As soon as summer begins, our hair starts getting damaged due to the harmful UV rays and heat. Due to this, hair wash twice – thrice a week becomes necessary in every person’s hair care routine. We face split ends, oiliness, dandruff, sweating and many other hair ailments due to regular shampooing. Today, I am going to show you the steps of making your own hair wash cream at home easily.
In this recipe, shikakai is used as a base. Shikakai is a natural made hair wash powder, widely used in India. You can make your own at home or get a ready made pack from your nearest shop. This hair wash cream is suitable for all hair types, however a little alteration would be needed to make it suit your hair. Usage of this hair cream instead of your regular shampoo not only acts as a natural side effect free hair cleaner, but also adds a perfect shine and smoothness to your hair. Let us move on to the recipe now.
P.S. Some people find shikakai drying (when they use it plainly mixed with water) but if they use it this way, no more dry hair!
Things you will need:
- Shikakai Powder – 2 teaspoons
- Curd – Required
- Vitamin E Oil/Hair oil – 2-3 drops
Instructions
Step 1
Take a small clean bowl and add 2 teaspoons of homemade shikakai (Its my mom’s older version but we make a new one with more beneficial herbal ingredients now. My mom switched to it and experienced more better results. It will be soon up for sale online) or store bought powder into it. I am using the Meera herbal hair wash powder here (for my cousin as she cannot shampoo without LATHER!) but I always use my own homemade version.
Step 2
Pour required curd to the shika powder. Curd acts as a natural hair conditioner and adds shine to dull hair, hence you can skip your conditioner. I sometimes use milk instead of curd :) It works fine too! (Shikakai is little drying in nature so curd balances it!)
Step 3
Blend well to form a thick paste.
Step 4
Now add 2-3 drops of any light hair oil or pure Vitamin E oil to this paste for a nourishing effect on your hair. Make sure to avoid thick oils like castor oil and go for thin filtered oils (thick oils might) weigh down your hair. I have used a thin hair oil from Garnier as my cousin liked it. I personally use Vitamin E oil. If your hair type is extremely oily, then skip this step and add few drops of lemon juice to the cream.
Step 5
Now mix all the ingredients well and keep the bowl inside your refrigerator 10 minutes. (Skip this step if you catch cold easily) This process allows the ingredients to mix well together and gives a smooth soaked shikakai hair cream.
That’s all. Your homemade hair wash cream is ready to use now. You can apply it on your wet hair soon after taking out from the refrigerator for a cooling and relaxing effect. This hair wash cream cools down your body, refreshes your eyes and prevents summer acne as well. However, allow it to warm in room temperature before using if you have a cold body type.
The texture of the cream should be normal to runny for a perfect application. This doesn’t lather much as your shampoo (Meera shikakai lathers a bit in first wash and very well in second wash but my homemade version doesn’t lather) but thoroughly cleanses out all the dirt and oiliness. Plenty of water should be used to wash out the cream thoroughly. Make sure to choose a good branded shikakai powder if you cannot make one at home.
P.S: For oily hair, it takes 2 rinses to completely cleanse the hair but the after will be amazing! You will be left with soft, manageable, shiny hair. So take half – apply, massage and rinse your hair & scalp once and then wash your hair with the rest of the cream. Your hair will be thoroughly cleansed this way though the cream doesn’t lather. (It takes a lot of practice!)
Texture:
I have been using this for ages and it gives great results on my hair every time. My hair turns visibly shinier and smoother after every usage. I can say it is 1000 TIMES better than store bought shampoos! You will agree with me once you start using it. I can also feel my hair growth faster than before as there is less hair loss. This above preparation is made for my cousin and I will be washing my hair tomorrow with an altered recipe.
Submit your opinions and comments below on the comment section. In case of doubts, feel free to ask!
Category: Hair Care
Lancy I love lover love that Meera hair wash powder, makes my hair soooooooo soft and manageable, I have bought two big bottle of those from my home town, its excellent!But everywhere we donot get this :(
Ohh thats sad taps :( In Chennai, it’s available at most of the shops, even grocery shops. Buy it in bulk next time when you get it somewhere. Do you know any other particular Shika powder to recommend?
Ya at Kolkata, akankasha dry shampoo but nothing as fine as meera powder!
Here few more brands are there, but nothing good as meera. I asked my mom now.. She said me that she knows a traditional shika powder recipe which can be made at home. Let me post the recipe taps. Prepare your own in leisure time :)
actually meera powder isn’t available in the north…its only available in south…waiting for the powder recipe :)
Sure :) Posting it soon Swati <3
I haven’t seen tha tmeera wash powder,neways you can always get these shikakai powders at stores. You can add reetha for better cleansing :) heard so ..excellent post Lancy :-*
Thank you so much Suki <3 I am planning to prepare my own Shika powder soon and will try including reetha ;) Better cleansing is what everyone wants in hot sweating summers.
this one already has reetha and shikakai along with other herbs!!!
i have never seen or heard Meera hairwash powder before. but anything which is homemade is always amazing
Yes :) Shika is all natural homemade hair wash powder which is safe to use.
I love Meera powder, still my mom uses it, I have changed :P Loved your reciepe :) My granny used to make shika powder at home. My aunt still makes the powder at home only. Love the smell :)
Thank you Indu :) My mom prepares it too. I am going to include few more ingredients like rose petal powder and citrus extracts when I prepare my own Shika powder. And yes it gives a very natural smell to hair :) I love it.
nice DIY lancy…and well described too..will try it..and u have lovely hair..
Aww.. Thank you so much Preets <3
never heard of shika powder before, I don’t think its available in the UK.
Can’t wait to see the results.
Will update it tomo :)
Meera hair wash powder doesn’t suit me at all!!! I tried but it made my hair fall :( and. I also found it difficult to use!!!
Bad that it gave you hair fall :( I guess you’re allergic to some of its ingredients.
I have never heard of this brand Lancy :) waiting to see the after pics :p
Yeahhh :) ll upload today Nami sis.. <3
Never heard of meera brand……..can’t wait to see after wash pics…..upload them soon….:)
Uploadinnngg today Puja :D
such a useful beauty recipe dear :)
n i liked ur hair a lott lovely n more than improper it’s stylishly wavy :)
Thankkkk youu Vish :D My mom said that it is bad :P She wants me to even cut my hair and put oil on it.. and tie it bla bla he he :P
hey lancy u hav beautiful hairs… waiting for homemade shika recipe :)
Check here Anamika :)
Share the powder recipe !!! v dont get it here :( :(
Shared rids :)
now waiting to have a look at your hair ………. :)
lancy u doin gr8 wrk i imply fell in love wth ur blog!!! <3 it's nice to read ur posts!!!
Hai.. I hav seen ur website yesterday. U hav done a very nice work. I washed hair today following ur procedure. I used to hav a lot of dandruff. This mixture really worked well. All my dandruff is gone now. My hair is normally dry. But after washing it has become oily as if i hav applied oil. and one more thing is i didnt get lather while washing… It will a great thing if u give me a trick to make my hair oilfree.
am using homemade shikai once every week initially my hair was rough and was difficult to manage but now i feel great about my hair love my hair<3
Hi there, can you please tell me how much of each product you put in, I know you said two tablespoons of the powder, but how much curd would you put it? thank you :)
i have heard people raving about shikakai powder esp in tamil nadu. tried it but it doesn’t lather. feel as if i’m using mud to clean my hair. any tips anyone? i don’t know if i’m using it right. and lancy i used your conditioner recipe using milk cream, cold cream and conditioner today. my hair feels much softer ththough a little frizzy. thanks for giving us your tips.
hi , is it 2 tsp or tbsp? 2 tsp didnt work for me so i had to make another batch :). BTW all your hair rescue tips and posts are really good.
Does meera powder contain anything else other dan shikakai?anything bad for hair
hello Lancy,
I have a question here, can i use this cream to wash my overnight oiled hair? please help
Dear Lancy,
I used shikakai powder mixed with water, I feel it causes hairfall…and my scalp is oily as well so any tips for this issue☺