My Home made Amla oil

In November of 2014 while I was just taking a stroll with a friend I stopped by a cosmetic store that had some hair conditioners and detanglers as well. I bought a detangler and as I turned to leave a small pack with a the picture of a woman with long hair caught my attention. The name on the pack read; Amla oil 100%. I was overjoyed seeing The much talked about Amla oil and so searched for the price tag and it was written N800.  The woman asked me what it was and I told her it's oil used by Indians for hair growth. I told her I didn't have enough money for it  so I'm going to get More money and come back immediately. She agreed.


On getting back, I couldn't find it on the shelve where it was before. When I asked the woman she told me she took it and she's not selling it to anybody. That she will use it for herself. I was surprised (excuse me???). I can't tell if surprised was enough to explain how I felt, well my friend was angry about it... Lol. I was like, is it because I told you what it's used for? If I didn't would you have known? Why did you make me come back the second time?

My 'anger' didn't last for another minute as i looked at the woman's hair and felt sorry for her. Mine was in wayyyy much better condition than hers and she seemed like she had a bit of alopecia from sewing weaves. I told her how to use it for her hair and left the store. I never went back to see if she restocked it again because I felt I had castor oil and it's been working fine, it's not like I'm so intent on having that Amla oil. I made more research on Amla oil on getting home, as well as other Ayurvedic oils and fast forward to almost a year after that I bought some amla and Henna powders along side my products... You can find the link to the post on the products here.

I have seen different ways of preparing Amla oil online but it all boils down to the fact that Amla oil is not just oil from the amla fruit like coconut or castor. It is actually from an infusion of either the dried Amla (Indian goose berry fruits) or amla powder (crushed of grind dried Indian goose berry fruits) in a base oil Such as olive, coconut or castor oils. In this way the nutrients and properties which aids in hair growth as well as its rich brown or black colour are infused into the oil.

Here's how I made my own Amla oil.
What you will need:
*Amla powder or dried Amla fruit. I used the powder because that was what I could find on online stores and it's more convenient for me.
*17oz bottle of olive oil (my main base oil)
*2 bottles of pharmacy castor oil
*a pot or pan to boil the mixture
*a spoon, you will need to Stair occasionally
*any other ayurvedic powders of your choice (optional)
*a small bowl
*a single light stocking
*Amber bottles for storing the oil

You can see the colours of the powders

Procedure:
I poured out some olive oil from the bottle and filled what I poured out with castor oil. Making the same 17oz of the oil.
I used  Amla powder and Henna powder for this preparation. I removed too table spoons of the amla powder and added 2 table spoons of the henna in such a way that the powders still equalls 100g.


(1) I made sure the pan is well dried so that there are no water droplets, Added the powders to the pan and heated it up at medium heat for about 3 mins for it to get a bit hot.

(2)I added my oil and let it get hot, starring occasionally for 15mins (till the oil started to bubble). You will need to stir occasionally to prevent the powders from clumping or sticking together at the bottom.

The amla powder gave the oil a brown colour. The colour effect of the added henna wasn't noticeable.

 (3) I let the oil cool for sometime and then transferred it to a bowl with a lid and let it infuse for 24hrs. That was till the same time the next day.

(4)The next day I decanted the oil by passing it through a light stocking. I don't think using the stocking is necessary because it practically caught nothing.

I noticed the powders where a bit thickened at the bottom while the oil was separated from it and at the top. It was really easy to decant and the oil was so much darker!

I transfered it into the bottle just to see what amount of oil was left and I really can't tell but I would guess there's about 3-4 Oz of the oil mixed with the thickened Amla powder at the bottom. So 17oz oil made me about 14 Oz Amla oil.

Quantity of oils before and after preparation

(5) I stored the oils in 2 separate Amber bottles for my sis and I.

Making the amla oil wasn't quite messy for me but keep in mind that the oil is black, so it stains. Be sure to wipe off any drops on the floor or table. Wash all the utensils you used pretty well and You're good to go.

As for the remaining Amla 'mud' left I really am not so sure if I can make another batch of the oil with it. But I wonder if there are still nutrients that would be infused?? I could use it instead for Amla hair mask.

The pros of making this oils yourself are that
(1)you get to choose what oils you want to make
(2)you get to choose how infused you want the oil to be.
(3)it is cheaper than store bought
(4)it contains only the ingredients you want it to. You are free to change the Scent by adding an essential oil of your choice. I didn't add any essential oil and I don't find the scent to be pungent or bad, it still smelled a bit like olive oil.

Cons: (1) The oil is quite dark so it will stain if it gets spilled on your clothes. I suggest using an applicator bottle when using it for scalp massages. You could also use more oil so that the oil will not have a very dark colour.
(2) you may not like the smell if you are not a fan of the smell of olive oil. But you could keep an essential oil handy... Just incase :-)

Learn more about Amla composition, nutrients and benefits for hair

I really don't have high hopes for this oil I'm just curious to know if it's really worth the hype. I will be using the oil for scalp massages alone and warming it up a bit before applying on my scalp. At the end of my relaxer stretch in December we will find out if it's a keeper or not.

Stay blessed *muah*