Learn » What Are Soap Nuts?
There are about 10 different species of soapberry (sapindus) trees. Soap nuts are the dried shells protecting the fruit/berry of these trees. We honestly have no idea how the name “soap nuts” stuck, as they’re not actually nuts.
Nature’s Wash Berries happen to be of the sapindus mukorossi variety, which grows in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, India, and Pakistan. This species not only grows prolifically in the forests there but are the highest quality, producing more soap per berry than any other species.
All soap nut shells are saturated in saponin. Natural and organic soap makers use fats (usually palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, etc.) and lye in a chemical process called saponification to create soap. The beauty of soap nuts is that the tree has already created the saponins for us! Saponins reduce the surface tension of water, allowing oils (grease, stains, dirt, etc.) to more easily lift off and be rinsed away in the wash water.
Conventional detergents use synthetic and harsh chemicals to achieve this exact same process (and many other unwanted processes!) Saponins are a type of surfactant. They are technically not “soap” as real soaps, the kind made via the process above, contains glycerin. Soap nuts contain no glycerin, just concentrated saponin.
So we just learned that soap nuts are not technically soap nor or they technically nuts. That’s why we call ours Nature’s Wash Berries. Either way, they’re still incredibly amazing products. Soap nuts also happen to be anti-microbial and anti-bacterial. This makes sense because in nature that would help protect the seeds inside these shells from fungus, bacteria, and infection. Because of these properties, however, along with the fact that they contain no clogging or gelling ingredients, soap nuts are AMAZING for those on greywater and septic water systems.
We invite you to try some for yourselves. Or, alternatively, you could let us show you how effective they are! Our sister company, Laundry Elf, will wash and fold your clothes using Nature’s Wash Berries and even deliver them afterward.