Herbal Shampoo

 

Ingredients (practically everything you think is good for hair and worth boiling in water):

- Indian Gooseberry (fresh or sun-dried amla) 

- fenugreek seeds and leaves (methi)

- curry leaves

- sage leaves / basil leaves (tulsi)

- hibiscus flower and leaves 

- mehendi leaves (henna)

- jasmine flowers and leaves

- rose petals

- lavender and rosemary flowers (if available)

Method: Soak them all in two liters of water overnight. Boil next morning till water remains half of the original quantity. Let the water cool and then strain. You can use this directly as a shampoo but it would not lather. And, you might not get satisfied with it. So, take a fresh clean bottle. Pour your regular shampoo to a one-third quantity of the bottle. And, pour the liquid over it. Shake well. Your herbal shampoo is ready. Do not worry about diluting your shampoo. It is good for you as less number of chemicals are applied on your hair and your shampoo lasts longer. And, it will definitely give better results than the regular application. Do not judge it until you try this out. It might sound weird to some people. But, if you have ever heard, many people advice that one should dilute the shampoo with water to decrease the harshness of chemicals on the hair. I will request you all to give it a try. You can use a shampoo sachet for a trial. And, then, you can decide for your own self whether this shampoo will suit you or not. And, it surely does help in hair growth too.

Words of Caution: If you want to dye your hair some color, you can continue with using henna leaves. But, remember that though henna is conditioning for hair, it is extremely drying too. So, you can skip it. You may put some green tea (or your favorite flavor) too int he boiling water. Do not add anything which has short shelf life as it will spoil the whole recipe like lemon peels, soapnuts or shikakai. Use them fresh.  You can use lemon juice as a hair rinse for shine. But, lemon also causes hair to get dry.