Poo-Free

A little beauty talk today. First off, I've never really been into the whole beauty product/makeup scene. In fact, for my first date with my husband, my makeup guru sister "did my eyes up" and it's possible that my daughter may owe her very existance to Laura's handiness with eyeliner and shimmer shadow. Left to my own devices, I'm generally a sweep of powder, dash of mascara, lip gloss kind of girl. Eyeliner scares the devil out of me, and for those fancy occasions where something more dramatic than Rosebud Salve is called for, I've used the same lip color since high school (Clinique Black Honey). So, you see where I'm coming from.

But I'm not going to talk about makeup today. Nope. Today, it's all about hair, and how much I hate dealing with mine. Since Kate was born, I can't tell you how many times I've been tempted to just chop it all off. Just after she was born, I did succumb to the Katie Holmes bob craze. I was punk'd. It looked okay I suppose, but the whole theory behind the shorter hair thing is that it should be easier to manage than long locks. Unless you have Katie's in-house styling entourage, this is an utter falsehood. Get this: I was expected to use a straightening iron! Seriously! I missed my ponytail something fierce. So, I've given up on the notion of short hair. For it to be truly easy, I think you have to go way short, and while I love that look on some people, I don't think I could pull it off.

Okay, this is turning into quite the ramble for something so trivial, so I'll move it along. Style wise, ponytail/chopstick bun is where it's at for me right now, and that's cool. The real problem of late has been these wretched tangles, and just all over ickiness my hair has been suffering from. I recently stumbled upon this amazing blog, and seriously, Amy Karol is my new hero. She is a DIY goddess. She makes her own underwear and deodorant, for heavens sake! I can only dream. But, while perusing the archives, I came across a blurb about being poo (shampoo, I probably didn't need to explain that, but there you have it) free for over three months. I followed the link to here, and read up on it, and low and behold I've decided to give it a go. We'll see. I had some skepticism. Won't my hair be greasy? And won't a vinegar rinse send my vinegar hating husband running away from me holding his nose?

As I type this, I just got out of the shower after my first poo free hair washing, and I must say, the early results are very favorable. I used two mason jars (glass in the shower might not be the best suggestion, but it was all I had on hand at the moment): one for the baking soda "shampoo" which was two cups of water and two teaspoons of baking soda (I have long, thick hair, so if you have shorter, finer hair you might just need one and one), and one with the same ratio of apple cider vinegar (organic, unpasteurized for me) and water. The best thing I noticed right off the bat was the lack of tangles, which was new and refreshing. I've always had to pile on the conditioner, just to be able to get a comb through, but today, seriously, it just slid right through. Very interesting. And as for the vinegar, while it smelled in the shower, after I rinsed off I didn't notice it anymore. We'll see. I'm going to research and see about adding essential oils to the vinegar rinse, but what I don't want is vinegary smelling lavendar, peppermint, or what have you.

So, we're still in the experimental phases here, and I make no claims to longevity, but I like the idea. Not only of avoiding nasty toxins and damaging chemicals, but also not having to buy shampoo and conditioner. It seems so rebellious. I think I'll keep it a secret from the family for now though, lest they start worrying that I'm turning into the "dirty hippie" they always suspected I might become. :)