Reetha (Arishtak) Sapindus Trifoliatus

The shell of the fruit from this tree is processed and used like a soap for delicate fabrics, or an ingredient for making Ayurveda hair shampoos.
The tree is about 30 feet tall and grows in North India. It bears a fruit, with a hard shell resembling a walnut. The shell contains Saponin, that results in her like soap. Therefore, it is sometimes called as Soapnut.

Names

Latin name: Sapindus Trifoliatus

English name: Soapnut
Sanskrit / Ayurveda name: Arishtak
Hindi: Reetha

Ayurveda Properties

- Rasa: Bitter Pungent
- Virya: Heating effect
- Vipaka: Pungent
- Guna: :ight Sharp
- Prabhav: Induce vomiting

Uses

- Laundry
It is used as a laundry detergent to wash woolen clothes, and gentle fabric clothes such as Silk Sari and blouse. The nut is cracked open. The seed is discarded. The shell is hammered to coarse fragments. 3 parts of water is added to Reetha fragments and kept to soak overnight. In the morning, the mixture is brought to a boil. The heat is turned down and it is left to simmer for about 3 to 4 hours. Once at room temperature, the mixture is diluted with water and filtered to remove shell fragments. The soap is ready for laundry

- Hair Shampoo
Both Shikakai and Reetha contain Saponin that produce lather. The Shikaki has more nutrients suitable for hair, but the lather produced is not very sudsy. The Reetha shell are powdered and added to Shikakai powder to increase the amount of suds. One may use up to two parts of Reetha shell powder to one part of Shikakai powder.

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