On No Poo

So although I didn't mention it at all before, a couple of weeks ago I made a rather random and drastic change in my life: I stopped using shampoo. I do mean entirely; I had been only using it sporadically as it was because using it less often made showering easier and faster, and once we moved here, it became more normal for me because a lack of water pressure means that rinsing shampoo from my hair can take a good five or six minutes all on its own - precious time a mom of two rambunctious boys often doesn't have. So I already wasn't using it daily, as was my previous routine, but it has been about two weeks since I completely cut shampoo out of my lifestyle.

I had some idea of what it was to go "no poo" before this; I've heard the term slung around in various granola groups I'm a part of online, but the whole concept always seemed so disgusting and difficult. People washed their hair with baking soda combinations one day and vinegar the next and complained of going through weeks of adjustment where their hair was so greasy they left stains on their pillowcases. It seemed like the rule for "no poo" was "anything goes," and it reflected in the variety of homebrew products used to keep hair smelling fresh and scrubbed of dirt while maintaining its natural level of healthy oils. But let's face it: I'm not a "let's make a bunch of complicated things and try to store them in someone else's house" kind of person, and I'm probably not about to change that. I wasn't going to follow the No Poo movement if doing so meant still routinely using random products on my hair, especially when it seemed like there was no clear, concise agreement on what of those random products were best, and what actually worked without causing further damage to hair.

Then, about two weeks ago (maybe more like two and a half now), it just sort of struck me, and I stopped using shampoo. It wasn't entirely purposeful, as at first I just went my typical two or three days without - but the next day I didn't have time. And the day after that I didn't feel like it. The excuses to not shampoo my hair snowballed until I was so thrilled that my showers were short that I opted to avoid it completely. I made the mistake, one day, of putting in store-bought name brand conditioner but will not do that again - it upped the grease level tenfold and didn't really help my hair feel any better or softer afterwards.

I will be painfully honest: My hair is INCREDIBLY greasy. I've seen it said that sometimes the greasiness remains for between two and five weeks, and since I'm past two and naturally have slightly greasy skin and difficult to manage hair, I'm going to guess that my "grease period" is going to last closer to five weeks than two. After I've hit a point where my hair is beginning to regulate itself, I'm going to try a baking soda scrub (I may do this sooner, to help release some of the excess sebum naturally and to get rid of any excess dirt). I do rinse my hair fully every day, including parting and sectioning it, and massaging my scalp with my fingers every shower. Afterwards, I give my head a good scratch (not because it itches, but man, doesn't it feel good sometimes to just have your head scratched all over?) and then comb out all of my hair with a relatively fine-toothed comb. I can't use a traditional fine-tooth comb because my hair is simply too thick and too unruly still, and it tends to knot up. If I touch my hair, my hands do become noticeably more greasy, but it isn't a disgusting "stick with you for the rest of eternity" grease; it's natural and my body reacts accordingly and reabsorbs whatever gets on my hands without any irritation or lingering icky feeling. I am already seeing fewer flyaways and it is slowly beginning to behave better. It doesn't smell and doesn't look gross in the least, nor does it really "look" greasy.

All in all, I'm actually pretty happy with my experience so far. I'm not bothered by the effects of going without shampoo, and I'm looking forward to the benefits and positive sides of not using traditional shampoos anymore. We'll see how this keeps up - for now, though, I think I might be a convert.

Ecos giveaway!

Okay, folks. Here are the rules.

I won't be doing the giveaway until I have 30 followers on GFC (Google Friend Connect; basically, people who are following me and my blog). This sounds like a lot, but I already am almost halfway there - so I think this is something we can do!

Once I hit 30 followers on GFC, I will open the giveaway with a post giving a few more details. I believe there may be three prizes, all separate, so there's a good chance of a lot of people winning (but no more than one prize per person). They would be three or so Ecos products: the Free & Clear detergent I love so dearly, and probably one of their bathroom and/or kitchen products. I haven't settled on which, so this last part is up in the air, but I'd like it to be a variety. I'm working with them on this part.

You will get to comment once on that post. That will be your entry. If you go "like" my Facebook page you will get to post another entry, along with your name on FB so I know you really did "like" me. If you send someone else here after that, while the giveaway is still open, I may figure out something special (some kind of referral system, like them posting on my FB wall that so-and-so sent them) so you get another entry from that.  I won't go any further with the entry options just because I don't expect to have so many people interested in the giveaway that giving people twenty ways to win is really necessary. :P But in the future, who knows?

So, let the blatant self-promotion begin! Have your friends come follow me on Google here, and go "like" my Facebook page. Once we hit 30 followers on here, the real fun begins. :)

20 Things I Will Never Go Crunchy For: #19

#19: Composting toilet

Don't get me wrong, I adore the idea - and I can certainly see its practical uses. Add in the idea that it means less water that has to be taken, used, and treated, and I'm for these awesome inventions 100%. The problem is that they're just not up my personal alley. Yes, they're perfect for a family who is pulling completely off the grid and trying to live away the needs of a regular society, but we will probably always be a household who lives, to some degree, in or near a city - and these toilets strike me as being incredibly over complicated for someone like myself (read: someone who is probably lucky she has the coordination to tie her own shoes).

I do get the idea, and love the concept, and would probably be all about them if we headed off to live in a cabin somewhere in isolation. But as it stands, and as neat as they are, I just cannot get myself hyped up about them enough to seriously consider it. No, really - ever. It isn't that I don't care about the environment (I was born on Earth Day, after all!), it's that I can't imagine for the life of me trying to properly upkeep one of these things without unintentionally destroying far-off worlds of sentient, intelligent creatures. Don't ask how I'd manage that. I know me. It's an inborn talent.

On another note, I'd like to give a shout out to Stephanie over at The Coexist Café, whom I only recently found. I love her blog, and just peeking at some of the recipes on there is making me hungry! We don't eat enough vegetarian meals around here, so having some new ideas is awesome - and she tends to post about things I care about, which is another plus! ;D

20 Things I Will Never Go Crunchy For: #20

#20: Hot dogs.

Yes, I realize that the majority of hot dogs are disgusting. I know what's in them, how they're made, and all of the extra additive junk that gets thrown in to try to make them palatable. The only halfway acceptable ones are vegetarian or vegan, but I have to admit that veggiedogs just don't do it for me. I have gotten progressively pickier about what hot dogs I'll allow into the house, though - cheap meat mixes are only okay if they're on sale (hey, we're living on a budget here, after all), and we're not big on serving more than one or two every other day or so to the kids. I prefer nitrate-free all-beef dogs - Angus beef is the ultimate, but I can do without - or kosher dogs if possible. Hebrew National are great to me, although I don't mind the all-beef nitrate-free Oscar Meyer hot dogs. We don't have a Whole Foods or a dedicated store that carries a decent selection of healthy foods, so most of our options come from our nearby grocers - meaning our choices aren't always what we'd like them to be, but we still manage.

Still, there's something about a good hot dog that's been grilled over an open flame for a while that I find hard to resist. A perfect hog dog with the right snap and taste in a smooth bun, overloaded with horrific amounts of mustard and mayonnaise is pretty much ideal to me. They're admittedly a portion of my lifestyle that I should probably rethink, given their calorie content and the creation process, but they're a guilty pleasure. We use them in moderation, but they're a hit with the kids, too - if they won't eat anything else, I can almost always guarantee that they'll each eat a hot dog. And they pair well with almost anything: the old fallback of macaroni and cheese, chips, fries, broccoli, green beans. It helps that A will eat almost anything without hesitation anyway, but with G, whose food choices are far more picky, I know if he's having a hot dog he's likely to eat most of it and I won't get that sinking feeling that I usually do at mealtimes that I'm about to have to argue for him to eat half of his dinner. They're easy, quick, and something everybody will eat every time, meaning that they're perfect for evenings when we're short on time for dinner but all need to eat something - and I try to balance their presence out by offering healthier options alongside (such as serving them alongside baked sweet potato fries, broccoli and cheese, or rice with red beans) or for dessert (fruits, yogurts, smoothies). None of us could eat them every day, but they're versatile enough that I'm not concerned about using them off and on throughout the week - especially because if I put them into a dish instead of serving them as a lone item, I can stretch a package out to several servings.

Please note that while I try my best to make health-conscious decisions regarding my family's health, living, and eating habits, there are some things that are a part of our lives and preferences that make us imperfect when it comes to 'going crunchy'. I want to share this ongoing list as a way of reminding others that while we all try our best, none of us are perfect!