Using Amla or Shikakai Powder as an Alternative to Shampoo

My Personal Ayurvedic Hair Care Routine

I've been doing something without realizing it. I've been shying away from "shampoos", and just cleansing my hair. My last incident with shampoo was about 3 weeks ago. This was after a 4 week stint of going without shampoo. That day, I thought, "let me wash my hair and get any build up off". Mind you, the only build up I could have gotten was from my butters (Shea, mango, etc) and oils. Those aren't bad things to have on the hair strands, but I kind of wanted to start fresh (for styling purposes).

Optimal Coil Shine, Definition, Soft Feel on my Adjusted Regimen

So I parted my hair vertically (from my forehead down to the nape). On the left half, I co-washed with my Giovanni 50/50 Conditioner. On the right half, I washed with my Giovanni Moisture Shampoo. Both sides had all natural products without harsh ingredients. The side with the Conditioner finger detangled very easily, appeared elongated, was shiny, and soft. The side with the Moisturizing Shampoo was knotted, had a patch of single strand knots (which I had to cut out), felt scary...ready to knot, and had shrunk up (especially compared to the other side). 

I knew the shampoo side was "clean", but I didn't like the price that I had to pay to get it clean. It caused me some length, and a lot of my time. I thought, "how can I still cleanse my hair, without shampoo effects"? I remember using the Amla and Shikakai powder, and thought to check that out again. Also, as an additional protection, I decided to do my deep conditioning/oil treatment before I even used the Amla or Shikakai. 

I did this revised hair regimen for my next wash day, and the results were PHENOMENAL! My hair became butter soft from my deep conditioning. I had such an easy detangling session (about 7 to 10 minutes).Then the Amla exfoliated my scalp, and gently scrubbed off anything that was sitting on my hair strands. AND even after cleansing my hair with the Amla, my hair was soft, already detangled, and ready to go!

THE AFTER-EFFECTS of this regimen:

After doing this routine for 1 month (2-3 times), I find that my coils "pop". No "ashy" sections. My length shows better during curly styles. My scalp loves this regimen.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

Not everyone's hair is going to like this regimen. Some people show allergic reactions to the Amla. It may be necessary to play around with different products and different routines to find the one that works best for both hair and scalp. This works out best for me due to the tangles and single strand knots that I experienced while working with shampoo. I was tired of dealing with single strand knots, so I had to tweak my regimen in an effort to reduce/eliminate them. My finding is that it is very effective in reducing single strand knots for me. If you struggle with knotting...........this is worth a try!