Soapnuts and other Indian herbs FTW!!!

[Soj]

I'm allergic to coconut, which makes me allergic to darn near every shampoo and conditioner on the market.

I developed my recipe from this:

https://www.paticheri.com/2019/03/13/how-to-make-your-own-herbal-hair-wash-powder

Here's my version (using all powdered ingredients to make a tea rather than a mud mask):

• 8 parts Shikakai
• 1 part soapnut
• 1 part amla
• 4 parts hibiscus
• 1 part fenugreek seed
• 1 part bhringraj
• 1 part neem
• 1 part tulsi
• 1 part rose petal powder
• 1 part brahmi
• 1 part aloe vera powder (whole leaf)

I would suggest the first 3 ingredients are vital, plus either fenugreek or hibiscus powder for softening/conditioning in whatever amount your hair seems to require.

Changing the recipe WILL change the effect, so keep that in mind if you modify the recipe. If you change it and it doesn't work or is too drying or whatever, it may be because the balance has been thrown off. Tweaking may be required for your particular hair issues, but major divergence from the basic recipe may have effects that won't necessarily be improvements.

I get my powders from MB Herbal and Terrasoul on Amazon, or try a mail-order herb company like Mountain Rose (though the last time I was on that site they had changed their website and nothing much worked any more). You can get amla powder and fenugreek at any Indian grocery but most of the rest won't be stocked.

This worked great on my hair. Put it in something like a ketchup squeeze bottle for easier application. I've used from 1/4c to 3/4c at a go, haven't decided how much I actually need per wash yet. This last time I did an oil treatment for my scalp first and 1/4c of the wash was not enough, but it was fine the time before (when I didn't do an oil treatment first).

I use cheap coffee filters (full size, not the mini ones) as "tea" bags. I put a couple Tablespoons of my powder mix in each filter and tie them up with 100% cotton twine, so it won't be affected by boiling water temps like a polyester thread/twine would be. Silicone cooking bands will also work but cotton twine is easier because you don't have to retrieve it - just toss the whole packet when you're done. Leave space to allow expansion of the ingredients - especially the fenugreek. Whole fenugreek seed WILL break the bag so I use powdered fenugreek which is easier to find anyway.

I cook mine in a cheap coffee maker I got for $10 on a Black Friday sale that is used only for this purpose. Put one or two packets in the carafe, not the drip-through area, add water, and set it on the burner on warm. The coffee maker I have has an auto shutoff after 2 hours, I usually punch it back on 2 or 3 times over the course of the day/overnight. This is most likely overkill, but I don't cook stovetop anymore due to safety issues such as burning up pans because I forgot I was cooking LOL! 30 mins will probably do if you're doing it stovetop, maybe even in a coffee maker. Soapnuts probably needs this treatment least of all but some of the other ingredients do benefit from a longer cook time to render out maximum goodness. Note that curry leaves are NOT helped by longer cook times, they are very delicate and volatile and cook out super duper fast - one reason I don't use them. I would suggest that the original recipe is used to make a mud mask and hence is not "cooked", so curry leaf would work better in that, but I don't do mud masks. Too messy, and they use up too much of my ingredients anyway. This stuff mostly does actually grow on trees, but not on trees that grow where I live, LOL!

I use about 2T per "tea bag" with a pot full of water. I've been using 2 packets per batch (to make it stronger). Remember cups on a coffee maker are not real cups, they're like 5 oz so my 12c coffee maker actually only makes about a quart and a half max by the time you account for the water that gets soaked up by the powder. The ingredients will soak up water and expand, especially the fenugreek. I made a pure fenugreek gel once using whole fenugreek seed and the fenugreek soaked up so much water I had to add water twice and it STILL only made about 3c by the end, LOL!

All these powders are SUPER fine so if you have asthma or any breathing problems, wear a good mask while mixing powders. I do this by volume but I'm pretty sure the recipe originator was going by weight. It isn't rocket science (and I changed her formula anyway right off the bat) so - don't worry that much about it. 1 "part" could be one teaspoon, one gram, or one pound for that matter, just depends on how much you want to end up with.

I measure by teaspoons into a glass jar with a good lid, put the lid on, shake it up REALLY WELL to thoroughly mix (I roll it around, shake it, turn it end over end, while I'm watching TV). Then let it sit a couple of hours to settle or you'll get a puff of powder in your face when you open the jar. You'll get some anyway even after it settles. Just FYI.

Also no matter how careful you are, there will be a small amount of powder left in the tea after brewing. I not only use the packets, I also used to strain it TWICE after brewing, but it really didn't filter much of the tiny amount that's left so I don't bother any more. Its no big deal, you won't notice it in your hair. I don't do the mud masks because (a) they take up way more ingredients and (b) unless you're rinsing them out in your yard, eventually they can clog up your plumbing. I'm talking like a baby-sized pinch of fines floating around in the bottom of the carafe. Tiny amount. Don't worry about it.

I'm still experimenting with the mix so I still only make small amounts at a time. I still haven't finished off my second (modified from the above) batch yet because it goes such a long way. I've probably still got 3/4c or so of the powder in a jar and I expect that'll make at least 2 or 3 batches, and each batch makes about a quart to a quart and a half (you always lose some liquid to being soaked up by the powder). That is somewhere between 12 and 24 shampoos depending on whether I use 1/4c or 1/2c for a wash. Still working on the amount needed per wash, which may vary for other people anyway.

I live in an area with soft water, very alkaline (pH between 8 and 9-ish). Soapnuts is said to work better in a more acidic solution, too acidic, in fact (if my info is correct) to actually use on your hair (around 2-3), but if you don't find it cleansing enough adding a small amount of white vinegar may help if your water is very alkaline. If your water is hard, try making it with distilled water instead. Distilled water that has been exposed to the ambient environment will have a pH of about 5.8.

The powder will keep for a very long time as long as it is dry, but the tea will mold in a matter of days (I can go a week or two in the winter when its 60F in the house, but only 2 or 3 days in the summer because no AC here). So I freeze the vast majority of the batch right off the bat in the mini Ziploc containers (4 oz) with the screw on lids. Then I take one out at a time, and put it in the fridge if I don't use it all (sometimes I run out of the 4oz minis and have to use the small 8oz size) or else it will mold. I pour it onto wet hair (easier with a squeeze bottle), use the scalp brush, comb it through (double row Conair comb with huge spaces between the teeth), and rinse. If you don't find it cleansing enough, try pouring it onto your hair DRY for a more concentrated cleansing experience. I haven't had to do that but YHMMV.

My hair is high porosity and curly. It is protein starved. Since I can't use conventional conditioner any more, I don't have a good vehicle for doing my protein treatments so I'll be trying various new methods for managing that over time (I use the Neutral Protein Filler from Sally Beauty, which I used to mix into a small amount of conventional conditioner).

Keeping in mind how long I've been having to go between shampoos due to allergic reactions, my hair and scalp were in pretty bad shape the first time I tried this. And it left my scalp absolutely squeaky clean the first time I used it (I probably used about 3/4c that time), and it stayed that way for about 4 days. Way longer than any conventional shampoo I'd ever used even before coconut decided I needed to be allergic to it. And it left my hair well-conditioned, soft, manageable, non-tangly - really pretty happy on all fronts except curl enhancement (not enough amla for that apparently). It also healed up my scalp with the first use (constant re-exposure to coconut derived shampoo ingredients, even at longer and longer intervals, had made a mess of my scalp). My money is on the neem for that particular benefit.

I have been using an amla/hibiscus rinse for about a year for curl enhancement. I'm aiming for a one-and-done solution, but that hasn't worked out so far. I may go back to the separate amla/hibiscus rinse if I can't manage better curl enhancement as part of the cleansing rinse. I'm probably also suffering some curl degradation due to no longer having an easy vehicle for protein treatments.

I'm still experimenting but I'm pretty well satisfied so far. It's been years since my scalp felt really clean, I only figured out that coconut derivatives were irritating my scalp relatively recently. I just kept thinking I was ending up with crappy shampoo that didn't really cleanse. And the allergy is rapidly progressing (as in getting worse). The other day there was no towel at hand to dry my face so I grabbed a paper towel to blot my face dry, and by the next day my eyes had nearly swelled shut (coconut derivatives are used in paper products as softeners and to increase absorbency). So - this comes in the nick of time.

[Soj]

I have no idea why it formatted it weird like that, with line breaks inserted where I did NOT put them so it makes it WAY harder to read, but I can't seem to fix it and I can't delete it and just start over. Sorry about the unreadability. I didn't do it on purpose!

[Jane99]

I can read your post just fine, with line breaks where it seems they should be.

I am so glad you were able to find an herb rinse that cleanses and is coconut free! What an annoying allergy. Sounds like you have a great mix. I use whole herbs for my shampoo and I have found them on ebay, but the powdered versions do seem much more accessible. The only recipes I have found were to make a mud paste and that sounds way too messy for regular use but your version sounds great.

[Hairkay]

I've got many allergies and can't use regular soap, shampoos and conditioners. I do have soapnuts at home. I might also have some amla and fenugreek and there's an aloe plant around. I tried shikakai once but since I didn't sieve or strain the mix I had a hard time with it getting in my eyes. The rest of that packet is still around.

Mostly I just deal with water rinses with soapnuts for a rare occasion. I condition with banana or mango pureé sometimes coconut milk (I am okay with that) or fenugreek and honey. I've also used yoghurt with honey and or fenugreek.

[Fethenwen]

Awesome list of herbs you got there! Thank you for sharing your recipe

[lapushka]

Thanks for sharing. This will sure come in handy for others with similar issues!

I can't imagine what it must be like.

[linvie]

oooh this sounds awesome, i like the coffee maker method. i was just at the indian grocery store yesterday to restock on shikakai and areetha, but they had all the other stuff so looks like i'll have to make another trip soon my powders always seem to escape the little drawstring bag i put them in, might have to try the coffee filter thing too!

[Feral_]

I oiled my hair yesterday then used a herb mix this morning to wash them out. Shikaki, amla, reetha and hibiscus. Can’t say it’s something I’ll be doing again. Essentially standing nekkid in the shower smearing liquid mud onto lank oiled hair certainly wasn’t the most pleasant experience I’ve had. However my hair did feel better rinsing it out, though I’m certain much of that was due to the relief of getting the stuff out of my hair?!

The result - hair was definitely soft and felt smooth, though not particularly shiny. Maybe I over-did the oiling? It did feel clean despite being left with an unpleasant hempy earthy smell, so I had to rinse it again with water and put some conditioner on the length just to deal with the smell

(I should add my normal routine is water only for washing and an occasional rinse out hair food mask).

[Dixie Derelict]

I think a LOT of how a person feels about the herbal mixes has to do with how she/ he feels about the smell. I really LOVE the "earthy, Hemp-y smell" that the OP went to great lengths to get rid of! Don't think I would go to the(admitted) extra trouble if it smelled bad, too.
The bottom line(for me) is that I get enough extra benefits from a bit of extra hassle that I've been doing this for years. I went from"okay" hair with some issues, to really nice, frizz and split end free hair that only needs washed once a month!(I live in a very hot, humid place, so twice a mo. For the last 3 mos.- but you get my drift, I'm sure. )
Anyway, "Heed the Hair" and please yourself!

[Feral_]

I think a LOT of how a person feels about the herbal mixes has to do with how she/ he feels about the smell. I really LOVE the "earthy, Hemp-y smell" that the OP went to great lengths to get rid of! Don't think I would go to the(admitted) extra trouble if it smelled bad, too.
The bottom line(for me) is that I get enough extra benefits from a bit of extra hassle that I've been doing this for years. I went from"okay" hair with some issues, to really nice, frizz and split end free hair that only needs washed once a month!(I live in a very hot, humid place, so twice a mo. For the last 3 mos.- but you get my drift, I'm sure. )
Anyway, "Heed the Hair" and please yourself!

I have a very sensitive sense of smell and I think I’m so used to my hair not smelling of anything with WO that it was sensory overload! I also think I’m inherently lazy in that the faff of making it and applying it outweighs the benefits for me. It’s great that it’s working well for you though