a view of what i do, know, and think

Posts tagged no shampoo

No ‘Poo Update



At the end of February I did a lot of research about the evil of shampoo and decided that it wasn’t worth keeping around. It has now been over eight weeks without shampoo. There are things to know about no ‘poo and how it has worked out for us.

My husband’s hair was greasy at first, but it looked great pretty quickly. In fact, it doesn’t get greasy like it did before. His hair is better than ever and feels good to touch. He also had a really big sensitivity to shampoo so he loves it being gone. He had a little bit of dandruff so he now rinses it with a vinegar and water rinse when he showers.

The kids didn’t seem to notice that we don’t use soap and shampoo anymore. Their no ‘poo experience has gone really well since their hair looks good and is cleaner because my son no longer fights with me about washing it. They are four and two though, so it isn’t like they had a greasy issue anyway. :-P

My situation hasn’t been that great. About four weeks in my hair stopped looking gross. It looked pretty normal or like I put moose in it. However, it felt terrible. In fact, I was wondering just last week if I was going to be able to pull of the no ‘poo thing after all or if I would have to find some sort of natural shampoo. However, this week it looks and feels a lot better! I am definitely hoping that it will continue on this way and it will be all good. I have been using baking soda rinse and then vinegar rinse about once a week. I don’t want to do it more than that because I don’t want to be dependent on it.

As for soap…that one has been easy. Sometimes I do a clay mask for the wonderful feeling of it. However, most of it is just a good sponge, a pair of gloves, and a loofah. I feel cleaner and my skin seems happier.

Other changes we have made:

  • We got rid of deodorant. I made up a mix of coconut oil, baking soda, corn starch, cocoa butter, tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and spearmint oil. I didn’t like it, but my husband did/does. I mixed up water with corn starch, baking soda, tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and spearmint oil. I then put it in a spray bottle. I spray it on and love it.
  • We got rid of toothpaste and mouthwash. Tooth paste was really hard at first. I mixed together  baking soda with tea tree oil. Baking soda is great for cleaning the teeth and tea tree oil kills bacteria. Then I added some peppermint and spearmint extracts for flavor. It taste pretty salty and was really hard to handle at first. However, I don’t mind it now and have seen good results. My teeth feel a lot cleaner and my husbands are a lot whiter. For mouth wash we used hydrogen peroxide and the mint extracts. That didn’t have enough power behind it so this time I mixed 1 part rum to 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and added tea tree oil and the mint extracts. It taste okay, but I think I will actually be adding more alcohol to the next batch. I am also going to look for a stronger alcohol such as Ever Clear later on.
  • We got rid of lotion. I mixed up a lot of oils including coconut oil to start with. This felt great, but dried really fast. Lately I have been too busy/lazy to mix new so we have been using grapeseed oil. It feels pretty good and is really simple. A little also goes a long way.

It’s amazing what you really don’t need in your life and how it works out to be when you are getting rid of stuff. Shampoo is the only thing I really miss and I think I am getting closer and closer to finally being free of the nasty part of no ‘poo. It hasn’t been easy and for me it has taken longer than 3 weeks! I will keep you updated…

I would love to hear your story. Have you gotten rid of shampoo? Do you want to?

Uncategorized    , , , ,

Solutions for No ‘Poo and No Soap



Nearly four weeks ago I stopped using shampoo and soap (except for hand washing). I have worked really hard not to simply replace my harsh and chemical ridden soap and shampoo with harsh for your skin home care products. However, there are a few things that I have added because I wanted just a little extra.

Solutions for No ‘Poo.

There are a lot of things out there that you can replace your shampoo with. There are organic shampoos that don’t have fragrances, dyes, or harsh chemicals (though you won’t get the traditional lather). There are shampoo bars as well that work in a similar fashion. Then there is a mix of baking soda and water (1 tablespoon of baking soda to 1 cup of water) for shampoo and a mix of vinegar water (1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of water) for shampoo.

I choose to make up some baking soda water and some vinegar water with a cinnamon stick added for a bit of fragrance. I have worked real hard not to just replace my normal shampooing methods with these alternatives. I have only used the baking soda and vinegar three times in four weeks. My husband used the vinegar water one time to help with his itchy flaking scalp and it worked wonders. All in all though we are sticking with mostly water and it will take ages to go through the baking soda and vinegar water mixes.

Solutions for No Soap.

Some people use soap in areas that smell worse than others such as the arm pits, the privates, and sometimes the feet. I really didn’t want to do that if we were getting rid of soap. So I mixed a tiny bit of baking soda, vinegar, tea tree oil (natural antibacterial), and mint (to cover the tea tree oil) and have been using this on my arm pits every few days. That’s it there. My feet get really dirty when I go outside without shoes so I sprinkle them with a bit of baking soda and then scrub them with a brush. Works great, keeps them clean, they smell better than ever before (I am one of the unfortunate women to have a smelly feet issue), and it feels good as well.

Solutions for Face Washing.

Face washing is something most people don’t talk about much, but it can be an issue for those with really oily skin. I never used a ton of products on my face and I went through a whole period where I only washed with baking soda on my face. I wanted something spa like the other day so I mixed a tiny bit of clay (purchased from The Soap Dish) and a tiny bit of baking soda with a dab of water. I used this as a clay mask and loved how it felt. It won’t be a regular part of my life, but it does feel luxurious.

All in all, I am pretty happy with how everything is working out and my hair feels more and more normal as the days go by. I can’t wait till it is completely normal again! I look forward to the post that says, “It worked and my hair is more beautiful than before!”. Today isn’t that day. I have also gotten a bit more extreme in the whole thing…but that will have to wait for another day.

Have you gotten rid of something unhealthy in your life and replaced it with something healthier? If so, I want to hear your story!

Crazy Woman!    ,

I Haven’t Used Soap In Nearly Three Weeks



Okay, first off I should say that the title isn’t exactly true. I haven’t washed my body with soap, but I continue to use it a few times a day on my hands. I also haven’t used shampoo in the nearly three weeks since I stopped using soap. This wasn’t an easy decision for me and I know that there are two groups of people reading this right now. The first is thinking, “ewww, that’s so gross” and the other has heard about either a no soap or a no ‘poo (as many call it) option in life and are trying to decide if it is for them. In either case, here is my story.

How It Began.

I didn’t wake up one morning and decide, “I think I will avoid using shampoo and soap in the shower for the rest of my life!” In fact, the process was significantly longer and more difficult for me to make. It all began with my mom and her skin problems coming in contact with my cousin and her use of all homemade products. After talking with my cousin she was wondering exactly how bad were her current products for her body. She has a hard time reading on the computer due to her bifocals and asked me to do her research for her.

Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised that soap and shampoo had chemicals in them, but I was surprised to find out that they really weren’t good for your skin. Many of them are irratants of the skin and can cause dry skin problems as well as dandruff. However, it doesn’t really stop there since the body absorbs chemicals through the skin and into the body. Without getting complicated in this post (though I will probably write a few articles later on the issue), it all boiled down to soap and shampoo being bad for you.

Alternatives.

Well…finding out that your products aren’t good for you is one thing, but giving them up without having something in place to use instead is completely different. My research took me far and wide to a variety of alternatives. Some just switch to organic or homemade products, but those still aren’t the best for your skin. Others dropped use of all products altogether. This intregued me, but it also seemed radical and smelly. Here’s what people were saying.

  • When you stop using shampoo you have an adjustment period where your hair is really greasy and nasty. However, in the end your hair and scalp normal out and you don’t have those problems. Water is actually enough to get your hair clean after your scalp realizes that you aren’t stripping the helpful oils from your hair anymore.
  • Soap too is unnecessary and a good scrub with your hands, a loofah, or some shower gloves is all you need to remove dirt, daily grim, and dead skin cells. The only time you need something else is when you get grease on yourself.
  • The smell was one of my concerns, but many people say that after eliminating all the products they had less smell issues in the pits or privates. However, there are others who opt to use a little soap in those areas instead. Pretty much you can adapt it all to your needs and situation.

Inaction.

Just because I had all the facts doesn’t mean I jumped on board. In fact, after three weeks I am not completely certain how I will work it all out and how much I will recommend it to others. I pretty much told my husband all the information I had learned and continued with my normal showering routine. I realized one day as I lathered up my hair that I would probably miss the lather if we should stop using soap and shampoo. About two weeks later my husband asked me why we were still using these products that were bad for us. So, we stopped.

So far…Our No ‘Poo Experience.

For me the no shampoo thing is way harder than the no soap thing. My husband has been having a great time with it. He was super sensitive to shampoo and loves that it doesn’t hurt his eyes every time he showers. In addition to liking it, his hair also looks pretty good. It takes several days to get greasy and most days doesn’t look greasy. He says this is because he only used shampoo once every three days or so to begin with. On the other hand, I have had a terrible time of it. My hair looked horrible for a long while. Now it looks better, but still feels horrible. I am hoping that it becomes more normal in the next two weeks.

So far…Our No Soap Experience.

As a whole, I am pretty sure neither of us misses soap. I bought a nice sponge, a loofah, and shower gloves that we use in the shower. I also bought a scrub brush for my feet since I often walk outside barefoot. It keeps us clean and neither of us has been real smelly in the arm pit area. I have actually had fewer feminine odors and even had my monthly.

I am looking forward to how everything goes the next few weeks. I have mixed up some products to help that are all natural and mostly made from baking soda, vinegar, essential oils, and carrier oils. However, that will have to wait for another day since this post is getting really long. I will probably share all of that with you next week! Talk to you soon.

If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear them! Plus if you have gone green, eliminated shampoo or soap, or have done anything else radical by getting rid of something others feel is a necessity then I would love your comments as well!

Crazy Woman!    , ,