Yucca Vs. Soapwort Vs. Aritha/Soapnuts?

[nowxisxforever]

Will do, Mellie! I was thinking so too.

[Snowball]

Oh really? Hmmm...I didn't try it with boiled soapwort, that stuff seemed too strong to use (it was super dark brown with a bright yellow stain on white paper).

You are using home-grown leaves and stems, right?

Here's what the soapwort root looked like the last time I used it, last year:


But this is what I just got:


Totally different! It smells like soapwort though, so I'm trusting that it is what they say it is.

I didn't used home-grown leaves- I bought dried roots. It looked like the stuff on the first picture. On the second picture are dried leaves, no roots, I think. The roots contain more saponin.

[mellie]

Oh, thanks Snowball! That would make sense, since the first stuff seemed to work much better!

[Henna Sooq]

Did anyone ever experience different results between sticky soapnuts and drier/fresher ones? Got some and they smell so much like tamarind, in a way I love tamarinds.

Do most use the liquid or foam? Please answer if you have some time. Just want to post up good info on my blog but not from my own perspective and use. If that's okay. I wouldn't mind sharing recipes there if anyone wants to help with that

[mellie]

I prefer the sticky ones (don't they smell nice? I love that smell! You're right, it is like tamarind!), they are more powerful so I can use way less of them and so I get WAY more for my money. (A 500g bag of sticky ones have lasted me up to 4 months now, whereas the dry ones only 1 month).

I use the foam, it's so nice because I can see directly where I'm putting it and it stays put without getting into my eyes.

[Henna Sooq]

Mellie, but one site I read that the sticky ones are the ones that have been exposed to the air and they become sticky and such. Have you ever set the dry ones out and seen if this happens?

I would imagine the ones I just got would be fresher hence they aren't sticky. Sticky would seem to me like a process of change going through the soapnut naturally...what do you think? Like when they pick the fruit they must be dried (or get dried), and not sticky. anyhow the difference is interesting

[Silver & Gold]

Concerning 'sticky' soapnuts. I've purchased the ones Mellie likes, they were the first ones I purchased. I got the link to the seller from Jojo as I recall. Mellie is correct that these are very good soapnuts as they are the large Sapindus Mukorossi rather than the harder, smaller and dryer soapnuts that are often used to make ritha powder (Sapindus Detergens and Sapindus trifoliatus to name a couple).

I've used ritha, I've used the 'sticky'soapnuts and I've ordered sapindus mukarossi from a couple of different sellers in the U.S. who I believe store their soapnuts better. They are only the slightest bit tacky not completely stuck together in a big sticky mass. And the soapnuts from the other two sellers I've tried work every bit as well as the super sticky ones that Mellie uses and that I tried initially. For this reason I no longer purchase from the UK vendor. Preferring to find someone in the states and to find a product that had been stored better.

There is a difference in saponin content in the various types of soapnuts available and time of harvest also affects saponin content. But it I must disagree with the notion that the fact that they are sticky when you get them makes them better. If I left my dry soapnuts exposed to humidity they would become just as sticky as the ones I purchase from the UK seller. The stickiness is only an indication that very good soapnuts have soaked up moisture and are releasing their saponin. So Mellie is both right and wrong if this makes sense.

I think where the confusion enters in is this. There are, as I've said, other species of soapnuts and these tend to be smaller, harder, dryer and have less saponin. If you've had these and then tried the 'sticky' ones you will realize that the sticky ones are much better.

I use soapnuts for a good deal more than my hair, in fact washing my hair with it is secondary at best. I do all my laundry with it and I mix the liquid with water and vinegar for a very nice household cleaner. I've also used the liquid to spray around my doorway to keep the wasps at bay. I have an awful time with wasps in the spring and early summer. If I spray soapnut liquid around my doorway they seem to avoid swooping into my house when we enter and exit. I also take the spent shells and put them in with my potted plants to keep the bugs away there.

Anyway, you don't need to buy sticky soapnuts to get good soapnuts. You just need to buy good quality Sapindus Mukorossi. If you can learn when they were harvested this is also a good indicator. The best time for harvest is around October. When the harvest is rushed the soapnuts haven't developed their full saponin potential.

Anyway, that's my experience for what it's worth.

[ktani]

Did anyone ever experience different results between sticky soapnuts and drier/fresher ones? Got some and they smell so much like tamarind, in a way I love tamarinds.

Do most use the liquid or foam? Please answer if you have some time. Just want to post up good info on my blog but not from my own perspective and use. If that's okay. I wouldn't mind sharing recipes there if anyone wants to help with that

There was a long discussion about sticky soapnuts way back in the thread and I posted this, at that time.

".... this time of year (October/November/December) the soapberry is maturing on the trees. .... Only if stored properly will they still be dry (nut gummy or sticky). .... When prematurely harvested, soap nuts will be a bright gold to yellow color, but also they will be typically small (often in the 2cm range as compared to a mature soapberry at 4cm or larger).
.... mature soap nut will have reached its peak in saponin content .... most important factor. .... Given drying and shipping times, look for the best quality newly harvested soap nuts to begin showing up in the US in late December, January and February. Properly stored soap nuts from last year's harvest will be the better choice. If the soap nuts are very dark, gummy and sticky .... they have not been stored properly. ....
.... It is a caveat emptor (buyer beware) scenario .....
.... purpose of this article is also to provide .... fundamentals about soap nuts that may lead to even better personal experiences .... assist you in becoming a more informed consumer or seller."

[mellie]

HennaSooq asked:

Have you ever set the dry ones out and seen if this happens?

Yes, but they did not become sticky. Even after they had been in water, then left out, they did not become sticky.

I've tried the smaller ones, as well as the dry ones, in addition to the sticky ones. The small ones were terrible and I actually threw them out. The dry ones worked, but did not work as well for me (my hair is quite oily) and didn't provide such a beautiful shine to my hair as the sticky ones do.

I have to use a full cup of dry ones to clean my naturally oily hair, whereas only about 1/4 of that amount of the sticky ones. So for me, since they work so much better that I can use less of them, and they smell nicer too, I most definitely prefer the sticky ones from the UK vendor. As I mentioned, for the same price, I can get a bag that will last me over 4 months and give me lustrous, shiny hair, or buy the dry ones which don't give me as nice a shine and will only last me one month. Easy decision for me!

P.S. Also my DH doesn't mind or even notice the smell of the sticky ones, whereas he didn't like the smell of the soaking dry ones at all, or the smell of my wet hair when I was using them ( he said they "smelled like barf" ). So there's one more reason I like the sticky ones, too!

P.P.S. I wanted to add this:

http://soapnuts.webs.com/kindsofsoapnuts.htm

Also there are two kinds of sapindus mukrossi found in India or south Asian countries: One from them grows trees of Himalayan range and other one grows away from Himalayan range. They are likely same in their physically appearance, color and size, but with a little differences. Himalayan sapindus mukrossi are more soft, more sticky, more wet than other type of sapindus mukorossi. There are few pictures of experiments of both kind of sapindus mukorossi. We can see clear difference between these two.

And they show experiments with the two different kinds of mukorossi (sticky vs. dry), and for me, my experience does indeed coincide with their experiments.

But of course not everyone has such oily hair as I do so the dry ones probably work just fine for most folks.

[Silver & Gold]

HennaSooq asked:


Yes, but they did not become sticky. Even after they had been in water, then left out, they did not become sticky.

I've tried the smaller ones, as well as the dry ones, in addition to the sticky ones. The small ones were terrible and I actually threw them out. The dry ones worked, but did not work as well for me (my hair is quite oily) and didn't provide such a beautiful shine to my hair as the sticky ones do.

I have to use a full cup of dry ones to clean my naturally oily hair, whereas only about 1/4 of that amount of the sticky ones. So for me, since they work so much better that I can use less of them, and they smell nicer too, I most definitely prefer the sticky ones from the UK vendor. As I mentioned, for the same price, I can get a bag that will last me over 4 months and give me lustrous, shiny hair, or buy the dry ones which don't give me as nice a shine and will only last me one month. Easy decision for me!

P.S. Also my DH doesn't mind or even notice the smell of the sticky ones, whereas he didn't like the smell of the soaking dry ones at all, or the smell of my wet hair when I was using them ( he said they "smelled like barf" ). So there's one more reason I like the sticky ones, too!

P.P.S. I wanted to add this:

http://soapnuts.webs.com/kindsofsoapnuts.htm


And they show experiments with the two different kinds of mukorossi (sticky vs. dry), and for me, my experience does indeed coincide with their experiments.

But of course not everyone has such oily hair as I do so the dry ones probably work just fine for most folks.

I think we're getting hung up on semantics here. The type I buy are large and yellow and tacky to the touch. Although they can stick together a bit (one or two) they are not a nearly solid mass when I purchase them. The other vendors I use also sell the large, yellow, fleshy sapindus mukorossi. And they look exactly like the ones on the right hand side of this image from the website you provided the link for. Mine in fact are easily separated like this because they are just a bit tacky, not gluey like they tend to be once they have absorbed moisture.



What I'm trying to say is that I agree with you concerning the difference between those small, dark, dry and hard soapnuts and the larger, softer sapindus mukorossi. However I disagree that that they need to be a sticky mass to be as good. It only means that they got moist during storage. However, if they get sticky when moist you can tell that you've got the good ones.