Herbal washing recipes

[Dancer]

Hey everyone! I am in the middle of herbal washing experiments and guess what LHC goes down! :sob: I am trying to remember the recipe for hair gravy and am also looking for some recipes for indian herbs. I have amla, shikakai, bringraj,brahmi, hibiscus, soapwort and willow bark. Can anyone help with recipes until LHC comes back?:flower:

[CurlyCare]

My basic wash is 1/2 T shikakai and 1 T amla with 1-1.5 c water. (After an oiling, I need it stronger, but that's enough for washing "dirty" hair.) I usually use fenugreek too, but that's not required. If I had those other ingredients on hand, I'd add a tsp each of bringraj and brahmi. I've never used the other three, but I've heard hibiscus is good for slip, which is all the fenugreek does for me, so maybe I'd toss in a T of that too.

[Dancer]

Thanks for the help! Do you strain out the powdered bits?

[naj]

Have been using with success the following recipe for months
6tsp shikakai powder
1tsp amla
3tsp hibiscus powder
Mix with hot water into desired consistency. I use a gravy like consistency, its is easier to apply.
The other herbs can be added one tsp along with the above. Bhringaraj and brahmi are basically for hair packs, they are poor cleansers. You could use them as a hair pack too.
Naj

[Dancer]

Thanks for the recipes. I tried out the herbal wash yesterday night. It's amazing to me that herbs can actually clean your hair. I had a lot of trouble rinsing out all the tiny herb bits though. Is that normal or was I supposed to strain it? How long do you leave it on? I mixed all the indian herbs with boiling water and it seemed like I made it too thin so I added some cornstarch to make it thicker. I left it on about 10 minutes and then rinsed and rinsed and rinsed some more. I finished with an acv rinse but I don't know if you are supposed to do that when you use herbs?
My hair feels really good today and I didn't use conditioner! Are the bringraj and brahmi and hibiscus conditioning enough that you don't need to use conditoner with it usually? Sorry, I know that's a lot of questions!:flower: :flower: :flower:

[Ursula]

I haven't tried it yet, but I happen to have saved Dianyla's Hair Gravy recipe:

"Hair Gravy is the name I came up with for my soapwort herbal wash, because it looks a lot like Kentucky Fried Chicken's turkey gravy.

"Here's how I make it:
2 cups filtered water
2 Tbsp soapwort root pieces
1 Tbsp willowbark pieces
2 Tbsp cornstarch

"I boil the soapwort + willowbark in the water for about 20 minutes to fully release the saponins from the soapwort. Then I strain the mixture really well. I've found that a cloth teabag or jelly bag strainers work best.

"Before adding the cornstarch to thicken, it works best if you dissolve it in a few teaspoons of cold water first. If you dump the cornstarch right into the hot herbal mix it will clump up and get really lumpy. I reheat the strained herbal mixture and then stir in the dissolved cornstarch. I simmer it for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the cornstarch has fully cooked and it is nice and thick. Let it cool down and it is ready for use.

"For longterm storage, I make a big batch of this and can it in mason jars. I've also made extra and kept half of it in the fridge for the next wash, it seems to keep fairly well for a few days at least but if you wanted to keep it longer than 3-4 days I would recommend adding some kind of preservative to it.

"Use like shampoo to wash your scalp and/or the length of your hair. It will suds up just a little when you are washing the pan but you won't feel any suds while using it on your head. It is a very very mild cleanser, so if you typically use heavy-duty sulfate shampoos, you may find this to be inadequate as a cleanser. Or you may find that your hair is much softer and more moisturized after using it as a result of not stripping it with detergents."

[naj]

Dancer, you are on the right track. If i make the mix too thin i add some more of the herb powder. I have a big plastic bottle of the mix in large quatity. Saves me the headache of mixing every wash. Im happy this worked for your.
How long to leave it on? I leave it for less than 5mins. I part my hair into half over each shoulder. I apply the mix to one side, then go to the other and wash the first, then apply again(if needed) and wash the next.
So thats very less time. It works well for me. I find no difference in leaving it for long or short while. So i save time.
About the bits left over? Normally the herb powders are quite fine and rinse off.But soem does stay back. If you use conditioner, that gets washed off. Do rinse the best you can. Straining may help if you have a sieve with large holes to trap only the large particles which may not rinse off. Nonetheless, the particles will fall off while detangling once your hair dries.
Do you need conditioner afterward? I think yes. I used conditioner ever wash when i was a beginner. But adding fenugreek to my mix has helped a lot. I now use conditioner every alternate wash. I do a CWC so maybe using the condish before wash might be helping me to skip it after wash.
But it depends on your comfort and satisfaction. If you feel the slip and manageability with just herbs is not enough, go for conditioner.
Can you use Veniger rinse? Ofcourse! I can miss condish but never veniger. Gives me wonderful shine. I do a veniger rinse after rinsing off herbs and then leave it in for about 5mins. Then condition and again do a veniger rinse. I actually let my length soak in the diluted Veniger in a mug for half a min. Then rinse with normal water.
Hope that helps.
Naj.

[Dancer]

Thanks Naj! That helps alot. :flower: :happy:

Thanks Ursula for the hair gravy recipe!:flower: :happy:

[CurlyCare]

Thanks for the help! Do you strain out the powdered bits?

No, I just use it as a watery sludge. Rinsing does take a while. One trick is to rinse the bulk out under running water/showerhead, then fill the tub and do a mermaid soak.

[KeenKitty]

Anyone here tried Aritha powder instead of Hibiscus? I am having a hard time finding it! I need some slip....

[KeenKitty]

Have another question. I tried Aritha and I love it...its just hard to get on the scalp without running in the eyes,,,So I was wondering, Could I mis it with pectin or conditioner?
Keen