Friday, April 13, 2012

does that make me crunchy?

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I just took a shower. I should probably reserve a bit of dignity for myself and not tell you how often I shower. I'll pretend its because I have a busy toddler. But it's not.

Though I now feel the need to share... it isn't good for you to shower every day. Probably not even every other day. Your body has quite a few wonderful self cleaning processes and cleaning too often can really interfere with them. It may lead to acne, dry skin, etc. And then you most likely shower more and put more unhelpful things on your skin in attempt to alleviate the problem. It's a vicious cycle. And any television station you watch or magazine you flip through will be certain to encourage this process.

By "you" I don't mean all of you. Maybe some of you? One of you? Regardless.. just some food for thought. :)

Anywho - I took a shower.

I feel the need to share this information because I feel quite refreshed and pleased with myself after this particular shower.

I used a simple bar of soap with three ingredients.
I did not use shampoo - I recently jumped on the "no 'poo" bandwagon.
I scrubbed with sugar scrub that I made.
Afterwards I brushed my teeth with http://anowlsnest.com/2012/03/31/homemade-toothpaste/.
I might even slap on some homemade deodorant.

That was an incredibly inexpensive, non-toxic, refreshing, healthy shower. :)

How do you feel about each of those things? I'm assuming if you haven't yet heard of it you may be stuck on the "no 'poo" part. No shampoo. That's right. We've given it up. Even if you use natural shampoos.. take a peek at the label. There are a heck of a lot of things in there you probably don't want on your head. What we're doing is pretty simple. I put two cups of water and two tablespoons of baking soda in a spray bottle. There you go. "shampoo"

Tonight was my first try - I've heard your hair can get pretty oily and weird for a little bit after just starting it so I'll post an update later and let you know how it's going.

Why no shampoo, you ask? Shampoo hasn't been around forever. Hair worked out just fine and dandy before it came along. Shampoo actually strips your hair of useful things. It can become oily because its trying to overcompensate. Or dry and frizzy because it isn't trying to compensate. Complicated. Messes with the natural eb and flow of oils. So I'll give my head a chance to get back its equilibrium and see what happens. I'd love to only use baking soda and water on my hair when I shower.. I really would! No dyes, no fragrances, no chemicals, no weird processes to make it, no worry about what happens when it goes down the drain..

Fingers crossed. :)

5 comments:

  1. I will admit I only shower twice a week. The main reason, because I'm lazy. The second, because I'm cheap and like to use as little water as possible. And the third, because if I showered more than that my hair would be a giant frizz ball. You'll have to let me know how this works for you. We do have enough shampoo to last another year or so, so I will have to try that when it's gone if it works.

    ps When I had dreads I think I only showered once a month haha.

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  2. I shower that.. or less. ha. But I really do think it's better for us, among the other reasons such as being cheap and lazy. haha.

    So far I've done the "no 'poo" three times and its going well. My hair isn't reacting weird at all. The texture has changed a little bit and its sort of tangly after washing but I just brush it and its fine. So far so good...

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  3. Catching up on your posts and writing down all your recipes to try! Could you please define crunchy for me? :-s

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  4. It's sort of like a modern day hippie... It doesn't really have a super set definition but "crunchy" people (moms specifically) usually breastfeed, cloth diaper, birth naturally, baby wear, eat locally, reuse things, eat organically, make food and cleaning things from scratch... In general people that focus on safe, healthy, and natural choices for themselves, their families, and the earth.

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  5. Vinegar stinks but makes an excellent rinse for your hair. Leaves it shiny and helps lessen tangles.

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