Hey ladies, I’m finally back. Sorry for the absence, life’s been busy. I have a couple new hair affairs, and they aren’t what you’d think……amla and Vatika Oil. Amla, also known as Indian Gooseberry, is a traditional ayurvedic herb. I won’t even begin to pretend to understand the entire ayurvedic principle, and how it plays into hair care. What I will say, however, is that my hair loves it. Vatika Oil is coconut oil enriched with various ayurvedic herbs including, henna, brahmi, amla, neem, and lemon. On to the actual review….
Before I henna’d my hair, I did a lot of research. Henna can loosen curl and wave, because of how it actually interacts with your hair. Henna binds to the protein in your hair, which in turn makes your individual hair strands stronger, but also heavier. The extra weight, although it may be a tiny difference can loosen your curl. I went ahead and took the plunge with henna because frankly I wasn’t too concerned about my curls being loosened. Fortunately, I didn’t have any problems with henna and my curls. However, while researching henna I came across Amla. Amla can counteract the curl loosening effect of henna.
So, of course I decided to order some, and see if I noticed any difference in my hair. Last week, my roots were looking horrendous, so I pulled out a package of my frozen henna paste, and proceeded to thaw it. Once it was completely thawed I added about 25 grams of amla to it, and applied the mixture. I left it in for the same amount of time as always, around an hour. All I can say for the results is WOW! My hair is curlier than it’s ever been, and the only thing I did different was add amla to my henna. My hair went from a mix of 2b, 3a, and 3b to all 3a and 3b. I have curls where I barely had waves before. Most of my less curly areas were from damage, so I figured I’d just have to grow them out, but amla seems to have rid me of that dilemma. I honestly couldn’t believe that some dried out, ground up plant could make my hair react this way. I L-O-V-E it!
Oh Vatika Oil, let me count the ways I love you. Vatika Oil claims to have numerous benefits, including; strengthening your hair, giving it shine, making hair thicker, and even dandruff control. The brand I’ve been using is Dabur, which is reasonably readily available. I decided to give this a try, as I know my hair likes oil, but it can be picky about how I use them. When I use plain coconut oil to scrunch out the crunch, after my hair dries, I sometimes get noticeable surface frizz. Every curly girl knows that frizz is the enemy. I also wanted to try it for its purported benefits. I’ve been using it now for about a week and a half, and honestly I have noticed a difference in my hair. It seems better moisturized, and when I use Vatika Oil to scrunch out the crunch, I don’t get frizz. The smell of Dabur Vatika Oil is lemony, but not overpowering, and it doesn’t seem to linger. I’ll continue using it and let you know if anything changes.
