Kerala women are known for their long hair. We use coconut oil boiled and cooled with various natural ingredients like pepper, curry leaf, tulasi, dried gooseberry, rice and some even add shallots.
But once you do your Champi with this oil, do you still use chemicals to wash it off?
My grandmother was known for her long hair. Before she shifted back to India after Partition, she was known as the 'gol gol baal wali ladki' in Karachi. Her hair used to be so long that she had to pin her plaits with her saree pallu while serving food!
I present to you all her shampoo recipe - a natural shampoo made with Shikkakai, methi seeds and Hibiscus leaves.
I do not know how many of you can make this shampoo given that these ingredients are very local. But I still share it here for those who can.
For 1 person with shoulder length hair.
Soak 6 pods of shikkakkai (Acacia concinna) with 1 tsp methi seeds in water overnight.
In the morning, collect about 10 to 15 hibiscus leaves and maybe a flower or two (preferably from the indigenous red colour chembaruthy plant).
Grind the shikkakkai + methi first.
Then add the leaves and flower and grind well.
Resulting mixture will be gooey and it froths well.
Things to remember:
1. This 'shampoo' needs loads of water to wash off the leaves from hair.
Remember that these ladies of yore took bath in ponds / rivers. It was easy for them to wash it off. You can always shake it out of your hair, once your hair dries.
2. If you wish you can add Besan / kadala maav 2-3 tsp to the gooey paste, but this will make your hair very dry.
3. Use this 'shampoo' minimum 2 times on your hair during the bath and froth well to remove all the oil. Your triceps / biceps will have a thorough workout for sure, but it is worth the effort.
4. Close your eyes tightly, as shikkakkai stings the eye.
