We actually bought it as our shikakai had Amla in less proportion so we had to again buy dry Amla put it under the sun and ground it in a mill paying almost similar price as shikakai separately and then mix it up with the actual shikakai. This was a costlier time consuming approach. So we decided to buy this powder and mix it with the shikakai right before we use it for bathing. It worked out nice and well.