Using Indian Herbs and Oils to grow, Grow, GROW!

**ratgirldjh** · March 2nd, 2009, 11:50 AM

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

**ratgirldjh** · March 2nd, 2009, 04:45 PM

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...

**mellie** · March 2nd, 2009, 05:51 PM

Ratgirl, that's no fun - sorry you are having itchiness! Hope you can deduce what is the cause!

**ratgirldjh** · March 2nd, 2009, 06:07 PM

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

**ljkforu** · March 2nd, 2009, 11:54 PM

Originally Posted by ratgirldjh

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.

**eaglefeather71** · March 3rd, 2009, 11:01 AM

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.

**ratgirldjh** · March 3rd, 2009, 11:12 AM

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

**eaglefeather71** · March 3rd, 2009, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by ratgirldjh

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!

**ratgirldjh** · March 3rd, 2009, 11:21 AM

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

**ratgirldjh** · March 3rd, 2009, 03:03 PM

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