Week 2: A Learning Curve

I have officially made it to the end of Week 2! Huzzah! Hip hip hooray! Yessssss!

Week 2 of No Shampoo (yes, that was intentional) was a success.

Going into Week 2 I was a little scared, because my hair just wasn't feeling clean. Thanks to the interwebz I discovered that not only does my area have hard water, but that you have to approach this shampoo-less lifestyle a little differently when that is the case.

 So, all of you soft water people out there rejoice, because this will be easy for you. Rejoice and send happy hair vibes in the direction of the nearest hard water sufferer.

 So how do you deal with hard water? Well, if you really want to follow the baking soda way, then you're either going to have to boil your water or buy it distilled. I chose to boil.

So you boil it up, remove the pot from the heat and immediately at your baking soda. AND IT IS GOING TO FIZZ. Srsly, it was really cool. Anyway, it dissolved a lot better in the boiling water, and after I let it cool I transferred some to my little bottle. Then I did the same with my Apple Cider Vinegar solution. Be sure to rinse your pot out well first, or else the ACV will react to the baking soda scum left over and...I don't know if that's okay or not.

Well, I don't.

So! I double washed my hair later that day. It was a little straw-like, but at least it was clean. Since then I've reverted to focusing more on my hairline and part, since that is where oil is most visible. That seems to help prevent my ends from feeling too dry, and my hair still feels and looks healthy and clean. I am also using most of my ACV rinse on my ends and reserving only a few spritzes to seal up the rest of my hair. I've done that twice...and so far it seems to be working really well!

 Now you're ready for pictures though. Right? Yeah, I know you are.

 So, the first set are right before my shower. It had been three days since my last wash, the style is leftover from Sunday, and the makeup from Monday (these photos were taken yesterday).

As you can see, my hair does not look exceptionally dirty! From the front, it looks perfectly fine. It isn't until you really zero in on the roots that you see a bit of oily separation. 

But then, it was time to shower. 

This photo is after my shower and a touch of makeup. This is how my hair air dries. I can't wait until my hair is long again. 

So far, it feels great! And it would look as great as it feels if I took the time to style it today...which I did not. (But I put on makeup and clean clothes, so the day was not a complete loss!) 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I was inspired by my friend Sarah (of Sarah Makes Stuff) and her love song playlist. I love sharing music I like, so here I am to do just that (and mostly with songs you would not hear on Top 40 radio YAY!)!

No matter what your relationship status, I hope you're enjoying sharing love with the people you care about today!

<3

Because this is a Valentine's Day playlist, we have to start with a classic song from Mr. Sinatra. Only...this is a beautifully haunting cover performed by Angela McCluskey.

How am I ever supposed to choose just one of Ed Sheeran's plentiful love songs? I chose this one because it is about falling in love. "...I fell in love like you fall asleep: slowly and then all at once." - John Green, The Fault In Our Stars

But not all love has to be romantic! This song could be about a dozen things, but to me it's about family. (Again, how to choose just one Jason Mraz love song?!)

And we can't forget our songs about friendship! This song by Lena really brings to mind memories of being a young adult, spending hours enjoying life surrounded by some of the most amazing friends anyone could ask for.

Finally, a song that reminds me of David. <3

I had such a hard time limiting my list to just a handful of the amazing songs out there! There are so many more beautiful and amazing songs about all different kinds of love; what is your favorite love song?

Week 1 (plus a few days...)

So, this is actually an update from Saturday...but I'm a total slacker and am only just now getting it up. On Wednesday.

I took these pictures right before washing my hair for the second time using the 'Poo-less method. At this point, it had been approximately 7 (maybe 6) days since I had washed my hair with shampoo. I can't remember exactly.  We're going to say a week.

Sorry for the crazy eyes. I had yet to put any makeup on that day (since I was getting ready to shower and all) and my eyes were looking super sleepy and droopy...apparently I overcorrected.

Anyway, notice how my hair looks particularly un-greasy? I was thrilled. 

Actually, my hair felt really great. It was mildly waxy feeling in the shower, but I really do think that it is either a) just the way wet hair feels when it's not being stripped, or b) part of the transition, since my hair does not look greasy or waxy once it dries. 

Now, I'm a few days past those pictures, but not a whole lot has changed. My hair is noticeably oily to the touch, but not greasy. It looks much smoother than it usually does, which is nice, and handles the heat of a flat iron and blow dryer pretty much the same way it always has. 

It does FEEL different, though. It doesn't have the same softness that it always did after being shampoo'd and conditioned, which I kind of miss. I used to love how my hair felt in the shower right before I would get out, now it feels waxy. Once it dries it feels like waxy straw. BUT, I have only just begun.  

The most important thing, to me, is that my hair has not once LOOKED bad. It may feel strange, but it looks healthy and clean, and without all of the products I have used in the past. Well, except right now...right now it doesn't look great, but that's because today is washing day and I haven't gotten around to that yet. Ah, motherhood. 

As for David--his hair looks and feels FANTASTIC! I seriously thought he might have trouble, but he still washes with baking soda almost daily. He has had no trouble cleaning gel out of his hair, and his hair no longer gets "puffy." (His words, not mine...he has stick-straight hair, but it IS much smoother since he switched.) So, he really likes being shampoo free thus far. He may try Castille soap when we get some to replace our body washes, though, since Simple Mom's hubby likes that for his hair.

So, how are you progressing on your own healthy life ventures?

Do we have to call it "No 'Poo?"

Really?

Really?!

Look, I want to jump on this shampoo-free lifestyle but calling it "No 'Poo" just makes 5-year-old boy in me giggle.

Even still, last night I officially washed my hair without shampoo or conditioner. And so did David. And we don't even stink or anything.

Now, for the sake of full disclosure, I probably need to tell you that I'm one of those people who only washes their hair every 2-3 days anyway. That in itself might make the dreaded transition phase (<--it's ominous, see?) a little easier, since I do not have over-washed, oil-prone hair to begin with. David, on the other hand, is a daily washer but I am sending oil-free thoughts his hair's way.

WAIT!

WUUUT?

Sorry. What the heck am I talking about?

There are a handful of crazy people who don't wash their hair with shampoo. You see, there are all sorts of ways to wash your hair without bringing monsters like SLS near your precious strands! The most common method of "No 'Poo'ing" (I just want to die) seems to be using a mixture of Baking Soda and water, followed by an Apple Cider Vinegar and water rinse. That's what I did. (Though some brave souls only use water. Or egg washes.)

Okay, so you know the WUUUT. The why is...because I don't want shampoo-y chemicals on my head. There are so many reasons to avoid those chemicals, and I couldn't tell you all of the reasons, but Babs over at Babyslime has a lot of really great information on the whole process. She also has pictures. I love blogs with pictures. (Said the lady who can never find her camera...)

As for the "how?" Well, I'm still figuring it all out. The place to start seems to be with a mixture of 1 TABLEspoon Baking Soda dissolved in 1 Cup of Water (if you have hard water, I have read that boiling the water first helps dissolve the Baking Soda properly). It is really thin. For some reason, in my mind, I pictured a kind of thin paste. Nooo. It's pretty much just all water. So you just pour it on your wet scalp and massage it around until your fingers feel nice and slippery. Then you rinse really well. My hair felt kind of waxy, but I have not determined if it is because my hair actually was waxy, or if it's because I'm used to the feel of the stripping process. I think it's the latter.

Next, you have your Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse. That is 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with 1 Cup of Water. Now, as for the application process...it seems like everyone is doing it differently. Some people use a spray bottle and spritz their hair with the rinse, some let their ends sit in a bowl of the rinse, and still others just pour it right onto their hair. The key with this is that a little goes a very long way, and too much will give you greasy locks. I tried the spray bottle method and liked it, since I have chin-length hair. For those with longer hair, just rinsing the ends might be the way to go. I imagine this takes a bit of trial and error to find the right method.

That's how to start. Of course, you can play around with the ratios, to create a mixture that best suits your hair's natural chemistry. More baking soda results in drier hair, more ACV results in more oily hair, and vice versa.

As for me...my hair feels very clean this morning. It is not at all frizzy, but feels like it might be a tad on the dry side, so I may try using a bit more of the ACV rinse next time. But it looks clean and healthy, not oily or brittle. My current plan is to wash my hair again on Saturday, unless I notice that it is looking a bit slick by tomorrow.

Sooooo I'm off to an exciting start! Wooty woot woot!

Have you ever tried going "No 'Poo?" And also, what else can we call it? Really.

The Journey to Natural-er

We are surrounded by chemicals. They're in our food, our water, our beauty products. It can't be good for us. Actually, we know that a lot of chemicals or other commonly found ingredients aren't that good for us at all. Mercury could once be found widely used in vaccines, but then we learned that it's terribly, horribly bad for us in large quantities, so much so that we even avoid tuna during pregnancies. Fluoride, Sodium Laurel Sulfate, Parabens, BPA, are just a few others that we are widely exposed to but are being shown to be just not that great for us.

And disease is on the rise. Certainly, our medical advancements have made us aware of more diseases, and have given us the ability to more easily detect others, but is that really the only reason? I'm not convinced that the influx of cancer and autoimmune diseases and behavioral disorders--many of which we don't fully understand--are simply an outcome of diagnostic advancements. Could it be that we are also preventing our bodies from being their healthiest by cramming a lot of crap into them?

I'm not a doctor. I have no medical training. But I don't think you need an advanced degree to understand that you get out of your body what you put in. If you put chemicals into your body, if you don't exercise, if you eat crappity crap crap crap, you may reap the consequences. (This is not to say, however, that we are responsible for every bad thing that happens to us. Sometimes things happen, and it's horrible, even when we've done all we know to do to prevent it.)

I'm also not a crazy crunchy, super alternative, possibly-a-hippy, holistic guru. I'm not anti-vaccine, but I'm not pro-either. I am grateful for many medicinal leaps (such as the insulin injections that keep my Type 1 Diabetic brother alive), but I also believe that there is a wealth of information in more alternative circles. I don't eat only food I have grown (I love Good Times Wild Fries), but I see the value in organic and GMO-free sources. I'm not an extremist, I just want to provide a healthy life for my family.

I'm also not going to judge you for being whatever you are. If your family indulges in McDonald's, I'm not going to get offended because you're not eating only pasture-fed beef topped with garden-grown condiments. But then, I'm also not going to judge you if you DO only eat pasture-fed beef topped with garden-grown condiments. Just as long as you're trying to do well by your family. We're all different, and as wives and mothers (I'm assuming that's my main demographic!) we need to build each other up and encourage each other to be informed and do what we feel is best for our individual families, whatever that may look like.

So this is my journey to being a little more "natural." To staying away from a few more things that might be harmful. To just trying to do my best with what God has given me, in the place he has put me.

I welcome you to join me as I learn and try and make mistakes and discover new things. Email me and tell me what you're doing to live a healthier life, I would LOVE to hear and learn from you. Comment and share a funny story from the front lines of healthful living. I only have one rule: treat others with the same kind of respect you want them to show you.

<3