----- Original Message ----- From: "Lynne Hadley" <lynnehadley1@bigpond.com> >. But hearing of the lemon tree reminded me: > ladies, if your hair has lost its gloss and you are fortunate enough to > have > a lemon tree nearby, you might try doing what my old mum used to do when > we > were young. She used to boil up a few handfuls of lemon leaves in a large > saucepan for around 10 minutes, let the water cool, then strain it and use > it for the final rinse of our hair. Results? Very shiny hair!! :)) >the message In response - I remember a hard, round, brown dried fruit (?) which grandmother used to boil in rain water which, when cool, made a final rinse which resulted in hair soft and shiny ! Can't recall its name ? Nice memories . By the way - 'neem' is now widely used here in Oz although I have not - as yet - seen it in toothpaste form. P.S I can boast a curry leaf tree ! :o) Wishes Sally

----- Original Message ----- From: "karoo" In response - I remember a hard, round, brown dried fruit (?) which grandmother used to boil in rain water which, when cool, made a final rinse which resulted in hair soft and shiny ! Can't recall its name? Nice memories . ---Sally ============================================== Sweet Memories that linger on are not subject to the ''hair today, gone tomorrow'' dictum! (grin) Has to be the fruit of what we call in Marathi ''Ree'thaa'' and which my technical dictionary describes as ''Soap nut tree''. Search for it by its Latin name -- Sapindus laurifolius [Vahl.]. I don't know how it's known in other Indian languages, but throughout our land the dried nuts of this tree, along with the dried pods (including seeds) of ''Shee-kay-kah-ee'' or Soap pod tree (Acasia concinna [DC] ) have been traditionally used by the rich and poor alike to wash, rinse, cleanse, shine, and soften one's hair. Chemical shampoos came in very late, but even now in rural areas, you will find women letting down their very long and thick hair on Sundays, for a prolonged head-bath using either of these two natural products. BTW, I'm sure you know the etymoloy of the word ''shampoo''. ----- Harshawardhan (rapidly going bald) Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India