Shampoo? No poo? What to do?!?

Shampoo

Lots going on here to bear with me.

Have you ever just looked around at the shampoo isle at a large store and really considered how big a market it is? It's no surprise it's a billion dollar industry. They make everything you can think of and they do that because we buy (into) it. Shampoo for dry hair, oily hair, frizzy hair, itchy scalp, gray hair, thinning hair, colored hair....and tons of others.  This is just shampoo we are talking about. They have a matching bottle of conditioner with each and every bottle of shampoo.

The main goal of all these shampoos is to strip your hair of everything natural then adding a bunch of junk. They do so in a fashion that will hopefully leave your hair looking healthy. Healthy hair is advertizing term. What they mean by healthy is avoiding things like split ends, dead ends and breakage. We also want to maintain it's look from when it first became hair. i.e. shine and condition. 

How do shampoos make hair look healthy? As we went over before, shampoo strips all natural oils (sebum) away from the hair and scalp then slick it down in chemicals and wax like materials. Your natural oils are good for your hair, like mothers milk for the hair! Why are we striping away our hairs natural defenses and paying to do so? And why are we doing it so many times a week? Why is our hair needing to be washed more?

You've probably seen the explanations on t.v. commercials. You know, the ones when they show you a small clip of a computer generated, 300x magnified hair with all these 'scale' looking parts sticking up... then magically, as the product runs over the 'scales' of the hair they lay down, stay down, disappear and the hair becomes shiny and sleek. You know the ones I am talking about. Well its true... that is exactly what happens. The part they are hiding from you is the reason the scales are standing up in the first place. That is because that same product or some other shampoo... you know the one they are trying to get you to switch over from... stripped your hair of its sebum/natural oils while it was getting rid of the dirt. We are talking about the oils that naturally keep your hair in good shape. To top that off when all the oils are being striped away our bodies are trying to compensate buy producing MORE OIL! In turn our hair gets, what we perceive, as dirty much faster. D'oh! This is just fine and dandy to the places that make shampoos because we are then likley to use more and more product. We use more, so we buy more.

Unlike this lady. Can you imagine trying to wash that head of hair every day??? She did not use chemical loaded shampoos on her hair... she may have used arsenic on her face but that's another story.

Shampoo is for washing your hair. Getting ride of dirt and extra oil. That is all it is meant to do.  The natural oils do all the other healthy stuff. Years and years ago (around the time of the lady in the picture above) people used a bar of soap to wash all of their body, including hair... if they were lucky enough to be able to afford soap. They did this only a few times a month. Some lucky rich people used liquid soap with essential oil and plant extract scents in them, maybe washing 1-2 times a week. These were the really rich. Most of the population would just brush their hair a lot, sometimes brushing it with baking soda or cornstarch like products. This is also why so many fashions had up-do hair styles. It was simpler to keep your hair clean if it was mostly locked away in a bun or under a hat.

Skipping back to present time. Most of the population washes much more than 1-2 times a week (remember we are all shampoo consuming zombies) so why are we so split on what products to use when most of the rich in Victorian era used basically the same recipe, washed less & for the most part, had better results than we do today?

Its because we over do it. Like with most things we buy into the brightly colored bottles and advertizements. We trust the FDA and don't read or fully understand the list of ingredients.
While for the most part shampoo is not hurting your health when just used on the hair. Problem is it can't just be used on the hair. It's also used on your scalp, and unless you wash your hair in a sink, it runs down your body in the shower. The human skin is absorbs 60% of the things that touch it....so not only are chemicals and strange materials in your hair they are being absorbed in a lot of other places too. Some of them sensitive, unmentionable places.

On a side note, do you remember this? This is what I think of when I see most cosmetic/soap advertizements today...

I understand that was a lot of info. I kinda went on for a bit... I do that, but I wanted to explain the reasons I made a switch to homemade shampoo.

Now on for the recipes. They are simple and easy. I will start with the things I started with and end with what I use now.

No Poo
Started with the 'No Poo' treatment. If you have not heard of the no poo movement let me explain. Its basically the most simple and basic idea of how to wash your hair. Very little involved. Ideally it makes it so you only need to wash your hair once a week. Cool correct? Just watch out, in the long run it can damage some peoples hair because of the ph of the baking soda. I started with this because I wanted to get rid of all the residue left by shampoo in my hair. I knew from lots of reading that this was not going to be an ideal long term thing for me. I have sensitive skin and it did make my dandruff worse. Yes, I have/had minor dandruff.  For long term use this is not recommended for people with chemically treated hair. Especially people who use red or dark hair color (it will strip and lighten).

You will need -
*Baking Soda
*Apple Cyder Vinegar (don't worry your hair wont smell like vinegar once it dry, if you rinse well)
*Water about 3 cups worth. You should be using about 1.5 cups per bottle.
* 2 cups or squeeze bottles and a tablespoon for measurements.

Dissolve/stir/shake 1-2 tablespoons (depending on length and thickness of your hair) of baking soda in water 1.5-2 cups water in one of the of the cups/squeeze bottles.
Put 1-2 tablespoons (depending on length and thickness of your hair) of Apple Cider Vinegar in the 2ed cup and top off with room temp. to cool water.

Wash hair with the baking soda bottle. Avoid getting in the eyes! This will not make a lather so it will feel strange. Rinse really well. Do the same with the Apple Cider Vinegar mix but let this sit in your hair for 5 mins and if you can, comb your hair while it is in it. Rinse with cool water. Dry.

You will need to do this for up to a month (sometimes less) before your hair will balance to the new treatment. I did it for two weeks. My hair is darkened with natural color and it did strip it a bit but nothing major.

Honey-Poo
After that I went to what I wanted to do. Raw Honey Shampoo. I took raw honey and did the same exact thing I did with the baking soda. Just added it to warm water and let it dissolve. This is meant to be a more ph neutral version of the no poo. Less irritating to my scalp. Also rinsed with the apple cider vinegar its got a great ph for the hair and does condition very well. I did this for about a month. I really liked it at first but I did get some oily patches at times (my scalp working overtime) so I started taking a little of the baby version of Dr. Bonner's castle soap and washing my hair before I washed my hair with the honey. My dandruff was doing better but it was not gone so I added a few drops of tea tree oil into the honey mix too.

After a while that got to be a pain. All the mixing and such was not saving me any time when I needed a shower but I did get it down to only having to wash my hair one or two times a week. That part was/is nice.

The solution was simple. Go in a quasi-opposite direction of the no poo idea. :p
This is what I use now.
  
Coco-Poo

The great thing about this is you can mix a month worth at a time! No more mixing a bunch of things every time I want to wash my hair. Oh & I'm washing my hair about two times a week and this recipe, it lathers! I can not tell you how much I missed that. :D

You will need.
*An old shampoo bottle or bottle/jar of any kind.
*1/2 cup Coconut milk (organic) I get mine in the organic aisle in a can.
*3/4 cup Dr. Bronners Castile Soap. Any of the scents are fine or you can use the sensitive baby kind
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil. ONLY USE EXTRA VIRGIN (will explain the measurements below)
1/2 cup water - if your hair ends up being oily just add some more water to dilute it down.
5-20 drops of Essential oils. I use Tea Tree & Rosemary (do not use any citrus oils in this recipe)

Mix all the ingredients in except the oil/s in the bottle.

Oils... This part can be a little tricky. Here are my suggestions. When in doubt use the least amount you think. You can always add more.
For the e.v. olive oil and essential oils you need to consider your type of hair. If you have thin very oily hair you may not even want to add the olive oil and only a small amount of essential oil. If you have thin normal hair try a teaspoon and go light on the essential oils. If you have dry thin hair maybe try 2 teaspoons. All around normal hair (lucky you) 2 teaspoons and 10-15 drops essential oil. Me, I use a tablespoon of the olive oil and 15 drops of the essential oil because I have very thick dry-ish hair. Remember, you can always up the amount of olive oil and the essential oils, so go light and if you need to add a little after a test or two, go for it.

Essential oil Suggestions. Feel free to mix and match.
*Lavender - Good for all hair types + treatment of dandruff & itchy scalp (also could use w/ Lavender Castile soap)
*Rosemary - Good for all hair types + treatment of dandruff & itchy scalp
*Tea Tree - Good for all hair types + treatment of dandruff & itchy scalp
*Sandalwood - Good for dry hair
*Geranium - Good for dry hair
*Peppermint - Good for oily hair (also could use w/ Peppermint Castile soap)
*Cypress - Good for oily hair

Shake the bottle well before each use and just use enough to get a good lather on your hair. You'll most like use a little more than you expect. I use about 1.5 tablespoons per wash.  Make sure and scrub the scalp. You can do the wash and repeat with this recipe but it is not required.

Keep this mix for a month. I've heard of people mixing up something very much like this two months at a time.. I've not tested that. If you do, let me know how it goes.

I still rinse with the apple cider vinegar. I love the way it makes my hair feel.

Hope you found all (or some) of this useful.  :)

~ Me

Weight Loss (post 1)

This is going to be a few parts long. This is meant to give people a general idea of things they could try. Everyone is different and nothing will work the same for all. Also please be kind. I'm sharing personal things that most people are not brave enough to share honestly on their drivers licenses. ;)

I have always had issues with weight. Personal and mental issues. My family has a lot of diabetics in it on my fathers side and they are all tall big-boned Swedes. My mother who is much smaller-framed and French/English was ALWAYS so worried about me getting big when I got older. She was correct. When I was in her house she did her best to lock away sweets and tell me that if I did not watch it I would become diabetic and large like my grandmother. She meant well, but constantly being told from the age of 8-21 "Don't eat that you will get fat." Or "Your arms are like your grandmothers", who had old-lady fat chicken wings in my mind. My favorite is "your chin is so narrow it won't/doesn't carry weight well" because it's true. She also has a look. You know that look that some well-meaning mothers have... I don't even think she knows she has that look... but its the "you don't look good in that tank top" kind of look. Don't start thinking I blame my mom for my issues, I don't. She meant well and was correct, I just took it all very poorly.

This may seem strange to some people but I thought this was the way to do it for me. My goal was to loose weight but also get healthier at the same time. No crash diets or cleanses and just cutting out bad things for me. From the start I knew it was not going to be fast. I needed to be healthy not just look better. This included quitting smoking, drinking, fake sweeteners, avoiding chemically altered meat/dairy, and some artificial flavors/colors.

I divided my weight loss into 3 sections/goals. This is better to do than looking at a LARGE numbers and thinking oh I have 40 or 80 pounds to loose. Me, I want to go from 225 down to 180. Better to think I have 10 or 15 to pounds to go and not 45. The larger the number the simpler it is to get frustrated and just give up, as I have in the past.

I started off at 225lbs. Some days I measure 6 foot and some 5'11. At that weight, my height and age I was over the line for obese according to BMI on this page here. This page is a guide for BMI and IBW (Ideal Body Weight). Each of these will not get me to my goal because I have a large frame and people with my frame plus being tall as me are far and few between. It's hard to get an accurate idea of what the average is. I'm not giving excuses for being fat. I was fat and obese in my own eyes but but because of my build people around me just considered me over weight. I wore size 16 or 14 (depending on the brand) jeans and thats not big. I would give a dress size but it's been so long since I've worn a dress... I have no idea what it is, or was. BUT being 6 foot, of a large frame and fat, I was so big compared to others that I intimidate small children. :(

First goal was to get below 215. This was tricky for me because around the time I decided I needed to loose weight I realized that I was sensitive to aspartame. You know the stuff that is in ALL diet foods.*sigh*

This meant cutting out soda. Diet Dr. Pepper to be exact. It was my go to soda, I was drinking a 24 pack in about 2-3 days. After doing a lot of reading on diet foods, apparently, while aspartame has no calories it makes it hard for people to loose weight. Something to do with the chemicals in it. Don't ask me I'm no scientist. *durrr*

So I needed a new drink... yes, I could drink coffee all day but that maybe counter active to the heath aspect of this plan. No I'm not giving up my 4-6 cup a day habit but I did alter it.

So water it is. I don't like flat water much so I got a soda stream. You know the make your own soda machine every kid on the block wants. It's basically a CO2 tank with an injector.  Like this one....

I started drinking carbonated lemon water. Not bad but sometimes I wanted something with more to it so I looked into the labels on the diet soda stream flavors. Most of them use Splenda. Splenda is not as bad as aspartame but its not great. I only drink this on occasion.

Other things I did was started eating breakfast, started using Stevia in the Raw as a sweetener, switched from 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee to almond milk (see my Milk Alternative 101 post for more info), started buying 'natural' meats/dairy and got a fitbit zip.

My fitbit zip is a pedometer. This way I really know when I'm being lazy. The thing makes a :p face at me when I'm not doing much. The fitbit program has a goal of 10,000 steps a day and that equals 5 miles for me. Kinda nuts so my own goal at this point was 5,000 steps a day. I did not hit my goal much when I first started.  The zip has a phone app and it tracks everything, you can even log your food and cal intake on this thing. It's pretty spiffy. At this point I'm considering upgrading to a fitbit force because it has a sleep tracker as well and that just makes it even more spiffy. ;)

It took a few months to really get the hang of all the changes I was doing. It's important that if you start to feel overwhelmed take a step back and reassess what you are doing and consider the reasons you decided you are doing it. I had to do this a few times. I don't think I could have given up soda if it was not for the aspartame reactions I was having.

After a little acclimation to all the new things I was doing I was still smoking and drinking. I was eating the things I liked but just ore aware of what was in them. I was actuly eating MORE food and loosing weight. Kinda nuts but I lost 10 pounds really fast. Almost too fast. Most people don't know this but loosing more than one - two pounds a week is not healthy no-matter what most diets say.

Once all that was done the next 'health thing' to do was quitting smoking. *sigh* I've tried this so many times and failed just as many times. I was really worried I would gain back the weight I had lost. I tried something not all of you will agree with. It's kinda controversial but it worked. Electronic cigarettes. I'll be making a future blog post about e-cigs. As of today I (and my husband) have not had a cigarette in 108 days and have 1/2ed our nicotine intake. I did gain 2 pounds back in Jan., when I first quit, but got them off fairly quickly.

Once I hit 215 my 2ed goal was to get to 200. I just got my second weight goal down this week. :) Now the last 20 pounds and I will be at MY ideal weight. Did I mention BMI is bullshit yet? If not.... BMI IS BULLSHIT. Just being perfectly clear. :)

Next is quitting drinking. I like vodka. I'm not an alcoholic or anything but I do drink almost every weekend so my weight loss is kinda put off on the weekends when I take in all the extra empty calories. It will be nice not to have any vices... ok, you got me. No vices that are regulated but the government. Caffeine does not count! :p

Being down 25 pounds may be a lot to a shorter person. For me its not much. I just have so much more mass to spread the weight around in. I'm still in size 14 jeans but not some much in the 16's anymore. I may adjust my weight goal down even more once I get to 180 but that will depend on my personal idea of what I should be. Not some antiquated or stylish notion of what is healthy.

I don't know if this helps anyone but it helps me. I still battle everyday when I look in the mirror. I lift my arms and see the fat chicken wings and I hear my mothers voice. I see pictures of me smiling and I don't want to show them to others because I see chins.  It's hard but I honestly think that with a bit of work it will get better. Gradually.

Green Goo-Be-Gone!

Ever pulled off a label on something and have a bunch of nasty residue left behind? Or put some tape on something temporarily and you can't get the sticky residue off? When this happens most people go for a bottle of Goo Gone or some other brand. This is the stuff I'm talking about...

These are the newer bottles you will find on shelves now. It has a little orange muscle guy on the bottle and a  logo of "citrus power". From what I remember, the old bottle had the cartoon orange much larger. I was told that lots of kids thought it was candy because of the cartoon orange and the orange smell. A few kids became very sick and I have heard reports that some died from drinking Goo Gone. I don't know if this is true or not but I do know that poison control does have Goo Gone listed as a known toxic chemical.

Yes, it has citrus in it...or some form of it. The bottle does not list the ingredients. Pair that with the illness and possible deaths, and I find what could be in it suspicious. I don't know about you but considering all that, I feel I need to make my own.

Again this is simple and cheaper than buying the store items. 

Only 2 things needed.
A citrus essential oil (I used lemon) Try not to get any on you.
A paper towel, washcloth or rag.

oh and  you will need some sticky residue...

 This is from tape I used to keep the drawer closed when I was moving some things around in my house. Gross and hideous looking.


Now just put a few drops of the oil on your paper towel or rag and rub the sticky area. Circular motions works the best.

You may have to add a few more drops of oil depending on the size of the area you are cleaning.

After you are done wiping it away the residue should have transferred over to the towel.

Eww!

Now just fold your cloth so you have a clean side down on the surface and buff the rest of the oil off. This may get a little more residue as well.

Look all nice and new looking!

Oh and it smells really good.  Sorry, no smell-o-vision app on my camera phone.

:)