So…by week 4, this low poo thing was proving harder than I originally anticipated. The week after I hennaed my hair, my hair and scalp were looking fantastical. I was able to go about 2-3 days without washing my hair and not have it looking like I didn't wash my hair--AWESOME. My hair felt 90% clean. I was continuing to use my Morrocco Method shampoos with no conditioners, because they indicated a separate conditioner wasn't necessary. Then my scalp started to get dry. WHAAAAT? Why?? I decided to try moisturizing my scalp with some argan oil for the first few days, then continued to moisturize with a green conditioner I purchased not too long ago made by Briogeo (full review of this product to come). I only did this once or twice and will not make it a habit to condition my scalp (it's not necessary for me), but just condition the middle of my hair to the ends. This seemed to do the job and scalp was dry no more.
I've been doing this low poo-ing for about 2 months now and I think I'm going to stick with it. My hair seems to produce less sebum/oil and I like that I'm using less chemicals in my hair. Don't get me wrong, I'm still shampooing every other day, but the second day doesn't look as bad as it did when I was using regular shampoo. One thing I will miss? The delicious smells of my old chemical-y shampoos. Man. Oh and that feeling of having 100% clean hair--when you low poo, it's hard to get that feeling when you have a low sudsing shampoo. It does feel 90% clean, which is a percentage I can live with. I'll post again in a few months to let you know how my hair does and if I can actually stick it out. Wish me luck!
**Update: I cheated on my low-poo regiment….I'm starting to try natural shampoos with no bad ingredients because I missed that feeling of 100% clean hair. I feel terrible, but I'm determined to get the best of both worlds. I'll keep using my super low-poo shampoo and rotate with more natural shampoos that also give me some lather. Sorry low-poo.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Henna yo hair - the natural way to dye hair
*Be warned, this is a very long post about dyeing hair with henna. If you're interested, keep reading.
I gave up dyeing my hair years ago, and the breakup was painful for me because I used to dye my hair every three months and I loved it. I decided I had to give it up a few years ago because I thought it was making my hair more brittle and thinner. I never thought I'd be able to have fun and color my hair again, especially once I jumped on my green train, until I discovered henna. I dyed my hair with henna a month ago, and I would say it was a success. It's very subtle, just how I wanted, with the few white hairs I had, now a reddish-coppery highlight. The rest of my hair has a slight glint of auburn in it, but looks dark brown indoors. But best of all, my hair is shiny and was extremely soft for the first 2 weeks. Soft like….kitten hairs soft. Or like, I used a ton of leave-in conditioner. If there was a "like" button for my hair, I would've clicked on it myself (and I normally dislike my hair). I thought I would change it up during my whole "no poo/low poo" challenge by hennaeing because I heard henna was good for your scalp, and boy, did it need help during this detox. I did this the first day of week 4 into my low poo-ing (sorry, I know it just sounds wrong).
I gave up dyeing my hair years ago, and the breakup was painful for me because I used to dye my hair every three months and I loved it. I decided I had to give it up a few years ago because I thought it was making my hair more brittle and thinner. I never thought I'd be able to have fun and color my hair again, especially once I jumped on my green train, until I discovered henna. I dyed my hair with henna a month ago, and I would say it was a success. It's very subtle, just how I wanted, with the few white hairs I had, now a reddish-coppery highlight. The rest of my hair has a slight glint of auburn in it, but looks dark brown indoors. But best of all, my hair is shiny and was extremely soft for the first 2 weeks. Soft like….kitten hairs soft. Or like, I used a ton of leave-in conditioner. If there was a "like" button for my hair, I would've clicked on it myself (and I normally dislike my hair). I thought I would change it up during my whole "no poo/low poo" challenge by hennaeing because I heard henna was good for your scalp, and boy, did it need help during this detox. I did this the first day of week 4 into my low poo-ing (sorry, I know it just sounds wrong).
Hennaing your hair is no easy task. There are lots of steps and it is time intensive, but it's a great investment in time if you want to dye your hair naturally (or with less chemicals). First, it's time intensive. You have to mix up the henna with something slightly acidic to enable the henna to release the dye and let this mixture sit for 10-12 hour period. Once that's done, you have to apply it, which is no easy feat for one person. I did this by myself and wasn't able to section out my hair, so I just sort of put it on everywhere and prayed I didn't miss any obvious chunks of hair. Before you apply, you have to cover the ground with towels (I used a giant piece of shipping paper I got from one of my many Amazon purchases), wear some old grungy clothes you don't mind staining for life, and 2 towels dedicated to hennaeing (one to put around your shoulders to catch the henna that falls the the second to go around your head). And don't forget to wipe it off IMMEDIATELY if it gets anywhere, because henna stains. The only place it's really safe is in the shower with the glass and the ceramic.
Once you've managed to put henna all over your head, you have to put seran wrap over your hennaed head, then I put a towel over the seran-wrapped layer to keep the henna warm (keeping henna warm helps the hair uptake the color) and as an added layer of protection to catch any henna that decides it wants to jump ship. Then put the second towel around your shoulders just in case you have a henna accident, that way the towel is there to catch it and it doesn't land anything not henna-proof. After all that, you need to leave it in your hair for a few hours.
At around 2.5 hours, I started to get henna drips down my forehead, which had to be immediately wiped off (henna stains skin), and was not pretty. Do this by wiping it off with a napkin wetted with water. When you wipe off henna with a napkin, the napkin looks like you just wiped up baby poop. I was afraid to throw this napkin in our community bathroom trashcan for fear of my roommate thinking I took a #2 and unnecessarily and rudely, threw toilet paper in the trashcan.
How do you mix henna you ask? There are a ton of different recipes out there, depending on what your current hair color is and what color you want it to be. I would check out this page, which compiles a number of different recipes with pictures of the resulting hair colors:
http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/index.html
I ordered my henna from Morroco Method International and from mehandi.com, but my order is on backorder with mehandi.com, so I used the Morrocco Method henna first. I purchased a "Light Brown" and a "Red" henna from them.
Here's my recipe:
-2 heaping tbsp. Light Brown Henna
-4 heaping tbsp. Red Henna
-less than 1 c. black tea (black tea steeped for 15 mins.)
-juice from 1/2 lemon
-a few drops of argan oil (they actually tell you not to do this, since oil won't help the henna stick to hair, but I did it because I was afraid the henna would be difficult to remove from my hair)
After I mixed the henna, I covered the mixture with sedan wrap and let it sit for 12 hours on my kitchen counter (make sure it's away from heat). My mixture was a little more watery than I wanted it, so make sure you add in the liquid slowly. I also realized 6 tbsp's wasn't enough for my shoulder-length, fine hair, so if you have super thick hair or it's longer than this, use more. You need enough to thickly cover your head with henna--like you're frosting a cake. Don't be stingy with the mixture--coating it thickly is the way to go. I let the mixture sit in my hair for about 3 hours and rinsed the henna off in my shower. The easiest way to do this is to fill your tub up with water and dunk your head in there to help rinse it off or to put a giant bowl in the tub, fill it with water, and dunk your head in there to help ease the henna out. I opted for the second option and to my surprise, most of the henna came out easily. I finished with a shower and didn't wash my hair with shampoo or conditioner, and it was the softest it's been in a long time. I did have an orangish-tannish tint along my hairline from the henna doing it's thang on my skin too. Didn't bother me much and it was gone after a shower or two.
A few things I'll be doing differently next time:
1. I'll be using more than 6 tbsp's of henna--this wasn't enough for me. I think I'll be using 200g= 10 tbsp.
2. I may not mix it with the Light Brown--I'm curious to see if it'll turn my hair a bit more dark auburn. I wouldn't mind seeing it a bit more red.
3. I want to try just mixing with lemon juice and distilled water instead of tea.
Here's a great resource if you're interested in dyeing your hair with henna (it's kinda long, but really interesting and contains good info):
http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/hennaforhair.pdf
How do you mix henna you ask? There are a ton of different recipes out there, depending on what your current hair color is and what color you want it to be. I would check out this page, which compiles a number of different recipes with pictures of the resulting hair colors:
http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/index.html
I ordered my henna from Morroco Method International and from mehandi.com, but my order is on backorder with mehandi.com, so I used the Morrocco Method henna first. I purchased a "Light Brown" and a "Red" henna from them.
Here's my recipe:
-2 heaping tbsp. Light Brown Henna
-4 heaping tbsp. Red Henna
-less than 1 c. black tea (black tea steeped for 15 mins.)
-juice from 1/2 lemon
-a few drops of argan oil (they actually tell you not to do this, since oil won't help the henna stick to hair, but I did it because I was afraid the henna would be difficult to remove from my hair)
After I mixed the henna, I covered the mixture with sedan wrap and let it sit for 12 hours on my kitchen counter (make sure it's away from heat). My mixture was a little more watery than I wanted it, so make sure you add in the liquid slowly. I also realized 6 tbsp's wasn't enough for my shoulder-length, fine hair, so if you have super thick hair or it's longer than this, use more. You need enough to thickly cover your head with henna--like you're frosting a cake. Don't be stingy with the mixture--coating it thickly is the way to go. I let the mixture sit in my hair for about 3 hours and rinsed the henna off in my shower. The easiest way to do this is to fill your tub up with water and dunk your head in there to help rinse it off or to put a giant bowl in the tub, fill it with water, and dunk your head in there to help ease the henna out. I opted for the second option and to my surprise, most of the henna came out easily. I finished with a shower and didn't wash my hair with shampoo or conditioner, and it was the softest it's been in a long time. I did have an orangish-tannish tint along my hairline from the henna doing it's thang on my skin too. Didn't bother me much and it was gone after a shower or two.
A few things I'll be doing differently next time:
1. I'll be using more than 6 tbsp's of henna--this wasn't enough for me. I think I'll be using 200g= 10 tbsp.
2. I may not mix it with the Light Brown--I'm curious to see if it'll turn my hair a bit more dark auburn. I wouldn't mind seeing it a bit more red.
3. I want to try just mixing with lemon juice and distilled water instead of tea.
Here's a great resource if you're interested in dyeing your hair with henna (it's kinda long, but really interesting and contains good info):
http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/hennaforhair.pdf
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Dry Brushing - What is it and why do I like it so much?
Before I fell down the crunchy rabbit hole, dry brushing was one of the things I'd heard and read a lot about, but was completely not interested in…until now. Upon doing more and more research, the pros seemed to outweigh any cons (which was mainly laziness). Dry brushing does provide you with a lot of benefits, but I personally don't believe in everything I've read about it (it claims to help with cellulite--I wish it was as easy as dry brushing to help with that). Since skin is your largest organ, it makes sense that you should take proper care of it. Here are some of the claims that I do believe:1. Increases circulation to skin, which encourages your body to get rid of cellular waste
2. Stimulates the lymphatic system, which helps get rid of toxins in your body
3. Sloughs off dead skin cells, which results in smoother, softer skin
*Information referenced from here and here.
Pretty cool, right? The first time I tried dry brushing, it was first thing in the morning--I felt nauseous for 15 minutes afterwards. This probably wasn't the best time of day to do this, since I'd been sleeping for 7 hours and my circulation probably wasn't at it's best. I'm guessing the brushing stimulated my lymphatic system and started moving the toxins around (but of course, this is a theory at best). I've dry brushed both in the evenings and mornings since then and haven't felt nauseous since. Also, be warned--the first time you dry brush, it may hurt (or at least, it did for me), so start off lightly. After dry brushing a few times, I can use a bit more pressure and it actually feels good. I read a lot of bloggers saying this, and I completely believe them now.
At the end of my first month of dry brushing, my skin was noticeably softer, the little bumps I had on the back of my arm lessened in number, and the number of ingrown hairs on my legs decreased. For this kind of softness, dry brushing is something I would continue to do. Did it get rid of cellulite? Uh, no.
How DO you dry brush?
1. Buy a natural bristle brush--do NOT buy a synthetic hair brush. The bristles shouldn't be too soft. I picked mine up from Whole Foods, but I could've gotten one cheaper on Amazon, like this one:
Sublime Beauty® Original Skin Brush
orFantasea Natural Bristle Body Brush
.2. Dry brush IN the shower prior to showering. Don't turn the water on until after you're done, because, it's dry brushing.
3. Dry brush toward your heart in long strokes starting from your feet. Don't brush so hard that it hurts, start lightly at first. Once your skin adjusts, you can brush a bit harder, but it should feel comfortable and not hurt (although the first time I dry brushed, it did kind of hurt). You can google different images of the directions you should dry brush the various body parts. I just dry brush my arms and legs towards my heart and brush downwards on my back. Make sure you do NOT brush open skin, rashes or wounds. Once you get accustomed to dry brushing, you can brush a little bit harder and it actually feels refreshing.
4. How often? I've read different things, but most of my research says to dry brush once a day. I dry brush 3-4 times a week.
5. After you shower, moisturize. I use a Sweet Almond Oil to moisturize and, not trying to brag here, but my skin has never been smoother.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Low poo - Week 3
I made the mistake of trying this no poo thing exactly 2 weeks before my boyfriend came to visit me from out of town. I guess I secretly hoped I would be the small percentage of lucky people who would go through the detox/transition period in 2 weeks…turns out, I wasn't. I ended up washing my hair straight for 3 days just for that weekend so he didn't have to suffer during my crunchy journey. I digress, on to what I did for week 3!
I heard baking soda was no good, then castile soap was no good. DOMME. I researched some more and settled on a pH balanced, low-poo, no junk-toxic-stuff shampoo.
I heard baking soda was no good, then castile soap was no good. DOMME. I researched some more and settled on a pH balanced, low-poo, no junk-toxic-stuff shampoo.
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| Photo Courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.com |
I decided to try Morrocco Method shampoos, which are raw, wild-crafted and gluten-free shampoos. They're free of the nasty chemicals that are commonly found in typical shampoos SLS, phthalates, propylene glycol, etc.). They have several different shampoos to try (5 of them), and they believe in rotating the different shampoos to ensure that your hair never gets used to any one shampoo and retains good results. I purchased the sampler kit, the Earth and Apple Cider Vinegar shampoos and a Zen Detox hair mask. I confirmed with them first that their shampoos are pH balanced--whew.
I started off with the Earth Essence shampoo. Let me preface with this: I was in the middle of my detoxing period where my hair was pretty gross and oily. My scalp wasn't regulating itself and the oil production was just straight gross. By the end of the first day, my hair felt like it needed a good scrub down--only, when you're trying to go no/low poo, you need to try to space out your shampoos less frequently. UGGGGH. Lots of bloggers will just put their hair in a ponytail during this dreaded phase to get over it, as they see the benefits of their scalp regulating itself as worth this short time of feeling dirty. I'm unlucky in this way because if I put my greasy hair in a ponytail, it looks like greasy hair in a ponytail. So I did end up showering every other day like normal, and this was my plan until after my hair got out of the transition phase. I was told the Zen Detox hair mask would help clean my hair during this dreaded detox, which is the reason for that purchase.
First, the shampoos don't smell THE best. They smell ok, not terrible, not wonderful, just ok. I'm willing to use shampoos that smell just ok for the benefits. Especially with this being pH balanced, contains natural products, and scores very low on the EWG Skin Deep website, the pros outweighed the cons. It seemed to smell like a not-as-good-version of a spa. More of a very earthy smell (which some of you may love).
Directions are to mix 1 tablespoon of shampoo with 1 cup of water (this helps to dilute and help spread the shampoo) and to shampoo twice--once to get the grease out and the second to let the good ingredients work in your scalp.
I did this for the first week every two days, and my outer hair looked fine, but hairs underneath felt gross. At this point, I decided to also buy a bristle boar brush (oftentimes labeled "BBB" on green bloggers sites--I had to look this one up, and bam, here it is for you) to help brush out and condition the rest of my hair. Sebum is a naturally occurring oil that comes from your scalp. This helps keep the hair from looking TOO gross closer to your head. Check out this post from Almost Exactly if you want to learn more about BBB-ing.
Still going through the detestable detox process, but I'm determined to make it though to the other side. I've been reading a lot about Henna so I decided to henna my hair in the middle of this detoxing process because I heard it was good for your scalp and makes your hair shiny and voluminous. And the best part? It's natural. I'll be posting about that experience soon.
First, the shampoos don't smell THE best. They smell ok, not terrible, not wonderful, just ok. I'm willing to use shampoos that smell just ok for the benefits. Especially with this being pH balanced, contains natural products, and scores very low on the EWG Skin Deep website, the pros outweighed the cons. It seemed to smell like a not-as-good-version of a spa. More of a very earthy smell (which some of you may love).
Directions are to mix 1 tablespoon of shampoo with 1 cup of water (this helps to dilute and help spread the shampoo) and to shampoo twice--once to get the grease out and the second to let the good ingredients work in your scalp.
I did this for the first week every two days, and my outer hair looked fine, but hairs underneath felt gross. At this point, I decided to also buy a bristle boar brush (oftentimes labeled "BBB" on green bloggers sites--I had to look this one up, and bam, here it is for you) to help brush out and condition the rest of my hair. Sebum is a naturally occurring oil that comes from your scalp. This helps keep the hair from looking TOO gross closer to your head. Check out this post from Almost Exactly if you want to learn more about BBB-ing.
Still going through the detestable detox process, but I'm determined to make it though to the other side. I've been reading a lot about Henna so I decided to henna my hair in the middle of this detoxing process because I heard it was good for your scalp and makes your hair shiny and voluminous. And the best part? It's natural. I'll be posting about that experience soon.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
No Poo - Week 2, Baking Soda May Not Be Good for Hair?
End of week 1 and what happens? I continually research and find out that baking soda is not the best thing for your hair. Upon further research, I read a lot of blogger feedback with comments like "made my hair soft at first, but now it's brittle," "fried my hair" and things along that line. WHAAAAA?
Let me explain. Baking soda is alkaline and has a pH of about 8-ish. The natural pH of your scalp is slightly acidic (called the acid mantle), at 4.5 - 5.5. Water is neutral with a pH of 7. So what does this mean? You want a shampoo or conditioner to be pH balanced, which should be as close to the natural pH of your own scalp as much as possible. Your scalp is on the acidic side to prevent fungus and bacteria from making a home there. When you use solutions that are too alkaline, you alter your acid mantle and make it less protective from what it's designed to do--keep bad bugs out. Also, when your hair is washed with something too alkaline, it damages the disulfide bonds in your hair, which is what makes it feel "softer." With this version of no poo-ing, you bring your hair to an alkaline state with the baking soda, then do an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse to bring the pH back down.
Issue number 2 is with Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV): this has a pH of 3.0, which is more acidic then your own scalp. If you dilute it properly, 1/2 teaspoon to 8 oz. of water, this dilutes it to closer to the scalp of your pH (info referenced here). Problem is, most bloggers tell you to dilute 1 TABLESPOON to 1 cup of water, which would still leave your hair in a more acidic state than at its baseline (4.5-5.5).
What did I do next? I scoured the internet for alternatives to baking soda and ACV, which a lot of other bloggers did. Turns out, several of them were on to this baking soda thing not being good for them. I discovered another recipe using homemade coconut milk and Dr. Bronner's castile soap. I liked this recipe because it also gave me a nice bit of sudsing.
But then what did I do? I went online to do more research, and found this video that told me castile soap's pH is even more alkaline than baking soda. HUH?? WHY internet, WHY?
Off I went, researching more….to find a better alternative.
I really liked the way this vlogger demonstrates the various pH's of commonly used "no-poo" solutions using litmus paper. She has shown me the light and was the inspiration for me to keep searching for a good no-poo solution that was a bit more pH-balanced.
And here's a great post from Empowered Sustenance about no-poo not being healthy for hair.
Issue number 2 is with Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV): this has a pH of 3.0, which is more acidic then your own scalp. If you dilute it properly, 1/2 teaspoon to 8 oz. of water, this dilutes it to closer to the scalp of your pH (info referenced here). Problem is, most bloggers tell you to dilute 1 TABLESPOON to 1 cup of water, which would still leave your hair in a more acidic state than at its baseline (4.5-5.5).
What did I do next? I scoured the internet for alternatives to baking soda and ACV, which a lot of other bloggers did. Turns out, several of them were on to this baking soda thing not being good for them. I discovered another recipe using homemade coconut milk and Dr. Bronner's castile soap. I liked this recipe because it also gave me a nice bit of sudsing.
But then what did I do? I went online to do more research, and found this video that told me castile soap's pH is even more alkaline than baking soda. HUH?? WHY internet, WHY?
Off I went, researching more….to find a better alternative.
I really liked the way this vlogger demonstrates the various pH's of commonly used "no-poo" solutions using litmus paper. She has shown me the light and was the inspiration for me to keep searching for a good no-poo solution that was a bit more pH-balanced.
And here's a great post from Empowered Sustenance about no-poo not being healthy for hair.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
"No Poo" - What IS that? Week 1
Not sure if some of you have heard this or not, but there's something called a "no poo" movement (which sounds unhealthy and gross, but has nothing to do with poo-ing). This really means "no shampoo" but "no poo" for short. People are becoming more aware of the chemicals that are in everyday products and have decided to switch from using shampoo to using: water only, washing with various natural products, or "low poo" (store-bought shampoo with less chemicals in them). Turns out that also using commercial shampoos can remove too much oils from your scalp, and when your scalp is too dry, it will produce MORE oil. This creates greasiness in your hair sooner than it should, makes you want to shower more often, and this unhealthy cycle repeats itself. I decided to try "no poo" for several reasons:
a) I heard that after a 2-6 week adjustment/detox period, your scalp balances out, becoming less oily and requiring less washing (just hair washing, because you would still want to shower and wash your body)
b) most bloggers indicated their hair never looked shinier and healthier after the adjustment/detox period
c) some bloggers even said it made their hair grow faster
d) I like the idea of using less chemicals on my face and body, period
I read several different blogs about this process and decided to go with the below measurements for my first "no poo" trial:
Shampoo substitute: 1 tablespoon of baking soda in 1 cup of filtered water
Conditioner substitute: 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of filtered water
Some things to note before I move on to my "no poo" journey:
1. I emptied two Smart Water bottles with the sports lid to hold and apply my "no poo" shampoo and conditioner mixtures.
2. It's sort of a process to make the mixtures. From what I've read, baking soda becomes "active" the minute baking soda and water mix, so I made it fresh prior to showering, and this may be a hassle for some of you (or at least, this was the part that I found to be inconvenient). I think you could make the apple cider vinegar mixture ahead of time and be fine.
3. It takes some getting used to washing your hair with just a watery mixture--it doesn't feel like you're doing anything but massaging your scalp. You will get used to this feeling over time. I think it's harder for us women because our hair is longer and you really need to get in there with your fingers with the baking soda mixture to clean your scalp.
4. The smell of apple cider vinegar doesn't stay in your hair when it dries (whew!!). I was worried about smelling like a pickle once my hair dried, but your hair just ends up smelling like….hair.
5. Make sure you rinse thoroughly in between the mixtures! Remember that science experiment you did in elementary school where you mixed baking soda with vinegar in your home-made volcano? You don't want that fizzing to happen on your head in the shower.
Week 1: After my first shower, I LOVED IT. Forget the fact that I managed to get both the baking soda and vinegar mixtures in my eyes (which burned less than the shampoo I get in my eyes from time to time, but stung nonetheless), my scalp never felt cleaner and my hair actually had more texture to it. It felt clean for 2 whole days, which is unusual for me (I typically need to wash my hair every other day). But after the second and third washes, my hair was starting to feel gross underneath the top layers--it just didn't "feel" clean. I'm not sure if this is my scalp transitioning during the dreaded "transition/detox period" or if I just didn't do as good of a job as I did the first time. Last shower of the week, I REALLY got in there with the baking soda mixture and it seemed cleaner than it did those other two days, however the next day, it felt as grody as the day as it was washed. I want to give up and have clean-feeling hair again, but I don't want to quit. Must.keep.going. I hope I can survive this transition/detox period so I can start seeing the benefits.
**Sooo, I did more research, and it turns out that baking soda isn't the best for your hair with regular use. Next week I'll be posting about the hazards of using baking soda as shampoo, stay tuned!**
a) I heard that after a 2-6 week adjustment/detox period, your scalp balances out, becoming less oily and requiring less washing (just hair washing, because you would still want to shower and wash your body)b) most bloggers indicated their hair never looked shinier and healthier after the adjustment/detox period
c) some bloggers even said it made their hair grow faster
d) I like the idea of using less chemicals on my face and body, period
I read several different blogs about this process and decided to go with the below measurements for my first "no poo" trial:
Shampoo substitute: 1 tablespoon of baking soda in 1 cup of filtered water
Conditioner substitute: 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of filtered water
Some things to note before I move on to my "no poo" journey:
1. I emptied two Smart Water bottles with the sports lid to hold and apply my "no poo" shampoo and conditioner mixtures.
2. It's sort of a process to make the mixtures. From what I've read, baking soda becomes "active" the minute baking soda and water mix, so I made it fresh prior to showering, and this may be a hassle for some of you (or at least, this was the part that I found to be inconvenient). I think you could make the apple cider vinegar mixture ahead of time and be fine.
3. It takes some getting used to washing your hair with just a watery mixture--it doesn't feel like you're doing anything but massaging your scalp. You will get used to this feeling over time. I think it's harder for us women because our hair is longer and you really need to get in there with your fingers with the baking soda mixture to clean your scalp.
4. The smell of apple cider vinegar doesn't stay in your hair when it dries (whew!!). I was worried about smelling like a pickle once my hair dried, but your hair just ends up smelling like….hair.
5. Make sure you rinse thoroughly in between the mixtures! Remember that science experiment you did in elementary school where you mixed baking soda with vinegar in your home-made volcano? You don't want that fizzing to happen on your head in the shower.
Week 1: After my first shower, I LOVED IT. Forget the fact that I managed to get both the baking soda and vinegar mixtures in my eyes (which burned less than the shampoo I get in my eyes from time to time, but stung nonetheless), my scalp never felt cleaner and my hair actually had more texture to it. It felt clean for 2 whole days, which is unusual for me (I typically need to wash my hair every other day). But after the second and third washes, my hair was starting to feel gross underneath the top layers--it just didn't "feel" clean. I'm not sure if this is my scalp transitioning during the dreaded "transition/detox period" or if I just didn't do as good of a job as I did the first time. Last shower of the week, I REALLY got in there with the baking soda mixture and it seemed cleaner than it did those other two days, however the next day, it felt as grody as the day as it was washed. I want to give up and have clean-feeling hair again, but I don't want to quit. Must.keep.going. I hope I can survive this transition/detox period so I can start seeing the benefits.
**Sooo, I did more research, and it turns out that baking soda isn't the best for your hair with regular use. Next week I'll be posting about the hazards of using baking soda as shampoo, stay tuned!**
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
My Trip Down the Crunchy Rabbit Hole
I'm the type of person that needs to ease into change. My healthier eating? Had to ease into it, one recipe at a time. Green makeup? Had to ease into it, one product at a time. I've been researching like mad, often leading to some late nights, perusing the good ole web for easy recipes and how-to's, easing into crunchiness over the past month. There's so much more I can do and change, but I'll be making these changes incrementally so it's sustainable.
Tune in to see how these green adventures/misadventures turn out! First stop down the crunchy rabbit hole: no poo-ing!
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