Native American hygiene plants of the Midwest Great Lakes.

Hello gang. I'm looking for more Native American plants for soap, lotion, shampoo and stuff for the American Great Lakes this year to help reduce the need to spend more for soap and other hygiene products. The only one I know for soap is the Canadian buffaloberry, but I'm looking for others that can be used for soap. I wanna begin with native plants first. I'm also looking for ones for lotion, shampoo, toothpaste, dental floss and that sorta thing. I've done my very best to be substainable with my body and my life on a local and regional level, but the research gets challenging and tiring at most. I'm looking for this column to be as edifying as possible to make a substantial difference in peoples lives. Please share more if you have anything to add. Thanks!

I have no idea which of these were native, but off the top of my head:

Yucca (soap from the root)
Horse Chestnut (laundry soap from the nuts)
Comfrey (dried powdered root plus fine-ground charcoal makes a good tooth powder, which is easier to make than toothpaste)
Soapwort (soap/shampoo made from the above-ground parts)
Jewelweed (gel-like lotion, similar to aloe)
Velvetleaf (also called "butterprint", makes a good tissue)

The list above is entirely from memory, so please double-check before relying on it.

I already have jewelweed, but I'm searching for more. Yucca and soapweed aren't native to the Great Lakes. I've had buffaloberry before, but not the kind I'm looking for. I'm looking for the Canadian type, one native to the American Great Lakes. I'm looking for ones the Potawatomi and Miami use for soap, lotion, shampoo, toothpaste, floss, that type of stuff for a healthy body.

I’ve read that red osier dogwood was used for tooth cleaning, by chewing the end of sticks.

What about for mouthwashing and stuff to fight germs to save teeth, gums and stuff inside our mouth? I'm looking for plants, Native American ones to make toothpaste from.

Ellendra Nauriel wrote:I have no idea which of these were native, but off the top of my head:

Yucca (soap from the root)
Horse Chestnut (laundry soap from the nuts)
Comfrey (dried powdered root plus fine-ground charcoal makes a good tooth powder, which is easier to make than toothpaste)
Soapwort (soap/shampoo made from the above-ground parts)
Jewelweed (gel-like lotion, similar to aloe)
Velvetleaf (also called "butterprint", makes a good tissue)

The list above is entirely from memory, so please double-check before relying on it.

Horsechestnut seems like a good dishwashing and shampoo candidate\

Blake Lenoir wrote: What about for mouthwashing and stuff to fight germs to save teeth, gums and stuff inside our mouth? I'm looking for plants, Native American ones to make toothpaste from.

birch twigs as chewing sticks.

Chenopodium plants native to the Midwest can be used as soap. Especially chenopodium album it's not native. But there are native strains that can be used as soap. By crushing the roots real well and mixing them with water. Also wild amaranth roots can be used as well. It's nice as the pigment in the roots gives the root soap a natural color.

Dogwood is what I usually use but birch seems a little better (more flexible/fibrous). However I live in an area where there isn’t much birch in the immediate vicinity and so dogwood is more accessible. They can be planted next to the house as a toothbrush tree.

Soapwort is not technically native, but they are very abundant in places like roadsides and some streambanks. Their juice is a soap substitute, and a shampoo is made from boiling the roots. I mostly have only crushed the leaves for juice while washing hands.

Wood ash and charcoal are also important as cleaning substances because of the alkaline and abrasive natures.

Scouring rush (Equisetum spp.) can be used to scour skillets, any sort of harsh scrubbing or even sanding down.

I have heard ethnobotanical reports that the seeds of meadow-rue are used for their pleasant scent, which is faint and not like typical aromatic plants.

Symphoricarpos as an eyewash, disinfectant, antiperspirant, and burns, rashes etc

Edit:  all plants are soap if you if you burn enough and make lye

Oak Tree (Quercus spp.), the bark, leaves, and acorns are high in tannic acid, which is a decent killer of microbes.  Folks can make a tea to use for bathing, mouth wash, etc.

Pine needles can be used to brush teeth or make a tea for mouth wash and tree sap can be used to chew to clean teeth.

Early human used wood ash to bath.

I ask Mr Google about Buffalo Gourd aka by me as Stinky melon:

The Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) is native to drier plains and southwestern US but can be found near Great Lakes floodplains and disturbed areas, thriving in sandy soils with minimal water, offering historical uses by Native Americans for soap (saponins in roots/leaves)

https://permies.com/t/68120/melon-Buffalo-Gourd-Cucurbita-foetidissima

Mullein Leaves (Verbascum thapsus), Wooly Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina) and  
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) can be used as toilet paper:

https://permies.com/t/mullein