I’ve waxed poetically on the perks of Shikakai on and off for a good 5 years. When I had to repair/revive my hair up in the Headlands this was the path, full of masques and bhringraj and oils- I deep dove it hard and got amazing results.

fastforward to 2023.

I’ve low-key been on a regimen all year (that I’ll get into here in the near future, Globalboho beauty blitz -wise) and this summer entailed a return to shikakai as a tea, not a masque.

it’s been life-affirming.

To see my hair after using the tea, to feel its buoyancy and body when only using this is like …totally next level.

what many do not realize on either side of the color spectrum is that shampoos that get your hair “squeaky clean” actually are setting you up for your scalp to always be distressed. You’re not supposed to be overly dry Or oily. & if you’re oily a day after you’ve washed your hair it is more likely due to your scalp being overwhelmed by the stripping process of shampooing your hair.

What shikakai- when used correctly- tends to bring to the field is balance. Your scalp exhales without mint oil (or worse, fragrance) being put into the chemical onslaught of store bought shampoo to make you Feel like it’s free and clear. Sebum lroduction mellows out… it’s like a tonic.

On dry hair, as long as you prepoo it with a nice oil treatment it tonifies too, just in the opposite direction somehow.

…why? Perhaps because it’s technically a fruit that grows on trees and to some we’re little more than mirrors of tree physiology anyway( root systems, veins, hair, leaves).

The masque is necessary In my opinion when you’re trying to heal your hair and scalp. There’s something in the ritual of it that has made alot of chicks I’ve nudged down this path heal in ways that boggle their minds.

It truly is like your hair & scalp sighs with relief, like your system senses something special is afoot, esoterically.

…but the tea?

you’re not drinking the tea, btw.

you’re steeping the powder into a tea and washing your hair with it.

sheesh.

This is how you return to source.

more later.