I am in :love: with my hair today! It's very soft and super shiny! I can tell though that tomorrow it will probably be a bit flat. I'll have to do something to liven it up tomorrow. But as for today, I feel B E A uti Ful! :disco:
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I am in :love: with my hair today! It's very soft and super shiny! I can tell though that tomorrow it will probably be a bit flat. I'll have to do something to liven it up tomorrow. But as for today, I feel B E A uti Ful! :disco:
yay eaglefeather! isn't it cool when you finally hit on a mix that works?
i bought some more chia seeds and some chandan today and i'm planning my next mix
wish me luck ;)
Good Lock! I am going to have to replensih my powder supply very soon, I can't wait to get my hands on Chandan!Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
i am lucky that the indian store close to me has it in one ounce containers for $1.99 each! i have bought 6 of them already!
it sure smells good - and i remembered that i used to love it for exfoliation of my face and started using it for that again too - already i can see a difference!
i just wanted to say something about amla
i haven't done any amla face packs in over a year and i did one yesterday and my face felt wonderful when i was finished - but almost immediately a giant pimple started coming up on my chin! i remember this happening when i used to use amla packs in the past - so eaglefeather - did you use any amla in your mixes when you were getting the pimples?
oh - maybe this is just because it makes all the blood and stuff come to the surface of your skin and it is de-toxifying the skin? i don't know - but i actually quit using amla before because even though my skin loved it - i usually don't have pimples - and it just freaked me out - but maybe i need to let them run their course - that is if what is happening is de-tox
does anyone know about this?
thanks
eaglefeather - how much fenugreek did you use in your mixes? if i am using 4 tablespoons worth of herbs - do you think 1 tablespoon fenugreek would be too much?
i don't want to use any more than i need to because of the possible build up issue - but i really love the slippery feeling - i've been testing only 1 teaspoon in some warm water and i love the gel
I would use half tablespoon to start and add more if its not enough the first time around.Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
hey eaglefeather!
i just did something really stupid! since no one had tried using chia seeds on their hair and they make a muciligage (sp?) too - i tried a tablespoon of the ground ones soaked in warm water til it gelled and wet my hair and put it on and let it sit for a few minutes to see what it might do...
well - it was almost impossible to get the little pieces out of my hair! i have NO problems washing indian herbs out - but these little pieces were STUCK to my hair! i have never seen anything like it! finally i filled the sink with warm water and sort of floated them out - and then rinsed and rinsed and rinsed.
now my hair is tangly and weird feeling - but it seems pretty shiny... i don't think that the chia seeds are a good thing to add to my mix :( is ground fenugreek seeds hard to rinse out? just wondering.... i had hoped this would be a good slip giver :(
That's an interesting possibility. I did have it in yesterdays mix and left it on for a couple hours with no pimples, and I got pimples after doing a dry scalp massage a few weeks ago, so I think its probably from the long scalp massages I was doing with the oils...who knows as long as they stay at bay, I'm happy. I have been still massaging my scalp, just not for as long.Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
i have noticed when i massage coconut oil on my face for a long time when doing the OCM that i will eventually start getting pimples too. same thing for the miracle whip facial - since you have to rub your face for so long - maybe the massaging is really rubbing oils back into your pores whether you use oils or not...
THe Fenugreek I use is powdered and rinsing the herbs out is different, but not necessarily harder or easier, its just different. The main difference is how easy they are to apply!Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
Yep, possibly. I just cut back on the intensity of my scalp massaging and they have subsided completely (so far). I was also thinking it had to be my scalps way of being irritated. So the excessive massaging probably irritated it, and something in the BS/ACV washes I used to do must have irritated it too. I don't use ACV at all anymore, I'm so glad soapnuts are acidic so I don't need an acid rinse anymore because every acid rinse I ever tried irritated my scalp even though my hair liked them.Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
well i may try grinding up the seeds more - they are ground but maybe if they are finer i won't have this problem - the grounds absorbed the water and got bigger and now they are still stuck to my hair!
my hair is very thick feeling though and shiny - so maybe it isn't too bad of a thing - they are falling out as it is drying.
if i do mix it in i will try only a teaspoon - since i have the other herbs in there too maybe it won't be a problem if i fine ground it.... hoping....
Usually when I use Methi, it gets all chuncky and doesn't mix with the water very well so I let it sit and thicken and then I strain the chuncks out so they won't get stuck in my hair.Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
well i am stupid this way - i really wanted to use chia seeds because i already have them and they seem to have similar properties to methi... but evidently they really stick to hair... now my hair is matted and stuck to the seeds - hopefully they will fall out once it is totally dry - but i am trying not to freak out and CO wash my hair...
i don't think i am going to want to use them in my hair mix after all - even though it definitely made a slippery mixture... i don't want to end up with all this stuff stuck to my hair again... but i can tell that they clean your hair or something - it is very shiny and full - but it is also kind of frizzy - and i don't usually have frizzy hair...
i just wanted something to add to my 4 tablespoons of herbs because even though that sounds like a lot of herbal mixture and other people do even waist long hair with that amount - i have a hard time making it go through my hair
this time i am going to make the mixture with boiling water and let it sit for the full 25 minutes or longer before using and make it runnier than before and hopefully that will help
i have thought of adding honey but i don't want to lighten my hair - and i also have molasses - but it seemed to make my hair a little crunchy and i don't really like the smell of it - besides i am putting in chandan and i want to be able to smell the chandan....
sigh - annoying chia seeds! why couldn't i just break down and buy some methi!!!!!!!
i hope i will like eating the chia seeds - that is what i have them for ;) now i am sort of grossed out by them - LOL
well i oiled my hair last night after the chia seed incident...
and today i made a mix of 1/2 shikakai and 1/2 chandan and ended up adding a teaspoon of ground chia seeds in it because it wouldn't set up - i guess i made it too runny
the ground chia seeds soaked up the excess of water and i applied the paste to my damp hair and left it for 3 hours
it worked! my hair is great! no tangles and the tiny bit of dry ends was probably caused by the chia seed powder - so next time i will skip that and just make my mix thicker
and my hair smells great! wonder if i can get this same smell by using 3 tablespoons shikakai and of chandan?
i am running out of chandan already - it is so nice smelling - wish that sandalwood wasn't endangered because i actually feel yucky buying something that is endangered
Wow, you're braver than I, using chia seeds again after the last incident. I'm so glad you didn't end up with sticky glue in your hair this time. I looked online for CHandan last night and I'm not sure if I'm going to get any right now. Like you said, it's endangered, rare, and a bit pricy because of that. As much as I love the smell of sandalwood, I may just let it go this time.Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
yes - i was lucky with the chia - i only chanced it because my mix was so watery and i needed something to thicken it up - it worked - and i don't think any of them stayed stuck in my hair.
however - my hair dried a little greasy - even after 3 hours of the mix being in my hair - so i think that i need to use more shikakai versus chandan - maybe 3/2 - next time. sigh
i'm going to leave my hair alone and see if it will just soak up the oil because it feels nice and if it doesn't soak the oil up by tomorrow i will just water rinse it til the oil leaves. going to try and just do my 'washes' on sundays.
the chandan is very nice and i also like using it on my skin - so i think i will keep buying it.
but it is endangered and that is the main reason i have not bought it til lately.
you can get red sandalwood powder at mountainroseherbs for 15.00/lb - but that is not the kind that smells good - but it is also not endangered.
SIGH - of course i would like the endangered kind
oh - and i see no real advantage to using the chia - so i won't use it in my hair again - LOL
This is kinda on and off topic regarding chia seeds:
They are used in Glutan free cooking and for people with swallowing deficulties. You cook the seed in hot water for a short period of time and then strain the seeds out.
You are left with a nice thick gel that can thicken food.
The same thing can be done with flax seeds -- Aveda made a hair gel in the 1980s with flax gel as the primary ingredient.
I hope this helps you decide how, when and with what you want to use them.
yes - i actually love making the gel to use in food! you can put the chia seeds in juice and they jel the same way and then drink the juice/jel... there are also ways to make a vegan/raw tapioca pudding that i plan to try eventually when i get more of the seeds.Quote:
Originally Posted by ljkforu
what i like about chia seeds is that they don't have to be frozen or kept in the fridge so they won't go rancid - like flax seeds. i was forever wondering if my flax seeds were rancid - LOL
but then chia seeds cost more than flax seeds - at least for now - they are becoming easier to find though...
hey all
i am not sure i will be able to keep doing the indian herb thing. perhaps this is why is stopped over a year ago - i actually can't remember...
i have only done 2 washes - and ever since i started - at night when i lay my head down on the pilow - my scalp and ears start itching. i don't know if it is the shikakai or chandan - but i remember also having this problem using straight shikakai - and even straight amla.
eventually, the itching goes away - but it took me over an hour last night of scratching, and today my ears and scalp are sore.
this sucks, because my hair looks great - a little oily still - but great.
i am going to rinse it with water only today and see if i can get out whatever residue is bothering me at night - but now i'm scared to keep doing the herbs - this is why i had to give up commercial shampoos - either the sudsing agents or perfumes would give me a similar reaction.
i wonder if it is the saphonitors (sp?) in the herbs that are doing this? the reason i say this is that i had a similar reaction to besan and other beans. they worked really well on my hair and then at night when i would lay down i would start having the itchy burning feeling i am having now.
any ideas?
EDIT: i also had the same reaction after COing my hair with suave tropical coconut. why is my scalp so sensitive - SIGH
well i had to CO wash finally to get whatever was making me itch off my scalp
it feels better now
for now i'm afraid to try any of the herbs again...
hopefully this hasn't awakened my itching problem - last time this started i finally had to go WO for several months because EVERYTHING was making me itch!!!
it is probably the chandan - because it is my favorite thing right now and i've even been exfoliating my face with it - but my face doesn't itch anywhere except at my hairline - so i hope not...
Ratgirl, that's no fun - sorry you are having itchiness! Hope you can deduce what is the cause!
thanks mellie
actually, i just had to do a scalp wash with diluted soap to get the CO conditioner off my head - even though i thought i rinsed well - my head and ear were itching and burning!!!
after i scalp washed (with chandrika soap) i used a very diluted ACV rinse and it stung - but my head isn't itching at the moment.
weird, my neck is itching too! this sucks!!!
i'm hoping the chandan isn't the problem because i've also been using it on my skin and my jojoba oil for my hair has chandan in it too... oh but so does chandrika soap - go figure...
and the 2 times i used the herbal wash i had NO shedding.... back to the drawing board ;)
This is only my opinion but every time I have that itchy problem I go back to Basis superfatted soap which is what the doctor told me to use to begin with.Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
I'm so sorry you are having such bad problems. It sounds to me like you have overdone something that you may have been mildly sensitive to, and now you are hyper sensitive to everything again. I would stop everything and give your scalp a serious break, maybe even eventually start treating it with some soothing or cooling things (testing for sensitivity or course) like Aloe, Plain oils like coconut or olive, tamanu....things that are known for healing. Jojoba and ALoe mixed together have been a good combination on my skin when it is inflamed and irritated. THat happens to my face quite often, and when it is really bad the only thing that helps is to just leave it alone completely until it cools down, and then I try applying the soothing aloe a little at a time. I hope you get better fast, and will be able to figure out what is irritating you so terribly. :flower:
thanks guys
likforu - i ended up washing my scalp with very diluted chandrika soap and a mild ACV rinse. chandrika seems to calm my scalp down.... i'm hoping i won't have to keep using this though because it made my hair seem very tangly - maybe it was the ACV rinse?
eaglefeather - that is exactly what happened. i got hyper-sensitive! this has happened to me before and actually with the indian herbs - LOL what i did last time was go back to WO for a while and it got better. i do think it is the chandan - i can use it on my face but i think that is because i wash it off quickly - it is when i started leaving it on for a long period of time that i had this problem.
maybe in the future i will do a shikakai only mix and see what happens after that.
but right now i'm not brave enough to chance it - and my hair is very clean...
i'll keep everyone posted :) also i thought about trying some aritha instead of shikakai - but i am pretty sure it is the chandan
aisha told me that some people can't use it in hair packs :(
Please keep us posted. I feel your pain for sure. Sensitive skin is such a pain in the rear!Quote:
Originally Posted by ratgirldjh
yes it is a pain
about 5 years ago i started having this problem with salon shampoo and/or conditioner
i have had to run back to the shower after my hair has dried and wash it again when it started itching and burning!
that is when i started trying to find alternative methods for hair care
the more i think about it - i am pretty sure it is the chandan - since it is kind of spicy feeling
i may do my next pack with shikakai and amla 3/2 - to test my theory
but right now i'm scared to try - and my hair does NOT need washing again anyway - LOL
this sucks because chandan was my favorite ingredient!!!
i did a face pack with it and left it on for 30 minutes and had a little of the same itching
i think that when i leave it on my head for like 3 hours that it really gets soaked into my skin
well, i also think that it was making the mix dryer anyway - it seems to be pretty impervious to water
wouldn't it be funny if it was the chia seeds that i was having this reaction to - NOT
well i had to find out...
so i oiled my hairs and did a hot towel steaming treatment a few times and then put a paste of shikakai ONLY on my hair and scalp for one hour.
NO stinging or itching! and my hair came out perfect!
it even seems longer than it was - LOL
so it is definitely not the shikakai - so it was the chandan
anyway - i'm just going to use shikakai for the time being because i'm scared to try anything else and i remember that the addition of amla made my hair feel straw like on the ends
the shikakai even though i used a lot on the ends (because i dipped my head in the bowl!) didn't dry out my ends
weird, i thought amla was conditioning and shikakai was drying!
i'm so glad that i don't have to discontinue use of shikakai! YAY :)
That is awesome news!
A question to all who use amla oil:
What about the smell of the amla oil? Is it still there after washing the oil out? I'm curious about that, because I use a mixture of vegetable oils now and you can smell the fragrance of the oil mixture for about 2 weeks.
My hair only smells of the herbs when it is wet or gets damp from rain. When it is dry, it doesn't really smell like anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by Monchhichi
Hey you guys.
I posted this on a separate thread but I only got a couple responses so I'm going to ask this again on this thread.
I started using the Hesh bhringraj oil (have used about10 times now) and every time I apply the oil, I shed.
I don't know if I should continue using the oil or not. Another member had such positive results with the oil (her circumference increased substancially) that it makes me want to keep using the oil. On the other hand, I don't want to end up bald from all this shedding.
Anyone with experience with Hesh bhringraj oil, PLEASE share.
Or if you don't have experience but can share some insight, PLEASE do.
PLEASE. LOL.
Thank you ladies (and gentlemen too, if applicable):D
@eaglefeather71:
Thanks for your answer, so I'll try amla.
When you are applying the oil, are you doing a gentle scalp massage? I shed a bit if I get too agressive with the massage, or massage too long. In the long run, unless you are reacting with an ingredient, the oil should eventually decrease your shedding. I also noticed that I shed when I do something new until my hair gets used to the new routine, but it looks like you have done it quite a few times. I would try to be more gentle, wash it out with something very gentle, and be patient.Quote:
Originally Posted by lenac
Thanks for replying EagleFeather71. That's what I sort of thought too but I'm doing the massage as gentle as I know how to, and I don't have the shedding problem when I give myself a scalp massage without the oil.Quote:
Originally Posted by eaglefeather71
The next thing I'm going to do is, as another member suggested to me, is to do a scalp massage with plain coconut oil and see if I shed. I'll let you know how this goes:)
Thats a good idea, let us know how it goes. That information will be helpful to many who might read this thread.
I'm currently oiled with a mixture of Bhringraj and Vatika. Tonight I will mix equal parts of aritha powder and shikakai powder and boiling water, let cool, apply and do an overnight mask. I'll give results tomorrow.
Ok you guys, I used coconut oil only and I still shed several hairs. I'm not sure if my scalp just hates oil and I should stop using it or if it's just part of the territory and I should continue....Quote:
Originally Posted by lenac
I'm going to have to think about this.
I might stop using oil on my scalp altogether. I'm scared to death to lose any more hair. My hair is too thin and also fine as it is.
I know the bhringraj oil is supposed to encourage growth and thickness, but I don't know how it would be able to compensate for the hairs I'm losing. I would say I lose less than 10 hairs during the massage, but that seems like a lot to me. I'm not sure how many hairs on average each person loses per day, but it seems like without using oil I lose almost none, maybe 1 -3 a day that I can notice. I don't ever see them in the shower, I only see the 1-3 when I brush my hair with my BBB brush or fingercomb.
These are just estimates of course...I could be missing something.
I really hate this because I've seen and heard of such good reports of using indian oils and powders for health, shine, thickness, maintaining dark hair, etc. (all the things I want. My shine is fine already, but I want help with the other things...)