I like the Earth. I like the world I live in. I wish I was more connected with the Earth. I try, admittedly in little ways, to do this as often as I can. I'm aware of my carbon foot print. It could definitely be better, but right now the commute to work is a necessity. At home we recycle. In fact, most weeks we produce twice to three times as much recyclable materials than we do actual garbage. While we haven't moved to growing our own foods yet, we are conscious of what foods we are eating and what's in them. (It's become a bit of a joke to see exactly how many different kinds of sugars / corns are in foods we aren't buying.)
Lately, I've been thinking about things like this. Some of it was brought on by random events and some is pretty superficial...but I'm still thinking about it.
One of the things that I'm really interested in is the "No 'Poo" movement. At first I was confused by the name, but that is easily remedied. It stands for no shampoo. The fundamentals behind the movement are that commercial shampoos are filled with chemicals that are actually do more damage to our hair than we expect. In fact, most of us use these shampoos and conditioners to solve hair damage issues. But they are actually making them worse. There are also environmental factors to take into account...such as plastic containers. Also, a person can save money by using baking soda and apple cider vinegar over buying new shampoos and conditioners.
I don't know about that, but I do know that my hair is pretty severely damaged. I did it. First blond, then pink, then brown cover up. Ouch! The damage is making my hair break easily, knot up severely, and just generally feel icky. I've been nearly desperate for help. I've considered chopping it off and starting from scratch, but I really like the length and cut of my hair right now, so that's not an option. Teel thinks I shampoo my hair too often. After much research, I agree. I don't know if I could completely go no shampoo, but I do know that I don't like products/chemicals in my hair. Never have.
So my plan right now is to cut out the everyday shampoos. I can't give up showering every day (yes, I know that wastes a lot of water, but I limit my time and its my indulgence.) but I can go to washing my hair every other day. Sort of. My first baby step is to go to washing only my bangs and part on the days off. Those areas get the oiliest. My hope is that once I'm used to washing my whole head less....and if it is actually showing improvement on the health of my hair, I'll go fully to less and less shampooing. Eventually, maybe, I'll go to no 'poo.
One of the things I liked the most about all of the "no 'poo" websites I looked at was that people/ commenters were more than willing to say when it worked and when it didn't. I especially liked that for people who tried it and didn't like the out comes there wasn't a angry don't do it comment in the bunch. People were reasonable, explained what worked or didn't, and then explained what they were doing instead. This is refreshing and boosts my confidence in the movement. Also, I really like that none of the people who tried it went back to commercial shampoos. Some did talk about natural shampoos - usually filled with herbal oils. Even this gives me hope. If I try it and just absolutely hate it - I am a granola girl at heart, but I was brought up in the world with shampoos and conditioners - I can still find ways to help my hair and world.
Here's to happy, healthy hair!
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4 comments:
Have you tried olive oil treatment - I really think it is a miracle treatment. It is simple - saturate your hair in olive oil, wrap it in a towel, leave it on for several hours (I usually do it over night with an extra towel on my pillow), wash it out. I don't know how that last step would work with no shampoo, but I use all-natural shampoo and it works fine. I do this about every six months as a general hair health boost, especially if I have died it recently. It is what saved my hair when I rather unfortunately decided to try platinum blonde on for size - it didn't fit!
Good luck!
=)
Dyed it recently... although, I guess "died" is a rather appropriate slip.
=)
Oh! I'll give that a try some weekend. I wasn't aware of olive oil for hair.
My main problem is that my roots are super oily. I think they are over producing since I wash daily. And the lower half of my hair is crazy dry. I fried it with all the random colorings. I think I just need a new head of hair...but a start is a start.
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