Yucca Shampoo – Make your own

Some of the Yucca flowers in my yard.

For hundreds of years, the southwest Native Americans used the dry root of the Yucca plant for shampoo. During the 1970's it was the “in” thing for everyone to buy shampoo with yucca in it. The yucca plant does leave the hair looking shinny and beautiful. This is because the Yucca root contains a natural saponin which softly lathers when used with water. It helps to prevent dandruff and some say that it helps to prevent hair loss. Now days though, it can be rather difficult to find commercially made shampoo that has Yucca in it. 

The Yucca plant.

Making shampoo from the yucca plant is not difficult at all. To do so:

1. Dig up a small to medium size plant.
2. Remove all dirt and chop the the roots into manageable size pieces. (About 1 inch cubes seems to work best for me.)
3. Peel off the brown outside layer of the root, cutting off the hairlike extensions..
4. Use a hammer or rock to pulverize the root pieces into the pulp. You know you have smashed them enough when the pieces turn from white to light yellow.
5. Your shampoo is now finished. You can either freeze it or dehydrate it for later use. To deydrate it, place onto a cookie sheet and place into 225 F degree oven for an hour or two or until all the moisture has evaporated and the root no longer feels sticky.. Or you can dehydrate by allowing to set in the sun. Store in a dry, cool place in an air tight container. If you freeze it, allow to thaw before attempting to use.
6. To use: Put a small amount into a bag made out of cheesecloth. Close the bag and wet it. Squeeze the bag with yucca root to dispense the lather onto your hair. Wash as you normally do.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)