Day before yesterday, we checked about the making of homemade hair wash cream, with a base ‘shikakai powder’. Many of you asked about the shikakai recipe as it is not available ready made in most of your cities. Finally, here comes the shikakai recipe of my mom. She has been using this shikakai hair wash powder for ages to maintain and pamper her hair. I guess you all would have seen my mom’s hair. If not, go to this post. Believe me, she is really 54 and has no gray hairs :) I am the first person to be jealous of her long black hair. We now use a different, improved version of herbal shikakai powder (for hair growth) and lets talk more about that later. Okay, let us move on to the recipe now. All you need are few natural ingredients and some patience.
Things you will need:
- Shikakai – 1/2 kg
- Fenugreek – 1/4 kg
- Greem Gram – 1/4 kg
- Curry Leaves – 1 bunch
- Tulsi Leaves – 1 bunch
- Reetha – 100gm
Ingredient Benefits on Hair
Shikakai
- Contains abundant amounts of Vitamin C and D which are essential for good hair health.
- Provides enough nourishment to the hair follicles with its micro nutrients.
- Doesn’t strip of the natural oils from hair.
Fenugreek [Methi]
- Contains nicotinic acid and proteins to nourish hair roots.
- Replenishes dry and damaged hair to add the bounce.
- Replaces the store bought hair conditioners.
Green Gram [Mung Bean]
- Rich in B vitamins and Proteins. Nourishes damages hair and prevents split ends.
- Cleanses scalp gently without stripping off excess moisture and promotes hair growth.
Curry Leaves
- Adds a natural shine to hair and prevent tangles.
- Controls and cures premature gray hairs.
Tulsi Leaves [Basil]
- Cools down the body to prevent hair fall due to heat.
- Helps in removing dandruff and lice.
- Reduces hair fall and thickens the hair.
Reetha [Soap Nut]
- Provides the lathering effect and cleanses out excess oil.
- Removes dirt and other impurities from the scalp well.
There are no such hard steps in the preparation. Just make all the ingredients dry in hot sun for 12 hours. Make it two sunny days and part it to two 6 hours. When the mixture is completely dry and crisp, grind it to fine powder and your shikakai hair wash powder is ready for use. This can be stored in a clean and dry container for 6 months. Regular use gives you a gorgeous healthy hair. One can simply mix this shikakai powder with some curd to make a paste and use it instead of your shampoo or make a homemade hair wash cream recipe for more shinier hair, with this powder as a base.
Optional ingredients such as rose petal powder and hibiscus flower petal powder can be added for a pleasing fragrance and lustrous shiny hair. Share your views about this shikakai powder recipe and let us know if you have any experience or idea about this. In case of doubts on preparation, do drop a comment!
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Thanks dear.. actually i was looking for a shikkai powder recipe..
Mention not DB :) Am glad that it helped you.
HAI lancy,thank u for giving tis idea.all saying that for half kg sikkakai 1/4th of fenu greek is more,that would cause head ache
great :) will try out soon!!!
For sure Swati :)
this is gr8…..thanks 4 sharing…:)
No mention Puja :) My Pleasure
loved it :)
:) :)
My aunt follows this, she even adds orange dried skin, it gives that nice citrusy smell. Hibiscus is always there in recipe. I love to use this, but it takes too much time to wash off na. No time now :P
:P :P he he same here Indu.. So, I go for shampoos whenever I am in hurry to step out. But seriously, shikakai is 1000 times better than shampoos :)
hey thanks for sharing the recipe…. would definitely try this :)
No mention Anamika :) Enjoy the recipe and let me know it works.
I used to wash my hair with reetha, amla and shikakai durig my teens and it works wonder……..I hardly face any hair issues though nowadays I do not have much free time t follow this …….
Hmmm :) There are many Shikakai shampoos available too.. You can try them na?
This interesting! I have been usinf whole shikakai and reetha since i was in teens. Btw, do you grind it home or at commercial mills..i don’t know of any where i live hence using whole or i buy the powder from pansari.
In mills Zee bee.. That’s where you can get the fine powder :)
i will def try this …thnk u for sharing
No mention Rids :) Try for sure
nice Lancy.. i use soapnut , amla and shikakai water as the last rinse sometimes…:):)
Wow.. That greatly conditions hair :) Amla cools down and refreshes the whole body, especially during summers :)
Lancy,Powdering this stuff is a real pain.I tried it in blender,but does not come out fine powdered,as we get powdered Shikakai in the market.
How do you powder it?Is it fine powder or coarse?
I do try Shikkakai hairwash sometimes,Works great also helps hair grow faster,imparting shine and bounce.
Thank you :)
You should powder it in mill :) That’s how you get the fine powder
Damn if this was on wordpress I’d totally reblog it :-D
:D :D :D
ThAnKs
Welcome! :)
Hi lancy
great post..have a question though…does this recipe create froth/suds and also does it remove oil from hair effectively,like oil dripping-from-your hair amount of oil…when i tried soaking overnight and then boiling amla ,reetha and shikakai..it barely removed any oil whatsoever.Also do you happen to know of any commercial mills in Bangalore
Hi Arunima,
Yes.. Shikakai removes oil very effectively.
THANKS
Welcome!
Thank you this looks easy enough to prepare and sounds like it will do hair wonders! Especially the basil cooling my hair- I live my hair dryer.
Bookmarked this for my next trip shopping- fingers crossed I can find these ingredients
X
Sure. Thank you! :)
Thanks so much for sharing Lancy :)
Welcome Jyoti! :)
hey thank u very much!!! vl try it 2morow itself!!
Welcome! :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hey.. I just bumped into your blog while searching for herbal shampoos..! A great DIY.. I wanted to know the proportion of neem and tulsi leaves. You have mentioned a bunch.. could you please specify how many leaves or sprigs approximately..?
Thanks so much!!
Shachi
Equal amounts by weight Shachi!
Thank you so much Nancy….
Welcome Purnima! :)
mam can i add gooseberry , henna , lemon, karisala ganni, neem,vetti ver,ponnagani, adhimadhunam ? pls help me.. what is measurement ?
Sure. You can add them all.. Equal measurements!
Hey Lancy
nice blog and nice suggestion just wanted to know abt the exact measurements of the ingredients of the shikakai paste … pls provide us with the details…
Equal amounts Deepika :)
Do we need to sun dry the ingredients before we get them powdered in the mill?
Yes! It’s a must
I tried this… It was a pain as none of the mills accepted shikakai and reetha ingredients.. I grinded this at home and then went again to get it powdered to the mill.. Finally managed somehow… Even though it’s fine powder, the paste has a lot of granules in it. It seems like fine powder to the naked eye but on adding water, it’s not!! Any suggestions to work around this problem???
I will ask my mom and let you know soon :)
Yes Shikakai removes oiliness very well!
i made this shampoo but when i used it,it didn’t make any lather…can u tell me why????????????
Hi Lancy!
I love your blog but I cannot subscribe because your Feedburner is not set up for email subscriptions! There is a box somewhere that you have to tick to allow people to sign up for emails – I had to do the same with my blog!
Best,
Nicole
^#(^
mam foam is not comming.
Shikakai won’t foam.. but it cleanses well
If i also want to add amla to it what should be the quantity of it?
this is in powder form so if we apply and then massage scalp to clean wont it be abrasive. if we dont massage, then will the scalp be cleaned. i do overnight oiling so will it remove those oils too. please respond as i desperately want to try this having heard so much good things abouot shikakai reetha.
grinding is very hard so i soak the green bean and frangreek seeds for 4 ours then grind with curry leafs,basil leaf i use fresh.i use powder shikaki.and powder retha then all ingredeants grind very well use little water to make a smooth paste.apply your hair and massage for 5 min on wet hair then wash it .i know lettle bit gravol left it but dont worry after comb its gone. waooo its feel so wonder ful thanks for a great! cleaner.
hey taby,
that sounds good. for me too finding grinding mill to grind these is difficult. can you please mention quantity for one wash. will be really helpful
hiii
along the above ingradient add 50 gm of vettiver which reduces dandruff and like.
and too hibiscus flower and leaves both have better hairgrowth property
if u forget for above preparation ,u may just take some fresh of leaves of hibiscus and make a paste with water,the paste giver better shinning effect to ur hair
try it
Hi nancy,
I am a black girl and I tried the recipe without the fenugreek and it makes my hair bounce. the tulsi dry my hair a bit. so, I used without it. I prepoo the night before with garlic and olive oil.
thanks.
Ohhh Really thnx a lot for the recipe… I was searching for it and now got it…………
iAM A REGULAR USER OF SHIKAKAI SINCE MY TEENS..IAM 30 NOW AND AFTER MY MARRIAGE(IN 2008) I RELOCATED TO SAUDI ARABIA,SO I USED SHAMPOO FOR 1 YEAR AND MY HAIR WERE SO DULL ,BRITTLE,AND NO INCREASE IN LENGTH..AND DANDRUFF TOO…THEN FROM THEN ON WHENEVER I GO TO INDIA THE FIRST THING ON MY LIST IS SHIKAKAI AND REETHA POWDERS…I APPLY A MASK OF AMLA POWDER,HIBISCUS POWDER,BRAHMI POWDER(ALL ONE SPOON) BEFORE BATHING AND THEN WASH WITH SHIKAKAI AND REETHA..NOW 8 YEARS SINCE THEN…I USE SHIKAKAI AND REETHA TO WASH MY HAIR …YES IN SAUDI ARABIA !!.AND ONLY THOSE WHO USE THIS KNOWS THE MEANING OF SHINING SMOOTH SILKY HAIR..
Hi Lancy,
I use your oil and it is just awesome. But i use tresmme shampoo and i somehow not liking it. I want to request you, it would really be helpful if you make this powder for your customers and sale it in a reasonable rates so that i can buy this hair powder with the oil from you :). Please think over it :). Thanks a lot.
All ve contributed their part. Here is my bit, herbs ll not give shampoo’s effect of lather and fragrance. SHikakai & Reetha ll naturally remove excess oil on any surface, be it, skin or hair. Remember, hair & skin requires some percentage of oil as moisturiser after washing, hence after using the herbs, some percentage of oil is retained on the surface, this is nature. In addition, men ve larger advantage, because of short hair, they can rinse easily. With long hair, if the powder is coarse like a scrubber, it is easier to rinse. I ve read in an article, men are using these herbal powders instead of shampoo to remove natural oil secreated by skin pores which attracts dust on the skin & hair. So, these herbs are used for regular bathing and after oil massage. GO Green… Love nature, lastly the water used for bathing can be re-used for watering plants.
Hi Lancy,
Thanks for the recipe.
Am using just shikakai from 20 years, I have always faced trouble in removing oil. I have even tried with reetha , though it gives lots of foam it doesnt remove oil. I have very long and thick hair. My hands really pains rinsing off the oil.
Does your recipe help me in removing the oil in ease? Or any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Meena
After pregnancy I have lost my hairs especially in front portion n I tried homeopathy n now I m using shikakai powder along with amara powder so can I add anything else apart from these products ..
hey lancy thanks for this recipe..it really works for me…
i have curly hair…nd i am washing my hair thrice with this powder..after hair wash my hair becomes dry nd frizzy eventhough i applied every time hair pack or oil….can u plz tell me any recipe for natural hair rinse or conditioner that i should apply after shower…
sry..if i bore u by my post
Hi Lancy . I am using these ingredients – Amla+Ritha+Sikakai but I do not grind them to powder. Just break the ritha and sikakai little bit and driend Amla is available in the market as pieces. I just soak them overnight and in the morning I add some more water and boil that. You can just simmer the heat and do your other work in the meantime. Then I strain the water and use that as a shampoo. It s working great
VERY USEFUL AND HELPFUL
HELLO MAM IUSE HENNA AND INDIGO FOR COVERING GREY HAIR PLEASE GUIDE ME HOW TO USE SHIKKAKAI TO CLEAN HAIR AS A SHAMPOO AND PROTECT HENNA INIGO COLOUR
Can you please provide the gridding mill location information?
Hi meena.
green gram is more enough to remove excess oil..
fenugreek is good conditioner.
Thanks for recepie lancy.
hey Lancy where can i find these ingrideients