Soap nuts on hair Results

As promised here is my review of the soap nut liquid on my hair. You all saw the picture of my hair yesterday it was fairly gross after 12 days of not washing it and a month of no poo.

So what you do is take the soapnut liquid in the shower with you in a plastic bottle or container. Please don't use glass in the shower guys, safety first. Then just use in place of normal shampoo. Really work it into the roots and lengths and you will get a lovely squeaky clean feeling. I also followed up with a quick spritz Of ACV as I have heard soap nuts can make hair tangly. The acv did it's job so there were no tangles.

I then blow dried and straightened my hair. This is a must for me as I am currently only washing my hair every 10-13 days.

Here is the results

Grease be gone! It is so clean it's actually a little too clean tbh and feels slightly dry but I know my sebum will sort that out in a day or two. To those of you with dry hair you would probably need to use an oil such a coconut oil just for moisture as it really sucks the moisture right out.

I am very pleased with the results! What do you think? Have you tried soapnuts? Tell me about your SN experience in the comments.

Home Made Deodorant (that REALLY works!)

Before going no poo I was pretty much a chemical war zone. I estimate I probably used well over 200 chemicals a day on my body and hair including but not limited to:

• shampoo
• conditioner
• face wash
• body wash
• toothpaste
• deodorant (applied twice a day at least)
• face creams
• nail polish
• face masks
• perfumes

God, that list is disgusting. Ever single day I used almost ALL of those products. Come on!

So, since going no poo I have been awakened to the uses of chemicals (good and bad) in the products we use every single day. The word CHEMICAL is overused in the crunchy society as being anything bad so excuse me if I over use it... by chemical we pretty much mean sulfates and parabens and other carcinogens. Pretty much all the nasty stuff you really want to keep away from your body.

In our house we now use soap-nuts on our hair, soap-nuts for laundry, home made MP soap and natural deodorant. On top of that I now no longer use 80% of the products listed above. I do still use toothpaste and perfume but I am looking in to a healthy homemade alternative to that. (I have heard oil pulling is great alongside natural toothpaste so if any of my readers have tried please let me know in the comments.)

So anyway, bla bla bla. On to the deodorant...

I was extremely fortunate to already have all the ingredients for this and I'm sure 99% of people will also as it is so basic but it really really does work. I used to apply deodorant twice a day at minimum and it had to be antiperspirant. This IS NOT an antiperspirant, it doesn't stop you from sweating, what is does do however is make your sweat smell nice. I have had zero B.O since using this. Yes I have had people check... (thanks Pete and Mum...) I also only have to apply this once a day after a shower. It's amazing.

So... the recipe.

• 1/4 cup cornflour (cornstarch) or arrow root powder
• 1/4 cup baking soda (bicarb) 
• 5 TBS of coconut oil
• 4-6 drops of essential oils (I use rose)

Here is how it looks:

And that is literally it, nothing else. There are other little bits you can add to make it more tailored to you, for instance Zinc stops you from sweating so you could add a bit of Zinc powder or something but I really don't need to. Also, aloe gel is antibacterial, that might work... just experiment.

The first thing I noticed when first making it is how easy it is, you just add all the ingredients together and stir until combined. It will quickly turn thick and lovely and it will feel exactly like a cream stick deodorant. 

At this point you can either fill an empty stick applicator or put into a little pot or jar. I usually put in the fridge for an hour to harden up a bit more and then I just take it out and leave it on my dresser.

Not sure about the shelf life but I cant imagine it would go off as none of the ingredients have a short shelf life. I would maybe throw out if not been used in 6 months or so but I reckon it would be well used up by then.

Happy making guys and if you try and love/hate let me know!

*UPDATE*

My Mum used mine and then immediately asked me to make her some which she is now using in place of shop bought deodorants. We have a convert!

The great Unwashed - 11 days

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted, I have been busy making my own soap, my own deodorant, cooking up batches of soapnuts and generally being a stay at home mum and human being. That being said I certainly feel more human... One month no poo!

It's been 11 days now since I last washed my hair. The last time I washed it I used BS AND ACV but tomorrow I will be using soapnut liquid so expect an update on that.

If I wasn't leaving the house tomorrow I wouldn't even bother washing it but mini me has his post op checkup and I would like to look clean as his surgeon is a bit yummy... Oops ;)

So yeah, here's the picture. 11 days Unwashed but a WO rinse yesterday. Looks  and feels OK just slightly clumpy and wet look but while up it looks totally normal.

Soapnuts

Upon my no poo journey I keep hearing one word crop up: soapnuts. So after a bit of Googling and talking to the lovely ladies on the no poo/low poo Facebook Group I decided to give them a go. Here is a little bit about them:

Soap nuts are a completely natural fruit that grows in India, they aren't really edible so the locals dry them out and use them for cleaning. Because they contain saponin, a sort of natural soap, they make a great great cleanser. They can be used for :

• Washing clothes
• Washing hair
• Dish washing 
• Washing body 
• Bubble bath 
• Nappy cleaner for reusable 
• Baby bath
• Household cleaner 
• Hand wash

And much more, they really are fabulous.
So here is what they look like:

 They are slightly sticky to touch which apparently is the saponin. Now, you can use these on their own as they are in a muslin wash bag. You need about 6 for a load and all you do is put them in the drum with your washing and away they go. If it's a cold wash though you do need to soak them first. The best thing? You can reuse a bag of soapnuts around 5 washes, or until they look pale. Once they look pale you can then make them into a liquid (how to underneath) and use to water plants/wash car. Then, when you are done, compost them or distribute the shells into your plants.

Here's the best bit, you can make these bad boys into a liquid to use all around the home, you can do freeze it into ice cubes trays and use in the washing machine too (use 2 per load into the drum) or you can store in an airtight container in fridge for about a week.

You use about 2 nuts per 1 cup water and all to you do is boil for around 30mins or until it's a nice amber colour. Some people suggest to boil until they are almost white to get the most saponin but be super careful because it boils up quickly and will froth over if not watched. Here is how it looks boiling:

Out of 6 shells I managed 48 ice cubes, a full jam jar plus 200ml left over for cleaning with. I am truly amazed at the power of these little nuts of joy. Have you tried soap nuts? What do you think?