UPDATE: It is almost one year after writing this post and I jumped off the "no-poo" bandwagon months ago. I tried. I really did. For more than five months. But, here's the thing. I developed dandruff. My scalp started to itch like it was infested with fire ants. One of my students came to school with lice. I was convinced that I had contracted the little buggers. I made my husband check my head. All the time. He begged me to leave him alone, "I don't know what the hell I'm looking at honey! Please stop making me do this." I sat in front of the mirror with a fine tooth comb and studied my hair for hours. Is that a nit egg? Dander? Baking soda residue? Glitter? Only God knows. Anyway, I decided to wave the white flag and buy some good old fashioned yes-poo. Problem solved. I did not have nits. Just a sensitive scalp and hypochondria.
Original post date: January 9, 2014 (Moving my content from one blog to another. It just feels right.)
My suspicion of the ingredients in many commercial foods and products is nothing new. But my recent zealotry with DIY beauty products is new. In fact, I had this idea to replace EVERY health and beauty product I own with its all-natural DIY equivalent throughout 2014. A resolution of sorts. Fun, right?
Here's where I hesitate. Mascara. I love that stuff. I love the way my lashes look curled and painted. I love the way I can't close my mouth when I apply it. I love the way it documents the tracks of my tears. (I know, I'm in a super weird mood right now.)
But I can cross that bridge later. For now, it's time to forge on with my homemade deodorant. It's been a couple weeks now and I'm still on board. I think it kind of loses it's steam in the afternoon, requiring occasional reapplication, but that's not a biggie. I've also discovered that game-changer--lavender essential oil. A couple drops of lavender in my deodorant and... bam! I'm on the floor taking a nap! JUST KIDDING! Like my children would actually let me sleep!
I'm also trying that no shampoo thing. You've probably seen it on Pinterest. Instead of shampoo and conditioner, I'm using baking soda and apple cider vinegar, also known as ACV to the cool kids in the know.
So I mix baking soda and water together and rub it all over my scalp. Then I rinse. Then I douse my hair with a mix of ACV and water (3:1 ratio) and rinse again. I thought that vinegar would make my hair smelly and tangled, but the smell rinses out and it actually makes my hair softer.
But here's the thing, my hair looks pretty greasy. If you saw me right now you might be inclined to say,
"Hey friend, maybe you need to lather, rinse, and repeat."
And I might respond with,
"This is my personal journey for 2014. This is me walking away from parabens and phthalates and walking toward a toxin-free beauty product nirvana. This is me embracing a homesteading hippie lifestyle and fighting the cosmetic man. This is me paving a healthy lifestyle for my offspring and teaching them that there are few problems you can't solve without a little coconut oil and vinegar. This is me..."
At this point you've already walked away and I am ranting to myself.
The organic mommy blogs reassure me that this greasy phase is simply that--a phase. My body needs to detox and relearn how to produce my natural oils at the proper rate. This phase is supposed to pass and from it I will emerge--a clean, shiny-haired phoenix, startling the world with my lustrous locks, bouncing in the breeze.
In the meantime, I kind of look gross.
So this is it. My resolution. Goodbye drug store and hello goat. I am going to milk you and carefully craft soaps and lotions from your life-giving manna. Then I will gently brush you and sing you Cat Steven's songs to thank you for your contribution to my life.
Maaaaaaa. Happy new year.
- Pic from www.liveleak.com, because let's be real, I don't actually have a goat.
