Bathing

Loofah, Santander, Colombia

Soap nuts, Tibet

Yucca soap, Tewa people, Arizona, USA

Above left: Collected and donated by Beatrice Braithwaite Batty in 1918; 1918.25.70
Above right: Collected and donated by Barbara Freire-Marreco in 1913; 1913.87.102
Bottom: Collected and donated by Linda Mowat in 1993; 1993.14.47Loofah (or luffa), the 'sponge gourd' is a product of a vine member of the cucurbit family of plants that also includes cucumbers and pumpkins. The pollinated flowers grow cylindrical green fruits which, when young and green can be used for food or medicine, but which mature into a seed-pod filled with many intertwined plant cellulose fibres. It is this fibrous mesh that is used as a very effective wash sponge, soaking up water but also exfoliating dead cells away from the surface of the skin. A loofah sponge stored properly and dried after use will last several months.

This example from Colombia owes its distinctive conical shape to the common species Luffa cylindrica. Loofah plants grow naturally in all tropical climates from Malaysia to the Philippines, to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. They have been produced commercially since the late 1800s and until the mid-20th century, their primary use was as filters in marine and diesel engines, although they are also employed to manufacture other things such as mats, sandals and soundproofing. The US Navy imported most of its loofah engine filters from Japan and when this supply suddenly stopped during the Second World War, loofahs began to be cultivated in Central and South America for export to the United States.

Sapindus mukorossi, also known as the 'soapnut tree', is widely grown in upper reaches of the Indo-Gangetic plains, the Siivalik Hills and sub-Himalayan tracts at altitudes from 200–1500m. This bundle of its distinctive black fruits is from Tibet. The fruit appears in the summer and ripens by the late autumn into a yellowish nut enclosed within a black smooth outer shell. The fruit's key ingredient is saponin, a natural detergent. The black fruits are first soaked for one day in cold water then boiled to make a soapy lather. According to traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine, 'soap nuts' are used in shampoos and treatments for eczema, psoriasis and lice.

Another natural source of soap was used among the indigenous peoples of the American Southwest in the early 20th century. This glass tube contains a specimen of yucca root, used by the Tewa Pueblo people of New Mexico and Arizona. It was collected by Barbara Freire-Marreco, a member of the first class of anthropology students to graduate from Oxford in 1908. Like Asian soapberries, yucca (not to be confused with yuca or cassava) also contains saponin and after it is bruised, soaked and rubbed in cold water it makes an excellent lather for washing woollens, feathers, and human hair. According to the collector, the local Spanish population also used it although it caused violent irritation to some skins. Apparently this sample was enough to wash one's person's hair.