Jyoti's Blog (6)

Until a few years back, when shops were not packed with fancy haircare products, most Indian homes were filled with the fragrance of a black concoction every morning. This was when reetha (soapnut), soaked overnight, was blended with shikakai powder to make a 100% natural shampoo and body wash. Reetha and Shikakai contain all the required goodness for healthy lust… Continue

I think I have solved the mystery of why I got 'blonde roots' after submitting my tresses to the hair conditioning treatment Cassia obovata. My research has unearthed some interesting facts about it that I would like to share with everyone. Cassia is the dried powdered leaf of the 'senna italica' plant and is currently used in medicine as a laxative.It was traditionally grown along the river Nile but is now found in many regions… Continue

REETHA, the Soap nut tree, grows abundantly in India. Its fruit has been used for cleaning hair, body and clothes since ancient times. Soap nuts are 100% natural and contain no chemical additives, making them a great choice for anyone with sensitive skin. They work like soap because their shell contains a substance called "saponin" which is released when it comes in contact with warm water. The inner seed is hard and black and contains no saponin. Reetha or soap nuts can be used whole or in pow… Continue

I grew up in India surrounded by Amla trees and loved eating the astringent sour juicy fruit plucked from the tree. I knew the fruit was used in ayurvedic tonics but did not realise it had so many wonderful properties or I would have treated it with more reverence! Amla or Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis) is the fruit of a deciduous tree found mainly in India. It is small and greenish-yellow with vertical stripes and resembles gooseberry (hence the name). When I started researching it, I… Continue

These are some interesting details I have found out about essential oils. Please add to the information so we know more and more about them. An essential oil is a concentrated liquid containing aroma compounds from plants. Oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Essential oils do not as groups need to have any specific chemical properties in common, beyond conveying common characteris… Continue

By nature, I am always curious to find out the origin and composition of things. I thought it might be interesting to share my fact-finding mission with all. Shea butter is a slightly yellowish or ivory-colored natural fat extracted from the fruit of the shea tree by crushing and boiling. The shea or karite tree, formerly Butyrospermum paradoxum, is now called Vitellaria paradoxa. It produces its first fruit (which resemble large plums) w… Continue