Friday, September 21, 2012

Poo free works for me

 Okay, the title of this post sounds a little odd, so let me explain... I haven't used shampoo or conditioner for more than 6 months. I watched a wonderful documentary on Netflix called Chemerical that explained that a lot of the personal care products we use these days are FULL of toxic chemicals. Since I often get migraines that put me to bed for the whole day (or longer) I decided to see if going "poo free" would help.
 Now, there are several ways to get your hair clean without using shampoo, but I decided to use baking soda since it's cheap, easily available, and I already have it on hand (because I use it for cleaning.) Instead of conditioner I use vinegar for all of the same reasons.
 I'll admit to being a bit skeptical before I tried it. I have straight hair down to my hips that has always been oily and prone to tangles. Could baking soda REALLY get rid of the oil? Could vinegar REALLY detangle all that hair? Would I smell like pickles after my shower?
 I'm thrilled to say yes, yes, and no! My scalp is clean and not oily, my hair is mostly tangle free, and I smell nothing like pickles. In fact, my scalp is producing far less oil than it used to. So much less, that I only "wash" it once or twice a week. And yes, I do seem to get fewer headaches.
 The process of using the baking soda and vinegar is no harder than using regular shampoo and conditioner. I keep two mason jars in my shower, one full of BS and one full of vinegar. I wet my hair and put about 1/4 cup of baking soda in an empty container (I use an old sour cream container) and then fill it with water. I pour it onto my scalp, rub it in for a few seconds, and then rinse. Next, I rinse out the container (remember to rinse it or it will foam up when you pour in the vinegar!) and then add about 1/4 cup of vinegar, fill with water, pour it over my hair, wait a few seconds and rinse.

This is all I use in the shower 

 A completely unexpected side benefit has been that my back, always prone to breakouts, has almost entirely cleared up. Once I realized that it was having such a positive effect on the skin on my back, I decided to give up soap all together. I now just use straight baking soda on my entire body. It's a great exfoliant and easily rinses off in our soft water. I've had some people say it's too harsh for them to use this way, but it works great for me.
 Just in case you think I'm fooling myself about my hair really being clean here's some pictures of it since I've gone "poo free" so you can see for yourself. 


Ooo shiny


No tangles and easy to braid



Clean and shiny
 That's it for today everyone. Enjoy your weekend and Blessed Be.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Feeling Crafty


Feeling Crafty

     I've been feeling crafty lately. Now that the big kids are back in school I have the time to spend on something other than not losing my mind. I've been planning on making a braided rag rug out of all of the torn jeans I've been collecting for years, but then I ran across a picture of a crochet rag rug made out of old t shirts. I have 4 kids and a husband who works construction, so you can imagine that I have lots of old, ripped, outgrown, stained, and otherwise unwearable t-shirts, I have a big ass crochet hook, I can totally do this!
     I started by cleaning out closets and drawers to get some shirts. I tore them into strips. They turned out uneven and lumpy, but I began crocheting. The first attempt was not great, but it makes a great hot pad for the table.


My first try at t yarn crocheting

     Since I wasn't thrilled with the results I found instructions online to easily cut the shirt into continuous strips that would be more even and easier to work with. I cut the shirts, stretched the resulting strips to make them curl up, and rolled them into balls. Aislyn helped me and had a great time.

Starting to cut

Strips cut

Strips cut

Cutting into one long strip

Aislyn helped me stretch the yarn

Before and after stretching

Finished yarn

Ball of yarn (it's football shaped so it doesn't roll away too easily)

     Then I started crocheting. This yarn worked much better. Since it's so thick it goes really fast and makes a nice, cushy rug.

Much easier to work with

Starting on the third ball of yarn

     I'd just like to tell you that this the first oval I've done, so it's not perfect. Following a pattern is not my strong suit and I think I added too many stitches on the ends, so it's a little hourglass shaped, but I'm still happy with it. It works perfectly in front of my kitchen sink.

Finished product

Be sure to check out this week's Barn Hop.