An Anniversary of Sorts

I have been waiting for this landmark moment for a long time and it's finally arrived: I've not used any commercially made hair products on my hair for an entire year! No shampoo, no conditioner, no hairspray, no gel, mousse, smoothing serum, hot oil treatment, no nothing has touched my hair. I made it and I'm so proud of myself. And the icing on that cake is that I don't miss it. So sweet. So what exactly have I been doing instead? Well here it is, today I'm posting my hair-washing routine.

Where did I get this routine? From lots and lots of internet research. Many websites and even some You-Tube videos. I ended up going with a baking soda scrub and an acid rinse, those acids being apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I needed a routine that was a simple, quick, and as natural as it gets and once I got accustomed to the concept, it is all of those things. One of the better sites I ran across explains how it all works very well, so credit where that's due: Simplemom.net.

(Disclaimer: Everyone's hair is different so what works for my hair (medium length blond hair, formerly fine, flat, and straight, yet frizzy, now thicker, fuller and wavy) may need to be tweaked for yours: more or less baking soda or vinegar to water ratios. Also, when going off shampoo, it's helpful to wean off slowly so your scalp doesn't over-react and go into grease overload to compensate for the oil stripping the shampoo is no longer providing. Your scalp will balance out so try shampooing every other day, for a while, followed by every third day, etc. until you are ready to make the jump.) 

What works for me, proportion-wise, is I use 1 teaspoon baking soda in a 4 ounce squeezey bottle and fill it to the top. Shake it up so the the baking soda dissolves. I squeeze it near the roots, massage my scalp and let it rest for a couple minutes before rinsing it out. To get fancy, you can add 1-2 drops of an essential oil to the baking soda for fragrance. I've been using rosemary or peppermint.

For conditioning, I use 1-2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar in 1 cup of water. Also a drizzle of honey for extra moisturizing. I pour it over my head, saturating the hair and let that sit 1-2 minutes before rinsing it out. It's a bit fragrant at first, but the odor disappears completely when dry. I found the vinegar made my hair a little deeper/redder after a while so I eventually started alternating with the juice of 1/2 a lemon which lightens it up.

I wash my hair like this every 2-3 days. The other days I just scrub my scalp to loosen up any grime. I keep a cute little basket in the bathroom with my stuff, pre-measure the ingredients into the containers and add warm shower water to the bottles when I'm ready for them.

And since I've made it a year now, I've started getting fancy and experimenting with herbal hair rinses which I'll pour over my hair after my shower, not rinsing it out. I'd heard great things (online, at least) about them so I brewed up a few different batches and use a cup's worth poured over my hair for a few weeks to see how I like it. I'd tried yarrow and oregano and wasn't blown away. That is, until I tried lemon verbena (which I just happen to grow in my garden for up until this point no other reason than the fact that I adore the scent). The lemon verbena is fabulous. I also want to try chamomile (waiting for it to flower) and sage.

And that's it. I comb it out, let it air-dry and go. I have a great lady that cuts my hair and she works with my hair to shape it into a nice, care-free style that I don't have to blow-dry and style and fight with.

Just Couchy.

So it's been a while and I am not the blogger I thought I would be. First I had to finish this really good book, which led to to another really good book...then I found Pinterest.....add some holidays, birthdays, etc... Ta-dah!! So whatever. Every day is a new one. I can pick this up. (Patting self on back)

But in the meantime we bought a new couch! Our old couch was over 10 years old and the cushions were really flat so Hubby thought he could get some new cushions. Except we went on a holiday weekend and there were huge sale signs hanging on the windows of the store. Hubby left the cushions in the car. Fortunately I know how he operates and had already taken measurements of the space for “just in case”.

Three days later it arrived. So did four straight days of “hangover” headaches. There was no actual alcohol involved, that’s just how I describe that kind of low, nagging headache I get when environmental things mess with my head. Aspirin generally does not help. Sometimes, but not always. I used to get them quite frequently in the last few years but after I put together this whole Chemical Sensitivity thing and cleaned up the perfumes, scented hygiene products and cleaning supplies, I hadn’t had any in quite a while! Fortunately the weather was nice and I could leave the windows open most days and the New Couch Smell slowly disappeared.

Then I decided to take a nap on it.... I knew what I was getting myself into but one does have to get on with sitting on your new couch when you get one. It is the only couch in the house after all and now the only seating in the entire living room. Sitting on a chair in the dining room to watch the tv in the living room is a drag. It wasn’t that bad. I just got one itchy hive on my left forearm. After another week and a half and some more exposure I got hives two more times. Again, only one and on the left forearm. They only lasted 30-45 minutes so not horrible, more just a warning that my body is not happy with the situation. 

I’ve had no more problems with the couch since then. Yeah! Hopefully the initiation is over as we’ll be keeping this couch for a while. And next time, because there will be a next time as I’m still relatively young, maybe I’ll plan on being out of town the week it’s delivered and be sure the house has a chance to air out before my return.

My Hair, The History

This has been the hardest part of the journey for me. I mean, who doesn't use shampoo? Admitting shampoo was a big part of my problem was when I really had to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't "normal" and had "an issue".

My somewhat brief hair history is that I was experiencing some pretty intense scalp problems in the spring of 2009 that I knew would need a consultation with my doctor to remedy. She deemed my problem a severe case of Seborrheic Dermatitis and sent me home with a prescription shampoo (Ketoconazole) to treat it. And treat it, it did. I alternated it with my normal shampoo (Nexus Therappe), although it burned like fire and took several months to clear up. But I was happy until it came back a few months later, around the fall of 2009. Since I figured I knew what the problem was I decided to try some over the counter shampoos. I tried the Neutrogena T-Gel Extra-Strength. It helped, and didn't burn as badly as the Ketoconazole but it didn’t go away. 

In the spring of 2010 is when I ran across this random article on common skin irritants and put two and two together. I decided to try some more natural shampoos so see how that would affect my symptoms. I went to Whole Foods, my local natural foods store, and selected a shampoo without Sodium Laurel Sulfate, what I thought seemed like the most likely target from the original and subsequent articles I read. It helped a lot as the burning and rash went away but the itchies and flakiness were still there. I went back and chose another shampoo without the SLS and this time without Cocamidopropyl Betaine as well as without some other preservatives and brag-worthy ingredients on the bottle. Again, good results, but no “perfect” scalp. In the meantime I had also been cutting out all hair products (goodbye hairspray, mousse, shine serum, leave-in conditioners....) that could be skewing results. 

I got my doctor to refer me to a dermatologist to discuss what I had been experiencing. The dermatologist agreed with the likeliness of chemical sensitivities and recommended California Baby Shampoo as being about the most gentle shampoo on the market, along with with some steroid cream to clear up the scalp irritation. I started using the shampoo right after Thanksgiving in 2010 and was very happy with the California Baby for quite a while, but was still nagged by minor itchiness.

That’s when in May of 2011 I decided to take a big step and go No Poo (no shampoo, as I researched it via the internet). I have been Very Happy with the results. It has been over 4 months now and I am no longer plagued with scalp issues of any sort. And the most amazing thing: my fine, limp, lifeless blond hair has suddenly perked up. It’s healthier looking, fuller and, get this, curly! Back when I was using shampoo, styling products and curling irons, I’d always strived to make my hair appear fuller and wavy and I’m left with exactly what I’d always wanted when I give them up. Kind of ironic, don't you think?

Beginnings

I’d been infatuated with the idea of “Going Green” for a while but being a young, busy mom of 3 it had to come easy and be fun. So I set about getting those cute, little reusable bags for going shopping, choosing a metal waterbottle that I felt well expressed me, getting all those fun, reusable lunch bags and containers for the kids’ school lunches, collecting rain water in barrels to water my plants, composting food scraps in a spherical composter and the like. So I think I’m pretty fabulous, being all trendy and environmental. 

In the meantime, I was having some skin issues. It starts with a dry, itchy, flaking, burning scalp, but I’m noticing other problems: my hands are so dry they are bleeding, my deodorant is burning my armpits, I’m so itchy at night that I can’t sleep for all the discomfort and my teeth had gotten so sensitive I was dreading the dentist for fear of all the cavities I was imagining. But all in all, I’m “fine”: the doctor gives me a prescription shampoo and tells me I have dry, sensitive skin; the dentist tells me I’m cavity-free but says my gums are receding and tells me to brush gently with Sensodyne toothpaste. So I follow their instructions, lather on the lotions, run humidifiers 24/7 and drink lots of fluids to give myself some relief.

And it all helped. Kind of. The shampoo, while it burned like fire, helped the problem as long as I kept using it. The Sensodyne also helped the teeth sensitivity, but not the gum problem which wasn’t getting better as the dentist expected. What with all the lotions and water, it helped, but my hands were truly suffering as I was always washing it off and I was still generally itchy. After trying some over the counter shampoos with minimal results I got my doctor to refer me to a dermatologist for the scalp problems. 

While waiting for the dermatologist appointment I randomly ran across an article about common beauty products that trigger allergies. It really struck a chord with me, particularly since I had noticed that my scalp irritation started after my normal shampoo had changed formulations. I started experimenting with natural shampoos. Immediately the burn went away and the flakiness improved. I mentioned this when I finally had my dermatologist appointment. She hooked me up with some steroids to clear up the problem and recommended some gentle shampoos to use. 

The gentle shampoo (California Baby Shampoo is the one that was recommended as most gentle) helped so much that I wondered what would happen if I started eliminating harsh products in other aspects of my skin. I started using castile soap to wash my hands and my hands immediately improved, no moisturizing necessary. Natural toothpastes had the same effect as the Sensodyne. Switching to a free & clear laundry detergent had the most dramatic effect, though: I suddenly didn’t itch at night anymore and found myself magically being able to sleep through the night. Pure bliss.

I was disappointed to find that while many natural products greatly helped my skin, I never really found full relief until I eliminated many common, everyday products. I have also been developing new symptoms including rashes and burns from products I had been previously using without problem. I have found much success in making many of my own beauty and subsequently household products from simple ingredients I have in my kitchen and am very happy to be able to step away from all the chemicals our society has come to depend on and revisit the tried and true things that our ancestors relied upon for centuries. Now I’m not being “Green” for the environment or even trendiness but to take care of my body and it’s health.

It feels good be able to take charge of something that often makes me feel helpless in controlling. I am starting this blog to chronicle and explore some of my experiences and challenges and record some of my progresses, resources and recipes.