Troubleshooting with soapnuts

[Kinamon]

Hi. I'm new to this forum - hope it's ok that I'm starting a post here. Nice to meet everyone. :)

In getting my hair on the way to long, I'm trying the no-poo route, for me and my young daughters. I've been using a soap nut solution, and while it's been great for my girls, it hasn't been working as well on my hair and I can't figure out why.

I boil the soapnuts (about 15 to a liter of water) for fifteen minutes. strain, bottle it and use the liquid on our hair. I used to shake the bottle and use the foam, but I stopped that and just used the liquid. My hair is washed twice a week like this, and it's always squeaky clean, but when it starts drying feels sticky, and then dries kind of clumpy/greasy. If I brush it when it's dry it looks awful. Howevre then spraying it with a rosemary infusion makes it look and feel amazing - far better than any store bought product.

But I'm a litte frustrated about the effect of the soap nut solution - I think it's cleaning my hair, but maybe it's too strong? Should I use only the foam? I have added a few tablespoons of lemon juice to the liquid, hoping that will help.

I also can't figure out why my young daughters hair is perfect with this solution, but not mine.

Any ideas?

[little_cherry]

Hi there and welcome!
Do you oil your hair prior to using soapnuts? Also, how long do you leave the solution on your hair? I find that I have to rinse like crazy after using them.

It does seem like you're using a little too much soapnuts...add two more cups of water to this and give it another try. I had to tweak my shikakai/soapnuts solution until I found what's best for my hair.

[Kinamon]

Hi there and welcome!
Do you oil your hair prior to using soapnuts? Also, how long do you leave the solution on your hair? I find that I have to rinse like crazy after using them.

It does seem like you're using a little too much soapnuts...add two more cups of water to this and give it another try. I had to tweak my shikakai/soapnuts solution until I found what's best for my hair.

Hi - Thanks for the welcome. :) No I don't oil my hair - should I oil my hair? As far as how long - I've been experimenting :S For my daughters, I barely leave it on thirty seconds. For me, I really wanted to clean my hair well and left it on for - don't ask. Needless to say, I could at least make and eat a sandwich while it was on. I've stopped that and I'm trying the 30 second approach.

I was also using ACV, which everyone on the net seemed to say was a miracle for hair - and it took me too long to realize that it was terrible for my hair and scalp. So I've stopped that as well.