Bye Bye Shampoo

Getting rid of shampoo and using less chemically options has somehow become known as "no poo." As in, "I am going "no poo" starting tomorrow!" This terminology vexes me, but I still find the process intriguing. (Dudes: you may find this process less intriguing. Don't worry, there are lots of other manly sites you can go visit. )

At the very beginning of my Paleo journey, I attempted something like this. Unfortunately, the experiment coincided with a July trip to Italy. The combination of unmanageable hair, jaw-dropping heat and humidity, and travel photos was a tough one, and vanity/comfort finally won out. 

So, fast forward a year or so, and I realize that when I get breakouts, they seem to be around my hairline. Check the shampoo bottle: While I made sure it was paraben, sulfate, and silicone free, I didn't even think to check for "hydrolized wheat gluten".

So I tried looking for shampoos that met all those requirements, and also had some kind of vanilla smell: with no lavender or citrus. Evidently, that sort of shampoo does not exist.

Fine shampoo. To hell with you! I've been trying to get my hair to grow to about waist-length for years, and always managing to get it "almost there". Then I go to the salon and they cut off 2-4 inches of horribly damaged length. It's not like I'm not asking for Crystal Gayle hair length, here, and I realize that years of dyeing and crappy diet and all kinds of other stuff had probably taken their toll. Hmm. Maybe what my hair needs is "less crap".

So the great "No Shampoo Experiment" began.  

My hair is really long, and fairly thick It also tends to frizz quite a bit, if there's any kind of humidity. Since it's long, it has enough weight to it that it stays relatively flat on top, but the ends puff up alarmingly, and I end up with a sort of "Cocker Spaniel" thing going on. While it looked really cute on my childhood doggie, I am not a fan of it on me.

The first time I tried it, I was overjoyed. I'd gone to Crunchy Betty's No Poo tutorial, and familiarized myself with everything. I got a little nubby scalp treatment thing from the beauty supply store, diluted some ACV, mixed up some baking soda solution, and wow! It looked great! Lots of shine...although I was shocked at how much less curl there was. I did miss the shampoo smell, but hey- that's why I have what I lovingly call "granola perfume". 

We also went for a walk in the fog, and my hair didn't frizz: although the ends curled up a little. I wasn't using any lotions or potions on it either.

Then I did it again...and again...and again.

After the third and fourth "again", I wasn't too thrilled with it. I wash my hair twice a week, sometimes three times- My hair was used to that with regular shampoo, so transitioning to "no-poo" on that same schedule wasn't the problem. My scalp didn't itch or go into super oily mode. I was thrilled with the volume and shine. I definitely didn't miss the frizz. There was really only one big drawback: the ends of my hair were starting to feel like sad little brillo pads. I tried adding a little coconut oil, and that just made the ends look all stringy- and they were still dry. Jojoba did the same thing.

So of course, I did my reading. Everyone who does this says there's a learning curve. There were all kinds of solutions to this problem: masks, henna, hot oil treatments,with seemingly only middling results. Typically, people would give up. Chopping all my hair off was beginning to sound like a valid option.  A few things stuck with me though, and I decided to try one of the potions (based on the fact that I had all the ingredients in my fridge.)

And: voila! I have tried this twice, and my hair feels better and better each time. It looks great, too. As I have continued with the experiment, I find that I am not "shedding" as much, which is an exciting development- both for me, and whoever is responsible for the shower drain.

Here's my recipe for success. Keep in mind that this is a lot more feasible if you wash your hair at night, but you could also pre-make this. Amounts are approximate: I don't measure.

Ingredients:

Honey
Water
Full-fat Greek yogurt
Baking soda
Apple cider vinegar

Implements:

Little bowl (optional)
nubby scalp brush
wide tooth comb
boar bristle brush (optional)
flexible plastic bottle with a long conical tip (like a hair color bottle)

empty bottle for vinegar rinse

Instructions:

Brush all tangles out of your hair. Mix 1/4 c. Greek yogurt and 1 tsp. honey- You can use a bowl, I just glop it into my hand. Mix it up, and massage it into the dry parts of your hair.  Throw it into a ponytail, and watch a TV show while it works its magic. You can wrap it in plastic wrap (or a towel) for extra conditioning if you want.

When you are ready to wash your hair, heat water (about 4 c.) until it is warm enough to dissolve baking soda and liquefy honey. Some people thinks that boiling the water first gives you better results: if you do that, wait until it has cooled a little before pouring it everywhere.

While water is heating, measure 2 TB. baking soda into the flexible plastic bottle, and 2 TB ACV and 1 tsp. honey into vinegar rinse bottle.

When water is ready, fill both bottles not quite full: they need some sloshing room, so you can mix the ingredients. Shake to combine.

In the shower, use the pint on the bottle to get baking soda solution close to your scalp. Focus on the roots, mixture will run down the length of your hair. Use nubby brush to really work it in- this also keeps scalp from getting gross. Let it sit for awhile, while you do the innumerable other shower things you have to do. Then rinse thoroughly.

OK: shut eyes, tilt head back, and pour ACV mix over scalp, and onto length of hair. When hair is saturated, comb through with wide tooth comb.  Rinse.

Then do the usual blot dry. I comb it through and use the hair dryer after that

The boar bristle brush is something I use between washings: it redistributes the natural oils from your hair, so they aren't just hanging out by the scalp.

Has anyone tried a version of this?
 

Warpaint

Doesn't she look happy?

I cleaned up the bathroom the other day, and tossed a lot of products that I just plain don't "need" to use anymore. Lots of "mattefying" makeup, potions for rosacea, at least 3 different kinds of cleanser for oily skin.
I am a girly girl- always loved makeup. I am still not one to leave the house without it. Thankfully, this is now a preference, rather than a necessity. Back in the day, I "needed" a layer of green-tinted facial primer, or people would ask if I got a sunburn. Even with all that makeup- I dreaded summer time. I would be "shiny" in an hour, and three hours in, makeup would literally slide off my face. Not having to deal with horrible breakouts and rosacea and super-oily skin are still slightly amazing to me. I will occasionally complain about having a zit- Just one! and then laugh when I realize how ridiculous I sound.

I still have a big stockpile of what I call Beauty Booty and SG calls "junk". I've tried to make better choices- as I worried more about what I put into my body, the stuff I put on my body came under scrutiny too. Lotions and potions- there's a lot of stuff I hate to throw away. Ironically, a lot of it is from places like Lush and The Body Shop. Stores where you would think you don't have to worry about healthy ingredients? You do. Sulfates, petrochemicals (like Vaseline, mineral oil, and paraffin), some preservatives- like parabens...there's a lot of things to keep track of. Sometimes, it feels like it's ridiculous to try to avoid all this, because yes, it's everywhere. And yes, I want to look good and smell like cookies! Is that too much to ask?

Red rhymes with "lead".

Yeah. I am a red lipstick aficionado. I have been wearing the stuff- well, since I was old enough to wear lipstick!  So when I read things like this, and this, regarding the fact that deeply pigmented lipsticks tend to contain significant amounts of lead- I have to wonder- how much lead do I have in my system? What does 25 years of unintentional lead ingestion do to a person? Evidently, many brands have more lead than is "allowable" in a candy bar. Granted, I don't eat a candy bar per day, but lipstick is a daily ritual, at the least. I can see how that would add up.

I've made some pretty major changes: and most of them have had a happy ending. It seemed ridiculous to worry about where my meat comes from, but not to worry about having pieces of acrylic fused to my fingertips with glue. Those long acrylic nails that I ditched? They were expensive. The fumes and chemicals in the salon could not have been good for me. I found a decent substitute- I really like Zoya polish, as it has a lot of sparkly and fun colors, it's formaldehyde and DBP-free, and the polish remover is effective, but not overpowering. And since I upgraded my polish and my diet- my nails seem to have magically gotten ridge free and strong enough to last on their own. Kind of amazing!

So as I have been sorting, I have been reading labels for ingredients. If you want to do the same-
Here's a list of The Dirty Thirty (potentially harmful additives commonly found in makeup and personal hygiene products).  

Another resource I have found to be really helpful is EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetics database. They rate and code products like shampoo and cosmetics on a low/medium/high risk scale, depending on what is on the ingredient list. If you don't want to mess with that, there are a lot of really reputable companies out there- Burt's Bees, Zoya, and Mychelle are some of my favorites.

Call me crazy- I've replaced a lot of things with relatively simple products. Coconut oil is an amazing moisturizer. I put it on my hair as a deep conditioner, around my eyes as an eye cream- I also cook with it. And on a recent camping expedition (yes, I brought it along) I discovered that it can also be used to get a campfire going, even when it's really windy! Baking soda- I use it to exfoliate, and if I really want to do a deep shampoo, I just sprinkle a little on my scalp along with my shampoo- squeaky clean hair. Not to mention all the other household uses it's good for. Anyone else have a crazy, workhorse product like that?

Some things I don't mind going without, or replacing. Other things? My longwear lipstick is something you'd have to pry from my cold dead fingers. (I did check- no lead!) It's all a tradeoff. I am going to level with you though. I've never found a good "hippie deodorant". Ever. If you know of one, please set me straight.