The Mother of All Soap Nuts Recipe Resources

You know how it goes around here, right? I post great big giant resource pages of things to do with natural ingredients, and you read them all. (Thank you … thank you for being so voracious.)

So, as I mentioned, I’ve been doing just about everything I possibly could with soapnuts for the last two or three weeks, and (nearly) everything in this recipe list, I’ve tried.

Sadly, I am now out of soap nuts. I need a tree, and 9 years.

The good news is: THE HOUSE, MY FACE, AND MY HAIR IS SPARKLY CLEAN! Yay!

So without further ado, here’s how you can use soapnuts to clean your hair, your face, your laundry, your counters, your windows, your pet, and your life.

The Mother of All Soap Nuts Recipe Resources

We’ll do this in sections, so that once you HAVE your own soap nuts (especially exciting if you’re one of the winners of the drawing at the Crunchy Community … don’t forget to enter), you can come back and refer to all this good stuff. If you already have your own soap nuts, you’re pretty crunchy. Pat yourself on the back.

Three notes, though, on using soap nuts in liquid form:

1. Soap nut liquid will sting your eyes if you’re not careful, so if you’re washing your face or hair with it, remember to keep the peepers closed. The stinging makes it perhaps not a viable option for washing your children’s hair, as well.
2. Soap nut liquid does not taste good (and it could make your stomach hurt if you ingest too much), so keep your mouth closed while doing the aforementioned things, too.
3. Soap nut liquid does spoil, unless you use a recipe that also includes a preservative (even then, it won’t last forever) or unless you can it. (For more information on canning to preserve your soap nuts liquid, see this link at Superior Soap Nuts.) Also, I’ve read in several places that adding 1 tsp citric acid to 4 cups of liquid will add weeks to your soap nuts liquid’s life.

Also, you can use soap nuts in four forms:

• The whole nut/shell, which is good for laundry.
• Liquid, which you can learn how to make in this post. It’s this form that’s handiest for most soap nut uses.
• Paste, which is basically running the boiled soap nuts through a food processor. This is good for shaving cream and heavy-duty cleaning jobs.
• Powder, which you can buy in powder form, or make yourself by grinding the shells VERY finely (in a coffee or spice grinder – the good news is, it cleans out really easily). This is good for laundry or adding to a homemade dishwasher detergent, which I’ll talk more about right now.

Household Recipes with Soap Nuts

 

CrunchyBetty Says: I got to this recipe in a roundabout way. See, there are many resources that say you can just pour soap nuts liquid into your dishwasher detergent well and just use it like that. However, I did my dishes like that twice, and both times I still had some food on the dishes. (I’m not keen on completely washing off dishes before adding them to the dishwasher. As long as there’s no chunks of food on it, it goes in the machine.)

However, even though there was still some visible food on the dishes, they were audibly squeaky clean. And then the lightning bolt.

My homemade dishwasher detergent works really well at scrubbing the dishes, but it often leaves a thin white film on plastics and the bottoms of my pots and pans. Soapnuts were the missing ingredient! The thing that made the homemade dishwasher detergent absolutely and completely perfect.

If you’re the type of household that rinses all your dishes completely off before popping them in the dishwasher, though, you’ll probably be just fine using soap nuts liquid as a dishwasher detergent. Just pour the liquid in the well and go.

Crunchy Betty Says: Because the soap nuts liquid doesn’t keep, I made mine in a smallish batch, like the above recipe. It was enough to clean all the windows and mirrors in my house, with some left over. I’m going to keep it under the sink for a while and test it, just to see how long it lasts. Vinegar is a fantastic preservative, so I’m betting it’ll go a good month or two before a new batch needs to be made.

 

Crunchy Betty Says: When I used the soap nut liquid straight to clean my counters, it seemed like maybe there was a bit of a residue on my counter, so I filled up a bottle with the second recipe, and it works like a charm. I found it exceptionally helpful in cleaning off the hood over the stove (the part that gets all oddly dirty and sticky when the stove hood elves come out at night and party).

Crunchy Betty Says: This is similar to the homemade bathroom cleaner I usually use, but it definitely has more immediate scrubbing power. It doesn’t particularly whiten the toilet bowl, though, so if I were to do it over again, I might add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice in the bowl as I scrubbed it. Smells so super fresh, though!

Soap Nut Laundry Detergent

There are so many ways to use soap nuts for laundry detergent, and none of them really require a recipe. Here are the three best ways:

• Liquid: Add 1/8 c. soap nut liquid to the wash, in lieu of regular laundry detergent.
• Nuts: Place 4-5 soapnuts in a muslin or spice bag. Place in the washing machine, and wash your clothes as usual. Replace the nuts after 4-5 washes, or when the flesh starts to lose its color and turn a bit gray.
• Powder: Grind the shells (not the pits) into a fine powder. Add 1 tsp soap nut powder to a load of laundry.
• Ice Cubes: Freeze soap nuts liquid in ice cube trays. Store in the freezer. Use 3 ice cubes per load of laundry.

For really grimy loads of laundry, add 3-4 Tbsp borax to the soap nut concoction of your choice, and wash clothes with the mixture.

Soap Nut Liquid Bug Spray (for Skin and Garden)

Pour some soap nuts liquid into a small spray bottle. Spray your skin (or plants) with the liquid. This should work as mosquito and pest repellent – and it’s SO eco-friendly. For extra bug-repelling power for your skin, add 2-3 drops citronella essential oil to the liquid before spraying.

Soap Nut Beauty Recipes

Soap Nut Shampoo

• 3-4 Tbsp Soap Nut Liquid

In the shower, carefully pour the soap nut liquid over your hair and scrub in. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then rinse out well. Soap nuts leave your hair clean, but really incredibly soft and bouncy!

Attention No ‘Pooers: If you have dry or wiry hair issues from going no ‘poo, soap nuts could be your answer. Before your final water rinse, try pouring a bit of soap nuts liquid into your hair and letting it sit for a few minutes. Rinse well. Softness and manageability ensues.

 

Crunchy Betty Says: THIS IS AWESOME. Legs are super smooth after shaving with this cream. However, there are two downfalls: First of all, I still had a little bit of chunky soapnut flesh in my mixture, so I had to shave around it. That really wasn’t a huge issue; it was just different than normal shaving cream.

Secondly, the cream doesn’t stay foamy overnight, so this might be a one-time use situation. I left the jar in the fridge overnight, and the soap nuts and oil separated. I stirred them together, which got rid of the air, so it’s more of a paste at this point. I’m still going to shave with it – it’s just not the same fun foam that it once was.

Want to see a picture of it?

More With Leftover Soap Nut Flesh

My favorite part about soap nuts is that you can use every last piece of them for something. (I LOVE the necklace idea using soap nuts pits, by the way. Thank you guys!)

The best part is the flesh. After eking out as much saponin from the flesh by boiling soapnuts (again, here’s how you make the soap nuts liquid), you can use the flesh for the shaving cream above.

Or, you can get down to brass tacks and make a paste out of it for heavy-duty bathroom cleaning. Just toss the flesh in the food processor and let it go for a few minutes. Then add a little baking soda to the soapnuts paste and stir. This is great to use on grimy shower doors or for cleaning grout.

Nutty for Soapnuts!

OKAY. THERE. If you’re not convinced enough to pick up soap nuts yet, let me just remind you one. last. time. that there’s an awesome giveaway going on over at the Crunchy Community.

It ENDS TONIGHT.

So don’t forget to enter now.

And don’t forget to check out the soap nuts at Mountain Rose Herbs (along with all their other magnificent homemade beauty items)*.

*Reminder: That is an affiliate link. Love it. Use it.

Related Posts:

• Soapnuts with Skip (Plus a Giveaway!)
• From Soap Nuts to Liquid : Natural, Nontoxic Cleaning
• A Millionish Uncommon (and Not So Uncommon) Uses for Coconut Oil
• 19 Handy Things To Do With a Little Leftover Lemon
• Calling All Crunchy Betties! Food on YOUR Face.