Green gram flour hair wash

[ratgirldjh]

I've been using just green gram flour for a while now for hair washing as well as body and face washing.

What I do for my hair is I lightly oil my ends and even more lightly oil the rest of my hair over night with castor oil.

Then the next day I just dump out some green gram flour into a bowl and add water til it is a very creamy smooth texture and wet my hair and smush it all through my hair.

Then I immediately rinse it out.

Afterwards I follow with a very diluted ACV rinse (1 teaspoon/32 ounces water) and my hair comes out very smooth, shiny and full of volume!!!

It can be sort of drying - especially if you leave it on for more than a minute - but as long as I pre-oil the night before (and I've even oiled immediately before) it works great!!!

Plus it is very cheap and I can use it for skin masks, scrubs, and of course eat it!!!

:D
djh

[serious]

That's interesting!

Now I wonder, would some other kind of flour work the same? ( green gram flour is not common here where I live :()

[ratgirldjh]

Besan (garbanzo bean) flour works. I think other flours may work as well - except for oatmeal that is... I didn't have luck with oatmeal :)

To me besan was a little more drying and smelled more 'beanier' than green gram - which is actually mung bean flour btw.

You could buy dry mung beans and grind them!

I've tried several other bean flours too - like split peas, lentils of several colors and they all worked!!! I've only tried one grain flour - oatmeal - and it didn't work so well.

I think beans have more soap like qualities than grains...

djh

[serious]

That makes sense.

I have tons of azuki beans on hand, so I might grind them and see how that'd go!

[ratgirldjh]

That makes sense.

I have tons of azuki beans on hand, so I might grind them and see how that'd go!

I think it might work! Make sure to oil your hair a little first. If it doesn't get all the oil out on the first time - do it again...

[virgo75]

I have some Besan flour but I'm afraid to put it into my hair mixed w/ water.
I have vague memories of making glue as a little kid using flour + water....

I'm also worried because it smells a bit like peanut butter when mixed w/ water.
And I don't want my hair to smell like peanut butter. :lol:

[serious]

I have vague memories of making glue as a little kid using flour + water....

I

Ha, ha.. I used to make a glue from white flour, too :)

That's why we're not supposed to use grain flour for washing, I guess :D

[ratgirldjh]

Bean flours are different. If you ever notice when you cook beans that some foam will rise?

They actually have saponins in them to greater or lesser extent.

I am not too sure about grain flours - oatmeal totally didn't work for me. You don't want to use anything that will leave a coating on your hair :D

[serious]

According to :google:, chickpeas and soy beans have the highest saponin content.

So, I'm going to try soy flour first :D

[Flaxen]

I've used both green gram and chick pea flours. Wait, I have to check my old journal...

Okay, green gram was more drying than besan, though besan was a little drying, too. I used plain, non-fat yogurt as my base, and I either put the flour straight into the yogurt or added a tiny bit of water first to make a paste. I don't have the amounts written down anywhere, but I think I used about 2 Tablespoons of flour and probably 1/3 cup of yogurt. It could have been 1/2 cup. I only did it a couple of times because both flours left a distinct "beany" aroma on my hair that lingered when it was dry. :undecided

[tiare_petal]

I used chickpea paste to wash my hair. The draw back was that it made my scalp greasy faster. :mad: And, of course lol, I didn't like the smell :p
How did it go, Serious? :bunny:

[serious]

I tried azuki beans last night and...it worked! My hair is clean and soft, and has more volume than usual!

I used a coffee grinder to make a 'flour' but I couldn't make it to be as fine as the real flour, so this was a bit hard to wash out from my hair and I'm a bit worried- this harsh 'flour' might cause damage, I think.
I'm going to check out a heath food stores here and see if they have any bean flour I could use. ( soy flour is available, but, on the other hand, soy contains proteins, so it might not be a good choice...)

ETA; From what I learned, cooking don't affect saponins, so , what do you all think- if I cook the beans and make a paste, could it work as well?

[ChloeDharma]

Serious, i think cooking them and making a paste from those might work. Green gram as has been said is mung beans. Gram flour is made from channa which is very like chickpeas only they are a bit smaller. If you have somewhere that sells Indian groceries they always have gram flour but bear in mind like soya they all contain protein, admittedly some lack one amino acid that is present in the soya though.
For the smell, maybe after rinsing well if you do a diluted vinegar rinse with essential oils added that would make the hair smell nice after. Cider vinegar is known for helping to remove odours.

[tiare_petal]

Perhaps soaking the beans overnight will soften them enough?

[hmmm]

This is really interesting. I've used besan to wash my face before but never tried green gram. Thanks!

[serious]

ThanksChloeDarma and tiare-petal!

I haven't noticed any lingering smell, and I've already been thinking of adding some EOs, just for fun :)

So, I'm going to boil the beans next time, make a paste and see how that's going to work.

And, ratgirldjhl,
thank you for starting this thread! I feel like a whole new field for experiments has opened for me :D

[hmmm]

I just remembered that one of my aunts used to use cornflour just like this - she used it in place of soap/scrubs. I don't think it went on her hair though...

[christine1989]

Green gram flour? Never heard of it. To google! Away!

[Flaxen]

Green gram flour? Never heard of it. To google! Away!
It's mung beans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_bean). Grind them dry, and you get flour. :smile:

[ratgirldjh]

Well I am still doing this! But recently I have started adding fenugreek to the green gram flour - it takes the 'beany' smell away and leaves a nice sweeter smell.

When I have used fenugreek on it's own - it built up on my hair very fast. But used with green gram it hasn't built up!

I have also used a yogurt mask and then washed it out with this mixture (took 2 times) and my hair loved this - and NO yogurt smell!!! which is amazing!!!

What I do is mix 2 cups of green gram flour and 1/2 cup fenugreek powder. Then I take about 3 heaping spoonfuls and mix with warm water and keep adding water (it will absorb a lot of water and grow) until it gets slimy and the right texture - I let it sit for about 10 minutes or so and then usually add more water right before use.

The fenugreek added in this quantity does not build up on my hair and does not leave a strong smell and it conditions just enough to take away the dryness from the gram flour.

I also do a very weak vinegar rinse afterwards and rinse it out.

I've also been using this mixture on my skin and it is lovely.

[serious]

I've been thinking of adding fenugreek to the flour, too!
Great minds think alike, I guess :D

I haven't found green gram flour over here, but I did try soy flour with a few drops of lavender EO, it worked!

[slz]

..........................

[ratgirldjh]

Besan works well on my hair too - it just seemed to leave a more beany smell IMO. But with the fenugreek i don't think it would be a problem!

Pretty much any bean flours I have tried have worked - even split green peas which are like 50 cents for a bag!

Usually I just use green gram flour though - because I kind of like the way it smells - it smells sort of like grass or hay to me! And since I use it for cooking and also for my skin I always have some.

The only flour that did not work was oat flour - and it just left my hair weird and was super hard to wash out!!!

Besan seemed a little more drying to me than the other flours - but that was before I tried adding fenugreek.

I was afraid to add fenugreek because using fenugreek alone built up on my hair VERY quickly. The first wash with just fenugreek powder would be amazing and then the second wash I would have protein build up!!!

But the mixture so far has not caused any build up. I think the green gram flour cleans well enough that the fenugreek doesn't build up... and it leaves my hair very shiny and full of body and wavy!!! yay!!!

eta - my sig pic if after washing with this mixture and it is still damp and i haven't brushed it yet... but it is already shiny even when damp!!!

djh

[ratgirldjh]

Well I spoke too soon. The fenugreek started building up on my hair again...

Or I have protein overload... But green gram by itself works better for me than mixed with fenugreek.

I also tried the 'tried and true' tested forumla of 1/2 besan and 1/2 green gram and 1/4 fenugreek... more beany smell and more build up :(

So now I'm experimenting with mixing my green gram with my 'coconut milk beverage' which is not exactly oily like coconut milk - and i'll keep y'all posted...

djh

[ratgirldjh]

Well I had to give up on the fenugreek - too much build up.

However I still enjoy pre-oiling my hair and then washing it with besan and water paste. I've since found that massaging the paste on works good - it is soft and doesn't seem irritating to pre-oiled hair. I've been leaving it on for around 7-10 minutes and then rinsing well and following with a very dilute ACV (1 teaspoon/liter) of water.

Very nice oil removal! And soft and shiny full hair. It didn't work very well for me on non pre-oiled hair - it got dry and big (lol) but on pre-oiled hair it is great!!!

I also like to mix the besan with full fat greek yogurt and use it on my skin.

And I also think that besan is actually less drying and leaves less of a 'coating' than does the green gram for some reason - and I think I like the smell of besan better - green gram smell started getting to me... wish i could use fenugreek. Also I can buy besan at my regular grocery store!!! The green gram had to be bought at the indian store and it was more expensive.

djh

[milagro]

Bump! Anyone keeps experimenting with four-washing? I am really interested. A week ago I met this woman with AMAZING hair, she's in her 60s and her braid (waist-length braided) is arm-thick and shiney, no splits at all. She told me she washes her hair with rye flour since she was young (plain soap before). She says she tried other flours (wheat, oatmeal, buckwheat) but rye works the best.
What she does is take about 3 tbsp flour, adds slightly warm water, stir and apply the paste onto the scalp and hair, massage and rinse with a lot of tepid water, then follow with vinegar rinse. I'm going to try it as soon as I get rye flour (well, I will use it for pancakes if it doesn't work for my hair :)) Though frankly I'm a bit hesitant, it seems just too weird to put baking staff on your head :lol: And I know there are people who can wash their hair with laundry detergent and have gorgeous hair nevertheless, maybe that's the case.
Need tips, reviews and support!

[serious]

It sounds weird, but it works :D

Haven't try rye but I still use soy flour, not exclusively but maybe once or twice a month. For me, the most important thing is to use the right amount of oil for pre oiling because soy flour can dry out my hair if it wasn't oiled enough. On the other hand, if I use too much oil, soy flour simply doesn't work.
It is also important to rinse out the flour well and follow with vinegar rinse.

[milagro]

It sounds weird, but it works :D

Haven't try rye but I still use soy flour, not exclusively but maybe once or twice a month. For me, the most important thing is to use the right amount of oil for pre oiling because soy flour can dry out my hair if it wasn't oiled enough. On the other hand, if I use too much oil, soy flour simply doesn't work.
It is also important to rinse out the flour well and follow with vinegar rinse.

Thank you! :flowers: So flour can dry out hair? Had no idea, the lady didn't say anything about oiling. I guess I should follow your advice and pre-oil, my hair is still on dry side despite CO.
Do you feel any definite benefit from flour-washing? What's the effect?

[serious]

Benefit? It's cheap, it's natural and gives me shiny hair with lots of volume :D

You can check out my album (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2445), there you'll find a pic I took after my first soy flour wash.

[brelj]

Let us know how the rye worked out!!

[milagro]

brelj, sure I will! Whatever the effect putting flour in the hair is an experience to share :D

serious, I checked the picture, it looks very very good! I actually liked it more than after-CO one.

[ratgirldjh]

How did the rye flour work?

I still use green gram or besan occasionally!

[Proximity]

I'm going to give this a go if I can get the green gram flour at my local asian shop and if I can get fenugreek powder I'll add that too. In case I get the build up problem with the fenugreek I might just add it in every few washes. I am looking for a non shampoo alternative to BS and ACV and so I am really hoping that this will work for me!:)

[milagro]

Reporting back:
Rye flour works wonderfully! I've had two washes with it already, and I'm quite happy with the results. Contrary to my fears, it washes out very easily and there's no visible residue (though I guess it does leave some because hair feels more thick, I mean individual hairs not the overall volume if this makes sense). Very gentle to the scalp and doesn't feel like drying out hair probably because I conditioned afterwards anyway.

[serious]

Great news, milagro!

*adding rye flour to the shopping list*

[milagro]

Great news, milagro!

*adding rye flour to the shopping list*

And I add green gram flour to mine, so we will be able to compare the two independently :) It's so amazing such simple ages-old things actually work and one can wash hair without using chemicals.

[milagro]

Update:
rye flour has proved to work well for cleaning hair but it washes off the dye very quickly as well. That's the reason I'm back on CO routine.

[thelemurianvenu]

glue is made with all purpose white flour,made from tubers ,refined.dhal flours are different.all cereals and pulses yield flour.try to make glue with rice flour-nobody can,so dont be afraid.in india women use gram flour to wash hair.my mom uses it every evening for her second bath after returning from her office.she was dyeing her hair for the past 15 years.recently she underwent seven surgeries for a fractured femur and is now bed ridden.a nursing help:helps her wash her hair everyday even now and her hair is long and strong!despite the washless period of two months ,she had when she was hospitalised.just save yourself something when you have the time by using things that are natural and stimulating:when we have a certain period while we become busy professionally and we lack the time for it;the past input will still show its effect.

[ratgirldjh]

I still use green gram from time to time. If I oil first and do not use it too often my hair loves it :)

Besan works well for me too but for some reason I usually use the green gram since I'm more used to it now.

[sfgirl]

That makes sense.

I have tons of azuki beans on hand, so I might grind them and see how that'd go!

When I was 14 I used azuki beans on my face and got amazing results! I don't know about hair though. :(

[PolarCathy]

While I was doing it I loved it, however in my experience green gram flour and besan are the most stripping "shampoos" on my indigoed hair. Pity because I loved how all kinds of beans worked for me, I tried each and every one of them available where I live. (Besan was my favorite.)

I'm going to recommend this to my mom though, he hair is thinning now due to medication and I just loved how thick my hair felt while using these.

[Words]

I have been washing my hair with rye the last couple of months and I really like it. It is kind of difficult to wash out though.

[sakuraemily]

Besan (garbanzo bean) flour works. I think other flours may work as well - except for oatmeal that is... I didn't have luck with oatmeal :)

To me besan was a little more drying and smelled more 'beanier' than green gram - which is actually mung bean flour btw.

You could buy dry mung beans and grind them!


I've tried several other bean flours too - like split peas, lentils of several colors and they all worked!!! I've only tried one grain flour - oatmeal - and it didn't work so well.

I think beans have more soap like qualities than grains...

djh

Beans actually have saponins. Thats why they must be soaked and softened before eating.
But don't worry; the concentration is so low that it acts as a phytonutrient in beans.

[sakuraemily]

I have been washing my hair with rye the last couple of months and I really like it. It is kind of difficult to wash out though.

Mermaid rinses help. I do them with a bucket to save water

[Words]

Mermaid rinses help. I do them with a bucket to save water

Thank you! I will try it :)