Does Reetha Make Hair Dry?

Reetha is the fruit of the Sapindus mukorossi, native to China but now mainly cultivated in Northern India and Nepal. Reetha is an Hindi word, in English Reetha is referred to as soap nuts or soapberry.

Why do we use Reetha for hair wash? Because it is one of the few natural ingredients containing saponins, which has anti inflammatory and anti bacterial properties, meaning it cleans hair, and gets rid of dandruff and lice.

But does reetha make hair dry? We will discover it in further details.

Reetha does not dry hair as much as commercial shampoo does. In general, when you wash hair with reetha you will notice it is more moisturised and shiny. However, reetha is a cleaning agent so, if you use it too frequently or in too high amounts, it can make hair dry.

You should also respect the quantities we indicated in our reetha shampoo recipe. If you make a too strong version of reetha shampoo, it will be aggressive and cause your hair to dry.

There are specific steps to take in order to use reetha for dry hair. Let's see which ones.

If you have dry hair, you should mix equal amounts of reetha, amla and shikakai to make your homemade shampoo. You should also add a teaspoon of coconut oil, and a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds to the mix.

It is recommended you do not use reetha (or any other shampoo for that matter) every day if your hair is dry. Fenugreek, amla, shikakai and coconut oil will give your dry hair a much needed moisture, naturally! If your hair is particularly dry, do not use reetha in combination with fuller's earth.

So, does reetha make hair dry? Nope!

Reetha does not remove oil from hair. Quite the opposite: reetha is one of the few cleaning agents the disinfects the hair while allowing it to retain its natural oils without adding oily deposits, making it clean and shiny.

Reetha does not cause hair fall. Reetha is actually used to promote hair growth, together with amla.

Dandruff is one of the causes of hair fall, and reetha is very powerful in controlling dandruff.

So, does reetha make hair dry, does reetha remove oil from hair, and does reetha cause hair fall, are all myths to be debunked.

Reetha does not make hair white, it actually prevents and stops the appearance of grey and white hair. However, some people notice reetha has a very slight clarifying effect, probably due to the shine it adds to the hair. You can avoid the clarifying effect altogether by mixing reetha with amla and cassia.

In Ayurveda, reetha is used in combination with mehndi, amla and shikakai to make a paste against the appearance of grey hair.

Now, let's see what else you can do with reetha.

Ayurveda medicine envisages the oral use of small amounts of reetha fruit because it is believed to balance all 3 Doshas. However, the straight answer to the question can we eat reetha is no, because you cannot just eat it. You should get guidance from an Ayurveda doctor and be recommended a medicine blend containing reetha. Reetha is not food.

Apart from dry hair, there is another important use of reetha, let's see which one.

You can absolutely use reetha on face. In fact, you can make a reetha liquid and wash your face with it as it will make your skin smooth and moisturised. Reetha is believed to be indicated for people with skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis.

So, yes, go ahead and use reetha on face!

Now that we debunked certain myths such as does reetha make hair dry or does reetha cause hair fall, we might ask ourselves: does reetha have any disadvantages: Yes, like any other product. Let's see which ones.

Reetha disadvantages are:

• reetha shampoo has a short shelf life. It keeps well for about a week, so we recommend making big amounts and freezing it.
• reetha liquid stings quite strongly if it comes into contact with the eyes
• the preparation time of reetha shampoo is quite long (overnight soaking and then half an hour boiling)

All in all, we think the benefits of reetha for hair and skin outnumber the disadvantages. Now that you know reetha does not make hair dry, you have no excuse for not using it!

If you want to read similar articles to Does Reetha Make Hair Dry?, we recommend you visit our Beauty & Personal Care category.