It's been a year and more since I went off shampoo.
Right now, my haircare routine is simple. Scalp massages as often as I feel like it - YAY short hair! - and combing as often as I feel like it. Shikakai in place of shampoo.
When I first used shikakai, I used a paste of shikakai powder and water, left it on for an hour, and then washed it off.
My hair came out dry, but i noticed that shikakai kept dandruff off my scalp longer than any goddamn shampoo did.
With liberal doses of impatience, the time spent with the shikakai paste on my scalp continued to decrease. I noticed, to my pleasant surprise, that the only side effect of washing off the paste quickly was that my hair felt nice and silky instead of stripped down. Note here that my hair used to be so silky that ponytails were out of the question - rubber bands would slip off. Right now, we're returning to that texture slowly but surely.
My latest experiment with shikakai consists of boiling the powder in water or soaking it overnight, then decanting the liquid and using it as shampoo. I am again pleasantly surprised to note that the liquid alone works equally well at eliminating dirt, while doing nothing to damage my hair as shampoo used to. Without the abrasive action of the powder, I do have to scrub my scalp a bit harder, but it sure is worth it!
My recommendation for shikakai use, therefore, stands as follows -
1. Soak shikakai in water to make an opaque but thin mixture
2. Let it sit overnight, decant.
3. Use the liquid a a shampoo
4. Use the solid as a face/body/foot scrub - it works MUCH better than soap, and I don't even need moisturizer after it.
I <3 this fruit, this shikakai.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Shikakai in my eye - not fun!
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17 Response(s):
I wonder if I can find this on the Internet somewhere? I've got this sad, limp, wispy, not-a-lot-of, hair that always seems to be breaking off damaged and lame. I pretty much except the fact that my hair is never going to be beautiful - but then I read this - and well, you just never know!
SO! You swear it's better than shampoo???
no boiling? just soak and decant?
i use a shikakai, amla, reetha, yogurt, egg, tulsi, neem thing. It makes my hair cry of happiness, but i need something simpler, quicker also.
my hair is painfully dry and breakagey.. years of shampoo im guessing. no conditioner after shikakai wash, you say?
@Gringa: Breakagey hair - my demon, my nemesis.
Yes, I DO swear this stuff works better than shampoo, even with the crappy iron-y water we have in my locality.
I suppose you can find it online, I've heard of Americans using it. I've only used the pods, but apparently the leaves and bark can be used too.
@Spaz Kumari - Wow, lovely blog nick you got for yourself :D.
Yes, I just soak and decant. In fact, I just ordered the pods rather than powder from the local grocer - 100 gms for 7 bucks, I need hardly 5-10gm at a time!
You get this lovely tea-like, sweet-smelling liquid after soaking overnight. Pour it onto wet hair(wet hair soaks easier), scrub your scalp nicely, let it sit for a while and rinse off. It doesn't foam at all, but it WORKS. I didn't even need my lemon/vinegar conditioning rinse!
I think a weekly or bimonthly egg/yoghurt pack will help repair the damage, but shikakai-only is a brilliant quick fix.
Hey Gringa, here's a link - http://www.mehndiskinart.com/Shikakai_Powder.htm . The $6.95 sounds outrageous to me, but I suppose that's what happens when you take things across the world.
Over here, it's 50 cents for 100 gms :(
OOooo a link! That was nice of you :) Thank You! :)
hahaha yes, i decided the last nick was too tame and too old, so I decided to get with the program ;) . Also, I am forced to admit, this nick is perfectly descriptive of me. Sigh...
Anyway re shikakai rinse, foaming is not an essential for me, in fact excessive foaming is a little annoying. I also am not a fan of the 'floral' fragrances in shampoos, they smell too chemical for me. Shikakai rinse sounds good. Is it too drying for everyday use, do you think? My hair is getting better now, but still breaks if you so much as look at it :(
A year without shampoo. I am so impressed! I have my cosmetologists license (that I don't currently use) so I am always interested in hearing new ways and things people use on their hair or skin. I am definitely going to look into this. I am very intrigued.
@Spazzie: LOL, who said spaz was a bad thing? :P
Sounds like you'll do well with shikakai. I think it's fine for everyday use - use a drop or two of oil on the ends, and lemon or vinegar(2 tsp per 500 mL water) for conditioner. But frankly, I've never been a daily shampooer and I wouldn't recommend daily use of any hair product to anyone.
@Chandi: You are - or were? - a cosmetologist? That sounds seriously cool :D. Do look into this, I'm sure you'll have a ball. In fact, my fave prof once commented "Indian women use everything in the kitchen on their skin or hair. ... except red chilli powder." He's right!
Oh, and the sukhaloka who sent you a Gtalk req is me. Buzz me some time and I'll give you all the skin-recipes I know!
I started using Shikakai+Reetha over the weekend after reading you blog. My hair feels much softer and people commented it looks good!!!!!!
I live in the US and could find it at the local Indian grocery store.
@littlethisandthat - Glad to hear it, and thanks for letting me know :).
my hair is falling out. i will buy shikakai, i think. thanks for the tip!
@Trisha: Do :). Tell me how it goes!
Do u use shikakai powder. thats what i always used. or just the pods without grinding them? let me know. btw long time since i wrote on ur blog. do u remember me? how are things with u? why did u cut ur hair short?
@Sai: Hi, of course I remember you :). What's your haircare regime at the moment - still sticking with yoghurt-based packs?
I boil the whole pods - without grinding them - in water, and use that water as a shampoo. No powder involved. Works out much cheaper that way, and better for my dry, brittle hair.
I have been wondering for a while now what was going on with your hair. Thanks for the update! It's great to hear that you are happy with your process and the results. :)
@FG: Well, things have been slightly rough with the dry, dandruffy winter, but yeah - this is WAY better than shampoo!
hi suki!! iwas reading ur amazing hair care recipies... u mentioned that u were willing to share sum face pack recipies.. can u plz send me some?
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