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| At Children's park Guindy. Sapindus species |
There was my ajji, quite happy with her shikakai and soapnuts for the family's washing and shamppoing needs. And then there is amma who is yes, shikakai, but detergent, thank you. And here is me who post-marriage moved to shampoo and did not think of anything else but detergent for my family's clothes.
Until recently.
I sceptically and tentatively tried the Krya Natural Detergent Powder this last month. My good friend Gangapriya was the early trier, and recommended it! Into our front-loading washing machine it went, as I followed the pack instructions, and awaited the results. Hmmm, not bad, not bad at all! (Part of the trying-to reduce-the-chemicals-from-my-household-into-the-environment programme.)
I was intrigued and read some more about soapnuts and their surfactant qualities.
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| Sapindus emarginatuus. This variety has notched leaves. |
Krya uses Sapindus trifoliatus, and their blog explains the surfactant action rather interestingly!
1. Reduce surface tensionHeads and tails, now that is rather vivid!
The surfactant molecules have a water-loving head that attaches to water molecules and a water-hating tail that attaches to the dirt molecules. This creates a force that detaches the dirt from the clothes & suspends the dirt in the water. The agitation of the washing machine or scrubbing by hand further helps detach the dirt from the clothes. As a result of the dirt getting detached the water now starts looking murky.
2. Emulsification
Now that the dirt has been removed, it is critical that they don’t re-deposit on the clothes. This is the done by the second action of the surfactant i.e emulsification. Emulsification is the process by which the dirt and the water form a mixture. This keeps the dirt suspended in the water till it is washed down the drain
I have continued using this natural detergent, and I do feel that the clothes are softer. My ajji will sure be pleased!
But next up, I am going to try 108 Soapynuts from Daily Dump. Why? Becuase their Sapindus is the Himalayan variety Sapindus mukorossi, which has more saponin! Also, they are selling them as full fruits, so they are to be reused until they vanish. So, even though they may have a longer journey to me, it also means that they will last longer.
Interesting, I can even be finicky with my choice of these natural detergents!!
Can I go back to shikakai though? The pods of Acacia concinna. Memories of my youth, Sunday oil baths. Contrasted with the convenience of that blasted shampoo bottle. No, not this summer definitely. Shall be reviewed when the cool season comes again!
Is there anough soapnut for 6 billion people though? Most likely we won't have enough food to eat if we all wanted soapnut detergent, so is the answer then moving to some other naturally derived kind of surfactants?
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ReplyDeleteHey Madras Wanderer,
ReplyDeleteI stumbled upon your blog courtesy Vaani Anand. Thank you for giving natural detergents like Krya a go.
And to answer your question, yes there are enough soapberries, yucca plants and soapwort roots (some of the other natural cleaning substitutes around the world) for everyone.
The yield of an organically grown soapberry tree is about 250 kg a year - so yes there's enough goodness going around!
And the reports of Sapindus mukorossi containing more saponins are arbitrary and do not have any factual evidence backing them up. The amount of saponins per fruit depends on many other factors like how the tree is grown and when the fruit is harvested - if the fruit is plucked too soon, it usually has less saponins.
Sapindus trifoliatus and Sapindus mukorossi are both mentioned in the Ayurvedic texts for their cleansing properties. Sapindus trifoliatus is said to have more medicinal properties and has been prescribed for specific skin diseases like eczema in the texts for cleansing the skin. That apart, Sapindus trifoliatus stings the eyes more (when used as a shampoo) and has a much darker colour ( I use it as a shampoo substitute and it works very well for me as long as I remember to keep my eyes closed!)
That apart, the properties of these soapberries differ because of the way they have been cultivated and harvested.
Using soapberry shells is a much more environmentally sustainable thing to do if you do have the time / inclination. There is a little more work that needs to be done though while using soapberries whole - do write to me; will send you directions on how to use soapberries whole and get a great wash out of them.
It was great reading about your experiments - and fantastic to see how much effort you are taking to switch to a more natural way of living. Keep walking!
Thank you Preethi, for that detailed reply! We look forward to being able to buy the shampoo too, very soon!
DeleteKnowledge giving Article! I appreciate you. I completely agree with you. If we talk about current scenario then it is must be update. I enjoyed reading. I would like to visit more for more queries.
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