DIY Natural

We live in a world of synthetics, toxins, chemicals, and fake food. Yup. While I try to limit the amount of stuff like that to enter our home and family, it is inevitable that we come in contact with yucky stuff all the time. Slowly over the years especially since being a mom, I have become more aware of alternative approaches to every day parts of life and have embraced them. I suppose you could call me more "crunchy" than most. Natural birth, cloth diapering, essential oils, washing my face with oil instead of soap, make my own laundry detergent, etc are the types of things that appeal to me.

If you clicked on the above link you'll see my friend Jenna's blog, who is the one who nudged me into trying the oil cleansing method thing. At first it was so weird to rub oil on my face. Now it is soothing and relaxing, and my face feels refreshed and clean, yet not dried out and stiff like it did with my previous face wash. However, it does take a lot longer than face wash. I was getting tired of the length of time it took so I scrapped it and started washing my face again. With face wash. I thought, "surely this won't make any difference, since my face was clear before and has been since doing the oils." Nope. Bam! My face broke out like crazy. I had more zits than the last time I was in a first trimester (my skin doesn't like pregnancy hormones). Yikes. I immediately started oil cleansing two nights ago and ahhhhh. Much better. Quick and dramatic improvement.

Another thing Jenna does is "no-poo." As in sham-poo.  It entails washing your hair with baking soda. Weird! The idea is that shampoo has chemicals and other undesirable ingredients that strip your hair of its natural moisture, then it overcompensates thus creating oily hair and the need for further shampooing. "Well," I said to myself, "MY hair is greasy hair. It is nasty when I wake up in the morning, and the instant I scrub suds through my hair I feel much better. That would never work for me." Enter in a second blog I just found--"DIY Natural" This site has a plethora of recipes for commercial products you can make at home, much more friendly to your health. I used the dish detergent recipe when we ran out the other day and I didn't want to spend the money (or time and energy it takes to get all three kids in the car and into a store) for more. It works great! So...when I came across this recipe for "making your own shampoo" I knew I had to try it. I'll have to admit, it appealed to me in the beginning but I didn't think I could do it.

So last night I whipped up some shampoo and conditioner (apple cider vinegar and water) and put it in my bathroom for use this morning. I was highly skeptical as I sloshed baking soda water over my hair and scrubbed around. I couldn't tell if it felt clean or not, so I just kept doing more. Rinsing was weird too--no suds? How do I know it's out? And uh, the smell of vinegar in my shower was strange. The site promised that my hair would not smell like vinegar....so on I went. It did not. I knew the moment of truth would come when I blew my hair dry. Greasy or no? Dirty or clean? Lo and behold--it was clean! It was fluffy and felt a little different (natural moisture still retained, perhaps?) and styled nicely. I used way less styling product than usual (even more $$ savings) and it's felt fresh all day. 

Will I continue to go "no-poo?" We shall see. But I like the money I'm saving by not having to buy more shampoo.