I shared some hair care DIY in my previous posts, from that you can understand that i love herbal products for my hair. In the same way i love herbal shampoos for my hair. We all don't consume food that are full of chemicals and preservatives .The products that we use for hair are the foods for our hair, it should be free of chemicals to maintain our hair healthy and strong.
The reason to use herbal shampoos is that we can customize our shampoo according to our need and the natural shampoos doesn't strip natural oils from our hair thus leaving our hair soft and strong. The reason to avoid store bought shampoos is that they are loaded with synthetic detergents though they claim to be herbal. The effects of synthetic detergents are known to us, they strip natural oil from our hair and leave our hair dry and it leads to hair breakage, dandruff and itchy scalp. Today am going to share some herbal shampoos for all types of hair.
REETHA [OR] SOAP NUT BERRIES: We all know that reetha is a natural cleanser. Reetha also known as soap nut is used in India for centuries to clean our hair. It produces mild foam and effectively cleans our scalp. It not only cleans scalp, being anti fungal and anti bacterial it removes dandruff and makes hair shiny and full of volume.
PROCEDURE:
Liquid shampoo:
⦁ Soak 5-6 reetha in warm water over night in 3 cups of water.
⦁ Next day smash the reetha with water and boil it until 3 cups of water is reduced to 1.5 cups.
⦁ Our reetha shampoo is ready to use, you can also make reetha shampoo in large quantities and store it in fridge, but try to use the shampoo within 3 weeks.
NOTE: If you have reetha powder, you can boil reetha powder in water for 10 mins and use it as liquid shampoo.
Hair wash paste:
⦁ Mix reetha powder with water until curd like consistency is obtained.
⦁ Now apply this paste on your hair and leave it for 10 mins and then scrub your hair with finger pads and then wash it with water.
NOTE: Reetha shampoo will be drying in nature, so add some conditioning ingredients like amla , hibiscus flower to make hair more manageable. you can opt for liquid shampoo if you have curly coarse hair since hair wash paste takes time to be removed.
WORKS BEST FOR: Normal, oily hair. For dry hair works best with some conditioning ingredient like hibiscus.
HIBISCUS [OR] SHOE FLOWER: Hibiscus flowers and leaves are used to wash hair in southern India. Hibiscus flowers and leaves promotes hair growth and prevents pre mature graying. They also leave red tinge in our hair that makes hair glossy. It also removes dandruff.
PROCEDURE:
⦁ It is easy to make hibiscus shampoo, just take 3 hibiscus flower(red flower) and 10 hibiscus leaves.
⦁ Now blend hibiscus flowers and leaves with warm water.
⦁ Our hibiscus shampoo is ready to use. Just apply it all over hair and wash with water by scrubbing.
WORKS BEST FOR: normal to dry hair type.
ALOE VERA
Aloe vera is used as shampoo in Caribbean. It promotes hair growth and makes hair shiny and long. It also makes hair more manageable.
PROCEDURE:⦁ Take 1 fresh aloe vera leaf and extract the gel.
⦁ Now blend the gel and store it in fridge. Our herbal shampoo is ready.
⦁ Before hair wash, take aloe pulp in a bowl and add orange peel powder(adds shine and removes excess oil) or shikakai powder(for removing oils if applied before hair wash else skip this powder) and mix it.
⦁ Now apply this all over scalp and hair and leave it for 10 mins and then wash it by scrubbing it.
NOTE: Hibiscus and aloe shampoo are more conditioning shampoos,so use them when you have applied less oil before hair wash else you will feel your hair oily. If you wash your hair without oiling your hair then these 2 shampoos will give you spa like feeling.
WORKS BEST FOR: normal to dry hair type.
SHIKAKAI :
Shikakai is used by Indians to wash hair for many centuries. It promotes hair growth and removes dandruff from hair.
PROCEDURE⦁ Take 3 - 5 shikakai pods and boil them in 2 cups of water.
⦁ Boil them until it is reduced to 1 cup. Now use this to wash your hair. Like reetha shampoo, this can also be used for 3 weeks if refrigerated.
⦁ If you use powder, mix them with water and apply the paste on scalp and hair and leave it for 10 mins. Then remove it by scrubbing motion.
NOTE: Like Reetha shampoo, shikakai shampoo will be drying in nature, so add some conditioning ingredients like amla , hibiscus flower to make hair more manageable.
WORKS BEST FOR: Normal, oily hair. For dry hair works best with some conditioning ingredient like hibiscus.
MIXED HERBAL HAIR WASH POWDER:
This herbal hair wash powder is made by infusing many herbs and so it will be so nourishing , improves hair texture and promotes hair growth.
PROCEDURE:
⦁ Collect the following ingredients,
a. shikakai - 500 gm
b. reetha - 100gm.
c. hibiscus flower - 10 - 20 flowers.
d. hibiscus leaves - 30 - 50 leaves.
e. Amla - 10 fruits.
f. fenugreek - 100 gm.
g. Curry leaves - 100 gm.
⦁ Now dry all the ingredients under sunlight for 3 days and grind it in flour mill. Our herbal hair wash powder is ready.
⦁ If you use individual powder, like shikakai powder,amla powder,hibiscus powder, mix them together and use.
⦁ Before washing your hair mix the hair wash powder with water or aloe pulp and keep it aside for 10 mins.
⦁ Then apply it all over scalp and hair and wash it with cold water.
This hair wash powder leaves your hair soft and shiny and also removes dandruff and promotes hair growth to great extent that you see the visible change in few washes.
NOTE: This is basic ingredients, you can also add other ingredients according to your hair needs. Green gram( prevents split ends), lemon or orange peel ( prevents dandruff and adds more shine to hair), rose petal powder( adds pleasant fragrance to hair and tightens scalp thus maintaining healthy scalp), neem ( removes dandruff, prevents hair loss), henna leaves ( treats dry hair and pre mature greying), holy basil powder( makes hair thick).
WORKS BEST FOR: All hair types.
MULTANI MITTI [OR] FULLER'S EARTH: Multani mitti is also used to wash hair in India. It cleans oily scalp effectively without making it limp.
PROCEDURE:⦁ Take 3 spoons of multani mitti in a bowl and add aloe juice (if you have normal to dry hair) until curd like consistency is obtained and use it to wash your hair, like you wash using reetha hair wash paste.
⦁ Take 2 spoons of multani mitti and 1 spoon of shikakai in a bowl(if you have oily hair) and add water until curd like consistency is obtained and use it to wash your hair, like you wash using reetha hair wash paste.
WORKS BEST FOR: normal to oily hair types
EGG: Egg can be used to wash you hair. It adds volume and cleans hair effectively. It leaves scalp squeaky clean.
PROCEDURE:⦁ Beat 2 full eggs (if you have normal to oily hair) . Egg yolk alone(if you have dry hair).
⦁ Add essential oil to it since it smells bad.
⦁ Now our egg shampoo is ready to use.
⦁ Use this to wash you hair like your normal shampoo, it leaves your scalp squeaky clean and smell of essential oil covers it's bad smell.
NOTE: Since it has too much of protein it is good to use only once a week since overdose of protein leaves hair dry and brittle.
WORKS BEST FOR: Normal to oily hair.
NOTE: Always follow herbal shampoo with hair rinse and then home made conditioner for atmost benefits. Within few uses you can find which shampoo suits you well. Though it seems like time consuming trust me you will enjoy the outcome of using these homemade shampoos. I will share some herbal hair rinse and conditioner recipe to make your hair full of life.Feel free to share your opinion below in comments section.
