Indian hair products.

[UmSumayyah]

I recently went back to the regular use of Dabur Amla and Dabur Vatika on my daughter's hair (3b natural), and am VERY pleased. I wash her hair 3 times a week. 1x I oil her hair up with the amla and clip it up, and let it sit for a few hours. Then I shampoo it out and condition with VO5. I put in the Vatika as a leave in.
2nd time, I condition wash with VO5 and again use the Vatika.
For the third wash, I condition wash with Aussie 3 minute miracle, and use ORS carrot oil cream as a leave-in. All the oils make her hair incredibly soft and shiny, I noticed after the first use. There is an article in the 99cent CVS beauty magazine that talks about coconut oil and neem oil as used on Indian women's hair. Vatika has both of these plus a few other ingredients.
The article also mentioned indian women using buttermilk as a clarifier, pouring it on and letting it sit for a few minutes to dissolve build up.

 

[SVT]

I use the Vatika also. I apply it along with my conditioner then rinse out. It helps to detangle and make my hair softer.

I have the Amla oil but it smells too much like Bergamot grease for me to use it regularly so instead I mix it into my amla powder concoction. I think it's going to be a while before I finish off that bottle of Amla oil.

 

[inthepink]

Where do you buy Indian Hair Products?

 

[sassygirl125]

I found an Indian grocery while searching for a Spanish store. I looked in the yellow pages under "grocery stores" and looked for foreign sounding names.

Before I found the store, I ordered from qualityspices.com, ishopindian.com, kalustyans.com and indousplaza.com.

So far my favorites are Dabur Vatika, Dabur Lite Amla, Dabur Special Hair Oil, and Badyanath Mahabhringraj Hair Oil. The Keshamrut I got off ebay is nice, but the bottle is sooooo tiny. Only 50 ml!

ETA:
I know the Vatika shampoos have every "bad" ingredient under the sun, but I like them for clarifying.

So far I have tried the Henna Cream Poo, the Dandruff poo and the one made especially for dry hair.

 

[Erica78]

I'm lovin Dabur's products...and Indian oils all together.

They are the only kind of oils that I have been using in my hair for the past 3 months. I love Dabur's Anmol coconut oil...Vatika and Parachute coconut oil.

ishopindian.com is great. They ship fast...and they keep you informed about your order. I had a problem when I ordered from qualityspices.com. indiaplaza was good too...but they charge too much for their Vatika.

Sassy, thanks for sharing the kalustyans.com link. I have never heard of them before.

 

[inthepink]

Thanks for the links.

 

[SVT]

I buy mine at Indian grocers. I looked at a vendor site a while back and went into sticker shock at their prices. They listed $12 for Amla powder and my grocer sold the same brand and size for $1.99!

Definitley shop around for the best prices! If you are lucky enough to have a grocer in your area, be sure to check the mfg dates on the products. You don't want to buy a product that is more than 3 years past the manufactured date.

 

[sassygirl125]

[ QUOTE ]
SVT said:
went into sticker shock at their prices.

[/ QUOTE ]

Same here!

I was paying $4.99 +shipping online for 150 ml-200 ml of Vatika Hair Oil. My store sells 300 ml for $3.99.

 

[JenJen2721]

[ QUOTE ]
I found an Indian grocery while searching for a Spanish store. I looked in the yellow pages under "grocery stores" and looked for foreign sounding names.

Before I found the store, I ordered from qualityspices.com, ishopindian.com, kalustyans.com and indousplaza.com.

So far my favorites are Dabur Vatika, Dabur Lite Amla, Dabur Special Hair Oil, and Badyanath Mahabhringraj Hair Oil. The Keshamrut I got off ebay is nice, but the bottle is sooooo tiny. Only 50 ml!


[/ QUOTE ]

I saw the Amla oil on ishopindian.com for $2.99. What benefits do you get from using indian oils, Sassy?

 

[Armyqt]

I use the AMla and Vatika oil and I love them both. I gotta start using them on my daughter's hair too./ BTW, I always leave mine in until I wash again.

 

[sassygirl125]

All the other oils and butters I tried for pre-poo treatments left my hair tangled and kind of hard.

Mixing them with conditioner helped, though. The indian oils just leave my hair feeling softer. I usually wear one of them overnight 1x-2x per week. I'm loving Vatika mixed with a little bhringraj!

 

[CrownnGlori]

I am very pleased with the Amla and the Jasmine oil.
I leave the amla on for a pre-wash treatment about "thrice" a week. $3.99
The Jasmine has a divine scent. $2.99

 

[SVT]

[ QUOTE ]
sassygirl125 said:
All the other oils and butters I tried for pre-poo treatments left my hair tangled and kind of hard.

Mixing them with conditioner helped, though. The indian oils just leave my hair feeling softer. I usually wear one of them overnight 1x-2x per week. I'm loving Vatika mixed with a little bhringraj!

[/ QUOTE ]

Oooooo, imma have to try some of that bhringraj!

 

[inthepink]

Can someone list explicit directions on how they use the oil? My interest is definitely piqued!

 

[sassygirl125]

I got this from dabur.com. I do the same with all my oils.

[ QUOTE ]
Take 8-10 ml of oil, depending upon hair length and volume. Apply and massage gently using both the palms and fingers.
Take another 2-3 ml of oil if required. Also apply the oil into the scalp and massage gently using your fingers. The application can continue for 5-7 minutes.
Preferably apply the oil in the night and keep the oil on the hair overnight. In the morning wash the hair with shampoo.
However, if you don't feel comfortable with oily hair, wash the hair after 30-40 minutes.
Apply 2-3 times in a week.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[SVT]

[ QUOTE ]
hairlove said:
Can someone list explicit directions on how they use the oil? My interest is definitely piqued!

[/ QUOTE ]

I mainly use my Vatika oil in the mornings. I rinse my hair really good or do a conditioner wash then apply a mix of conditioner and vatika to my hair. I pay special attention to my ends. I let that sit on my hair and scalp while I finish bathing/showering then I rinse the mix off. I apply my regular leave-in then continue my routine as usual.

HTH!

 

[inthepink]

Thanks for the directions. I may buy some in the future!

 

[UmSumayyah]

Wow. I didn't know so many other members were using these products. I forgot to mention I also like the Vatika on myself as a post-poo hot oil. I have to try some of these other oils you guys are talking about.

 

[sassygirl125]

[ QUOTE ]
Oooooo, imma have to try some of that bhringraj!

[/ QUOTE ]

Sterry is the first person I "knew" who used it. She raved about it in this thread . I had seen it in the store, but never tried it because I had never heard of it before.

 

[UmSumayyah]

I feel myself about to turn into an oils/butters pj...

 

[Erica78]

For those of you using the Vatika...did you have a change in hair color? The henna in the Vatika actually lightned my hair. Some other people that I talked that were using it everyday to every other day had no change in hair color. I switched from using it every day...to a few times a week because of this. I still love it though.

 

[silvergirl]

very cool , ill have to try some, are there any oils that you can use after a wash as a leave -in?

 

[SVT]

[ QUOTE ]
silvergirl said:
very cool , ill have to try some, are there any oils that you can use after a wash as a leave -in?

[/ QUOTE ]

You can use any oil as a leave-in. The amount you leave in might depend on the smell and weight of the oil though.

 

[SVT]

[ QUOTE ]
erica78 said:
For those of you using the Vatika...did you have a change in hair color? The henna in the Vatika actually lightned my hair. Some other people that I talked that were using it everyday to every other day had no change in hair color. I switched from using it every day...to a few times a week because of this. I still love it though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't notice a color change with my Vatika.

 

[SVT]

[ QUOTE ]
UmSumayyah said:
I feel myself about to turn into an oils/butters pj...

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[SVT]

[ QUOTE ]
sassygirl125 said:
[ QUOTE ]
Oooooo, imma have to try some of that bhringraj!

[/ QUOTE ]

Sterry is the first person I "knew" who used it. She raved about it in this thread . I had seen it in the store, but never tried it because I had never heard of it before.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmm. Sterry is using Mahabhringraj vs. the bhringraj I was thinking of. I bet the Maha is a suped up version of bhringraj just like Vatika is a suped up version of coconut oil.

I'll check up on them at the Indian grocer. Thanks, Sassy!

 

[sassygirl125]

You're right. The maha--- has sesame oil or wheat germ oil in it IIRC... Now I want to compare it to the bhringraj.

 

[JenJen2721]

Ok, I went to the Indian grocer yesterday and picked up some Dabur Vatika Oil and some Dabur Amla. I've got some reading to do so I can figure out the best way to use them!

However, I am concerned that the Vatika oil contains Henna. Isn't Henna bad for relaxed hair?

Also, the Amla oil had some powdery stuff around the top. Is this normal?

 

[Erica78]

Jen,

I have relaxed hair and use vatika a lot. It didn't damage my hair...it only made it stronger. When I used it daily as a leave in...it lightened my hair color by about 2 shades. I think the relaxer might have had something to do with it. When I first started using it...I was 2 months post relaxer. I talked to other people who use it (mostly Indian), and none had any hair lighting effects. I dunno...maybe my hair is just weird.

 

[UmSumayyah]

Jenjen, I have bought a few bottles of amla and never noticed any powder floating on top.
I use Vatika now and again as a post poo hot oil, I noticed the Henna too. But, its not like you are putting straight henna paste on your hair. Its mostly coconut oil, not to mention neem, milk, lemon, and a bunch of other stuff.