Shikakai literally translates to hair fruit and has been used as a natural shampoo for a long time. The fruit pods are dried and ground into a powder. This powder can be mixed with water and can be applied directly on hair. However this does not produce enough lather as a typical shampoo. However, poochakai or soap nut, another forest produce, gives the lathering property.
At Aadhimalai, the indigenous community collects shikakai from the forests. These are brought to our centres. We powder the shikakai and mix it with poochakai or soap nut. Soap nut is powdered and mixed with Shikakai to come up with multiple products.
The products include Ordinary Shikakai Powder, Shikakai with Vetiver, Shikakai with Hibiscus and Shikakai with Amla Powder.