Yucca Vs. Soapwort Vs. Aritha/Soapnuts?

**eaglefeather71** · January 25th, 2009, 02:43 PM

OMG! I have never seen that before, it's TOO funny!

**mellie** · January 25th, 2009, 04:37 PM

Hahaha - sooooo naughty!!!!!

**ljkforu** · January 25th, 2009, 05:51 PM

Mellie, I tried your method of soap nut this morning. Last night I made a 1/4 cup of broken hulls with 1/4 of hot water and let it sit over night. It gave me about 2ish oz of dark liquid (oh, I put in 4 cardamom pod inner sides for scent and a good squirt of lemon juice [fresh]). I got in the show and shook the heck out of it and then wash my wet hair form top to bottom with foam. I definitely worked this time. With my soft water it is really strong and cleansing/clarifying. I conditioned with Rose Herbal Essence (cones) to make up for the supper cleanness.

I was happy enough with it that I am going to add it into my rotation as my clarifier. Next test will be to see if it will remove Brahmi oiling, which I think it will based on how strong it was.

So I'm a convert now, this worked much better than last time and my hair is silky soft and really well stripped.

**ljkforu** · January 25th, 2009, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by mellie

Hahaha - sooooo naughty!!!!!

Ok I'll bite -- Have we agreed that the sticky, sweaty, gooey objects of saponin are superior to the dry ones?

**curly girl fla** · January 25th, 2009, 06:10 PM

So will aritha powder be as effective as the soapnuts themselves? Should it be used as a paste, or a strained tea? I'm sorry-I know this must have been covered already. I just bought quite a few different Hesh powders online for what seems to be a very cheap price. I don't have an Indian market very close by, and I have been loving my Bindi Herbal Hair Wash (which has done amazing things for my face, too), so I figured I would buy some individual powders and mix and play to see what I can come up with.

**eaglefeather71** · January 25th, 2009, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by curly girl fla

So will aritha powder be as effective as the soapnuts themselves? Should it be used as a paste, or a strained tea? I'm sorry-I know this must have been covered already. I just bought quite a few different Hesh powders online for what seems to be a very cheap price. I don't have an Indian market very close by, and I have been loving my Bindi Herbal Hair Wash (which has done amazing things for my face, too), so I figured I would buy some individual powders and mix and play to see what I can come up with.

When I use the aritha powder I make a thin paste and shake it up the same way I do the Soapnut liquid. It makes a thick rich foam that applies pretty easily. The aritha powder is harder to use than the whole ones, but just as effective.

**Alley Cat** · January 25th, 2009, 06:38 PM

I am a little afraid of soapnuts now after a very bad experience with soap nut powder. Copied from my blog a few weeks back:

Yesterday I washed my hair in soapnut powder that I had brewed up earlier and sieved out the residue powder leaving only liquid and OMG I got a heap in my eyes. I did that last time too ; you think I would learn wouldn't you , this time was far worse my left eye I couldn't open for a long time and creamy gunk kept coming out of it like I had conjunctivitis. I kept wondering if I had damaged my eye. Ugg I will not be using that damn powder again, I can't even use it in the washing as it doesn't dissolve properly and I the one time I used it I had to rewash the clothes. Stupid soapnut powder
I still have some soapnuts not the powder , I am not sure whether to try them or call it quits. Maybe I am just not good at not getting things in my eyes. I tried the soapnuts once can't recall if I got them in my eyes , if I did it wasn't like this I so wanted to try them as they are supposed to be good for dandruff. Sigh.

I haven't been game to try them since

Do be careful of getting them in your eyes they do hurt so very much

**ljkforu** · January 25th, 2009, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by Alley Cat

I am a little afraid of soapnuts now after a very bad experience with soap nut powder. Copied from my blog a few weeks back:

Yesterday I washed my hair in soapnut powder that I had brewed up earlier and sieved out the residue powder leaving only liquid and OMG I got a heap in my eyes. I did that last time too ; you think I would learn wouldn't you , this time was far worse my left eye I couldn't open for a long time and creamy gunk kept coming out of it like I had conjunctivitis. I kept wondering if I had damaged my eye. Ugg I will not be using that damn powder again, I can't even use it in the washing as it doesn't dissolve properly and I the one time I used it I had to rewash the clothes. Stupid soapnut powder
I still have some soapnuts not the powder , I am not sure whether to try them or call it quits. Maybe I am just not good at not getting things in my eyes. I tried the soapnuts once can't recall if I got them in my eyes , if I did it wasn't like this I so wanted to try them as they are supposed to be good for dandruff. Sigh.

I haven't been game to try them since

Do be careful of getting them in your eyes they do hurt so very much

Who knows what is really in the powder. If you use Mellies foaming method the nuts work fine. I use crushed nuts in the washer tied in a cotton bag and they work fine.

**Alley Cat** · January 25th, 2009, 10:04 PM

Originally Posted by ljkforu

Who knows what is really in the powder. If you use Mellies foaming method the nuts work fine. I use crushed nuts in the washer tied in a cotton bag and they work fine.

I didn't have enough soap nuts so I used my powder . I have only bought trial amount so far. I have tried soap nuts in the washing they work alright . I just thought powder might be good as you don't have to wonder how many times you can reuse them like with the soapnuts

Thanks for that.

**ljkforu** · January 26th, 2009, 01:34 AM

Originally Posted by Alley Cat

I didn't have enough soap nuts so I used my powder . I have only bought trial amount so far. I have tried soap nuts in the washing they work alright . I just thought powder might be good as you don't have to wonder how many times you can reuse them like with the soapnuts

Thanks for that.

Uhm? so you definitely didn't like the powder in comparison. I've been happy with the nuts I get at the Indian store but have been a little afraid of the powder.

Since I have Amla and Skikakai powders do you think I should bother to get the powder for an occasional Herbal shampoo or should I grind the hulls of the soap nuts in my spice grinder. And yes I will definitely avoid my eyes.

I added cardamom to my liquid Mellie and I think it may have made it stronger. At first I thought I was just making it smell better but after the second strong, foamy batch I got out of the same nut I think I may have altered something.

I used a 1/4 of boiling water, 1/4 of crunched dry hulls (not sticky), 1 tsp hulled cardamom seeds and 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice left out over night and use in the morning. Maybe you should see what I did. Also, are you using distilled or soft water to make the initial liquid?

It is so strong that when I shook it, it made tea colored foam.