Yucca-root Shampoo

Image Gallery The roots of the yucca plant make a great soap for washing your hair or laundry! MOTHER EARTH NEWS STAFF

The various species of yucca — some of which are known today as Spanish bayonet, Adam's-needle, soapweed, datil, whipple or dagger plant — were of prime economic importance to many Indian tribes of the American Southwest. The sharp-pointed, waxy leaves furnished excellent fibers for weaving. The long flower stalks and creamy white blossoms were used by the Apaches as food and — most important for our purposes — the roots of the yucca provided many native Americans with suds for washing their hair and clothes.

Yucca roots (called a mole) contain the compound saponin, which has detergent properties and seems to exert a particularly beneficial effect on the protein in animal fiber.

And there's no reason why you can't try a yucca wash yourself, because the versatile plants — formerly classified as Liliaceae, but more recently placed in the new family Agavaceae — are found in the southwestern (and, to some extent, southeastern) United States, Mexico, and the West Indies.

You Can Dig It!

Soapweed roots can be gathered at any time of the year, provided the ground isn't frozen. However, since regulations regarding wild plant collection vary, be sure to check your state's laws before you begin to dig. Then, if there aren't any restrictions on gathering yuccas in your area, select a small to medium-sized plant that can be dug up without too much difficulty — even a young bush will yield enough roots for a dozen or so shampoos.

Next, remove all loose dirt with a stiff brush or old rag, and use a small hatchet to chop the roots into manageable (potato-size) pieces. Now, with a sharp paring knife, cut off the hairlike extensions and the outer root covering, being careful to keep the newly exposed surfaces as clean as possible.

Once that's done, whack the peeled pieces into smaller chunks (about the size of ice cubes) and use a hammer or blender to pulverize these pieces of root into a pulp. When the mush's color has changed from white to light amber, your new shampoo is ready to be used, dried, or frozen (yucca keeps well when preserved by either of the two methods).

Shampoo Storage

If you'd like to sun-dry the roots, spread the material thinly on a clean surface and leave it in direct sunshine until all of its moisture has evaporated. (When the squeezed pulp is no longer sticky and spongy — but feels sort of crackly — it's dry enough to be stored.)