Beautiful hair has always been admired and appreciated in every culture.
In India, from the ancient times, women with long, black and dense tresses were considered an asset of beauty. The credit to their crowning glory was to the Ayurvedic herbs, oils and shampoos they use for hair treatment.
Why approach to Natural hair care than chemicals
Sulfates or chemical loaded shampoos can allow grime and dead skin cells to be removed from your hair and scalp, and then washed away with water.
But to the downside, they also strip natural oils from the scalp and hair, making hair dry and brittle.
Same is with the conditioners. The artificial scent and the instant silicon silkiness they endow to the hair can be intriguing, but in actuality, they vandalize hair health.
Many trichologists say that prolonged usage of sulphates and silicons shampoos can exaggerate damage to the hair at the cell level, ultimately raising hair concerns like hair fall, dandruff, frizz and dullness.
Solution: Harness the power of nature
Thankfully, Ayurveda has a lot of at-home-remedies with herbs and extracts that can be used as shampoos, or cleansing agents. These herbal shampoos protect the hair from the damage caused by free radicals and external factors.
Herbs and fruits like Amla (Indian Gooseberry) , Shikakai (Acacia concinna), Reetha( Sapindus mukorossi), Bhringraj( Eclipta alba) and Bhrami (Bacopa monnieri ) have been favoured in Ayurveda for their miracle abilities to cure different hair woes.
Know more about Ayurvedic herbs for hair care
Ayurvedic Home – Made Recipes for Shampoo
Recipe 1: Amla, Shikakai and Reetha Shampoo
Take 1 tablespoon of powdered Shikakai
1 tablespoon of powdered Reetha
¾ tablespoon of Powdered Amla
Take about 3 cups water to reconstitute these ingredients.
If you don’t have these ingredients in powdered form,
You can soak them in raw form in 4 cups of water overnight.
Heat up the water with ingredients and let it boil.
Reduce the flame and let the mixture boil for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat, lid it and let it cool.
At room temperature, crush the reetha, shikakai, and amla peels with your hand if you have boiled ingredients in non-powdered form, and then strain it a clean bottle.
If used in powdered form, simply pour in a bottle and use as a shampoo. Any leftover should be discarded.
Recipe 2: Neem Shampoo
Neem is always been considered in Ayurveda to be the best antidote to bacterial, fungal or inflammatory problems. Called as “The Divine Tree”, its bark, leaves, fruits, seed have been used in Ayurveda for several thousand of years for their medicinal quality. Neem enriched Oils and cleanser effectively heal any scalp related problems. It reduces scalp itchiness, enhances the growth of the hair, prevents dandruff and even kills lice.
Recipe:
Take 2 or 3 tablespoons of dry neem powder into a bowl and slowly pour water in it. Mix well to get a grainy paste. Apply gently across your scalp using your hands or brush. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse it off with cold water.
Massaging your scalp with neem powder or oil helps increase the blood circulation in the scalp. This is turn help in enhancing the hair growth rate.
Recipe 3: Fenugreek, Brahmi, Amla, Hibiscus and Soapnut shampoo
A very effective ayurvedic shampoo made with Reetha( Sapindus mukorossi) and dried Indian gooseberry (amla). When these boiled ingredients are mixed with Brahmi, fenugreek and hibiscus, it leaves the hair soft, shiny and manageable.
Recipe
Take
1 tablespoon of Hibiscus
2.5 tablespoons of Brahmi Powder
4-5 tablespoons of Reetha Powder or 70g of raw reetha
2 tablespoons of Amla Powder or 2 raw dried Amla
1 tablespoon of Fenugreek
Mix amla and reetha together with water and boil it. To this boil liquid, add hibiscus, brahmi powder and fenugreek. Boil for another few minutes. Then let it sit at room temperature to cool down. Now, strain it a clean bottle and use as a hair cleanser for strong, shiny and manageable hair.
