ocelot | (no subject)

I haven't shampooed my hair since April 1st. I've been washing it using baking soda and apple cider vinegar (see here for more info). According to one thing I read, this works because bases (baking soda) make the scales on the hair stand up, helping get rid of dirt, product buildup, and so forth. Then acids (apple cider vinegar) make the scales lie flat, so the hair is shiny and doesn't tangle as easily.

(This is often called the no-poo method. I utterly refuse to call it that.)

I do the whole thing once a week, with apple cider vinegar rinses more often to help with tangles.

It works ok. My hair smells fine (like hair, not perfume, but not bad), looks fine, and feels fine (not the squeaky clean super silky soft you get from ordinary shampoo/conditioner, but not bad or greasy either).

The main problem is that my hair tends to get tangled very easily. This is a problem for Leif, too. In fact, it's worse for hime since he hates having his hair brushed and gets terrible rat's nests when it doesn't get brushed, which just reinforces the brush hatred. I think it may be related to the water here. It's possible that if I used the ACV rinse every single day it would go better, but I'd be going through a lot of ACV (still cheaper than shampoo - a gallon is like $5.00)

I tried coconut oil once, but it just made my hair feel greasy for two days, and then crinkly and dry after that.

Another no-shampoo method is the Curly Girl method, which involves using conditioner only. I'm giving that a shot for a little while to see how it goes. Looking at the ingredients list on the conditioner makes me cringe a little after doing without all that for six months, and I'm not dealing well with the artificial smell, but if it helps with the tangles and doesn't make our hair yucky, it may be worth it, especially for Leif.

(

basbleu, you planted the seed for all this a while back when you were talking about Curly Girl.)

I wouldn't mind having actual curls, and my hair is wavy enough that I probably would if I followed the whole method, but it seems too labor and hair product intensive. Perhaps I should read the actual book, not just the LJ communities.

About a year ago, I stopped washing my face with anything but water, a washcloth, and the occasional Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Oil soap if I'm having a breakout. I just got tired of spending money on facial cleanser. My skin immediately improved tremendously, and the only times I break out now are clearly hormonally related.

At about the same time, I started using one of those deoderant crystals. It worked great for a while, but the past few months I've been feeling stinky. Someone on

naturalfamily mentioned that they thought their crystal absorbed odors after a while, and that seems plausible to me. So yesterday, along with conditioner I bought the squirt bottle type of crystal deoderant. I do think it's working better (of course, today is also the coldest day we've had so far, so perhaps not the best for testing). While the bottle itself is about half the price of the solid crystal, I can already see that I'm going to be going through it a lot faster (I could probably get another few months out of the crystal I bought a year ago, assuming it was actually working), especially if I can't convince myself that one spray per pit works as well as several.

When it is gone, I may try the crystal again, but use it only immediately after I've showered, and use something else if I feel I need something later in the day. Either that, or just rotate it when I start to feel stinky. Still cheaper than buying other types of deoderant - I think it worked well for at least six months last time.

I want a DivaCup when finances allow. I'm sure I've spent more on tampons since deciding I wanted one than I would have spent if I'd just gotten one from the start, but I've never made it a budget priority. I wish it were the type of thing I could request for Christmas, but it really isn't, you know? :)

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I love reading the Dr. Bronners bottles, though I'll admit I rarely pay much attention to them now that I've been reading the same thing for years on end.

I used Instead for a while. It was great when it worked, flood-land when it didn't, and that was often enough that I didn't stick with it long term. I've heard DivaCup tends to be better in that respect. It also tended to irritate me after using it for a few days.

Probably part of the reason your hair gets oily is because shampoo strips the natural oils, encouraging overproduction. A lot of people go through a big greaseball period for the first month. I didn't much, but probably because I'd already weaned down to shampooing only once every four days or so.

I did the no shampoo thing for several months, but discovered that my hair is just naturally greasy. Ah, well. I just wash every other day now (with Jason Naturals currently, actually), and that's about it. I try to use just a little bit of shampoo, and just on the roots. My hair needs a ton of conditioner, tho, on account of being so processed over the years.

re: the crystal, I discovered that if I use it when my pits are already stinky, the crystal tends to absorb the odor. So it works best right out of the shower. I'd recommend keeping it in a sealed container and just applying it after you've washed your pits. I used mine in India (woo! jungle conditions!), and it worked beautifully.

Also, a friend of mine swears by a mixture of corn starch and baking soda for underarm deodorant. The corn starch even works as a mild anti-persperant. Plus, it's super cheap.

Incidentally, you might be interested in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which is a campaign I do a lot of work for via the Breast Cancer Fund (my employer).

Hmm, the sealed container may well be part of the problem. I tend to drop the thing, and the cap broke beyond use a while ago. I hadn't thought about that.

The versions I've seen recently seem like they may be made out of a slightly sturdier plastic.

I really want to get at my books. I'm pretty sure Grace Firth's "Secrets of the Still" or "Stillroom Cookery" have a recipe or something for conditioner. It might just be stale beer, but I can't remember.

Beer is definitely one of them, though I haven't tried it.

The cider in our fridge may well be apple cider vinegar by now.