Unlisted Brand • Hesh Shikakai Powder • Shampoo

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raghus8y on 6/21/2012 6:26:00 AM more reviews by raghus8y

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Tan   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Hi, Shikakai powder is really great alternative. For non-messy use, you can boil it (preferably along with amla and ritha powder), drain, and use that water to wash your hair. Amla gives strength and ritha gives lather like shampoo.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Kalya on 9/21/2011 2:20:00 PM more reviews by Kalya

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Medium   Hair: Black, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I love shikakai.
The only shikakai we get here is Hesh at the Indian grocery store. It is sort of expensive for the quantity but the end result is good, not wonderful. The hair is left shiny and with an earthy scent. The shower needs to be cleaned to remove the shikakai remnants, but that is a quick task.

Now that I have brought shikakai (1 lb) which has rose petals, vetiver powder, sandalwood and harsingar, amongst a zillion other ingredients, I won't be needing to use Hesh shikakai again. A shikakai hair bath is a treat...on weekends!

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*TOP REVIEWER* bluestar21 on 3/9/2011 12:09:00 PM more reviews by bluestar21

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

After more than a year of no-poo experiments (shampoo bars, baking soda, vinegar, castile soap…), I think I’ve found my solution. The traditional method of washing your hair in India is to oil your scalp and hair with coconut oil or your oil of choice. I usually use just a little oil. Some people let the oil soak in 30 minutes, others do it overnight. Experiment with it. To shampoo, I put a little powder (I initially started with 2 T but ended up adding more) into a cup. Then I add enough water to make a paste. It makes a big difference and won't clean as well if you add too much water and it becomes more of a liquid rather than a paste. Rub it into my hair. It feels and smells acidic, but the effect feels like using baking soda, meaning the hair gets rough after you rub it for awhile. But after rinsing, it feels soft and smooth, similar to using a vinegar rinse. Rinsing does take longer for me. It is kind of messy in the shower - looks like a gritty dirt - but you can take the cup you used for mixing to help clean the walls of the shower.


The results? Beautiful. I was worried that the shikakai would stain my blonde hair, but there is no visible change. Somehow the color just looks more beautiful. My hair is clean, soft, frizz-free, and shiny. Then ends are no longer poofy. My hair dries into soft waves. It looks like I used a high-end shampoo and conditioner. Sometimes I supplement with a leave in (see review for Shea Moisture) and more coconut oil for shine.


Oh, and I picked this stuff up at an Indian grocery for $2.99. My first box only lasted 4 washings! But I've learned to ration it and it now lasts a few weeks. I typically wash my hair every 2-3 days.

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sdr95 on 7/12/2010 10:06:00 PM more reviews by sdr95

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Acne-prone, Olive, Neutral   Hair: Black, Straight, Coarse   Eyes: Black    

I love this stuff! just oil your hair about an hour before hand, then you can mix a bit of this powder to the consistency of a normal shampoo then distribute on a wetted scalp. i actually mix my powder with some henna to make it last longer since in the u.s. it's like 2 dollars for so little. it works very well and adds tremendous shine. i use neha herbal henna powder. anyways, i dont use any shampoo anymore. my mother used to use shikakai when she was a kid in india and she had a marvelous mane! this is good pure quality stuff, some sketchy shikakai powders aren't pure...no worries here!

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*TOP REVIEWER* sunshine824 on 7/12/2009 5:25:00 PM more reviews by sunshine824

Age: Unknown   Skin: Combination, Tan   Hair: Black   Eyes: Black    

Update 1/28/10:
I am SUCH and IDJIT!!!! My hair was doing GREAT using the shikakai powder & coconut oil. I had some little breakage on the ends. I thought it was the powder & oil, or maybe not using conditioner & commercial products. So I went back to them and tried a bunch of stuff in all price ranges. About 1/2 - 1 inch of my ends continued to break no matter what I did. Now I'm realizing that it's probably due to an old hair dye that I had in and hennaed over(you're not supposed to do that).


I spent soooo much money chasing all these commercial products that didn't work and left my hair less silky & healthy, and more dry, fly-away, staticy, and frizzy. I also had A LOT more shedding using the commercial products. :-( After trying new products I kept comparing how my hair looked and felt to an image I had in my head of how it was after using just shikakai & coconut oil, but it was never as good. So now I'm back to just using the powder & oil to wash and only use conditioner when I rinse out my henna. My hair is very happy again.
:-D Shikakai FOREVER!!!! <3



Original review:


Woot!!! I can't believe this is on here!


I. LOVE. THIS. STUFF!!!


I'm slowly going all natural with my hair care - not on purpose. It's just what my hair likes. I use a dye applicator bottle for easy measuring, mixing, and application. Using the bottle measurements as my guide - I add 1oz. of shikakai for washing out light oiling, and 2oz. for heavy oiling. I fill it 3/4 of the way with warm tap water, cover the nozzle opening with my finger & shake vigorously to mix. Then I let it sit for about 30 - 60 minutes to thicken. While it's thickening, I oil my hair and scalp with coconut oil and massage my scalp. When ready, I bend over the bathtub and pour the mixture into my hair focusing on my scalp and massage it through my hair. I massage it in for a few minutes then rinse using the water from the bathtub faucet. If my hair still feels oily then I add a bit more water to what's left of the mixture(there's usually some left) and repeat my wash/massage/rinse cycle. Sometimes while rinsing I'll comb or brush through my hair to get all the little particles out. I never get them 100% out, but I don't really care. In the winter if my hair is extra dry I may condition afterwards. Otherwise, I just let it dry most of the way and then add some more coconut oil and put it up to dry. I try to do this at least once a week, sometimes 2 or 3 times.


My scalp is not dry or dirty/oily, just perfect(and I used to have dandruff). My hair is *SILKY* smooth, shiny, clean, and feels strong and moisturized(but not coated). I can't tell if it's just the shikakai or the combo of shikakai and henna, but my hair is stronger than it's ever been and I'm pretty sure it's growing faster than usual. I also only lose about 10 hairs a day max(down from 50-100 when using regular shampoo). It also cuts WAY down on my frizz and makes it virtually non existant.


Will repurchase forever and ever. :-)

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similittleone on 12/23/2008 12:41:00 PM more reviews by similittleone

Age: 36-43   Skin: Acne-prone, Olive   Hair: Other   Eyes: Black    

I had been using shampoo and conditioners with silicones forever and my hair and become coated and stiff. I tried clarifying shampoos to get rid of the coatings and they over-stripped my hair and left it dry and coarse so I ended up using more conditioner. That was a vicious and expensive cycle of abuse! Anyway, I was looking for a natural hair and scalp detox product. I tries rhassoul clay, then I tried dead sea mud and then castile soap. All stripped my hair to pieces. Then I decided to try a different strategy which was to use oil to break up the silicones and then shampoo off the oil. So I went to my local Indian shop to see if they has some cheap coconut oil. They did, and on a nearby shelf they had all these little cardboard packs of stuff I'd never heard of with pics of Indian women with gorgeous long hair on them. Curiosity stimulated, I picked up one of the packs and read the back. Really great sales spiel about how you mix this stuff into a paste, apply it to your scalp and hair and it will clean your hair and give you long and lustrous locks all for £1. Yeah, ok, sure. But what did I have to lose except a buck and 20 minutes? Well it was the best buck and 20 minutes I spent. Shikakai has saved not only my hair but my wallet! Yes it is an awful pain to apply (like henna in fact) and it stinks funny and it stings like a good 'un if it gets in your eye, but this stuff works. My hair is better, longer, thicker and happier than ever before. I don't look like the girl on the packet yet but give me a couple more years and I'll give her a run for her money.

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*TOP REVIEWER* fundercat55 on 4/12/2008 3:31:00 PM more reviews by fundercat55

Age: 25-29   Skin: Very Oily, Fair   Hair: Black   Eyes: Hazel    

I use this a few times a week (mixed with powdered amla) in place of a regular shampoo. It's a bit messy, but it works. I keep the powdered herbs in a little shaker bottle, so I can then get in the shower, wet my hair and shake the shikakai/amla mixture into my scalp. I work it in with my fingertips, then I pull my hair into a bun and let the mixture sit in my hair for the rest of my shower and rinse it out just before I get out. I find this method a little easier than premixing the powder into a paste and trying to apply it that way. As I said, it is messy and more time consuming than a traditional shampoo, but it is worth it to me. It leaves my hair very shiny and soft, and prevents me from having to abuse my hair with a traditional shampoo every day. I can imagine this method of cleaning your hair would be more difficult for someone with very curly or light colored hair than it is for someone like me (very straight, black hair). Otherwise, if you are looking to get away from using so much traditional shampoo- shikakai is a good alternative. It's cheap and easily found at Indian or Middle Eastern grocery stores.

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gorgeous86 on 3/3/2008 10:55:00 PM more reviews by gorgeous86

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Dark   Hair: Black   Eyes: Black    

Great alternative to regular shampoo. I use this once a week, and only use a clarifying shampoo once a month. I love the fact that this makes my hair darker and shiny. Great in combination with oil rinses.

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ratgirldjh on 1/7/2008 9:17:00 PM more reviews by ratgirldjh

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

i can't believe there are no reviews on this product yet! for someone who is allergic to almost all shampoos (scent or SLS) this is a godsend. it is a bit more trouble though... you have to first apply coconut oil to your hair for at least a few hours - overnight is better...
then you make a paste of the powder and put it on your hair much like you would with henna. then leave it on 10 minutes and wash it off. voila, soft and shiny, clean and conditioner hair!
if you want a bit more conditioning as well as silkiness, you can add some amla powder or other herbs to the mix.
i will definitely buy this again and already have. also, i have already recommended this to many people who have given up on trying to find the perfect 'natural' shampoo... or one that works... this is as natural as you can get - but it works great!
UPDATE: i no longer use this because it is so much trouble to get the exact amount for getting the coconut oil completely out of my hair.
also it is hard for me to get this product and i prefer easier to obtain products for my hair.

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