Shikakai Powder

How Your Hair Feels

After a thin Shikakai wash, your roots usually feel clean and light and your scalp fresh, and many people find their hair less squeaky and easier to finger-detangle than after a stronger wash. It's a wash, not a conditioner, so follow with conditioner on your lengths if they need it.

Little Lather, Still Cleaning

Shikakai's natural saponins clean with very little foam. How much you see depends on how much powder and water you use, how oily your hair is, your water and how much you massage. Judge the wash by clean roots and a comfortable scalp, not by bubbles. Very heavy oiling or a lot of styling product may need a second short wash or some Aritha in the mix.

Who It Suits

People who want a single-ingredient, low-lather wash they mix themselves. An oily scalp may be happy at twice a week; dry, curly, porous or bleached hair usually does best with a thinner wash, mainly on the scalp, once a week, with conditioner afterwards. Hard water can make it harder to rinse clean, so use a thinner or strained wash and rinse for longer.

Before You Start

Patch test 24–48 hours before first use (see Care & Safety). You'll need about 10–15 g (1–2 tablespoons) of powder for short hair, 20–25 g for shoulder-length hair or around 30 g or more for very long or thick hair, comfortably warm water (never boiling) and a bowl. Keep your first wash to Shikakai and water only.

The Hair Wash

1. Add comfortably warm water to the powder gradually, stirring, until you have a smooth, thin, pourable wash, like runny yoghurt.
2. Let it stand 5–10 minutes, then stir again; add a little water if it has thickened.
3. Wet your hair and scalp thoroughly.
4. Apply it to your scalp and roots first and massage gently with your fingertips for 60–90 seconds. Smooth only a little through your lengths.
5. Leave it on for 3–5 minutes, keeping it away from your eyes. Don't let it dry.
6. Rinse thoroughly with warm water, head tilted back, working through your scalp in sections until the water runs clear and no grit is left. If any gets in your eyes, rinse them straight away with plenty of clean water and don't rub them.
7. Condition your lengths if they need it.
8. Use it up to twice a week, or once if your hair is dry or delicate.

Mixes

Aritha (Reetha): 1 tablespoon of each for medium-length hair, warm water to a thin wash, stand 10–15 minutes, massage in for 60–90 seconds, leave 3–5 minutes and rinse. Aritha stings the eyes more, so take extra care, and for dry hair use less Aritha rather than leaving the wash on longer. Amla, Bhringraj, Brahmi or Aloe Vera Powder: 1 tablespoon with 1 tablespoon of Shikakai, made and used the same way. For three or four powders, see the four-powder hair wash. Keep bottled shampoo separate: wash with Shikakai, and use shampoo afterwards only if your hair still feels oily.

Tips

It's a wash, not a mask: leaving it longer, or letting it dry, tends to make hair dry, rough or tangled. If your roots still feel oily, do a second short wash. If your hair feels dry or rough, make the wash thinner and keep it to your scalp: Shikakai side effects.

Acacia Concinna Fruit Powder (Shikakai) – 100 %

Warnings

For external use only. Do not eat or drink. Avoid the eyes: if the wash gets in them, rinse straight away with plenty of clean water and don't rub them. Don't apply to broken or irritated skin or scalp. Keep out of reach of children. Stop using it if irritation occurs.

How to Patch Test

Patch test 24–48 hours before first use, with the mix you plan to use. Put a little on a small area of clean, unbroken skin, leave it for 24–48 hours, then rinse it off; rinse it off straight away if it burns or itches. Don't go ahead if the skin burns, swells, blisters or turns red, or if it itches and the itch doesn't settle. Test again whenever you add something new to the mix. A patch test can't rule out a reaction later.

Using It Safely

Rinse the wash out and stop using it if your scalp burns, stings or itches while it's on, or if you see redness, swelling, blisters or a rash. Keep the wash to 3–5 minutes and rinse it out thoroughly. Anything you add, such as other powders, oils or essential oils, brings its own risk of irritation. Use comfortably warm water, never boiling, and pour the powder gently and mix close to the bowl, so you don't breathe in the dust. If an eye still hurts, stays red or your vision is blurred after rinsing, see a doctor or pharmacist straight away; if your face, lips or eyes swell, or you have trouble breathing, call 911.

Storage

Keep the pouch sealed in a cool, dry place away from moisture, steam, heat and direct sunlight, and use a clean, dry spoon. Don't put wet powder back in the pouch. It keeps for 2 years from the date of packaging; a mixed wash doesn't keep, so make it fresh each time. Throw the powder away if it has got damp, shows mould or smells unusual; small differences in colour and smell between batches are normal.