Ditch Conditioner, Use Hair Rinse: 6 Hair Rinse Recipes for Gorgeous hair
Why use a hair rinse?
Hair rinses are literally hair treats!
Homemade herbal hair rinses are packed with plant nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants that help restore moisture and shine to your hair, reduce hair fall, relieve your scalp of dryness, itchiness, or excess oil production, as well as promote hair growth.
The biggest advantage of using a hair rinse instead of a shop-bought conditioner is that it is free from synthetic ingredients, which are present in more or less quantities – whether you use a natural, professional or store-bought conditioner.
Whereas herbal hair rinses are 100% natural, they are basically herbal teas for your hair. Plus, hair rinses are very simple to make, and many of the ingredients can be found in your kitchen or garden.
Here are 6 hair rinse recipes for you to create at home – to boost up the shine in your hair and make it look healthy and bouncy.
6 Herbal Hair Rinse Recipes for Gorgeous Hair
Hair Rinses for All Hair Types
1. Nourishing Reeta (Soap Nut) & Shikakai Rinse
Reetha – shikakai rinse is my favorite. It is cleansing, nourishing, pH balancing, as well as conditioning. Basically, it works as a hair tonic, which can help make your hair healthy, restore its natural luster, and add body to your limp hair. Reetha and shikakai contains high levels of saponins – natural cleansing agents – so you can also use this rinse instead of your regular shampoo or as a post-exercise rinse.
You can use other optionals, such as hibiscus flowers or marshmallow root to enhance the softness and shine of your hair.
What you will need:
- 3 pods of shikakai ( or 1 tsp shikakai powder)
- 1 reetha berry (or 1/2 tsp reetha powder)
- 1-2 hibiscus flowers (optional, helps add shine and condition)
- 1 tablespoon marshmallow root (optional, detangles and softens hair)
- 2 cups water
How to make and use: see towards the end
2. Conditioning Fenugreek & Mint Rinse
This rinse is nourishing as well as refreshing, and will add life to your dull locks. Fenugreek is rich in natural proteins that provides nourishment to your hair, and help keep your hair shiny and silky. It is also an excellent remedy for hair thinning, shedding, dandruff, and scalp problems. Mint is refreshing and energizing and will give your scalp a tingly feeling. While lemon juice removes oil and soap or hard water residue and gets hair really clean.
What you will need:
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek (methi) seeds
- 1 to 2 teaspoons mint leaves (dried or fresh)
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional, use for dry hair)
- 1 teaspoon lemon/lime peel (optional – use if you live in hard water area)
- 2 cups water
How to make and use: see towards the end
Hair Rinses for Oily Hair
3. Oil balancing Lavender Rinse
Lavender has a balancing effect on the production of sebum which makes it useful for people with oily hair. It is also extremely healing and valuable in treatment of inflammatory scalp conditions. While witch hazel leaves or bark are astringent and help deep clean oily hair.
What you will need:
- 1 tablespoon fresh lavender flower (or 1/2 tablespoon dried flower)
- 1 teaspoons witch hazel leaves/bark (optional)
- 2 cups water
How to make and use: see towards the end
4. Refreshing Lemon and Mint Rinse
The astringent and tonic properties of lemon make a very good rinse for those with oily hair. It also helps with dandruff, soothes scalp irritation, and revitalizes both scalp and hair. Mint increases local blood flow to the scalp, increasing nutrients to the hair roots. As well as it cools and refreshes the scalp and hair.
What you will need:
- 1 teaspoon lemon/lime peel
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves or 1/2 tablespoon dried leaves
- 2 cups water
How to make and use: see towards the end
Note: Regular use of lemon rinse will lighten your hair.
Hair Rinse for Dry Hair
5. Deep Conditioning Hibiscus and Licorice (mulethi) Rinse
Hibiscus, or Gudhal or Jaswandh, is an excellent all-natural hair conditioner. The flowers and leaves contain mucilage – a slippery, gluey substance – that hydrates hair and provides excellent slip to make detangling easier. Hibiscus also help soothe scalp irritation, lessen grey hair, and reduce hair loss.
What you will need:
- 1 to 2 fresh hibiscus flowers or 1 tablespoon dried flower
- 1/2 teaspoon slippery elm powder (optional, helps soften and detangle hair)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 cups water
How to make and use: see towards the end
6. Reviving Marshmallow Rinse
Marshmallow root has high mucilage content which adds slip for easy detangling as well as conditioning the hair. High in plant proteins, this white root nourishes the scalp and promotes healthy hair growth and shine. It also soothes the scalp and aid in healthy scalp maintenance.
What you will need:
- 2 tablespoons marshmallow root
- 2 cups water
How to make and use: See below
How to Make Hair Rinse?
1. Soak the herbs – dried flower/leaves – in water for about 7 to 8 hours or overnight – to release their goodness. But if you are in a hurry or if you are using fresh flowers and leaves then you need not soak and proceed straight to making, as directed below.
Why pre-soak? Pre-Soaking herbs, especially the seeds and pods, helps release more of their properties into the water, and consequently make stronger rinse.
2. Combine the herbs with water in a stainless-steel pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the flame and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and leave it to ‘steep’ until it cools. Strain out the herbs and use.
3. If you live in hard water areas, add 1 to 2 teaspoon of lemon juice to the cool down mixture. This will get rid of the cal or any product residues from your hair as well add shine and luster to it.
4. If you have dry or damaged hair stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey to the rinse. This will enhance the conditioning effect of the rinse.
5. Feel free to experiment with other herbs and essential oils. That is when you will find a recipe that works best for your hair.
Herbs for oily hair: rosemary, black tea, calendula, chamomile, nettle, lemon grass
Herbs for dry hair: slippery elm, oats, horsetail, elderflower, cloves, lavender
You can also use rice water as a hair rinse. Here’s how to use.
How to Use Hair Rinse?
Apply the rinse on freshly washed hair. Pour the rinse over the hair and massage the scalp gently using a circular motion. If you can, catch the drippings in the bowl and keep pouring them through your hair until they are all used.
Leave to soak in your hair for at least five minutes. Rinse with clean water and let dry your hair naturally.
Use instead of shampoo: If you wash your every day or every other day then use one of the hair rinse recipes instead of shampoo. Herbal hair rinse is a gentler way to clean your hair as well as nourish them. And it’s minus the detergents and preservatives.
Making Large Quantities
Once you have identified which rinse works best for your hair type, you can make large batches to save time.
Without preservatives, the mixture will stay good in the refrigerator for up to a week. After that, it can have moulds and bacteria growing – which may not be visible, but they are still there. If you are making a large quality, the best way to store the rinse, without any artificial preservatives, is to freeze it. You can fill about 3 to 4 ice-cube trays, to last for a couple of months.
Use 2 to 4 cubes depending on the length of your hair. You can unfreeze the rinse cubes by leaving them outside for a few minutes. When in a hurry, I add hot water – about a quarter cup – to unfreeze them. I prefer not to use a microwave as it may destroy the goodness of the rinse.
The regular use of these wonderful therapeutic herbal rinses will make your hair silky soft, lustrous, and gorgeous looking.
Happy Hair!!
Do you use herbal hair rinses? Please share your experience in the comment box below...
I love these rinses and the idea to freeze in ice cubes and thaw for later use. I have dry damaged, very thick, curly hair. After finding your website, I started coloring with henna-indigo, and trying a lot of different things. I love it! My hair is shiny and bouncy again. I’m not afraid to use the hair rinse orReetha-shikakai Rinse instead of shampoos. I’m using either sage or rose tea to defrizz during the week. And right now I am a huge fan of rinsing with fenugreek and letting it air dry. It gives a lot of bounce and shine to my curls, they are curlier than ever. The first day they are crunchy but still really pretty. The second day the crunchiness is gone gone after sleeping, but the curls remain strong. I love this stuff that you have shared with us! Many blessings.
Hi Annette, thank you for your lovely message. I am so happy to hear that the henna mask and hair rinses are working so well for you. Keep glowing!
I love your tips for dealing with water hardness and especially these hair rinses–thank you very much! My hair feels amazing now after oiling and using your shampoos and rinses!
Minaz,
I am wondering if for longer term storage it might also be possible to can the rinses? Or would the heat required destroy the good stuff? Are there some formulas it might be ok for? Thanks so much for wonderful recipes and your time!
Hello
My first time commenting
I have been using some of your tips for about 2 yrs now
I like that you suggest rather than strongly imply 😀
But my main reason for commenting is that I deceived to go grey and stop using dye.
Than couple of months ago starting using sage rinse.
My hair has darken quite a bit and has lovely tint and shine
It looks as if I have my hair tinted
Thanks for all your tips
Manju
Nice to meet you Manju. I loved reading that sage worked for you. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi! Thanks for such detailed information. Knowing what each ingredient does, really helps. Could you please help me with this question: if making the reetha+shikakai+amla shampoo with powders:
(1) Do we pre-soak the mixed powder the previous night?
(2) Do we boil and filter the mixture the next day? Or with powders is it instant mix, no boil method? Thanks in advance.
Hi Shaili, you may soak the powders, but it’s not needed. Although some people find that it helps clean hair better.
And you don’t have to cook the powder. Mix with water and it’s ready to use. Also try adding hibiscus or fenugreek seed powder for conditioning effect.
can use fenugreek seeds and hibiscus together? also while making chickpea shampoo i dont have powdered fenugreek.. can i use fenugreek water there too? .pls reply soon. i really loved the post…eager to try all these soon
Yes and yes to both your question. Let me know how it goes.
Hi I totally loved your posts!! 🤗
Question—can I use fenugreek powder instead of fenugreek seeds and how much? Also is there a limit to how much I should use fenugreek on my hair? Thank you.
Yes, you can. Use the same as seeds. And there’s no limit to how much your can use. See what your hair likes.
Brilliant ones… and the idea of using them instead of shampoo is very good!
I have ditched conditioner all together and use herbal rinses, and I love it! I enjoy a low waste life style and I find that most of my plastic waste comes from all the hair products that my kinky/curly hair required :(. Herbal rinses are great, especially with added honey and apple cider vinegar. The slip that a store bought conditioner adds to hair makes wash day much easier, but I find that the benefits of herbal rinses for your hair’s health and the environment outweigh the cons of not having that slip. My hair loves herbal rinses so I am totally here for it!
I’m gonna try these herbal rinses, since my hair is suffering from hard water and pollution. I need something fresh and natural to relieve its stress
Can i use hibiscus powder instead of dried flowers for the rinse…if yes,how to use it?
hello Minaz mam.I am 28 and suffering from PCOS.Have been doing reeshi shampoo since the past two years.My hairfall has reduced a lot but mam,my front scalp hair baldness is not going,please guide me mam what can i do to make regrowth in my frontline hair bald area.
Hello Shy, I have got great results with garlic hair oil. Also, healthy diet – fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and dals and whole grains are very important for overall health and hair.
Hi Minaz,
I have wavy black thick hair. They were beautiful until I moved to usa, had two kids , underwent hair straightning and hair color. Phew. Now I started having loss of hair. I was losing clumps of hair every time I washed and combed. Had lost all hope of ever feeling that nice smooth hair of my past. But I just stumbled upon your site and tried your miracle hair mask. Man Did it changed anything ? I would say it was that turning point I was waiting for. My hair have been much shinier smooth, full of life after only 5 times of using mask. I’m writing this comment as a gratitude for your selfless guidance and wonderful free of cost recipes for hair. Believe me, there are so many people who might not give you feedback but then again you are appreciated. Thanks Minaz.
PS I am using your reeshi shampoo, which no doubt my mom recommended ages ago and I didn’t listen ????. And miracle mask but am still using store bought conditioner. As my hair are basically rough and dry. But I wanna switch to marshmallow root conditioner. Should I buy powder or chopped root. There are two variations currently on amazon.
Hi Anuza, I so very happy to hear that!! Natural remedies are hair saver. Thank you for your love and support.
For conditioning, I would go for marshmallow root chopped.
Hi Minaz,
I have gone bald almost due to hair thinning and hair loss particularly after my delivery. I was feeling hopeless when I came across your articles. If I do what is shared by you in this article, will I have my hair back?
Thanks
Me again, hi!
I want to experiment making a fenugreek and kalonji rinse/leave-in tonic. Any advice, or should I stay away from the idea?
Thanks ????
Hello KP, do give it a try. First try with just fenugreek then use fenugreek and kalonji both. Let us know how it works for you.
I’ve been playing with using red henna as a hair rinse/ shampoo replacement. I use 2-3 tsp henna, mixed with 1 cup hot water. I let it sit for at least 5 minutes, then after wetting my hair, work 1/2 cup (un-strained) onto my scalp for about a minute. Rinse, then repeat with the second 1/2 cup of liquid. I only do this when my hair feels dirty, so every two or three days, but it really cleans and adds shine, plus new hair growth! You can add honey to the base mixture (like your article mentiones) for added shine if hair is naturally dry. Also, the hair ends may need a drop or two of castor/coconut oil to keep from splitting. And essential oils for smell. My favorite for hair growth has been orange oil, but everyone’s hair is different. I am looking forward to trying some of these hair rinses out! Thank you for the fun article.
Hi Jamie, That’s wonderful to hear. And I am sure your instructions on using henna rinse will help others too. Thanks for sharing!
I love this post! So many great tips im excited to try. What are the instructions on making the Reeta & Shikakai Rinse using only powders?
Thanks Kathy!
The instructions will be same!
Sounds great! I’m ready to read it at any time!
Hi, me again! I love the hibiscus rinse. Would you advise putting a little kalonji and fenugreek in that mixture?
Your information is always fantastic – I have new, strong hair growing in already.
If you think it would be helpful, maybe you could write a post about which herbs/botanicals shouldn’t go together or cancel each other out, etc. I find myself wanting to put so many different ingredients together – how many is too many?
Basically, Minaz, please write a book! We’ll all help you! ????
Hello KP, you can add a little kalonji and fenugreek to hibiscus.
An e-book is underway it’s on homemade shampoos and I will be sending you to review it 🙂
SO glad I found this! But I had a bit of a disaster. I have fragrance allergies so am always looking for DIY ways to save myself. I have dry flaky scalp and dry hair curly too. I steeped water and amla, Reetha, shikakai in 2:1:1 ratio and though my scalp was flake free and non itchy but my hair was like hay 🙁 What did I do wrong? I like my curls but this was not-fun bohemian.
Hi Smita, you put too much amla. You can also add some fenugreek seeds or marshmallow root for extra conditioning.
Thanks! Will tinker. Also I have soaked methi seeds in water and want to use as a leave-in but I applied a teeny weeny bit and it stinks 🙂 Ideas to mask the smell?
Also, somehow I did not get an auto email when you responded, I just happened to back to the site and realized you responded.
Great site, thanks!
Yes it has a pungent smell. You can add some lavender or rose flowers to it.
Or you can use flaxseeds instead of methi seeds.
I want to be able to make this in large batches without freezing, to reduce was times. Are there any natural or other preservatives we can add to increase life of a large batch? Lemon or any other?
My hair is falling out plz help thanks
Hello, just a quick question. When you finally rinse with clean water again after the herbal rinse, won’t that undo the rinse? Or maybe you mean rinse again with the filter jug? I’m afraid that if I rinse my hair again with the shower water which is very hard, I won’t see the benefits of the herbal rinse and I will still have hard water residue in my hair.
That’s a very good question. Rinsing with water won’t undo the rinse, because your hair and scalp absorbs it.
I too have hard water and it works like a charm.
I only recently found this article – not sure if you are still replying to questions… I have blonde hair. Will the hibiscus stain my hair? I am making the ‘dry hair’ rinse now and seeing how red it is, is making me worried it will turn my hair orange!
It will not stain your hair. For future you can use chamomile flower instead of hibiscus, it’s great for blond hair.
Hi Minaz,
First , if you add honey to the herbal rinse , doesn’t it make it sticky?
And, I have dry hair but my scalp is dry-normal, not oily. I have fine, wavy, frizzy hair.
Can you suggest a shampoo can clean my scalp well and keeps flakes at bay and not make it itchy?
I cannot seem to find a good one.
I used an aloe-coconut-honey hair mask last time ,it was time taking and a lot of work. But it did largely reduce the flakes and the itchiness.
Hi, how to make hair rinse with reetha and shikakai powder?
Greetings,
I love your page!!! I will be making herbal rinses to take the place of conditioners. My question is, do I have to rinse it out or can I use it as a leave in?
Hello, I prefer to rinse out, some people like to leave it in. Try both and see what your hair likes.
Hi Minaz, I like your web, really helpfull 🙂 I have question about witch hazel, do you think, that it is worth to add it to a hair care routine? If yes, what is the best way to use it? Or do you think there are better plants to choose? Thank you very much 🙂
Hi Nerti, witch hazel is great for oily hair. You can use it as hair rinse or hair spray.
thank you 🙂
Hello,
I enjoy reading your blog. I wanted to know whether you can you apply an oil treatment to your hair before washing your hair with these hair rinse recipes.
let me know.
Aananthi
Hello Aananthi, yes you can apply oil before using the hair rinse. But it won’t take the oil out, you will have to wash it with an egg shampoo or a store bought shampoo.
Do you think you could use water canning for these recipes so that you could store them in a pantry?
That is unlikely to help Kelly. Water bath canning is a safe way to preserve high acid foods like tomatoes or vinegar pickles. Low acid foods require pressure canning. Your herbal rinses are not acid enough for hot water bath canning.
I use soap on my head, is it good to use soap for washing the hair?
It doesn’t work for my hair, but I know some people use it with success. And they then follow up with hair rinse.
I use homemade soap but my feels kinda dry and frizzy so I use50% apple cider vinegar and water (about 8 ounces) and rinse with cool water
Hi Minaz,
Thank you very much for your fantastic tips and recipes on how to take a good care of the hair. Your website has been a huge inspiration to me! From all of the hair rinses I’ve tried out so far I find tomato juice hair rinse to be one of the BEST. My mom’s liked it very much, too.
I take two or three homegrown ( in our glasshouse) tomatoes, blend them to juice and use a strainer to separate the juice from the seeds and skin. Having kept it 4-5 minutes on the hair and rinsed it out, the hair becomes exceptionally silky and soft to touch and shiny to look at, as if I’ve done the hair oiling. Besides, it truly diminishes some greenish tint on the hair, which usually remains after the use of horsetail oil or hair tea and even some hair dye. Plus, tomato juice rinse gives a beautiful, warm yellowish brownish hue to my dark blond hair. My mom’s fair hair becomes slightly brownish pink, which disappears upon drying.
Thanks for your kind words Rasa. I am so happy to know you find my site inspiring.
And I appreciate you sharing your tomato rinse recipe. I am sure lot of my readers will find it useful. xx
I prepared a henna gloss using a bit of henna, amla and shikakai with oil & water.(it came to about 3 TBSP total)..then added it to about a cup of conditioner. I also prepared a hibiscus-marshmallow root-horsetail-nettle-green tea mix with a few drops of Rosemary and peppermint essential oils. Can I use both in the same wash? If so, what order should I do?
Use henna gloss, shampoo, then herbal rinse.
Can i use HibiscuS tea instead of dried or fresh? I have driy hair thats damaged from bleach and is naturally med thickness and curly.
Yes you can give it a try. And if that feels dry maybe add marshmallow or rosehip to it.
I added10g reetha powder 10g marshmallow powder and 3 cups water – brought to a boil, simmered for 1 hour, cooled and strained
After washing with this my hair and scalp feels and looks slimy – YES – I rinsed
What did I do wrong?
What do I need to change?
You added too much marshmallow.
I have white hair, which I want to keep, and have somewhat hard water. My hair has been getting a greenish tinge to it, which I assume is from the chlorine in the water. Do you have any ideas of the proper herbs, etc. I should be using for either washing or rinsing hair?
Thanks so much!
Hi, I haven’t tried this, but read that tomato juice can help remove greenish tinge.
You can also try apple juice or white wine vinegar.
Let us know what works for you.
Hi I tried geetha shikkai shampoos but my is very dry after using this…actually ny hair is normal neither too dry nor too oily..any other home made shampoo would you guide me
Hi, add methi to the shampoo and use less reetha.
I just wanted to say that I love these recipes , and I am very thankful that you shared them with us. While my hair is still going through the detox, it has not felt this good in years.
Cheers!
I am so happy to hear that. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
I live in an area with fairly hard water. If I rinse my marshmallow root rinse wih water should I add acv to the water?
Yes you could, try both ways and see what you like.
You can use 1st one as shampoo and marshmallow rinse as conditioner. I would suggest you wash and condition every alternate day as it better for your hair and scalp.
I am just starting to use natural shampoos and conditioners and so far the ones I have found have left my hair feeling rough and though it doesn’t look dry it feels dry. I have naturally curly hair and when I wear it natural which is most of the time I have dry, frizzy, easily tangle hair which is why I like to condition it every day; however at the times when I occasionally straighten my hair it doesn’t have that frizz or dryness to it and feels healthy which is why I still like to add the shampoo to my every day routine. So to keep to my daily routine of shampooing and conditioning can I use the 1st one as a regular shampoo and any of the others as a conditioner rinse daily. Or would the 1st one act like the Wen hair product that washed and conditioned which is what I was using but the FDA issued a safety alert on it last month and that is why I stopped using it.
Can you use organic powders instead of seed and leaves? And do you need to boil the mixture?
If you areceived using the powders instead of the seeds and leaves, will it habe the same benifit as the whole leaves and seeds? And do u need to boil with using the powders?
Yes and Yes 🙂
Hi dear. Will it be OK if I do not wash off the rinse from hair and leave it to dry. Can it cause any harm?
Hi Pragya, It shouldn’t harm. But try both ways – leave-in and wash out. See what works best for your hair.
how much of the rinse do you use each time, the whole batch?
No, just use enough to soak your hair and save the remaining for later use.
instead of lemon we can use orange and bergamot rinds to get rid of dry scalp.i have white hair i want to darken my hair and my dry scalp.please suggest me solution .
use amla that will help darken your hair.
For dry scalp try licorice.
can u please tell me the recipe which contains licorice and amla
What is your hair colour?
instead of lemon we can use orange,bergamot they also from citrus family. so they have power to avoid dry scalp because u mentioned that frequent use of lemon makes hair lighten.
I’m not sure I did this correctly..after boiling the mixture and straining, do you use the water part as the rinse or are you using the residue left behind?
Use the water part.
I color my hair since it’s mostly grey. The women in my family go grey very young. Would I still be able to color my hair and use these recipes? I’m only 35 and don’t want to go around with grey hair.
What is your hair colour?
I was thinking can you use spearmint instead of mint in the hair rinse? Do you know if it will give the same results as using mint? I have been using recently hibiscus flowers and tomato hair rinse and I’ve started to get dandruff. I was just wondering if the spearmint will help prevent it. I have never gotten dandruff before till have started using this new rinse. Before I was using a combination of hibiscus flowers, lemon rinds, and a bit of honey, since I have damaged hair. The rinse made my ends of my hair stiff and dry. Which made me change in ingredients in my hair rinse.
Yvonne, looks like your hair and scalp needs moisturising.
Hibiscus and tomato combination is very acidic and therefore drying your scalp and causing dandruff.
Use herbs such as marshmallow root, licorice root, elderflower – these will help with scalp dryness as well as condition your hair. (Marshmallow and horsetail combination is really good.)
This looks interesting.. You have mentioned that these rinse should be used instead of shampoo.. But will it remove extra oil from our hair and scalp? I apply coconut oil before washing my hair.. I have very dry hair so skipping oil can be risk I think. Can I use it after shampoo?
Hello Tejashri, these are conditioning hair rinses, use after shampoo – except the first one, which you can use as a shampoo, but it won’t remove oil from your hair.
Ok.. Thank you so much.. I am going to try it ASAP!! I have lost my hair and was looking for some natural ways to get them back.. Your blog gave me some hope.. Thanks for such a wonderful blog 🙂
I looked at the shikakai pods and dried pieces of amla on Amazon, as you suggested above in your recipe, but wasn’t able to find any. I already have them in powdered form and would now like to experiment with the whole ones, any suggestions from where I could order them?
Anita, where do you live?
Finland
I have lighter hair colour ,can i use fenugreek n mint rinse as it contains lemon juice ?
N how can i darken my hair colour naturally (to jet black).?
Is it a must to oil hair before hair wash .i mean can i skip oiling hair n just wash with the herbal rinses.?
N can these rinses alond remove oil..?
Swetha, You do not have to oil your hair before shampoo, but a nice massage or combing would be beneficial as suggested here
If you want to darken your hair use reetha-shikakai rinse.
And hair rinse will not remove oil from your hair, but this homemade shampoo will
Hi minhaj ,
I oil my hair before hairwash ,in tat case can i use these herbal rinses alone instead the shampoo ?
Hello Swetha, Yes you can use.
I’ve been thinking of rinsing my hair with citric acid as a natural conditioner and also because I have hard water. I’ve been rinsing my hair with lemon juice (dliuted with water) and it has made my hair so soft and manageable. Do you think that due to the ph of the citric acid that it my damage my hair?
Hello Naz, Lemon contains high amount of citric acid, so why should you go for commercially derived citric acid. You can alternate between orange and lemon juice. Also try shikakai and honey rinse, works great in hard water.
Using citric acid seems easier because squeezing lemons every time I wash my hair is quite arduous. I also found that buying citric acid is cheaper than buying lemons because you can buy 200 g of citric acid for about £2 online and there is a lot more lemon juice in a teaspoon of citric acid so you would need less citric acid for each wash.
Thanks for the advice and I will try the shikakai and honey rinse.
Most of the citric acid that is produced at the industrial level comes from black mold which are fed on sugar. I would rather squeeze the lemon 🙂
Since hibiscus gives red hues.. and lemon lightens hair.. would it defeat the purpose if I used them in the same hair rinse? Or would it give me both benefits?
Kaia, you can use them together.
And do share your experience.
Love, love, love these recipes! I shall have to try them at once 🙂 I’m especially intrigued by the hibiscus rinse since I henna my hair with just pure henna, so I won’t mind the red tint. I’m thinking calendula flowers could also make a nice rinse, they’re also supposed to work wonders for dry hair. Do you know if making a rinse with citrus peels will dry out hair as citrus juice does? Or is it just the oils that come into the rinse by infusion?
My mother-in-law used to have thick, black hair down past her hips and my husband told me she used to regularly use a pack/rinse of reetha, shikakai and amla to maintain it. Natural hair care definately works! Love your blog, lots of good recipes and advice – thank you and keep up the good work 😀
Hi Eva, glad you liked the hair rinse recipes.
My mom too uses reetha-shikakai shampooand she has inspired me to go natural.
Calendula is excellent for dry hair, plus very soothing for the scalp. You can also add some citrus peels to it, use orange, mandarine, or grapefruit, but no lime or lemon as they will dry out hair.
Also try shikakai powder and honey rinse.
Let me know if you have any more question..
Cheers, Minaz
Hello. Thank you for taking the time to post all of this wonderful information. How much water would I use for these rinses? Also, after I soak, am I cooking with the same water?
Hi Michele, I have written in each recipe, 1-2cups. Yes you cook in the same water.
Hope you like them 🙂
Thank you. One more quick question when you have a moment. Would white hibiscus flowers work so that I can avoid the red hue.
I am not sure, but I don’t see any harm in trying once.