Yucca Vs. Soapwort Vs. Aritha/Soapnuts?

**Shell** · July 30th, 2008, 12:05 PM

naturechild--no problem! Enjoy them and feel free to make changes and let us all know about your experiences.

mellie, I don't find that aritha is ground as finely as shikakai, or even amla, but you could measure it out outside, and add water there so it won't bother your husband. Once it's wet, it should be okay.

**Sceleste** · August 10th, 2008, 08:27 AM

I've washed with soapnut twice and I'm really pleased with the results, except I can't stand the smell. The washing liquid smells like vomit and I have a hard time not getting sick myself when washing with it...

I made the liquid by boiling the nuts. I didn't add anything extra to it, like EO's.

Here's the question: does aritha powder (or should I say paste, after mixing it with water) smell as bad as boiled liquid?

**mellie** · August 10th, 2008, 11:59 AM

I had that problem the first time too. The next time I made sure not to let it boil too hot, and just for 10 minutes. Then it smelled a lot nicer.

What is your ratio of nuts to water? Is it cleaning well? I gave up because my roots got so greasy with them. I'd like to use them for shampooing if I could get it to work! :-)

**Sceleste** · August 11th, 2008, 01:37 AM

Originally Posted by mellie

I had that problem the first time too. The next time I made sure not to let it boil too hot, and just for 10 minutes. Then it smelled a lot nicer.

What is your ratio of nuts to water? Is it cleaning well? I gave up because my roots got so greasy with them. I'd like to use them for shampooing if I could get it to work! :-)

Hmm, that sounds exactly the way I did it. I used 7 desiliters of water (sorry, I have no idea how to convert that into cups or ounces) and 30 grams of nuts. I added nuts to cold water, then brought water to boil and immediately turned the heat on low setting. I kept the liquid on the stove for 9-10 minutes on low heat - it didn't boil anymore - and then let it cool in room temperature. I put the liquid into the fridge and used it to wash my hair the next day.

To wash I used about 2 desiliters of the liquid, spread it on my scalp, massaged, added water and massaged some more. I left it on my scalp for a few minutes while doing other things and then rinsed with warm water. The first time I did a chamomille rinse and the second time vinegar rinse but didn't notice any difference between them.

Soap nuts clean really well. Like I already mentioned I'm really pleased with the results. My scalp is oily so I didn't expect soapnut to clean this well. I have soft water, and have never had any problems with for example shampoo bars.

I have half of the nuts I bought left, maybe I should experiment with them. Perhaps I'll add them to hot water but don't boil, just let them steep for a while, see if that affects the smell. I'll report the results when I have time to test it.

**mellie** · August 11th, 2008, 05:08 AM

One thing maybe I did differently than you - after cooling, I let it sit out overnight, then put it on the fridge the next morning. Other than that, perhaps your nuts are a different age than mine?

Maybe I will try to convert your ratio into American measurements and try again! :-)

**mellie** · August 11th, 2008, 06:39 AM

OK, I think I've figured out the American measurement conversion:

3 cups water
1 ounce soapnuts

I don't have a scale...approx. how many soapnuts did you use?

My scalp is oily so I didn't expect soapnut to clean this well.

Mine is too - I hope that I can get it to work as you did! :-)

**Sceleste** · August 11th, 2008, 10:10 AM

This picture shows 30 grams of soap nuts. Since some of them are in pieces it's hard to count but I'd say there are about 11 whole nutshells there.

There's also my engagement ring in the picture, just to show what size whole soap nuts are.

**mellie** · August 11th, 2008, 10:45 AM

Haha, thanks, that's great! :-) I will try your ratio next time I shampoo!

**mellie** · August 11th, 2008, 10:47 AM

Oh and you said you used about 1/3 of the liquid, right? How long is your hair?

**Sceleste** · August 11th, 2008, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by mellie

Oh and you said you used about 1/3 of the liquid, right? How long is your hair?

Aye, about 1/3. My hair's almost tailbone length but I didn't use the liquid on the length at all, only on the scalp. Actually I could have used a bit more to cover all my scalp - after my hair had dried I noticed my neck was still a bit oily. But then again, I had read that you shouldn't use too much soap nut liquid or it won't work well so I used as little as possible.