It's the nuts ! the washing nuts!

A washing detergent that grows on trees…literally - soapnuts are an environmentally friendly sustainably produced (naturally subdried), bio-degradable and compostable way of cleaning your laundry.
Grown wild in India for centuries, these nuts (sapindus mukorossi) have been used for many purposes including removing tarnish from jewellery and treating all sorts of ailments from contaminated soil to migraines to epilepsy. They are most widely recognised as being an effective and environmentally friendly natural detergen.
While the nuts will wash your laundry effectively they won't give it that fresh clean smell so many washing powder mnufacturers spend millions on , you can however add a few drops of any essential oilsl whether it be lavender, rosemary or thyme or a combination of all of the above.

How do they work ?

The nuts contain the active natural washing ingredient saponin. Similar to soap, when the shells of the soapnut come in contact with water the saponin is released and suds are produced - these are excellent for cleaning laundry and leaving it beautifully soft.
They are especially good for colours: because they don’t contain any whiteners or brighteners your colours will stay coloured for longer. Just pop 6-8 shells into a cotton bag (provided when you purchase them) and place in your washing machine. You can reuse the same nuts three or four times.


Soapnuts vs washing powder/liquid

• Soapnuts grow on trees and so do not require chemicals or big machines
• Washing powder releases toxic chemicals into the magical drainholes that unfortunately don't magically dissappear but end up in oceans and lakes and eventually into our food cycle
• Washing nuts are compostable
• Pricewise, a bag of nuts (!) will cost you anywhere from 12 to 20 euros and will last up to 6 months depending on frequency of usage. Washing liquid/powder will cost you a lot more.
• Soapnuts can not be eaten along with cashew nuts, neither can washing powder.
• There are however different recipes for soapnuts.

Soapnuts are gaining in popularity all over the world. People are understanding the risks associated with using normal detergent, not only their impact during production but also postusage when the chemicals go into our main waterstream. Soapnuts offer an environmentally friendly and economically viable alternative and are set to become more and more popular. Expect to see big brand names incorporate washing nuts in their latest expensive detergent in an over designed container with the latest pouring technology, you heard it here first !!


All the best,


Julien
An ant amongst many..




 

Stay fresh, Stay clean , Stay natural !

Common deodorants including big brand names contain aluminium and a number of other chemicals whose effect on the human body are not entirely known, and according to some could be linked with breast cancer.

Every morning, you will apply deodorant or worse, antiperspirants to your armpits.  Aluminium is what gives antiperspirants their wetness-fighting ability, and they're highly effective. Commercial deodorants can contain up to 25 percent aluminum salts by weight. The problem is nobody really knows what effect aluminum chlorohydrate or aluminum zirconium has on the human body or the numerous other aluminium salts, parabens or triclosan found in all deodorants. Also, something to take into consideration is that these aluminium salts will be washed away into sewers and then eventually back into nature after your shower.

Also consider what chemicals, coloring, chemical scents were used in the process of making these deodorants before this arrives on the shopping aisle and what effect this has had on the environment and will have when you wash it away everyday.

Natural deodorants contain 100% all natural mineral salts, nothing else ! All of these deodorants are hypoallergenic, contain no aluminium chlorohydrate, are paraben free, alcohol-free, non-sticky, and won´t leave a white stain on your clothes like other deodorants can. I know some of you might be sceptic about the effectiveness, so I´ve taken it upon myself to test one of these in the rugged environment of South America J. There are many different types of salt crystal salt deodorant available and I guess since they all contain the same ingredients, they should all have the same effect. Some are lightly scented too. I´ve been using the Salt of the Earth Natural deodorant and I have to say it works wonders. I´ve been doing a lot of physical work, so sweating buckets and it´s been very effective in these type of situations.

www.crystalspring.co.uk

Here are some other untested products which might be of interest too :

Another crystal salt brand -  
www.thecrystal.com

Oil of sage is the main active ingredient for this range - 
 www.global.burtsbees.com

A well-regarded line of non-aluminum products featuring zinc ricinoleate and natural ingredients - www.tomsofmaine.com

Please also take into consideration where these are produced according to where you are in the world !

Stay fresh, Stay clean , Stay natural !