How to make Amla & Curry Leaves Hair Oil: A simple recipe to reduce Grey Hair

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Chitoor Priya asks:

Hi dear friends, I am planning to prepare amla oil, as I am getting few strands of grey hair, can I add grated amla & curry leaf in boiling sesame oil. Can I use any other ingredient to make my hair turn black, need your suggestions?

Hi Priya,

Amla and curry leaves are known to prevent premature greying of hair. Both of them are rich in antioxidants, minerals, and other hair nourishing nutrients that help to reverse greying.

You can make your own anti-greying hair oil using grated amla and curry leaf in the sesame or coconut oil base. You can also add henna and indigo powder to make it more potent.

How to make Amla & Curry Leaves Hair Oil

Amla & curry leaves oil used to be very popular in southern India. Middle-aged women would make it at home and use it regularly on their hair. Not sure if it’s done any more. (can anyone shed any light on this?)

Those of you wanting to make it at home, here’s a simple recipe you can use. This oil will not just keep grey hair at bay, it will also make your hair dark, thick, & beautiful for many more years…

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup curry leaves (wash and pat dry)

1/4 cup fresh amla (chopped into small pieces)

1 tablespoon fenugreek or methi seeds (optional, reduces hair fall and dandruff)

Method

Place coconut oil, amla, curry leaves, and methi seeds in a heavy bottom pot.

Cook them on a low flame till all the moisture evaporates out.

When all the moisture is gone, you will see that the amla and other herbs will settle at the bottom and appear brownish in colour. The sizzling sound would be gone. (it will take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the pot and heat you use.).

Turn off the heat and let the herbs sit in the oil for 24 hours.

Next day strain the oil into a glass jar or bottle.

Use it once or twice a week and leave it on for a few hours. Then wash as usual (you may not need a conditioner) and let your hair dry naturally.

Tip: It’s better to under-cook the oil slightly than overcook it. If you think there is still some moisture left, then refrigerate the oil and it should stay fine for 3 to 4 months.

Video: One lady has made a similar oil, watch the video here. She added the ingredients at different times, but you can add them all together. And please don’t use non-stick pan, use steel or iron.

Other Variations to this Oil

You can use whole dried amla and dried curry leaves in place of fresh herbs. Just use them in half the quantity of fresh herbs. Also note that the amla-curry oil will be ready very quickly (10 to 12) minutes as there is no moisture. If you are using herb powders, use double boiler method (as shown here), or else the powders may burn.
You can also use sesame oil or olive oil as the base oil. But if your hair is oily, thin, or if you are losing a lot of hair, then stick to coconut oil.
Always use cold pressed unrefined coconut oil (such as this), as it is not stripped of nutrients and will benefit you most.
Add one 1 tablespoon castor oil to improve hair growth.
Methi seeds have a strong aroma, if you want to reduce the smell, pre-soak the methi seeds in water for 8 to 10 hours, drain the water and use that to make the oil.
If you don’t have a heavy bottom pan, you can place a flat iron or steel pan or tava underneath to prevent the herbs from charring. But if you cook on a low flame, the herbs will not burn.
You can also grind amla, curry leaves and methi seeds into a paste and use that to make the oil.