amla for hair and skin care

hi anyone who is reading....
i promised to talk about amla the next time i wrote so i will.
amla is an astringent fruit that grows in india. in the auryvedic writings the tree is known as mother nature and the fruit and the bark can be used for curing many things as well as for skin and hair care.
the fruit is small and green and is known in english as the indian gooseberry.
it has 2 times more vitamin c than an orange and is super high in antioxidants.

to use it on for cleaning and conditioning your hair i take one tablespoon full and add put it in a glass bowl and add hot water to make a thin paste. let this paste sit for at least 15 minutes - then spread it gently on damp hair. do not rub!!!
if you are just washing your hair you can rinse it out immediately - your hair will be clean - or you can leave it on (put on a plastic cap) for as long as you like - up to several hours - just make sure it doesn't dry or it is hard to wash out.
this will make your hair fluffy and very clean.

sometimes i just make a tea rinse with it. take a heaping tablespoon and stir it into some very hot water and mix well. let it sit for a few minutes and then pour this into a bottle (gatorade bottles work well for me) and top it off with warm water. then wet your hair and pour all of this on your hair concentrating on making sure the scalp gets some. i then run my fingers through my hair and wait a minute and rinse it out. this leaves your hair smelling clean and is good to do when water only is not getting it clean enough - but you don't want to strip your hair of natural oils.

my favorite use of amla powder is to mix it with hot water and smear it on my face. then i wait for it to dry and scrub it off!!! this makes your face very clean and actually takes off the top layer of skin - it is a mild peel - and also it makes your skin tight and it just looks and feels younger.

if you don't have time for this you can put a little of the powder in your hand and mix a little water with it and use this for a natural scrub.

you can get amla powder at indian grocery stores. the hesh brand is the best.