Mo wants to know… I came across an excellent brand called Biotique and all their facial cleansers are soap and surfactant free. The primary ingredient in all their products is “Sapindus / Soapberry/ Soapnut.” Is Soapnut a good cleanser? 
The Right Brain is nuts about soapnut:
Actually, Mo, soapnut is one of those natural ingredients that may really be worth the hype. So before we talk about Biotique we’ll give you some background on non-soapy soapnut.
Soap to nuts
Soapnut, also known as soapberry, is a plant belonging to the genus Sapindus. You can extract a chemical called saponin from the plant’s berries which is a natural, low-foaming detergent. Saponin belongs to a class of chemical compounds known as amphipathic glycosides, for those of you keeping score at home. They can be found in may parts of plants including leaves, stems, roots, bulbs, blossoms, and even fruit.
Are saponins good for skin?
Although they don’t foam much, saponins are good, gentle cleansers. So while they may not be powerful enough to remove waterproof mascara, they are very good at gently cleansing skin to remove excess oils. And, the benefits of this natural extract may extend far beyond mild cleansing. There are numerous studies on the medicinal properties of saponins; for example, according to this article on saponins from Pubmed, certain types of saponins from red ginseng can counteract the effects of ultraviolet B-induced skin aging in hairless mice and have a positive effect on skin thickness, elasticity, and wrinkle formation. Interesting!
Baffled by Biotique
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any specific list of ingredients for any Biotique products. Without that crucial information we can only speculate about how they use soapnut. One possibility is that they really do use soapnut as their primary cleansing agent leaving out any soaps or synthetic detergents. In that case, it may be a very mild cleanser (although probably low foaming). Another possibility is that Biotique uses soapnut as more of a marketing ploy to differentiate their products in which case they may be adding small amounts of soapnut to formulas that contain typical cleansing agents. A quick review of a Biotique ingredient list, if we can find one, will make the answer obvious.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Soapnut (also known as soapberry) is a valid, gentle, natural cleanser but we don’t know how Biotique is using it. We’ll keep our eyes open and if we find an ingredient list we’ll update this post.
Has anyone bought Biotique or any other soapnut based products? Leave a comment and share your experiences with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m surprised you gave them a pass on the ridiculous “surfactant free” claim…
The difference between the Left / Right Brains I guess.
@ Soapyguy: This is why I can’t drink White Zin before blogging! I read “surfactant free” but my mind thought “synthetic detergent free” so I didn’t give them any crap. Thanks for keeping me honest!
Soap nuts are going to change history. They are possibly one of the greatest re-discoveries of our age. Nothing could come at a better time. They are REALLY – yes, REALLY – green and economical. They are awesome for detergent, household cleaners and personal care. Real diamonds in the rough. I suggest NaturOli for the most informed company. They are located in the USA in AZ.
Oh, me again. A couple other FANTASTIC sites for TONS of original and unique info and ideas regarding soap nuts are http://www.soap-nuts.info
We can supply Soapnut shell with / or without seed. Also we can supply Herbs,spcies, Herbal products, Essential oil.
If you are interest please contacts our email address asanexports@gmail.com.
I’ve used Biotique products, and as far as I know they’re Indian. The shampoos do use natural ingredients, without any sulphates. I’ve used their Walnut Bark and Green Apple shampoos. They’re both great, I like them a lot better than other shampoos available here, and have been using these for a while now. (Other times I use herbs such as Shikakai on my hair.) Their hair oils are excellent too, the Bhringraj one is my favourite.
The ingredient list for the Walnut Bark shampoo (which I’m using right now so I have the bottle at hand) is – Juglans Regia Ext., Embelica Officinalis Ext., Nardostachys Jatamansi Ext., Sapindus Mukorossi Ext., Purified Water.
Sapindus Mukorossi would be what you call Soapnut, it’s called Ritha or Aritha here. I hope that helps, I can give you more information should you need any.
As for using Ritha on the skin, I haven’t heard of anyone doing that here. People usually use it on the hair, or for washing their clothes in hot water. I didn’t know Biotique’s skin products used Ritha… it’s unlikely.
I’ve checked, and they do use soapnut in their facial cleansers. I’ve bought the product and although I’ve only used it once I’m optimistic. All of Biotique’s products are biodegradable and aren’t tested on animals. They advertise saying they don’t use any ‘harmful chemicals’ or chemical fragrances. Its a good brand as far as my experience goes.
I am an Indian, and yes S, Biotique is an Indian brand.
Ages before Biotique was formed, and their products were created, we used to live a non-detergent life – they were only meant for our clothes.
We boiled ritha (soapnut), shikakai (walnut bark) & amalaki (indian gooseberry), thenmashed them and extracted the liquid as shampoo to clean and lustre our hair. For the body we generally used gram flour paste, with maybe a bit of powdered ritha water in it (but that exfoliater would be luxury to add in). With these herbal products that add a little more, it just makes life a little more convenient, but yes they are definitely good for you.
I have used Biotique Honey Gel. It is a foaming face wash meant for all skin types. I have combination skin & though it would be good as it is HONEY gel.
Rubbish. It do control my T-Zone oil in dry weather but completely dries my cheeks & under eye skin. It lathers more than Himalaya Herbals or Pears Face Wash.
120 mL for Rs 135
Hi, i use Bio – Coconut , n i find it very effective, n i think of using their cleansers as well [ls help me in finding a good hair cleanser from biotique
Hi,
Today I read on the internet you can get nettle rash from soapnuts. Does anyone know if that is true??
Sophie,
the Netherlands
{ 3 trackbacks }