Day 1: Prepared all the info and supplies to begin the No 'Poo adventure.
Day 2: I washed my hair with a clarifying shampoo 3 times. After doing that, I was convinced that there was no way on earth this was going to work and debated just smothering my hair with my usual conditioner. My hair had the consistency of "been bleached one too many times and just got out of a chlorinated pool." Ew. There was no way spraying vinegar and water on it was going to do anything. I did it anyway. After a million rinses I dried off my hair and grabbed my hair pick. Shockingly, it went right through my hair easier than if I had used a mountain of conditioner. I seriously seriously couldn't believe it. I thought for sure this was going to be a one-day failure.
Day 3: I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
Day 4: My hair started to smell a little funky to me so I washed it with a mixture of baking soda and water and did the regular vinegar and water conditioner. Everything seemed to be fine. Still no problem combing out my hair.
Day 5: Still good.
Day 6: I was starting to get paranoid so I asked my husband to smell my head. Sure enough, I was smelling a bit "off." He suggested I use a bit of essential oils in the baking soda mixture. Brilliant! I also decided that adding a bit more baking soda might be a good idea. I mixed up 1 1/2 cups of water with 3 Tbsp baking soda and 5 drops of Tea Tree essential oil. I scrubbed my scalp extra long this time just to make sure. Afterwards I could still smell the Tea tree oil. It smells nice.
Day 7: I asked my husband to smell my head again and he said it didn't smell like anything at all. I'd consider that a success. Maybe this will be a winning combination.
Overall, my hair doesn't feel greasy or like straw. My scalp isn't itchy and doesn't feel dirty. My hair does feel a bit softer and less coarse, though. I think if I keep up with the essential oils, I won't have to be paranoid about smelly hair, either. I did read about putting essential oils on your brush, too. I may try that.
Showing posts with label personal hygiene. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal hygiene. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
The No 'Poo Method: An Introduction
A few years ago I stumbled upon a web page about a way to keep your hair clean without shampoo or conditioner. It's called the no 'poo (no shampoo) method and it is a natural, chemical free way to keep your hair nice and clean.
Wait, you mean no shampoo? Like ever? Have you lost your mind?
Possibly. And for those of you who know me, I'm a former hair stylist...seriously. But I want to give it a real try.
Starting today, I'm going to try to do this for an entire month to see how it goes. I'll give a full report at the end of each week. And if I like it, I'll never use shampoo again!
I got lots of great information here.
The basic rundown of the no 'poo method is cleansing the hair with baking soda and water and then conditioning with vinegar and water. When we use shampoo, it strips our hair of the natural oils and then we need conditioner to replace them. The scalp notices the natural oils missing and kicks it into overdrive to make up for the lost oil, causing hair to become greasy. It seems to me that the only reason you need to use shampoo is because you used shampoo. Sounds kind of gimmicky to me. Baking soda is able to cleanse the hair and scalp without removing the natural oils so your hair can stay naturally conditioned. Not only does shampoo itself seem unnecessary but most shampoos on the market are full of things that you might want to think twice about putting on your body. I also read that this works wonders for curly hair, and having naturally curly hair, I am very interested to see if this holds true. There are a lot of products on the market that make all kinds of promises, and being a former hair dresser, I've quite literally tried almost all of them, but they never deliver. I know my fellow curly heads can attest to that. So here starts day one and come back next week to see how the first week went!
Wait, you mean no shampoo? Like ever? Have you lost your mind?
Possibly. And for those of you who know me, I'm a former hair stylist...seriously. But I want to give it a real try.
Starting today, I'm going to try to do this for an entire month to see how it goes. I'll give a full report at the end of each week. And if I like it, I'll never use shampoo again!
I got lots of great information here.
The basic rundown of the no 'poo method is cleansing the hair with baking soda and water and then conditioning with vinegar and water. When we use shampoo, it strips our hair of the natural oils and then we need conditioner to replace them. The scalp notices the natural oils missing and kicks it into overdrive to make up for the lost oil, causing hair to become greasy. It seems to me that the only reason you need to use shampoo is because you used shampoo. Sounds kind of gimmicky to me. Baking soda is able to cleanse the hair and scalp without removing the natural oils so your hair can stay naturally conditioned. Not only does shampoo itself seem unnecessary but most shampoos on the market are full of things that you might want to think twice about putting on your body. I also read that this works wonders for curly hair, and having naturally curly hair, I am very interested to see if this holds true. There are a lot of products on the market that make all kinds of promises, and being a former hair dresser, I've quite literally tried almost all of them, but they never deliver. I know my fellow curly heads can attest to that. So here starts day one and come back next week to see how the first week went!
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Naturally Clean: Cinnamon and Honey for Acne
I've always been concerned about the state of my skin. I've tried almost every face wash, mask, and spot treatment on the market, all to no avail. Since my pregnancy and birth of my son, my face has only gotten worse. Yeah, all those things I heard about glowing skin during pregnancy...lies! At least, for me it was. Ever since then, it has persisted. Hooray hormones.
I never even thought twice about buying face goo from the drug store and slapping it on my face in the hopes that it would perform some miracle. I also never bothered to read the ingredients. There's some pretty questionable things in a lot of skin care products and all of those questionable ingredients aren't going to just sit on the surface of your face. They are going to be absorbed into your body. Not to mention, they just plain don't work!
My sister started mixing honey and cinnamon and using it as a face mask. She insisted it was amazing and it got me curious to try it myself. At the time I first gave it a try, I had a mountain of a zit on my face. I mixed up the honey and cinnamon and smeared it all over my face and let it sit for about 15 minutes. I rinsed completely and let my face dry naturally. In a few minutes, I noticed results. I'm not even exaggerating when I say the zit had shrunk to about half its original size. Not only that, but I noticed my skin tightening and my pores were also noticeably smaller. I finally witnessed a real skin care miracle and it had been hiding in my kitchen the whole time.
Honey is naturally antibacterial. By leaving it on your face, the bacteria can't survive and dies. Cinnamon is anti-inflammatory and helps reduce the redness and swelling of acne. Here's how to make your own:
Make sure your honey is actually 100% honey. Check out your local farmer's market, bee farm, health food store, or organic section of your grocery store. Scoop a small amount into a bowl. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and stir until you have a thick paste. You may need to add more cinnamon. Spread on affected areas or all over as a mask and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Gently wipe off or rinse with warm water. Let your face air dry. Apply a thin layer of coconut oil to replenish your skin's natural protectant and moisture. Repeat daily.
I never even thought twice about buying face goo from the drug store and slapping it on my face in the hopes that it would perform some miracle. I also never bothered to read the ingredients. There's some pretty questionable things in a lot of skin care products and all of those questionable ingredients aren't going to just sit on the surface of your face. They are going to be absorbed into your body. Not to mention, they just plain don't work!
My sister started mixing honey and cinnamon and using it as a face mask. She insisted it was amazing and it got me curious to try it myself. At the time I first gave it a try, I had a mountain of a zit on my face. I mixed up the honey and cinnamon and smeared it all over my face and let it sit for about 15 minutes. I rinsed completely and let my face dry naturally. In a few minutes, I noticed results. I'm not even exaggerating when I say the zit had shrunk to about half its original size. Not only that, but I noticed my skin tightening and my pores were also noticeably smaller. I finally witnessed a real skin care miracle and it had been hiding in my kitchen the whole time.
Honey is naturally antibacterial. By leaving it on your face, the bacteria can't survive and dies. Cinnamon is anti-inflammatory and helps reduce the redness and swelling of acne. Here's how to make your own:
Make sure your honey is actually 100% honey. Check out your local farmer's market, bee farm, health food store, or organic section of your grocery store. Scoop a small amount into a bowl. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and stir until you have a thick paste. You may need to add more cinnamon. Spread on affected areas or all over as a mask and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Gently wipe off or rinse with warm water. Let your face air dry. Apply a thin layer of coconut oil to replenish your skin's natural protectant and moisture. Repeat daily.
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