Natural Herbal Native American Hair Wash Recipe

The genus Yucca consists of about 40 different varieties of plants native to the New World. Some common names for yucca plants include soapweed, Spanish bayonet, datil and whipple. Many parts of the yucca plant served the Native American peoples in many ways, including providing fibers for weaving and food. The roots of the yucca plant were crushed and used as shampoo and soap for cleaning laundry. A substance in the root, saponin, is a natural detergent. Yucca grows naturally in the American Southwest, as well as in Mexico and the Caribbean.

Things You'll Need

• Small shovel
• Stiff brush
• Knife
• Blender
• Water
• Strainer

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Instructions

• 1

  Dig up a yucca plant and gather several pounds of root. Plants should be small enough that you can dig it up easily. Brush off the dirt with a stiff brush and cut the roots into 6-inch pieces. Carry the pieces to your kitchen for preparation.

• 2

  Peel the root pieces and cut into cubes. Place a couple of handfuls of root cubes in a blender. Turn the blender on chop until the yucca root becomes a pulpy slush. Keep processing until the color becomes a light amber color.

• 3

  Mix a small amount of the pulp with water in a blender for a few seconds to make suds, strain out the pulp fibers and use as you would any other shampoo.

• 4

  Store unused, undiluted pulp in the freezer in tightly sealed containers. Thaw before using it.