These beautiful flowers come in varying hues of white, pink, lilac and purple. Soapwort is easy to grow, gets 1-3 ft high, and makes a beautiful ground cover. Soapwort likes sun and a fair amount of water, especially in dry seasons. Deadheading will help prolong the bloom.
The coolest thing about this plant however, is how it got its name...
Soapwort can in fact be used to create a cleansing soap. It's root and leaves are full of natural saponins, and using them as a natural, gentle cleanser is very easy.
You can start with fresh or dried bits of leaves and roots
Boil 1 C water and then pour it directly over a Tbsp. of the plant material. Let it steep for 20 minutes. Strain, and use this cleansing water to wash silks and other gentle materials around the home.
To play with soapwort even more, you can make a mild shampoo from it. Take pre-cautions that soapwort is toxic to ingest and some people may have sensitivities or allergies to it. If you've never tried it before, make only a small amount to try it out first.
How to make Soapwort Shampoo
Add herbs good for hair to your water: The infusions should not be too strong, or they will leave residue in your hair. Esp. Rosemary:
Rosemary (Shine, Strength, growth, dark hair, Dandruff)
Nettle (strength, dry hair, Dandruff)
Horsetail (Damaged Hair)
Chamomile (damaged hair, blonde hair, soothe scalp, Dandruff)
Lavender (Soothe Scalp, Oily Hair)
Burdock Root (Damaged Hair, Dandruff)
Elderflower (Dry Hair)
Sage (Damaged Hair
Thyme (Damaged Hair, Soothe Scalp)
Calendula (Soothe Scalp, Oily Hair)
Boil your herbs as chosen with your water (Let's make 16 oz.)
Add DL Panthenol at 3% (13.60 g.) dissolve in the boiling water
Add your Soapwort root and/or leaves (root is better than leaves)
The typical usage is about 10% (45.35 g.)
Add to the herbal water and steep for 20-30 minutes
Strain your shampoo, add essential oils of choice, no more than 4% total
This shampoo has a very short shelf life ... use all at once or store in fridge NO MORE than 3 days!
OR preserve it! I use liquid Germall Plus or make tiny batches only when I need it and use it up in one shot
this consistency is just like water and using soapwort takes getting used to. There is no lather when you wash and it does take quite a bit for long hair.
Remember.. THIS is natural cleansing, you can't compare it to chemical surfactants!
Pour onto scalp or hair and rub all through scalp and into hair... rub rub rub...
you won't realize it's cleaning until after you rinse
Rinse out completely, and you will feel clean hair
This may not cleanse enough for very oily or dirty hair or hair that has a lot of styling product in it... it's a very GENTLE cleanser
Follow with herbal conditioner, preferably made with BTMS and the same herbs as shampoo
VARIATIONS
If you want to add aloe, count it into your total water amount, but add it to the water after boil to not kill the properties.
You may thicken your shampoo with xanthan gum, (see picture below) but I found it made very little difference.
You may want to play with emulsifying your shampoo water with other ingredients and coming up with you own unique shampoo creations.
You may find soapwort shampoo on my website at
www.naturescomfortsoap.com
Also join us for natural and herbal talk on my Facebook group, The Herbal Conservatory
https://www.facebook.com/groups/621781941240173/
www.naturescomfortsoap.com
Also join us for natural and herbal talk on my Facebook group, The Herbal Conservatory
https://www.facebook.com/groups/621781941240173/
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