Shikakai has been used for skin and hair care from ancient times and its benefits are mentioned in ayurveda. There are many Shikakai based products such as shampoos, hair pack, soaps etc. are available in the market.
The use of Shikakai for hair care is well known but you will be surprised to know that it can be used for skin care too especially in treatment of skin diseases. It can treat diseases like scabies, dry skin and its regular use on skin can prevent further infection. There are many benefits of Shikakai in context of skin which requires to be elaborated in a full length article.
Shikakai is also useful in various disease of the scalp. Shikakai based hair care products stimulates hair growth and prevent dandruff. Shikakai should be used with other ingredients that acts as conditioner because Shikakai can be bit drying itself. There are various hair care products which can make your hair healthy, soft and shiny which are described here in detail.
Shikakai shampoo
The method of making Shikakai shampoo at home is very easy and it is very beneficial without any side effects because it is 100 percent natural. The ingredients for this shampoo are easily available in the market and since they are in dried form therefore you can easily buy them in bulk and store them for long duration for future use. The main ingredients of this herbal shampoo are Shikakai, soap nuts and Amla. The method to prepare the homemade shampoo is
Method 1
- Take out the seeds from the soap nuts
- Soak it along Shikakai and dried Amla for overnight.
- Boil them next day until they become soft and forms foam on top of the boiling vessel.
- Cool this liquid after straining and then wash your hair with this herbal shampoo.
Method 2
- Take a bit of Shikakai paste and massage all over the scalp.
- Scrub it for two minutes
- Don’t overdo it because it lathers well.
- Wash the hair well and use a good conditioner.
Shikakai and oil mix for hair growth
You can mix oils and Shikakai powder to massage your scalp. This treatment will give you long, strong, beautiful and smooth hair. The steps of preparation of this mixture are:
- Mix one tablespoon of Shikakai powder and half cup of basil oil thoroughly. You can use coconut oil or avocado oil as an alternative.
- Store this mixture in a container.
- Let the mixture rest for a few weeks and shake it well few times between this storage periods.
- When you apply this mixture on your scalp then let it stay for two hours.
- Wash it off with a mild shampoo. Use this mixture thrice a week.
Shikakai hair pack
Shikakai based hair pack is useful in treatment of dandruff and scalp diseases. If you are making a hair pack by yourself at home then you must add a conditioning agent to the pack. Steps to make Shikakai hair pack are:
Method 1
- Take Shikakai powder and add yogurt and neem leaf powder.
- Mix them well to make a thick paste.
- Apply it on your scalp and hair evenly.
- Leave it for 20 minutes and then wash it off.
Method 2
- • Take dried Shikakai or Shikakai powder and add neem leaves, fenugreek powder and some dried Amla.
- • Boil all ingredients together in one cup of water.
- • Boil them for 15 minutes and then let it cool down.
- • Mash the contents and strain the water.
- • Apply the water to your scalp and hair.
- • Massage the scalp and hair well in a circular motion.
- • Let it stay for 30 minutes and then rinse it off with cold water.