, but it turned out darker and warmer than I wanted. This wash is lightening it, and taking out the warmth. Yay! :,)

[niky45]

I tried washing my hair with an indian soap bar with the same ingredients. My experience:

a) it was hard to rinse it out. Since it was a soap bar, it left some kind of buildup, that only would go away with a TON of rinsing... I had no time for that, lol

b) If i managed to finally rinse it well... hm. My hair still smelled to indian herbs, which compared to my usual shampoo/conditioner, was not actually good (not actually bad, just I prefer the conditioner's smell). Also, I remember it was kinda dry.... (ut keep in mind, I was using no conditioner after it, and white vinegar as a leave-in conditioner.... perhaps a proper conditioner would have worked better)

c) thinking that the "buildup" might be moisturizing, I tried to just rinse as common shampoo. My hair was very greasy after that. Way greasier that BEFORE washin.

... and there it sits my indian soap bar, waiting for nobody knows what. I suppose I'll end using it later than sooner, but meanwhile, my hair is happy with my CO-wash (with a little SLES shampoo every now and then) routine, and ACV as a leave-in conditioner.

I know this doesn't answer to your questions, but it's the only experience I have with indian herbs.
btw, this is the soap I purchased: http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Shikakai-Soap-Bar-75g-100-Herbal-Soft-Dandruff-Free-Hair-Amla-Aritha-/180996768790?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Natural_Alternati veTherapies&var=&hash=item6fcde81399

[Northerner]

I've been using Indian herbs for over a year now. I use pretty much the same mix as BlackfootHair, but I use bhringraj instead of amla and do not always add tulsi and kapoor kachli. Also, when I do add tulsi, I use less of it. Anyway, my transition period was probably about a month before my hair stopped being oily. I do oil overnight prior to the wash day. I leave the Indian herbs in my hair for 30-60 minutes, otherwise oil does not wash out well. My hair never felt stiff after using Indian herbs. The only instance when they were stiff is when I used hibiscus rinse and left it in instead of rinsing out. It's interesting that Indian herbs lightened your hair. With me it's just the opposite - they darkened my hair. It's not permanent though - if I do not use them for a couple of weeks, the dark tint washes out.

[BlackfootHair]

Ok. Tonight I soaked a tablespoon of methi seeds in an additional small amount of water. I waited until the water was yellow. I then mixed everything together, and strained it. Thank God for methi! I noticed a huge difference with slip! it wasn't quite as awesome as I wanted, but I was able to carefully detangle my hair while it was wet. It felt like I had put gel in my hair, combed it straight, and left it to dry. It felt coated and stiff. Next time I will be doubling the methi. :-)It also dried curly. yay!

[BlackfootHair]

Northerner, have you ever noticed a difference with or without the tulsi? I'm wondering if I'm just using too much of everything. I might try using the same amount of aritha, shikakai and amla, but half of the other herbs. Maybe they are just too much. I'm not sure. I really want this to work. I might have to allow myself to use conditioner afterwards as well.

My hair was horrible this morning when I was trying to comb it. SO tangled. I finally sprayed a leave in conditioner. My hair was amazing in an instant! I was honestly shocked. I do feel that since using the herbs that I have less shedding. e Even when you take into account all the hair from combing and the shower. So there's something.

There has to be a way to make this work. And I've discovered I really don't care for certain essential oils. At least not in excess. lol

[Northerner]

No, I have not. Amla contains a lot of vit C, that might account for stiffness, although using aritha/shikakai/amla in equal proportions is a classic ayurvedic recipe, so should be ok. Glad your shedding has reduced, mine has increased 8-9 months into this routine, but I think it is related to hypervitaminosis A, not the Indian herbs.


Northerner, have you ever noticed a difference with or without the tulsi? I'm wondering if I'm just using too much of everything. I might try using the same amount of aritha, shikakai and amla, but half of the other herbs. Maybe they are just too much. I'm not sure. I really want this to work. I might have to allow myself to use conditioner afterwards as well.

My hair was horrible this morning when I was trying to comb it. SO tangled. I finally sprayed a leave in conditioner. My hair was amazing in an instant! I was honestly shocked. I do feel that since using the herbs that I have less shedding. e Even when you take into account all the hair from combing and the shower. So there's something.

There has to be a way to make this work. And I've discovered I really don't care for certain essential oils. At least not in excess. lol

[BlackfootHair]

Last night I bought pH tester strips from Petco to test the levels of the herbs. I brewed the same amount of hot distilled water through my Keurig into small cups. I then placed the same amount of each herb into individual cups. I waited for the water to cool and then tested each one. Now, the tester strips only measure between 6.2 and 8.4. Based on color tone it was easy to decipher acidity. Here's a list of herbs from most acidic to neutral.*

Amla (highly acidic....pale yellow)

Shikakai (light yellow)

Aritha (light yellow-orange)

Kapoor kachli (light orange-yellow)

Methi (mid orange-yellow. Only slightly darker than reading from Kapoor kachli.)

Tulsi (On the acidic end of balanced)

Brahmi (balanced)

Doing these tests have really opened my eyes to just how acidic these herbs are.*

I'm going to test my recipes to see how acidic they are.*

I tested my normal mix and it was highly acidic. I added more Brahmi to try and buffer it somewhat.

[Northerner]

Thank you for posting this, BlackfootHair. My mixes must be highly acidic too then. I'll keep this in mind.

[stinkyfeet]

Those are interesting findings BlackFootHair. I just started using Indian herbs. Maybe I should add a little brahmi, like you suggested.

[BlackfootHair]

I couldn't take it any longer. I'm not giving up completely, but I just needed a good scrub down with shampoo and conditioner. Every time I scratched my scalp I would have this grey/brown matter under my nails. And tiny little spots of herbal powder. I could never see anything on my scalp, but there it was under my nails! Two and a half weeks I lasted.

It's okay. Maybe I'll go back and forth. But I don't think that my reduced shedding was solely because of no shampoo. I think partly it was due to scalp residue maybe preventing the hairs from falling completely. Or they were ready to fall out but it wasn't as aggressive as shampoo in moving the hair around. Either way, my scalp feels light and happy. And my hair is so so so shiny.