Soap Nuts

I recently read a blogpost over on the Itchy Little World site extolling the virtues of soap nuts.

My curiosity was piqued.

I did a little research and found out that soap nuts are actually dried berries that release saponins when they get wet, causing them to foam up. Native peoples have been using them for generations to wash clothing, the body and hair.

There is much anecdotal evidence from parents with eczema prone kids who quit using detergents and found that their children's eczema improved.

However, I have also read lots of  bad stuff about them too, such as this report suggesting that they do not work at all and are just a marketing gimmick. After all, the first few times you wash you clothes with the soap nuts, there will be a certain amount of detergent still embedded in the clothes from previous washes. Maybe that is why they seem less effective over time.

I also had a bad experience using ecoballs, which simply did not work for me and there is no concrete scientific evidence showing how they work anyway.

I am open minded about the soapnuts. I hope they work, as it will save me a fortune in detergent costs. Having a family, I usually do a couple of wash loads a day and it soon adds up. I would sincerely love to go detergent free because I do not think that detergents are good for the skin barrier or the environment.

I will report back tomorrow on how the soapnuts tackled my sons dirty collars on his school shirts.

Watch this space.