Soap Nuts

NaturOli’s Extreme 18X soap nuts liquid is getting a face lift (new labeling). For many months Extreme 18X has been created using USDA Organic soap berries, but the labels have not reflected that improvement.

EXTREME 18X
Soap Nuts Liquid Laundry Detergent & Green Cleaner Concentrate.

Now produced from USDA Certified Organic Soap Nuts / Soap Berries!

With no-mess, no-waste, micro-dose pump!
One pump included.
Ultra-concentrated 18X potency.
As little as one tiny 2ml squirt per load (no kidding).

8 ounces will yield 96 high efficiency (HE) loads or 48 standard loads.

The folks over at NaturOli are making room for the redesigned labels by offering this SUPER SALE on bottles with the old labels. You know waste not want not. It’s the same amazing formula you’ve come to know and love, and the same concept that won a Green Dot Award.

Quoting directly from the email I received.

50% off regular retail prices on Extreme 18X – UNTIL GONE

You’ll need a promo code. Use promo code: extreme50

PLEASE NOTE: You’ll find the field to enter your code at the very bottom of your “Shopping Cart” page. Scroll all the way down. Enter the code, and click “Submit”. Your discount will then be clearly displayed.

Sale applies to full size singles & multi-packs only.

Oh and they even sweetened the deal.

FREE BONUS:

For each $50 in merchandise (after discounts), we’ll include a bonus 2-oz. Mini bottle of Extreme hair Soap Berry Shampoo. (A $5.90 value each.) You don’t need to do anything at all. It will be shipped with your order.

Note: If you have a formula preference, indicate “Dry” or “Oily” in the customer comments at check-out.

Oh and don’t forget that NaturOli ALWAYS offers Free Shipping on orders over $100. So you can really CLEAN UP with this EXTREME SALE.

Don’t forget Extreme 18X Soap Nuts Liquid (laundry detergent and green cleaner) has a 2 year shelf life so you won’t have to worry about how long it will take to use up the supply if you stock up now.

Extreme 18X Single Bottle

Extreme 18X 2-pack

Extreme 18X 3-pack

NaturOli's Extreme 18x -Same Award Winning Formula - Brand New Look

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Buying Bulk Soap nuts can save you money, lots and lots of money.

Bulk Soap Nuts

In the 2 years I’ve been using soap nuts I have been able to stop buying cleanser, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, fabric softener, bubble bath, body wash, shampoo, shaving cream, and floor cleaning products, car care products, and lots of other things… you get the idea about why I would encourage you to buy bulk soap nuts. The list of soap nuts uses is too long to share here.

When you buy a single pound you can expect to pay approximately $15-$25 US. I’m sure you’ve read all the articles on how much that would be per load and you know the relative ease of how to use soap nuts.

Now what you may not know is that this is the time of year when most US Soap Nuts importers are placing their orders for the previous/current year harvest. That means they want to sell off the soap nuts from last year’s harvest because they are not as pretty and large because they’ve lost some internal moisture. The longer they are off the tree the smaller and darker the soap nuts get. (good indication of age post harvest). They may not be as pretty, but they work just as well. You just need to soak them in some warm water for a bit longer if you are doing the tea method and cold water washing.

Since some of the US importers are proud of the size and color of the soap nuts they sell, this is your chance to get a REAL bargain by buying bulk soap nuts during the time period when they are trying to move their inventory. (don’t forget US inventory tax time is upon us also). SO… imagine being able to buy 10 lbs of bulk soap nuts and pay ONLY about $10 per lb. Great deal, right?

You can split these among a group of friends or family, and if you order just one more dollar in the NaturOli store you’d also get FREE SHIPPING.All orders over $100 receive free shipping from NaturOli.

Heck of a deal RIGHT? SO check this out 10 lbs bulk sapindus mukorossi soap nuts on special for $99.99 oh and these are also Organic, certified by EcoCert for the USDA.

While you’re there grab a bar of soap nuts soap to soothe that rough itchy Winter skin.

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My hair and I are ALWAYS looking for some diversity. Since my adventures with soap nuts began more than 2 years ago I’ve tried tens of soap nuts products from raw soap nuts to package soap nuts shampoos. Some of those products lived up to expectations some did not.

I’ve already mentioned NaturOli’s Extreme Hair Soap Nuts Shampoo and my experience with it. Before that I shared my excellent experience with Naturoli’s Soap Nuts Shampoo bars. I also shared with you how I use raw soap nuts and soap nuts liquid to make my own shampoo.

Today I want to share my experience with a product I’ve seen before but not tried until yesterday.

Soap Nuts Conditioning Shampoo, Amla & Shikaki with Reetha For Normal Hair

The manufacturers of this shampoo are based in India so I’d expect them to be very familiar with the ingredients and proper proportions. Sadly there is no detailed list of ingredients but I feel confident that I made a good choice in trying this shampoo.

I’ve tried many of the soap nuts shampoo bars, liquid soap nuts shampoo and making my own at home. I was hesitant to try this one because it doesn’t have the full ingredient list, but I am so glad I did.

My hair was very dirty and often when I shampoo my hair ends up so dry because it gets over stripped. My hair is very wavy and course and long. After washing my hair with this excellent shampoo my hair had beautiful waves, was soft but had great body, and was nearly tangle free. I am THRILLED. I know it sounds strange but the mass of my hair felt lighter after washing it with this product.

Where I live we have extremely hard water and this shampoo lathered nicely and smells like fresh herbs not flowery synthetic scents.

The shampoo is VERY thick and only a little bit of it did a great job on my extremely long thick hair. My scalp feels great and the next day my hair is still soft and looks great.

The instructions suggest using it once or twice a week. Since my hair leans towards dry I am going to try that to start and then see if any increase is needed. I did not use any kind of conditioner and don’t feel like I will need to for my particular hair, but if you choose to try this one you may want to check into some of the natural oils and work a tiny bit of it through while the hair is still wet.

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Soap nuts have many uses. People have suggested using them as a chemical free dish washing detergent. However, some people who’ve tried soap nuts in the dishwasher are getting inconsistent results and I often see searches for “chemical free dish washing detergent” in my blog stats because of the crack down on phosphates in many states.

I thought today, since I just had an email exchange with someone on the subject of using soap nuts in the dishwasher, I’d share my own experiences and techniques for using soap nuts in the dishwasher and for hand washing of dishes.

I live in an area with very hard water and we cook with olive oil every day so I have some very tough dishwashing conditions. I also don’t always get the dishwasher loaded or the dishes rinsed immediately which doesn’t make things easier.

However, I have used soap nuts in several ways for washing dishes both by hand and in the dishwasher and had mostly good results.

When hand washing with soap nuts I strongly suggest, if your dishes are greasy or have caked on food, that you keep a shaker can of soap nuts powder near the sink. I sprinkle some finely ground soap nuts onto greasy plates or caked/cooked on food to help it to release more easily. The soap nuts powder also helps to not only release the grease from dishes but also gives the grease something to stick to so that it stays off the dish as you rinse. I’ve also mentioned previously that soap nuts powder is the best natural scouring powder I have ever used so there’s almost no scrubbing if you sprinkle soap nuts powder on a damp plate or pot even if the mess is stuck on thick.

Recently I also took some NaturOli Extreme 18X diluted it 5 to 1 with water and put it in a spray bottle. I spray the dishes now, give it a second to work it’s surfactant magic and then swipe the sponge across the dish or pot and load it into the dishwasher.

Since I also often wash dishes by hand to save the electric and water. I add either 1 teaspoon of undiluted Extreme 18x or homemade soap nuts liquid. Then fill the sink with warm water and set the dishes in it to soak for about 2 minutes. I then scrub them with the sponge and dip them in the rinse sink which I have filled with water water and 1/4 cup of white vinegar.

Some people put the soap nuts into the silverware cup and I have tried this with fairly poor results so I do not suggest this as a perfect solution.

One of the reasons that soap nuts do work on dishes so well is their ability to change the surface tension of both the water and the food or grease. However because of the nature of dishwashers you get more of a splashing of water than you get a submerging and agitation like you would in the washing machine with your laundry. That’s one the reasons I strongly suggest you either pre-soak them in the sink in warm water with soap nuts liquid as described above or your pre-scrub them using soap nuts powder.

Truth is most of the time I just use the soap nuts liquid and powder to hand wash my dishes instead of using the dishwasher. It saves me money by reducing my energy and it saves water since I can take the used water from the sinks when I’m done and use it on my plants.

If you are determined to try soap nuts in the dishwasher just be sure to rinse the dishes as well as possible and if they are greasy use some soap nuts powder on them to break up the grease and rinse most of it off the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher.

Soap nuts are an amazing way to reduce toxic chemicals and packaged cleaners from your home and reduce recycling waste and save money. But to make the most of them you must understand how they work and work with them the way nature intended.

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Today I want to share with you how to make and use soap nuts shampoo. Yes you can replace many toxic, unsafe, skin irritating skin care and personal care products with soap nuts too, even shampoo.

Many people share that soap nuts can be used as a shampoo, but if I were to hazard a guess few if any of them actually use soap nuts shampoo because their descriptions are so identical and obviously from one central source. I have also concluded that people want more detailed instructions about using soap nuts shampoo because I see a lot of searches for it in my analytics reports.

Before I share with you my recipe for soap nuts shampoo I want to tell you upfront that there is a learning curve to using soap nuts as a shampoo, and that some trial and error is to be expected. Why? Well the most common reason for people having inconsistent results from soap nuts shampoo is our modern programming that encourages us to gauge clean against suds (lather) and also because everyone’s hair texture and water quality is different.

Now that soap nuts shampoo recipes and usage instructions I mentioned before.

I prefer to make my homemade soap nuts liquid the same way some people make sun tea. You’ll find that process in this previous post about making soap nuts liquid greener. (or you can use the soap nuts liquid stove top method)

Once you have your soap nuts liquid prepared according to the recipe of your choice pour approximately 1 cup into either a spray bottle or a foaming pump dispenser, or an old shampoo bottle with a pump top (or pour top). The point here is to put the soap nuts liquid in the type of container that’s most comfortable for you. I personally add approximately 3 tsp of vegetable glycerin because my hair tends towards dry (it’s really more coarse than dry but it likes extra moisturizing). If you choose to add the vegetable glycerin shake the bottle well.

You may add a few drops of your favorite essential oil if you wanted scented shampoo.

So now applying the soap nuts liquid for shampooing. Obviously you need to wet your hair. Start with a very small amount of the liquid if you are pumping or pouring it into your hand. A very small amount of it goes a very long way because it is highly concentrated. There is virtually zero suds so you will feel like you want to put more on your hair looking for suds. I strongly suggest you don’t because you will end up with your hair plastered to your head unless you rinse for a LONG time. You are better off to get your hair a bit wetter and use the extra water for better hair “agitation”.

Now just as a hair stylist would, massage the liquid into your scalp since that’s where healthy hair starts and work it through the rest of your hair. Do you best not to get it in your eyes. Now wet your hair a bit more and rub the liquid through your hair again and then allow it to sit in/on your hair for about 3 minutes.

Rinse WELL preferably with cool water until you see no bubbles in your hair or the water that is running off your head. If your hair feels a bit sticky you need to keep rinsing.

Alternatively if you have one of those foaming pump bottles you will need to dilute the soap nuts liquid approximately 3 to 1 with water and be sure the liquid is very well strained before you put it in the pump because those foamers clog easily.  The process of applying the foamy soap nuts liquid shampoo for this is the same as if you use the straight liquid.

If you choose to try the soap nuts liquid shampoo method using the spray bottle you will want to dilute the soap nuts liquid 2 to 1 to keep your spray nozzle from getting clogged. Mist your wet hair lightly from scalp to hair tips and massage the liquid through your hair.

Some people who wash their hair with soap nuts rinse with white vinegar. I don’t but I do squeeze a small amount of vegetable glycerin into my palm and work it through my damp hair before I comb it.

I wrote above that using soap nuts shampoo has a learning curve to it in part because we are so ill equipped to think of washing hair without that luxuriant suds you get from traditional shampoos.  I cannot emphasize this enough. The suds, as most of you should know, come from chemical foaming agents like sodium laureth sulfate and have no cleansing but potentially very irritating effects.

If you are a real trouper you can try shampooing your hair with soap nuts powder. You’ll need it to be VERY finely ground like you would use it for soap nuts laundry detergent. When I have used soap nuts powder for a shampoo I put it in a shaker with very tiny holes (adding dry rice to the container to keep it from clumping). With the soap nuts powder you will get suds because the saponin is more freely available from the powder. Shake a small dusting of the powder into your damp palms and rub your hands together until you get some suds and then massage it into your hair. Work your way up to more with future washes because again if you use too much you will get plastered hair unless you rinse WELL.

The benefits of using soap nuts shampoo are not limited to just protecting yourself and the planet from irritating and harmful chemical exposure. Let’s not forget that given the antifungal properties of soap nuts this is a perfect anti-fungal shampoo that is also ALL natural.

So if all of this is a bit too much effort for you and you really want to use soap nuts for shampoo you have two other great choices. One you can get right away and one you will need to wait about 4-6 weeks to get your hands on.

This is your first alternative to trying to make your own soap nuts shampoo. Because I love everything NaturOli makes so much, I tried their fabulous soap nuts soap bar to wash my hair several times. I was very happy with the results, you get great lather and all the benefits of soap nuts. There is much less effort and you have more control over how much you use and can clearly see and feel when you’ve rinsed enough.

But here’s the best of all … earlier this week I got the privilege of trying out a new soap nuts shampoo bar that NaturOli created. It was part of a trial batch and word has it a full batch will be available in approximately 4-6 weeks. So come back and check in with me to see when it’s ready to hit the market. Of course like everything NaturOli formulates their soap bars are natural and have 100 percent full ingredient disclosure.

My next post will have before and after pictures of my hair using both the soap nuts soap bar and the soap nuts shampoo bar along with more details about why I am raving about this new soap nuts shampoo bar, and I’ll  also be sharing soap nuts uses for gentle natural skin care and personal care in place of packaged chemical based products.

So go hit the showers (or tubs) and protect yourself and the planet from chemicals by using soap nuts as a chemical free shampoo!

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Soap nuts powder, as I’ve written before, is a tremendous chemical free cleanser and natural scouring powder. The last few weeks I’ve found some other great ways to use soap nuts powder for scrubbing and had excellent results.

A few weeks ago I had mobile mechanics at my house to do some maintenance on one of the cars. When the mechanics finished they needed to scrub the grime and engine grease from their hands. Since I knew how great soap nuts powder was for scrubbing the grime out of my toilets, bath tubs, and sinks I invited them into the house to wash up. I figured worse case I’d just scrub the bathroom sink with soap nuts powder when they were done. However, they quickly realized their industrial size container of Goop was empty.

Never one to be afraid to experiment I offered a sprinkling of soap nuts powder as an alternative. Wow, what great results from a tiny sprinkling on their very greasy hands.

One of the greatest things is that not only were they happy and impressed but I got a chance to explain what soap nuts were to them as they stood there scrubbing their hands in amazement at how well this stuff worked and how gentle it was on their skin.

Once they were both done I sprinkled a bit more soap nuts powder into the damp sink and swooshed it around with my hands and had a sparkling sink once again.

Anyone who has done any work on cars or any kind of fuel burning engine knows how hard it can be to get the grease and carbon off your hands. So many of the hand cleaners have pumice as the scouring agent and although it is a natural substance it is not soluble (it is a ground lava) so you end up with a bunch of it clogging up your sink drains along with all that grease and the various toxic fluids like antifreeze you may come in contact with. Additionally if you have the misfortune to scrape some skin or your knuckles while working on the engine those pumice based hand scrubs burn like crazy. After all they have solvents in them to dissolve the oily fluids. Skin irritating and often dangerous solvents are the last thing you want to put on roughed up skin.

Because soap nuts powder has that great natural surfactant (saponin) in it, the grime is released from the skin instead of dissolved and soap nuts (especially in powder form) is a natural exfoliant that does the scrubbing part. Whatever powder isn’t dissolved is biodegradable and also helps to remediate the chemicals in the grey water as it goes down the drain and into the waste water system.

Now in my next post I’ll share with you how I’ve used soap nuts powder as a natural hand scrub after doing some very “hands on” gardening as well as some other really great things I’ve done with the powder related to personal hygeine, skin care, and even garden pest control.

Every time I try one of these little experiments I am impressed with not only how well and safely soap nuts clean but how easy it is to use them and to replace chemicals while saving money and the environment. The benefits and uses of soap nuts truly are limitless, and when you use soap nuts in place of chemicals you help the environment and you save money.

More on soap nuts powders many uses coming your way soon.

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