Using Indian Herbs and Oils to grow, Grow, GROW!

i actually had the best results when i used shikakai alone. it seems that amla made my hair too stiff and then ends too dry - shikakai never did that to me.

when i used to use just shikakai and would oil my hair overnight - the way i would make sure i got all the oil out is to first do the pack on my damp oiled hair for 30 minutes and then make a rinse with 1 tablespoon of shikakai and a liter of water.
after i would rinse the paste out of my hair - i would pour the rinse through my hair.
then i would rinse my hair with cool and then cold water.
when i did this it almost always got all the oil out of my hair.

for some reason both amla and chandan added to shikakai made my scalp start itching at night when i would try and go to sleep. this is even a couple of days after my last wash.
this last time i tried it even shikakai was giving me this effect.
so i haven't been using any of my herbs. i tried soap nuts and they seem too drying for me.

maybe i will try the shikakai again when i am sure my scalp is calmed down.
oh - i always soak my hair when i go to rinse off the paste. i just fill up the sink and stick my hair in it as far as i can get it... it really helps to get the paste out!

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Originally Posted by eaglefeather71

I think this next weekend when I do an overnight washing, I will use Shikakai only and see how that works for me. I absolutely love the soapnut foam washed during the week, but I'm thinking that the aritha powder overnight is just too much for my scalp. I just love how the Shikakai brightens the red in my hair for a few days!

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Yes, I love the temporary color that Shikakai gives! I'm growing out henna (because of some curl loss) and Shikakai makes the roots much less obvious. I probably will start henna-glossing my roots again very occasionally to warm up my color and condition...hopefully at that dilution/rate it won't effect my curl...but in any case, I'm not going to use the henna often enough to keep up with roots, so the shikakai will still be a help.

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Originally Posted by eaglefeather71

That makes sense. I did have a pretty thick paste, and I applied it to dry oiled hair. I have stopped using the Methi except for in my henna once per month or so.

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Why did you stop using methi? Because build up?

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Originally Posted by HotRag

Why did you stop using methi? Because build up?

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Yes my hair was starting to feel heavy and limp the day after washing so I was having to wash it too often. I clarified with Aubrey Organics Tea Tree Clarifiying Shampoo and it came back to life. It's been fine ever since. It's pretty heavy and limp after my henna while I am letting the henna set in and trying not to wash it for a few days, but I just put it up and deal with it.

well i decided to do an experiment. shakakai and chandan both ended up making my scalp itchy and so i decided to re-visit amla - since i already have a lot left over from other indian herb experiments last year.

so i tried an amla pack mixed with yogurt. this left my hair very smooth and strong feeling. it didn't dry out my hair as much as plain amla and water does - and i left it on for almost an hour.

but after i rinsed and rinsed and rinsed my hair still smelled very much like yogurt - so much that i eventually had to wash with my poo bar to get the smell to go away. it still smells like yogurt even afterwards - not so bad though.

a few days ago i had tried amla and water and left it on for 5 minutes. it definitely cleaned my hair - and i had not pre-oiled - because in the past i tried to remove oil with amla and it makes your hair VERY soft - but does not remove the oil.

i may start doing amla packs once a week or so - but WITHOUT yogurt!
too bad - i know my hair absorbed the fat from the yogurt - i just can't deal with the smell.

and i'm thinking about trying shikakai again - now that my head had stopped reacting to things again - if i do i'll try it w/o chandan - the chandan is what started off the hyper-sensitivity.

I made an SMT with yogurt last wash (egg followed by yogurt SMT).
And due to random stuff keep happening, I had it in for more than 3 hours.

My head smelled like a vomit. I think the yogurt went "bad" or something. One hour doesn't give this awful smell.
Because I didn't think it was bad to the hair, I let it smell for this week, it got better after two days.

Today I will try the same Indian herb wash as two weeks ago, but cut out methi.
I have already cut out amla, and my hair feels much better without it. Yogurt is better for me when wanting something acidic.

So for now, I know that my hair gets the "doll hair feeling" from ACV, amla and hibiscus. It feels a bit dry from this (before it has dried from the wash) and I do not know if it is bad for hair. So I cut it out from things I use, 'til I know better.

i only left the yogurt mixture on my hair for about an hour - but i did go outside in the sun for part of that time. after i rinsed it off - good i thought - i went back outside to let my hair dry in the sun and it reactivated the yogurt smell. by the time i walked in the house it was very strong and i rinsed some more. then why my hair was dry i all of a sudden got a big whiff of the yogurt smell again... i couldn't handle it - no more yogurt for me.

for some reason the amla powder i have now doesn't make my hair feel crunchy or dry or 'doll' like. it may be that last year when i was using it i still had some ends that had been dyed before and they didn't like it - i don't know.

also this amla powder seems to be accentuating my hair's waves. before when i used it i got straighter hair... i guess amla powder can vary pretty widely.

i'm getting pickier about where i buy my herbs. at the store closest to me (figures!) the shikakai powder was very old and hard and wouldn't soften up or even absorb any water even after i boiled it! and their amla powder came in an envelope instead of a box and had both auryvedic and then said that it was not prepared under auryvedic control and may or may not contain contaminants! it was also cheaper and smelled very weak. so now i will have to drive farther and get the good stuff!

I buy my herbs in an Indian store in the nearest city. They seem to sell it nearly faster than they get it. I assume they are fresh (at least the common like shikakai).

The shikakai really seems to give my hair some reddish tone. I wonder if it is colouring it, or if it brings more of the natural red out. I have very slightly red hair.

I have only Hesh brand, except for the dal powders and catnip (and molasses...)

Thank you, henna gloss!

Thank you, amla!

Thank you also plain old Minnesota egg and vinegar!

Check out my henna shine and my amla and vinegar health!

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...497703&thumb=1

I just did my first henndigo yesterday thanks to all the advice and support from LHC.

I can't wait to get into oils and oiling next, to repair my damage even more.

Eaglefeather:
I cut out the methi this time, and made a lot less thick "paste" (not paste then, but I don't know the correct word...).

I was rather thin, like it would drip drip drip.
But the dry hair soaked up it really well.
I bagged it and rested for 2 hours.

I shedded half or less of the hairs I shedded the last two washes where I used methi and the whole "paste" was much thicker.

My wash:
1 TB shikakai
1 TB aritha
1 TB neem
1 TB brahmi
1 TB moong dal
1 TB tulsi
1 TB besan
1 TB molasses

Blended in cat nip tea and yogurt and made rather thin.
It was in hair for two hours.

Before wash (about two hours before), I massaged Hesh Bhringraj oil into scalp, and oiled my ends with camellia oil (not the japonica but a cheaper one that I use shen not left in).

I think I can oil ends even more next time.