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

**ChloeDharma** · April 24th, 2009, 02:53 PM

You are right to be cautious Enfys, maybe just heat the oil until it seems hot? Or until the amla blackens which i forgot to mention is also often in recipes. If you do try this i'd love to know how you get on, i have the opposite problem to you, i rarely see dried amla pieces in the shops i go to the most, though i'm very overdue a trip to a larger Indian area and now have to as my new favourite hair wash isn't sold in the ones nearer me.......i do love "having" to go shopping at the Indian grocers

But yes, my point, i usually only find the powder, though i can get fresh amla but it's the hastle of drying it out etc that puts me off.....though that said, there is something quite romantic about making amla oil from scratch i think.
Maceration is really just a term to mean that properties of herbs are extracted into an oil, a bit like infusion or decoction for extracting herb properties into water.
Infusion is like making a cup of tea......deoction is used more for woody/bark parts of herbs where you heat water with the herb in it, then simmer for a while before straining......a bit like the maceration extractions.
Actually, you could look up maceration instructions and just apply that to any herb oil you want to make......the cold method basically involves filling a jar with a herb, covering with oil, then leaving it 4-6 weeks before straining.....or some people replace the herbs with fresh ones every so often to get a stronger extract.
The hot method just involves heating the oil with herbs in for a while then straining. If using oils more easily damaged by heat i'd use the cold method, but if using sesame or coconut i'd consider the hot method as it's so much faster.
HTH

**lynnala** · April 26th, 2009, 07:17 PM

I just used fenugreek for the first time (twice now). I mixed it with some of the Zizyphus Spina Christi I got from Mehandi. First of all, wow! Fenugreek powder really expands in water! I used the amount I would normally use for one IHW, and it made so much that I had to refrigerate over half the mix, then today I took some of that and added warm water to it and it expanded again! It made a very creamy, fluffy mix, very slippery. I'm not sure if the slippery thing was the fenugreek or the Zizyphus Spina Christi? Does anyone know? ( I know I can do a test, but thought I'd ask). Anyway, it felt great on my hair because of that slip. And my hair has come out very conditioned with lots of body. I'll be adding fenugreek to my mix from now on!

**hazelnut** · April 26th, 2009, 08:59 PM

Wow, I am loving this thread! I just recently came accross Indian herbs and I'm seriously considering getting rid of my current hair products (which aren't doing anything for me, by the way, except for making my hair frizzy and very undefined) I have a question about the type of herbs I should use though. I was thinking about using:

Hesh Shikakai Herbal Powder
Shikakai oil (which I already own. I just found it under my kitchen sink.

)
and Coconut oil (for my undeniable frizziness)

I was thinking about getting Amla oil or amla powder, but I don't want my hair to change to a darker tone (my hair is dark brown), but I heard that amla is really good for hair growth. Does anybody have any advice or suggestions?

**lynnala** · April 26th, 2009, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by hazelnut

Wow, I am loving this thread! I just recently came accross Indian herbs and I'm seriously considering getting rid of my current hair products (which aren't doing anything for me, by the way, except for making my hair frizzy and very undefined) I have a question about the type of herbs I should use though. I was thinking about using:

Hesh Shikakai Herbal Powder
Shikakai oil (which I already own. I just found it under my kitchen sink.

)
and Coconut oil (for my undeniable frizziness)

I was thinking about getting Amla oil or amla powder, but I don't want my hair to change to a darker tone (my hair is dark brown), but I heard that amla is really good for hair growth. Does anybody have any advice or suggestions?

Hi hazelnut! Amla won't change your dark brown hair color at all, it will just condition, so don't worry about using it. You'll have to experiment with the oils, you have thick hair so your hair will probably love the oils, my hair is very thin and fine, so I only do a very light oiling before washing, and even then only occasionally. I use aloe vera for my frizzies. As to the powder, I think a lot of people here use that one, I mix my own out of shikakai, amla, bramhi, and cassia. And now I'll add fenugreek as I like the results so much. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

**hazelnut** · April 26th, 2009, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by lynnala

Hi hazelnut! Amla won't change your dark brown hair color at all, it will just condition, so don't worry about using it. You'll have to experiment with the oils, you have thick hair so your hair will probably love the oils, my hair is very thin and fine, so I only do a very light oiling before washing, and even then only occasionally. I use aloe vera for my frizzies. As to the powder, I think a lot of people here use that one, I mix my own out of shikakai, amla, bramhi, and cassia. And now I'll add fenugreek as I like the results so much. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Thank You!! I'll keep you guys posted as soon as I get the rest of the products.

**eaglefeather71** · May 24th, 2009, 05:51 PM

Hi All!

I know...I have been gone for a LONG time! Life has been Crazy, and still is but I really needed to pop in for a quick update and call for help. I am losing hair! LOTS of hair! It's quite frightening, to be honest. I have been pretty lazy with my hair, only washing 1x a week, and using Soapnut liquid. When it gets too greasy, it goes up in a loose bun. I'm getting so concerned that I am thinking of going to the doctor to get my hormone levels checked. This is so disheartening since I was working so hard to grow my hair long and keep it thick and healthy. Here is a picture for reference, taken a few minutes ago:

**hennaphile** · May 25th, 2009, 12:04 AM

Originally Posted by eaglefeather71

Hi All!

I know...I have been gone for a LONG time! Life has been Crazy, and still is but I really needed to pop in for a quick update and call for help. I am losing hair! LOTS of hair! It's quite frightening, to be honest. I have been pretty lazy with my hair, only washing 1x a week, and using Soapnut liquid. When it gets too greasy, it goes up in a loose bun. I'm getting so concerned that I am thinking of going to the doctor to get my hormone levels checked. This is so disheartening since I was working so hard to grow my hair long and keep it thick and healthy. Here is a picture for reference, taken a few minutes ago:

Well yer hair still looks lovely

Get thyroid checked too, as well as iron levels. *supports fellow hair loss sufferers*

**eaglefeather71** · May 25th, 2009, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by hennaphile

Well yer hair still looks lovely

Get thyroid checked too, as well as iron levels. *supports fellow hair loss sufferers*

Thank you!

**hazelnut** · May 25th, 2009, 12:51 AM

I had forgotten that I had posted on this thread a while back.

But, I just wanted to update about my experience with the amla and shikakai powders:
Okay, I don't know what I may have done wrong, but my hair was extremely dry and....... wierd. It would feel soft for maybe a few hours and then get as dry as the Sahara. Any ideas as to what I did wrong?

**lynnala** · May 25th, 2009, 01:39 AM

Eaglefeather, perhaps it's stress? You said you life has been crazy. Maybe your hair just isn't liking the soapnuts, perhaps you should go back to the herb mix? And getting your thyroid checked as hennaphile suggested is always a good idea.

hazelnut, did you pre-oil?