chandrika soap for hairwashing

[ratgirldjh]

ok - this may should go in conventional products - but it is not really a conventional hair product - so mods move it if you want ;)

after trying several things on my hair - i always end up going back to this natural soap for my scalp and hair washes.
it does sort of dry out my ends - but all poo and soap bars do.

this soap however rinses very clean and doesn't seem to leave any build up. lately however, i read somewhere that it 'may' contain paraffin. i can't find anything anywhere that would support this claim - but i know paraffin is not supposed to be good for hair - i guess it would be like silicones and eventually suffocate hair....

does anyone have any info on this? i know i've posted about this before - and had no luck - but i really like this soap...

any ideas???
and it is made in india - and i've written the company and they didn't answer.

they claim that it is made of coconut oil, sandalwood oil, patchouli oil, and lime oil and hypocampus oil and other aurovedic extracts...

[BlackfootHair]

I love this soap!!! I haven't used it on hair, but I had to stop using it on the nether regions as it was making me sore as I was a bit raw. But I love the scent! Does it linger in the hair as it does on the skin??

[ratgirldjh]

it lingers in the hair. i haven't seen any problems from using it in my hair - it leaves it shiny and smooth - my ends can get a little dry if i use it on them - but mostly i just use it for a scalp wash...
it does smell great! and i love the color too :)

i actually don't use it on my body - i can't use any soap on my skin all of them make me dry and itch eventually - but this is the only soap i use for handwashing and it doesn't dry out my hands as much as most soaps do...

wish i could find out if it really contains paraffin....

[BlackfootHair]

I think if you get an export quality soap they list the ingredients in detail. I'm off to scour for information. :) I looked for some chandrika soap in my closet...but no luck. Something else to buy today. :)

[BlackfootHair]

Apparently (http://www.chandrika.org/) Chandrika means blissfull moonlight. :) It smells blissful!

[BlackfootHair]

Okay, I have to go out now and run errands, but here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxb0OmgPszU) is a commercial I found for it. Apparently they are making a new bath oil to go with it. There's actually a couple of articles I found on google by looking for the soap as well. This may have been what the article you read was referring to when it said it may contain paraffin. (as in mineral oil.) I can't imagine the soap itself being made with paraffin.

[ratgirldjh]

well i don't like the idea of mineral oil either - and i can't believe that aurovedic soap would have mineral oil in it - LOL
i have looked everywhere on the internet and can't find anything but one lady on drugstore.com said in a review that it contained parrafin.
hopefully she didn't know what she was talking about

the soap does come with an ingredients list - but i've never been able to decipher it - LOL

[ktani]

Post the ingredient list you have, not from anywhere else, as it may differ from yours. If I cannot help decipher it, someone else here, no doubt can.

[ratgirldjh]

hey ktani thanks!
here is the ingredients per the website and drugstore.com

but the box i usually get has a paper in it with other ingredients - one of which i figured out was talc - but i don't have any in the boxes - i took them out to let them cure - but next time i will save the paper... anyway here they are:

Coconut Oil, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Hydnocarpus Cactus, Ayurvedic Herbal Extracts

like i said - there is a more intensive list - and one of the ingredients was soapstone powder - which i looked up and it said it was the same thing as talc. weird, i used to carve soapstone - and never thought that it was talc....

sure wish i had a new bar to see the paper inside

maybe blackfoot hair will get a bar and post the ingredients???

thanks :)

[ratgirldjh]

ktani! here is a list of the ingredients:

coconut oil
wild ginger
lime
caustic soda
soapstone powder
colour (chayam)
chandrika thilam
chandrika kashayam

does anyone know what they are?
i am going to google them and see what they say
i don't see parafin or mineral oil on there...
thanks
djh

[ratgirldjh]

i also found this list of ingredients on another site:

Ingredients:Saponified Coconut oil, Wax, Talc, Kashayam (Extracts of Ginger& Lime), Perfume , Colour

the list above is from the bars that i get though - this is on a website that you can order it from and may be older.

[ktani]

i also found this list of ingredients on another site:

Ingredients:Saponified Coconut oil, Wax, Talc, Kashayam (Extracts of Ginger& Lime), Perfume , Colour

the list above is from the bars that i get though - this is on a website that you can order it from and may be older.

It may be paraffin wax but it may not be. The bottom line is that you have no residue from it and I do not necessarily think it is paraffin wax. From what I have read here on the boards, there are Indian products that have different ingredients for Domestic and Exported products and that makes sense.

Different countries have different regulations for what ingredients are allowed for cosmetic and other products.

[ratgirldjh]

it definitely does not give me build up - but i was wondering if that what eventually caused breakage and dry ends

but it seems all soaps and or poo or poo bars do give me dry ends if i use it more than once a week

thanks :)

[ktani]

it definitely does not give me build up - but i was wondering if that what eventually caused breakage and dry ends

but it seems all soaps and or poo or poo bars do give me dry ends if i use it more than once a week

thanks :)

You are most welcome.

Just about all soaps are alkaline. For use on hair, it is a good idea to use an acidic rinse afterward, or a conditioner (all conditioners are acidic). A conditioner for colour-treated hair should be (but not always is) more acidic, than one for other types of hair. That is to close the cuticle better because colour-treated hair may have a rough cuticle layer.

[ratgirldjh]

i have always (pretty much anyway) used a very weak acid rinse of either one small key lime juice or 1 teaspoon ACV in a liter of water on my hair after washing with soap - i let it sit a minute and then rinse it out briefly. i like to finish with COLD water!

BTW - i was wondering if my good results with this soap could be because of the lime that is in it. i wish i had a pH tester and could test the pH because it seems to leave my hair very smooth and shinier than any other soap or poo bar product does - even w/o an acid rinse - and it leaves no soap scum on the sink or tub - and we have hard water here.

[ktani]

i have always (pretty much anyway) used a very weak acid rinse of either one small key lime juice or 1 teaspoon ACV in a liter of water on my hair after washing with soap - i let it sit a minute and then rinse it out briefly. i like to finish with COLD water!

BTW - i was wondering if my good results with this soap could be because of the lime that is in it. i wish i had a pH tester and could test the pH because it seems to leave my hair very smooth and shinier than any other soap or poo bar product does - even w/o an acid rinse - and it leaves no soap scum on the sink or tub - and we have hard water here.

Perhaps. It sounds as if it is an excellent recipe and you are having great results with it. That is what counts, IMO. I am not familiar with soap containing talc. It is an interesting ingredient list.

[serious]

Here are the ingredients from the paper in the box:

coconut oil 66.76%
wild ginger 1.16%
lime 0.24%
caustic soda 21.33%
soap stone powder 3.47%
paraffin wax 4.61%
colour 0.01%
chandrika thilam 1.11%
chandrika kashayam 1.31%

[Aisha25]

I would never to think to use this as a hair washer:lol: It is mainly used for skin washing:) If it works for you then good for you;)

[ratgirldjh]

Perhaps. It sounds as if it is an excellent recipe and you are having great results with it. That is what counts, IMO. I am not familiar with soap containing talc. It is an interesting ingredient list.

i don't actually like the idea of soap containing talc. i noticed that if i melt some for household cleaning that there will be a fine powder left in the bottle of the liquid.
i guess this sort of helps with cleaning - and maybe exfoliation - but it sounds like a weird thing to put in IMO.

how i got started using this on my hair is that i was using it on my chihuahua because he had fleas and an itchy place on his back. it healed up the itchy place - but really only helped the fleas for a day at a time - and i had to wash him daily for a few weeks. during this time i noticed that his coat was getting shinier and fluffier and softer every time i washed him - compared to when i washed him with other soaps - usually other soaps would dry out his fur after a couple of times.
so i tried it on myself!

of course the fact that it smells wonderful is a nice benefit - LOL
i just really obsess about ingredients and the fact that it is imported and that i really 'should' use an american and if possibly even a texas made product - but whatever.....

also the fact that it made my hair so smooth and shiny - almost like something with silicone - i started worrying about the prescence of paraffin. but seeing that i only wash my hair once a week - and only do length washes if i oil - i guess it wouldn't really build up.

how could i tell if paraffin was building up on my hair? when i used garnier fructis i would frequently have little balls of something clogging the pores of my head - and it felt like wax. do you think this would happen with the chandrika if is has wax in it?

[ktani]

i don't actually like the idea of soap containing talc. i noticed that if i melt some for household cleaning that there will be a fine powder left in the bottle of the liquid.
i guess this sort of helps with cleaning - and maybe exfoliation - but it sounds like a weird thing to put in IMO.

how i got started using this on my hair is that i was using it on my chihuahua because he had fleas and an itchy place on his back. it healed up the itchy place - but really only helped the fleas for a day at a time - and i had to wash him daily for a few weeks. during this time i noticed that his coat was getting shinier and fluffier and softer every time i washed him - compared to when i washed him with other soaps - usually other soaps would dry out his fur after a couple of times.
so i tried it on myself!

of course the fact that it smells wonderful is a nice benefit - LOL
i just really obsess about ingredients and the fact that it is imported and that i really 'should' use an american and if possibly even a texas made product - but whatever.....

also the fact that it made my hair so smooth and shiny - almost like something with silicone - i started worrying about the prescence of paraffin. but seeing that i only wash my hair once a week - and only do length washes if i oil - i guess it wouldn't really build up.

how could i tell if paraffin was building up on my hair? when i used garnier fructis i would frequently have little balls of something clogging the pores of my head - and it felt like wax. do you think this would happen with the chandrika if is has wax in it?

You may be right about the talc and exfoliation but probably not that much in terms of it damaging your hair.

Signs of build-up are tangling, loss of shine, the wxy feeing you described with other products and the other signs of pore clogging you reported.

It does not sound like this is happening. Keep monitoring it and you can always clarify, if there is a problem.

[ratgirldjh]

i will probably keep using it - because i love it - but i also like to use my poo bar - so at least i have the option!
thanks guys :)

[ktani]

i will probably keep using it - because i love it - but i also like to use my poo bar - so at least i have the option!
thanks guys :)

You are most welcome!

[BlackfootHair]

Okay, here I am after a day of events and two chandrika bars from the Indian store (who is VERY well stocked. lol)

On the inside inner flap:

Kera Thailam 43.79
Thamalapatra Thailam 18.84
Caustic Soda 23.63
Madhoochistam 3.53
Soap Stone Powder 6.43
Sandal Kashayam (aranya Jordraka, Jambookan) 1.45
Chandrika Perfume (aaaaahhhhh....smells so good!) 2.32
Chayam (oil green) .01

Numbers are percentage. My box lists no paraffin. :)

[ktani]

I have never heard of soapstone powder as an additive for cosmetics, until this thread.

"Superior Powdered Soapstone Talc for use as dry lubricant."
http://www.stlouiscrayon.com/soapstone.html

Soapstone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steatite

".... ground material talc is used mainly as a filler in paper, plastic, rubber and paint industries and for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals."
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007512

[BlackfootHair]

Okay, here I am after a day of events and two chandrika bars from the Indian store (who is VERY well stocked. lol)

On the inside inner flap:

Kera Thailam 43.79
Thamalapatra Thailam 18.84
Caustic Soda 23.63
Madhoochistam 3.53
Soap Stone Powder 6.43
Sandal Kashayam (aranya Jordraka, Jambookan) 1.45
Chandrika Perfume (aaaaahhhhh....smells so good!) 2.32
Chayam (oil green) .01

Numbers are percentage. My box lists no paraffin. :)

English???

Pure coconut oil (http://www.bombaylimited.com/Medimix-Soap-22893.html) (scroll down to the list of ingredients...)
Cinnamon leaf (http://www.incredibleayurveda.com/herbs.aspx?id=36)
Lye
Beeswax (http://www.cochinayurvedic.com/new-medicines/vaideyendu.html)
Soap stone powder (talc)
Ayurvedic herbal decoction (http://www.keralaayurvedics.com/category/medicines/kashayam) of ?????? I can't find the rest. :(

[serious]

Okay, here I am after a day of events and two chandrika bars from the Indian store (who is VERY well stocked. lol)

On the inside inner flap:

Kera Thailam 43.79
Thamalapatra Thailam 18.84
Caustic Soda 23.63
Madhoochistam 3.53
Soap Stone Powder 6.43
Sandal Kashayam (aranya Jordraka, Jambookan) 1.45
Chandrika Perfume (aaaaahhhhh....smells so good!) 2.32
Chayam (oil green) .01

Numbers are percentage. My box lists no paraffin. :)

Hm,, this is pretty different than mine :confused:

[BlackfootHair]

I washed a small section of my hair in the front with the soap...It was quite tangled so I used conditioner. It feels coated, dry and dull. Shampoo for me. But I loved the smell!

[ktani]

English???

Pure coconut oil (http://www.bombaylimited.com/Medimix-Soap-22893.html) (scroll down to the list of ingredients...)
Cinnamon leaf (http://www.incredibleayurveda.com/herbs.aspx?id=36)
Lye
Beeswax (http://www.cochinayurvedic.com/new-medicines/vaideyendu.html)
Soap stone powder (talc)
Ayurvedic herbal decoction (http://www.keralaayurvedics.com/category/medicines/kashayam) of ?????? I can't find the rest. :(

If yours contains beeswax, that may be why.

[ratgirldjh]

wow my version doesn't contain beeswax or paraffin wax! wonder why they are so many different versions of this stuff around?
that is kind of stupid IMO


sorry it didn't work for you blackfoothair - now i'm scared to try mine! i would hate to be using this stuff for years only to find out that one day my hair falls out because of some wax or something... but then i tend to get very obsessive about ingredients...
i want to be able to rely on something being the same - every time i use it - that i why i didn't enjoy soapnuts or indian herbs...

i know i really need to make my own shampoo bar - because i just have too many issues with all the pre-made ones - LOL

[ratgirldjh]

btw - there are also 2 different bar types of this. at some indian stores they carry the 'new' bar - made by Wipro - these bars are oval and come in a newer looking box.

the bars i get are the rectangular box and are still made by the original company - i can't remember their name right now - who got the export rights when they sold to Wipro.

just wondering - blackfoothair - did you get the oval one or the rectangular one?

you too serious? well - maybe i'll PM you both - i am curious about this...
i could definitely see a giant company like Wipro changing the ingredients - grrrr...

[BlackfootHair]

Mine's the new one that's oval. It even says "new" in the box....

[ratgirldjh]

oh - well then i wouldn't be suprised if it had different ingredients. wipro is one of the largest commercial soap-making companies in the world - and even though they 'claim' to not have changed the formula - you know how big companies are...

i think i have decided not to use this soap anymore anyway. i just can't feel comfortable about a product that has this many variables. i want to be able to wash my hair and have the same results every time... LOL

also i think that wipro took the sandalwood out of the soap because they are now offering a 'sandalwood' version of the same soap :(

i wish things would just stay the same!!! i am very adverse to change these days :(

[serious]

I bought mine in ayurvedic shop and it is rectangular.
They also had another one, with sandalwood oil.
You can see how they look here:http://www.ajur-veda.rs/proizvodi/candrika-sapuni/

I have never used Chandrika soap on my hair but I like it on my skin.
I use it on my face maybe once in two weeks, for exfoliating.

[ratgirldjh]

i think the soap-stone powder is what makes it exfoliating - but they claim that it is the sandalwood oil!!!

i am becoming suspicious of the whole company now - which saddens me - because i really love this soap - but i now don't think i will feel very good about using it - LOL

i am very easily turned off by products - i won't use anything that is tested on animals - or has animal ingredients - and i definitely don't want to use anything that has paraffin in it - but beeswax wouldn't bother me as much - but whatever...

this is starting to give me a headache!!!
good thing i only have one bar of this stuff left!

the kind they carry at my co-op does not have any wax on the ingredient list - but like you said they are so vague about ingredients - the www.vitacost site doesn't even have an ingredient list for them - i guess this is why.

funny, it makes my hair very smooth and shiny - and my dogs hair too! i am now beginning to wonder if that is the result of wax smoothing down my cuticles...

like ktani said - i can probably use it - since i only wash once a week - and it is very mild for me - and even in my very OCD moments where i have washed my hair once or more in a day - it didn't seem that drying - but i will say that when i did the every day or more hairwashing with it my hair started breaking off - LOL ;)

but that is probably to be expected of any product used w/o conditioner....

for now i am over my OCD and i am back to a once a week regimen. my hair is SOOO much happier already - so who knows what i will finally decide to do when i wash my hair on sunday ;)

thanks everyone for helping me with my obsession with this soap!!! :)

[sapphire-o]

I'm not a soapmaker, but I heard coconut oil makes a very hard bar with lots of lather and is very cleansing. Looks like they're mostly saponified coconut oil? I imagine it's a bit harsh for washing hair? Oh I guess you only wash once a week so that probably doesn't strip your hair too much. :)

[ratgirldjh]

i probably won't use the chandrika any more just because it 'may' have paraffin in it. but that is just me being obsessive. actually, i was looking for a good reason to stop using it since i just didn't feel right about using it somehow... but it does work very good and i will always keep it around just in case i feel like using it.

i'm still in an experimental phase trying to find the HG product for my hair. i've tried poo bars, soap, CO-washing, and indian and other herbs. so far soapnuts seem like something i can live with.

i am very obsessive about finding 'multi-use' products. if i can make soapnuts work for me that means i will be able to use the same 'product' to wash clothes, my dishes, counters, rugs, pets and MY HAIR!

that would really make me happy.

i never could figure out how to make regular soap work in the washing machine and everyone here except my bf is very sensitive to detergent so maybe i have found a NATURAL replacement!

[ratgirldjh]

well i have started using the chandrika again! i just can't stop using it! it seems to be the only soap or poo bar that doesn't dry out my hands and cuticles when i use it to wash me or my dog - and that makes me think it is milder than other soaps...
i'll let y'all know if my hair starts falling out ;)

[curly girl fla]

I have been using and really enjoying the Chandrika Sandalwood Soap on both hair and body. I just wanted something different to use other than the herbs & shikakai bars. My hair is shiny & bouncy-not dried out or waxy feeling. I do an acv rinse, but use no rinse-out conditioner...the fragrance is wonderful to me :)

[princess]

This is the Chandrika (http://www.chandrikasoaps.com/ChandV01/products/)website. They seem to be having three different kinds of soap. Though I have never used it people who have used it swear by it. But only for the skin. Those who have lots of skin ailments like itching etc used to use Chandrika.

This soap is only for the body and not for the hair. From the web page I see they have a shampoo for hair.

[lindenblossom]

This is an old thread, but just wanted to chime in and say that I *love* washing my hair with Chandrika! I've been getting the rectangular bar for years. It smells great and lathers up superbly, even in hard water. I do not use any kind of acid rinse afterwards with any kind of soap or shampoo bar. (For me it's better not to.)

[meumar]

This is a very old thread, but I just wanted to reply to say that my brother had been losing his hair, but claims that as soon as he started using this soap to wash his hair his hair stopped falling out! I just saw him in person after a few months and I have to say that his hair looks thicker. He uses the original rectangular bar.

[ktani]

ok - this may should go in conventional products - but it is not really a conventional hair product - so mods move it if you want ;)

after trying several things on my hair - i always end up going back to this natural soap for my scalp and hair washes.
it does sort of dry out my ends - but all poo and soap bars do.

this soap however rinses very clean and doesn't seem to leave any build up. lately however, i read somewhere that it 'may' contain paraffin. i can't find anything anywhere that would support this claim - but i know paraffin is not supposed to be good for hair - i guess it would be like silicones and eventually suffocate hair....

does anyone have any info on this? i know i've posted about this before - and had no luck - but i really like this soap...

any ideas???
and it is made in india - and i've written the company and they didn't answer.

they claim that it is made of coconut oil, sandalwood oil, patchouli oil, and lime oil and hypocampus oil and other aurovedic extracts...

No paraffin, http://www.drugstore.com/chandrika-ayurvedic-bar-soap/qxp80163
"Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Wild Ginger (Mala Inchi), Lime (Narange) Oil, Caustic Soda, Chayam (Color), Soap Stone Powder, Chanrika Thilam, Chandrika Kashayam, Santalum Album (Sandalwood), Patchouli, Hydnocarpus Cactus, Ayurvedic Herbal Extracts"

Company history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrika_%28soap%29

[ktani]

http://news.ancientayurved.org/2011/05/soap-brand-chandrika-relaunched-with-active-ayurveda/
"Bangalore, May 17 (PTI) Chandrika, ayurvedic soap brand from Wipro Consumer Care and lighting (WCCL), was re-launched today in a “modern and contemporary” package along with a brand new TV commercial featuring actor Tamanna Bhatia."

What it may have had in it in the past is now a moot point.

[ktani]

Company profile and details
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=11644251
"Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting Ltd. manufactures and markets fast moving consumer goods."