Soap Nut Brew for Poison Ivy
One of the gazillion things I love about soap nuts is the never ending joy of finding new ways to use them in my daily life. One would think that after being in love with these miracle pods for the last ten years the well of inspiration might be dry. Au contraire.
Over the last few years I’ve had to chop, train, and tame the neighbor’s vegetation back to keep from spreading in my suburban yard. It’s not that I don’t like the wild look, because I do — violets, clover, dandelions, it’s all there in abundance. The stuff coming over, under, and through the dilapidated fence is English Ivy (which spreads into my mighty Oaks), Poison Ivy, a variety of mini trees, weeds, vines, you get the picture. I’m not thrilled with the 120 ft of extra work, but for now it is what it is.
With said yard work, comes consequences. My trusty default of refusing to identify and thus acknowledge Poison Ivy no longer works in areas of Poison Ivy abundance. I think I’ve had it at least four or five times just since the beginning of this year.
My OLD standard post Poison Ivy routine was as follows: Wash / scrub with soap then spray with Technu every time I feel like scratching the H**L out of my arms…which is usually where I’m covered.
Like most people I can be dense sometimes, so why this never hit me before I do not know. Instead of washing with my lovely goat’s milk soap, why not use the DIY Home Cleaning Brew spray? It cuts grease and oil like a pro so in theory it should cut right though Poison Ivy oil. Hmmmmm.
Enter Justin, my daughter’s fiancé who arrived with Poison Ivy on his arms from his own yard. Since he had had it on him for a week already and the spots were just starting to pop, it didn’t take much convincing for him to try the soap nut spray. He sprayed, rubbed, and rinsed. In a few hours the rash / blisters looked better and he commented how well it worked. He was really quite amazed.
Once I get a hypothesis in my head I have to experiment. So this weekend I had some new Poison Ivy blisters popping up on me and as soon as it started to itch I sprayed it down generously with my cleaning brew. With my hands only I rubbed / scrubbed my forearms, then rinsed with cold water, pat dry, and I couldn’t believe how much better they felt. Not only did the spray dry the spots up more than anything else I’ve tried, but it helped with itching too.
Once a day I repeated the process and it definitely helped the blisters heal a little each day I applies the Cleaning Brew.
Here’s what the soap nut spray does:
Removes Poison Ivy Oils
Dries up Infected Areas
Lessens Itching
Speeds up Recovery Time
It’s 100% natural with one plant ingredient. Unscented. Safe. And you already have it in your house for cleaning, right?