Every herb, and why
it is in the bottle

1. 01

   Amla

   Amla, the Indian gooseberry, is a sour green fruit that has been used in South Asian hair care for centuries, usually dried and steeped in oil rather than used fresh. It is the ingredient most people here recognise on sight, and the one most associated with strength and shine in household recipes. In Pakistani kitchens it turns up in three forms: fresh in winter when the fruit is in season, dried in pieces for steeping, and powdered for pastes mixed with water or yoghurt. In our oil it is steeped, which is the slow way and the traditional one. What it is not is a medicine. Families have used it for a long time and passed on how, and that is the honest reason it leads our list rather than any claim about what it will do.

   In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

2. 02

   Reetha

   Reetha, the soapnut, is a nut whose shell is naturally rich in saponins, which is a fancy way of saying it lathers in water. Before shampoo was sold in bottles, this is what people washed their hair with: the shells were boiled, sometimes overnight, and the liquid strained and used as a wash. It is the reason ours cleans without any added sulphate. The trade-off is honest to state. A reetha lather is softer and lower than the foam a sulphate shampoo makes, so heavily oiled hair often wants a second wash, and the first time you use it the smaller foam feels like nothing is happening. It is.

   In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

3. 03

   Shikakai

   Shikakai, whose name translates roughly as fruit for the hair, is the pod of a climbing tree, dried and ground. It has been paired with reetha for as long as either has been used, because it cleans more gently and is mildly acidic, so it does not leave hair squeaking and tangled the way a harsh detergent does. That pairing is the oldest wash in the region: reetha for the lather, shikakai to keep it kind. Traditionally the two were boiled together with amla and the liquid used the same day. Ours are blended into the shampoo instead, which keeps rather longer than a pot on the stove.

   In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

4. 04

   Rosemary

   Rosemary is a woody Mediterranean herb that has found its way into hair preparations across a lot of cultures, ours included, and it is a comparatively recent arrival in South Asian recipes rather than a traditional one. It carries most of the fresh, green note you smell when you open the bottle, and it is the main thing standing between an onion-and-neem blend and a scent nobody wants near their pillow. It is used as the dried herb, steeped with the rest. We have kept it in for the smell, and we would rather say that plainly than dress it up as something it is not.

   In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

5. 05

   Balchar

   Balchar (jatamansi, spikenard). The root of a Himalayan plant, used in Unani and Ayurvedic preparations for a very long time. It has a deep earthy smell and is a traditional hair oil ingredient rather than a modern one.

   In the Herbal Hair Oil

6. 06

   Ratanjot

   Ratanjot (alkanet root). A root that releases a deep red colour into oil. It is a traditional part of herbal hair oils across the subcontinent, and it is why the oil has the shade it does rather than being dyed.

   In the Herbal Hair Oil

7. 07

   Harar

   Harar (haritaki, Terminalia chebula). One of the three fruits in triphala, and astringent in character. It appears in a great many traditional hair and scalp preparations, which is why it is here.

   In the Herbal Hair Oil

8. 08

   Bhring raj

   Bhring raj (Eclipta alba). If you asked someone to name one herb for hair, in a lot of the subcontinent this would be it. It has been the backbone of herbal hair oils for generations and is rarely left out of a serious blend.

   In the Herbal Hair Oil

9. 09

   Amaltas

   Amaltas (Cassia fistula, golden shower). The pods of a tree you see flowering yellow across Pakistan in early summer. It has a long history in traditional preparations, and it is included here for that reason rather than a modern one.

   In the Herbal Hair Oil

10. 10

    Methi

    Methi, fenugreek, is the seed you soak. Left in water for a few hours it releases a mucilage that coats the hair, and that slipperiness is the point: it is a conditioner that comes out of a seed rather than a factory. In Pakistani homes the soaked seeds are often ground into a paste with yoghurt and left on for half an hour before a wash. It has a distinct smell, closer to maple than to perfume, which some people like and some do not; in a blend it sits well behind the other herbs. We use it for the slip rather than for any claim about what it does to hair.

    In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

11. 11

    Kalongi

    Kalongi (black seed, Nigella sativa). A small black seed with a long place in Unani and prophetic medicine, used both in food and on the skin and scalp. Familiar to most Pakistani households from the kitchen shelf.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

12. 12

    Clove

    Clove. A strong aromatic spice, used sparingly. It contributes to the warmth in the scent and has a traditional role in scalp preparations.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

13. 13

    Onion

    Onion has become the most talked about hair oil ingredient of the last few years, and it was in traditional preparations long before it was fashionable. It is naturally high in sulphur. It also explains why a herbal oil does not smell like perfume: onion is the note most people notice first, and it fades from the hair after washing rather than lingering. In household recipes the juice was used fresh and applied directly, which is effective at smelling of onion for a day. Steeped into an oil alongside rosemary and clove, as ours is, it is far easier to live with, and the scent settles within an hour.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

14. 14

    Hibiscus

    Hibiscus. The flower and leaf both release a mucilage similar to fenugreek, which is why hibiscus turns up in so many home hair recipes. It is a conditioner and, in the oil, part of the colour.

    In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

15. 15

    Flax seed

    Flax seed. Best known as a food, and used here for the same slippery gel that makes it useful in the kitchen. It coats the strand and helps hair sit flatter.

    In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

16. 16

    Aloe vera

    Aloe vera. The gel from inside the leaf, used on skin and scalp for about as long as anyone has written things down. It is the calming part of the blend.

    In the Herbal Shampoo

17. 17

    Curry leaves

    Curry leaves. Fried into oil, curry leaves are one of the oldest hair remedies in South India, and the practice travelled. They give the oil a distinct green, savoury note.

    In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

18. 18

    Neem leaves

    Neem leaves. Neem needs no introduction in Pakistan. Bitter, cleansing in character, and used on skin and scalp for generations. It is here for the scalp rather than the length.

    In the Herbal Shampoo and the Herbal Hair Oil

19. 19

    Guava leaves

    Guava leaves. Boiled guava leaves are a home remedy a lot of people will remember from a grandmother. It is a modest ingredient and we are not going to claim otherwise, but it belongs in a blend built from what people here actually used.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

20. 20

    Sidr leaves

    Sidr leaves (ber, Ziziphus). Powdered sidr has been used to wash hair across the Arab world and South Asia for centuries, and holds a particular place in Islamic tradition. Like reetha, it cleans on its own.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

21. 21

    Moringa leaves

    Moringa leaves (sohanjna). Moringa grows readily in Pakistan and its leaves are unusually rich in nutrients, which is why it turns up in everything from food to skin preparations.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

22. 22

    Ginger

    Ginger. Sharp and warming. It is a long standing scalp ingredient in traditional preparations and adds to the warmth of the finished smell.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

23. 23

    Cinnamon

    Cinnamon bark, used in small amounts. Warming in character and one of the reasons the oil smells like a kitchen rather than a chemist.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

24. 24

    Bay leaves

    Bay leaves (tezpatta). Bay leaf, included the way the old recipes include it. Its contribution is aromatic, and it rounds out the blend.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

25. 25

    Peppermint

    Peppermint leaves the scalp feeling cool as the oil is worked in, and it gives the blend a fresher, cleaner smell alongside the warmer spices. It has long been used in hair and scalp preparations for exactly that feeling.

    In the Herbal Hair Oil

26. 26

    Rice

    Rice. The water left from washing or soaking rice has been used on hair across Asia for a very long time, most famously in Japan and China. It is a starch, and it leaves hair feeling smoother.

    In the Herbal Shampoo

27. 27

    Oat

    Oats are used on skin for their softening, soothing character, and the same reasoning applies to a scalp that is dry or irritated.

    In the Herbal Shampoo

Everything above describes how these herbs have traditionally been used in hair care. None of it is medical advice, and none of our products is a treatment for any medical condition.