Jewel Weed Soap

[Pcbrewer]

I have read many articles about making Jewel Weed soap. Every one of them start by saying take a bunch of the weed and make a tea by cooking it until it turns dark. I have a bunch of Jewel Weed growing on my property. I was wondering if instead of making a tea, using it straight by crushing the weed and extracting only the juice and using it full strength instead of watering it down. Is there a reason I have not seen recipes using it full strength?

 

[Obsidian]

Its easier to make tea and for people who have to order the dried herb, its cheaper. If you have a abundant supply, give juicing a try and see how it goes. You'll probably need a lot of the plant and a juice maker would make it so much easier.

 

[reinbeau]

I was also going to juice it and try it. I need to say, dried jewelweed isn't effective against poison ivy. You need to use it fresh. I wonder how much benefit actually comes through in soap. The folk remedy is to take a handful of the stems, crush them right onto the exposed area. I have tons of it in my yard.

 

[Pcbrewer]

Reinbeau, I agree with you on how effective it would be in the soap. I have used it fresh and it works great. I will give it a try and see how it comes out.

 

[pamielynn]

I believe, also, that you need the fresh weed. I have so many people here ask me about jewel weed soap and I keep telling them that it's the handmade soap itself that's helping, not the addition of any weeds. If it's a treatment for poison ivy/oak they seek, they need to rub fresh leaves on themselves. Putting the plant/juice in a handmade soap isn't going to do much, IMO. It's just label appeal.