Ancient RedTao Silk
A Shampoo Bar inspired by the Ancient Red Yao Women & African Healing Traditions
Modern hair needs ancient wisdom—and this bar delivers both.
I don't quite have an online store just yet but I do local $2 deliveries (Medicine Hat & Redcliff) and free pick-ups!
Ancient RedTao Silk
$15 per bar
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For centuries, the Red Yao women have been revered for their long, strong, healthy hair—nurtured through simple, traditional rice water rituals passed down from mother to daughter.
Drawing from this ancient wisdom and the healing traditions of African black castor oil, my natural shampoo bar honours a time when hair care began at the scalp and focused on long-term strength, nourishment, and balance—not quick fixes.
By uniting these two ancestral practices, this bar offers a modern ritual rooted in generations of care.
Why This Bar Works
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Rice – traditionally used to support strength, smoothness, and shine
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Jamaican Black Castor Oil – revered in African healing rituals for deep nourishment, moisture retention, and scalp balance
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Gentle, soap-free cleanse – cleans without stripping natural oils
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Solid bar – concentrated, plastic-free, and travel-friendly
The Ritual
This isn’t just shampoo—it’s a return to intentional hair care.
Massage into wet hair, focusing on the scalp. Rinse slowly. Let nourishment, patience, and tradition do the work.
Who It’s For
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Dry or fragile hair
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Growth-focused routines
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Natural & textured hair
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Scalp-first hair care lovers
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Also suitable for all hair types
Rooted in Heritage. Made for Today.
Directions:
Wet Hair Thoroughly
Saturate hair with warm water to activate the shampoo bar.
Create Lather
Rub the bar between wet hands or glide it directly over scalp and hair.
Massage the Scalp
Use fingertips or a scalp massage tool, like my ScalpVitality Scalp Therapy Tool, to gently massage, stimulating circulation and cleansing buildup.
Rinse Well
Rinse thoroughly, allowing lather to cleanse the lengths of your hair.
Repeat if Needed
For heavy buildup or first-time bar users, a second wash may help.
Condition as Desired
Follow with a conditioner bar like my Wild Rosemary Silk or your preferred conditioner.
Care Tips
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Allow bar to dry completely between uses.
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Store on a well-draining dish to extend life like my Bamboo Lift Dish
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Keep out of standing water​
Ingredients: (Click on any ingredient to learn more!)
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Powder, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI), Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA), Citric Acid, Fision® Hydratress, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil (Jamaican Black), Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Phenoxyethanol.
The History of the Rice Water Traditional:
Huangluo Long Hair Village is an ancient Chinese village famed for its extraordinary hair traditions and its belief in the life-giving power of rice water. Often called the “Long Hair Village,” Huangluo is home to women with some of the longest hair in the world—reaching up to an astonishing seven feet.
Women in the village cut their hair only once in their lifetime, around their 18th birthday. Rather than discarding it, they carefully preserve the cut hair, weaving and wrapping it into their growing hair and securing it with cloth, so it remains part of them for life. Even the hair shed during daily brushing is collected and added back in.
This daily ritual of brushing and wrapping is believed to promote longevity, making the time and care devoted to hair a meaningful investment. Remarkably, many women in the older generations have no grey hair at all—something they attribute to their lifelong use of rice water and their complete avoidance of chemical shampoos.
The History of Jamaican Black Castor Oil:
Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) has deep roots in ancient African castor oil traditions, where castor beans were used for centuries in healing rituals, skincare, and hair care. These practices traveled to Jamaica through the transatlantic slave trade, carried and preserved by enslaved Africans who safeguarded this knowledge as a form of cultural survival and self-care.
What sets Jamaican Black Castor Oil apart from regular castor oil is its distinctive, time-honoured production process. The castor beans are first roasted, or toasted, rather than cold-pressed. This roasting creates a rich ash that is incorporated during extraction, giving the oil its characteristic dark color and higher alkaline pH. The roasted beans are then ground and boiled, allowing beneficial minerals from the ash to infuse into the oil. Once boiled, the oil is carefully skimmed from the surface, resulting in a less processed, nutrient-dense product with enhanced moisturizing and strengthening properties.
Traditionally, JBCO has been used in Jamaican folk medicine to support skin health, relieve aches, and promote overall wellness. Its most celebrated use, however, is in hair and scalp care. The oil is known to strengthen hair follicles, improve moisture retention, reduce breakage, and support healthy hair growth. Rich in ricinoleic acid, Jamaican Black Castor Oil helps stimulate circulation to the scalp, encouraging stronger, thicker-looking hair over time.
Culturally, JBCO holds particular significance within Rastafarian and Afro-Caribbean traditions, where it has been valued as a sacred cleansing oil and a symbol of natural, holistic living. Today, Jamaican Black Castor Oil remains prized worldwide for its potent blend of ancestral wisdom and functional benefits—offering a powerful, natural solution for hair growth, scalp health, and deeply nourished skin.