Greasy Hair and Clogged Caps: Living the Artful Life February 10, 2008

I realized something when I was in the shower yesterday.

Even the Dr. Bronner’s bottle of castille soap says that if it clogs (and it does, frequently), you should stick something sharp in there to unclog it.

Raw milk separates, castille soap clogs, every batch of kombucha tastes different. But I’d rather drink wine than Diet Coke, rather eat homegrown vegetables than Pringles potato chips that all come out shaped exactly the same — and all taste the same because they all have the exact same mix of chemicals.

Living an artisanal slow life is not about being perfect. It’s about eating well. It’s about enjoying life.

Here’s the definition of artisan in the dictionary:

ar·ti·san \ˈär-tə-zən, -sən, chiefly British ˌär-tə-ˈzan\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, from northern Italian dialect form of Tuscan artigiano, from arte art, from Latin art-, ars
Date: 1538

1 : a worker who practices a trade or handicraft : craftsperson 2 : one that produces something (as cheese or wine) in limited quantities often using traditional methods

The word artisan comes from art. Not science. While it’s fun to try to figure out why things work, if I had to choose, I would always opt for an artful life over a scientific one.

Meanwhile, my hair looks and feels fabulous today. I washed with the Terressentials plain clay wash yesterday. No grease whatsoever. (And thanks, Rachel for commenting about your hair. I’m going to try your homemade clay mixture.)

As far as my weight loss, thanks, everyone for reminding me that I have a lot to be grateful for. It takes a body a while to readjust after having a baby. I’m going to do what a couple of you suggested and start trying to get more exercise in every day. Won’t be hard, considering I have a lot of gardening to do. The weight will come off when it’s ready.

I’m going to go plan my garden now!

Flunking Out of Hippie University February 9, 2008

I’m a failure.

I gunked up the homemade dish washing liquid, my hair is a greasy mess, and I’ve been stuck at a plateau of 149 pounds for 2 weeks now.

To be fair, my hair got greasy because I used that stupid Terressentials body wash. They say in their instructions that you can use the body wash on your hair to speed up the detox. I was suspicious, because the body wash contains castille. My experience with castille soap on my hair is unadulterated grease. I suppose this could be part of the speeding up of the detox. I don’t think so, though. I think they are wrong about this castille soap.

Regardless, today I’m going to wash my hair with plain bentonite clay (I bought it from Mountain Rose Herbs).

I don’t know why I’m not losing weight. I’ve tried reducing the calories and increasing the calories. I haven’t cheated. So last night I was tired and didn’t feel like cooking. So I ordered a pizza. I haven’t eaten pizza in months.

It wasn’t really worth it. Most takeout pizza in Los Angeles tastes like crap. I only like homemade pizza. But whatever — I was tired.

I found a recipe for homemade pizza with sprouted flour and real sourdough. That should be really good. We’ll try that one day soon.

I may just give up on the weight thing for a while. We’ll see how it goes this week. If I drop another pound, I’ll keep going but if not, I’m going to pack it in. At least for a while. I’ve got enough going on what with working half-time and taking care of Kate and trying to cook healthy and I’ve got to get my garden going.

We are planning to have another baby in the next year or two anyway. Maybe I should just stay fat since I’m going to gain weight again anyway.

Alla says I’m not fat. She says I look normal and healthy. She says, in her Russian accent, “I don’t like skinny women.”

Mountain Rose Herbs February 7, 2008

I’m excited! I just got a package in the mail from Mountain Rose Herbs.

My first non-Monsanto seeds! The seeds are from Horizon Herbs, which are certified non-GMO.

YAY!

This is the first time ever I have bought seeds that are certified non-GMO. Of course, this was not an issue ten years ago. But it is an issue now.

Here are the seeds I bought:

Stinging nettles (immune support, strengthens intestinal wall & heals leaky gut)
Astragalus (immune support)
Catnip (for Rita)
Calendula (pretty marigold flowers, and also good for the skin)
Chamomile (for tea and for my hair)
Dandelion (supports the kidney and liver)

In addition to the seeds, I also bought some bentonite clay (to wash my hair with), vegetable glycerine (to use in my homemade dishwashing liquid), and some essential oils — peppermint and lavender. I have to say, I’ve bought essential oils at Whole Foods before and they are okay — but these are so much better.

They really smell wonderful. I opened them to smell them, then put the caps back on. The air still smells like lavender and peppermint. Very pungent.

I’m going to use them in my various homemade cleaning products. And maybe in my personal care products as well. Seth said he wants me to get a diffuser so we can have the whole house smell like this. He said, “I’m very critical about smells but these are good ones — you got good ones.” I’m going to buy some more.

Oooh! I just noticed in their catalog. They have an electric diffuser for the essential oils. You can plug it into the electrical outlet. I bought one of these years ago. (I’m sure it is in one of my boxes in the garage but who knows how long it would take to find it.) Anyway, these things work amazingly well. It makes the whole house smell good. I’m going to buy another one.

I can also use it for the oils Nancy & Ed brought us back from Egypt. Yay!

PS: While I was opening the box from Mountain Rose Herbs, a commercial came on TV. Some Valentine’s thing about diamonds. Seth said, “Do you want some jewels like that?” I said, “No! I don’t care about that! I just want my potions!” (He calls all my various interests — kombucha, kefir, homemade laundry detergent — “potions”.)

No Poo: Day 46 February 4, 2008

Okay, just to report, I can’t really go more than one day without “washing” my hair. It gets way too greasy!

I’m going to keep washing every day with the Terressentials bentonite clay and aloe vera wash with distilled water and see how it goes in a week or two.

And the 50/50 white vinegar/distilled water did help the dandruff — or white flakes — whatever-they-are.

I need to step up on my research re: whole-house water filtration systems. I hate dumping cold water on my head in the shower. And I hate lugging all these huge plastic containers of distilled water from the store. I could go buy one of those $40 shower filters but why waste the money when we need to filter the whole house.

From what I have read, the only way to get the fluoride out of the water (stupid LA fluoridates the water) is to use reverse osmosis. And yes, Uncle Roy, I got your letter in the mail yesterday — it might be too expensive to do reverse osmosis for the whole house. I guess it’s because it costs a lot energy-wise to do the reverse osmosis.

One company recommended doing a regular filter on the whole house and then doing reverse osmosis under the kitchen sink. Sounds like a good compromise. I still don’t like the idea of absorbing fluoride when I shower and in the bath but what are you going to do. Maybe one day we will move somewhere where they don’t allow nerve gas to be put in the water supply.

I’m sure some of my family members will think I’m overreacting about the fluoride. All I can say is you should research it. There are a zillion sites online and various books about the history of fluoride. When you do, you’ll never use toothpaste containing fluoride again.

No Poo: Day 44 February 2, 2008

My hair is starting to really look good. Even Seth says so. The grease is pretty much gone. And it feels very soft — like a child’s hair.

I still have to “wash” every day because it gets greasy — but I’m going to try to start doing it every other day.

I’m still rinsing with distilled water with a little apple cider vinegar — that is what seems to be working. I “wash” with Terressentials clay wash which is basically bentonite clay, aloe vera juice and some herbs.

The other thing I’ve been doing is spritzing my wet hair with a little food grade hydrogen peroxide or H202 diluted with distilled water to 3%. I can’t believe how much lighter my hair looks after only a few days. I think I’m going to dilute the H202 some more with chamomile tea so it will lighten my hair a little more slowly. Otherwise I’m afraid I’ll end up looking like Jean Harlow.

I did notice a tiny bit of dandruff which I have heard happens to people who are no-pooing. They say on LJ No Poo to use a 50-50 white vinegar rinse before you “wash”. So I’ll try that. If that doesn’t work, they also suggest a brown sugar scrub every week or so.

PS: Seth still thinks it’s crazy that I haven’t washed my hair in 44 days. Although he said that Copernicus and Galileo were crazy too — compared to the standards of their time. However, he said that he is not comparing no poo to Copernicus.

No Poo: Day 39 January 28, 2008

It worked!

Just two days of using distilled water on my hair instead of tap water and it is 95% less greasy. That was the answer.

Seth thinks I’ve lost my mind. He keeps asking me, “Why don’t you just wash your hair with shampoo?”

When I told him what I figured out about the hard water, he said, “You’re a scientist! With all this research you’re doing, you could get a college degree. From Hippie University.”

Ha ha very funny.

So I tried to explain it to him.

He said that he understands the whole tap water thing. “I never drink tap water,” he said. “Never have.”

Well, I read somewhere that we absorb more water through the pores in our skin when we take a shower then by drinking tap water all day.

He said, “That makes sense.”

So if the water is doing this to my hair, what’s it doing to our bodies? I don’t think there are any issues with hard water and health, but I don’t like the idea of absorbing all these harsh chemicals when showering.

The water is one thing. The other issue is shampoo.

Here is an excerpt from an article on the Breast Cancer Fund website about petrochemicals in shampoo and bath products:

Cancer-causing Chemical Found in Children’s Bath Products

Women’s Shampoos and Body Wash also Contaminated

WASHINGTON — A hidden cancer-causing petrochemical has been found in dozens of children’s bath products and adults’ personal care products, in some cases at levels that are more than twice the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s lenient recommended maximum.

Laboratory tests released today revealed the presence of 1,4-Dioxane in products such as Hello Kitty Bubble Bath, Huggies Baby Wash, Johnson’s Baby Wash, Scooby-Doo Bubble Bath and Sesame Street Bubble Bath. The tests also found the carcinogen in Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo, Olay Complete Body Wash and many other personal care products.

1,4-Dioxane is a petroleum-derived contaminant considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a clear-cut animal carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. It is also on California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known or suspected by the state to cause cancer or birth defects. Because it is a contaminant produced during manufacturing, the FDA does not require it to be listed as an ingredient on product labels.

The problem of 1,4-Dioxane contamination in personal care products is highlighted in a new book, “Safe Trip to Eden: Ten Steps to Save the Planet Earth from the Global Warming Meltdown,” by David Steinman. The laboratory results were released jointly today at the National Press Club by Steinman and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of U.S.-based health and environmental groups working to protect cosmetics consumers from toxic chemicals and hold companies accountable for the safety of their products.

“Regrettably, 1,4-Dioxane contamination is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., executive director of the Breast Cancer Fund, a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. “Because the FDA does not require cosmetics products to be approved as safe before they are sold, companies can put unlimited amounts of toxic chemicals in cosmetics.”

Steinman said parents should be outraged that companies are willing to spend a significant amount of money on entertainment licensing agreements that entice children but won’t spend pennies to remove contaminants such as 1,4-Dioxane.

“Consumers who have young children, as I do, have the right to expect the highest purity in children’s products,” Steinman said. “I call on American consumers to say no to dangerous petrochemicals in their children’s cosmetic and personal care products.”

So, for the water… I’m looking into shower filters and whole-house systems now. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.

And as for shampoo and bath products… we are using Dr. Bronner’s now, as well as handmade soaps made from plain olive oil and coconut oil and essential oils. Kate’s using Terressentials baby bath wash.

Yes, it’s a small thing. I don’t think shampoo on its own would cause cancer. But shampoo combined with many other toxins that we consume, inhale, ingest, and absorb on a daily basis — this shit adds up. We can’t control the smog we are breathing in Los Angeles. It’s just out there. So I figure why not cut down on the things we can control. Like shampoo and water.

So call me a hippie if you want but I think this makes sense.

No Poo: Day 37 January 26, 2008

After rereading the LJ Noo Poo community basics, I figured out why my hair looks like I dipped my head in a vat of melted butter.

Apparently we live in a red zone. Los Angeles has extremely hard water. It’s also highly chlorinated. Which explains why I feel itchy when I get out of the shower that I have to slather oil and lotion all over otherwise I will itch and scratch all day and leave a trail of white flakes.

This is why you have to use harsh detergents on your hair when you have hard water. It really dries out your scalp which makes you produce more oil!

I also read on LJ No Poo that the 5th and 6th weeks are often the worst.

So today I did not put my head under the shower. I rinsed first with a cup of distilled water and a teaspoon or so of white vinegar. Then I “washed” with 2 cups of distilled water with 1/2 to 1 tsp of sea salt. Then rinsed again with the white vinegar/distilled water.

If you don’t want to use distilled water (kind of a pain), you have to get a shower filter. I have to do that anyway, because, as I mentioned above, I am sick of the itchies and scratchies! Of course, we are talking about getting a whole-house system so there is a lot more research to be done. I’ll use distilled water until I get it figured out.

I can’t tell what my hair is doing yet because it’s still wet. I may be wearing a baseball hat again today. But hopefully the distilled water will solve this problem in time.

No Poo: Day 36 January 25, 2008

OK it’s been 5 weeks now and my hair looks like shit.

Seriously. It’s really really really greasy. I look like frickin’ Ethan Hawke.

Hahahahaha!

Yuck. I am beginning to really feel like a hippie.

Seth keeps asking me when am I gonna wash it. I had a dream the other night that I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally washed it with some chemical-laden endocrine-disrupting mainstream shampoo.

Of course they (”They”, i.e. The Live Journal No Poo Community) say that if you use commercial SHAM-POO (lie + caca), you will have to start all over and go through the detox period all over again.

I don’t want to go back to square one!

When I complained about my grease to our sweet nanny, Alla, she said, “Well, as long as it’s healthy, it doesn’t matter.” Don’t you just love her?

I know there is supposed to be a detox period. I know, I know — I KNOW!

But for THIRTY SIX DAYS!?!

ARGGGGGHHHH — WHEN WILL IT END??!!!!??!!!

PS: Using cornstarch to combat the greasies does not work. It makes you feel like you are wearing a powdered wig, a la Louis XV.

PS2: I just read some more on the Live Journal No Poo community. They say (1) the detox period can and often does last for 2 months and (2) a vinegar rinse is very helpful in reducing grease.

Only you can’t use too much vinegar. Just a tsp or so to a cup of water. I have been using 50/50 — and not all the time. Lots of times I’m just too lazy to bring the vinegar into the shower with me.

They also say white vinegar works better for some people. Apple cider vinegar (which I have been using) can make your hair look greasier.

So… white vinegar rinse, only a tiny bit.

I’ll try it. And I’ll try to be patient for 3, maybe 4 more weeks.

No Poo: Day Three December 21, 2007

My hair still looks great. No greasies whatsoever. Soft, shiny, luscious.

I washed again yesterday with the Terressentials hair wash. This time I washed it twice, the second time leaving it on for an hour. Then I rinsed with diluted apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.

I thought no poo was no washing. It’s not no washing. It’s NO SHAMPOO. Using clay and aloe vera is fine. It doesn’t hurt your hair. Natural acids like ACV and lemon juice also don’t hurt your hair. Contrary to what a lot of stylists say. I read so many warnings of the dangers of lemon juice from stylists online.

Of course, they don’t want you putting lemon juice on your hair at home. Then you wouldn’t need to go to them.

It’s interesting because the people on the No Poo communities online are all about going longer between washings. On the Terressentials website, they say you should wash with the clay every day multiple times for a week.

The No Poo people believe that the longer you go between washings, the more your hair will detox and it will get back to its natural state in time. It seems to me that it is not about WAITING and slowly detoxing but rather it is about getting the gunk out.

So washing repeatedly with clay speeds the process and helps your hair return to normal. This way you don’t have to go through the greasy phase (which can last weeks or months!).

I’m going this morning to get my hair trimmed. Not a lot — just a tiny bit. I want to get some of those damaged ends off.

No Poo: Day One December 20, 2007

I’m really excited about my hair.

I used my new Terressentials clay hair wash today. It’s made of all natural, edible, organic ingredients including aloe vera, bentonite clay, and essential oils.

I followed their instructions and washed my hair three times. The third time, I left the clay on, wrapped up in a towel, for over an hour, then I rinsed it out. After I rinsed (very thoroughly — it’s clay after all), I did a final rinse with diluted apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.

Terressentials and all the no poo people online say that when you stop using detergent- and polymer- (plastic-) based shampoos, you will go through a “detox” period that will last anywhere from a few days to a few months.

They say it’s because commercial shampoos (SHAM + POO = LIE + CACA) are full of detergents that strip your hair. When your hair is stripped of its natural oils, it produces excess oil. Which means you gotta wash it more often. Which makes you use more shampoo. Which strips your hair more and makes it produce more oil. You can see where this is going.

Commercial shampoos also deposit polymers on your hair. I don’t know what polymers are exactly but I know they are plastic.

I also know this can’t be a good thing. These polymers and other gunky stuff are there to make your damaged hair look better. In other words, this shambolic shampoo is designed to damage your hair and then disguise the damage.

Nice, eh?

When you detox off shampoo, you are sloughing all this plastic and other toxic chemicals out of your hair. Which makes it look greasy — all that gunk being excreted.

The good news is, once you get past that, you have your original hair again. The hair you had as a little kid. Shiny, soft, strong and healthy — not damaged and broken.

Anyway, everyone says the detox period typically lasts for weeks or months and you have to walk around with super-greasy hair. As committed as I was to going no poo, I was not looking forward to that part.

So I figured I’d wait to go no poo until after the holidays. I didn’t really want to spend Christmas with a greasy head. I could just imagine all the photos of me looking like a dirty hippie.

Anyway, about 3 weeks ago, I switched over to a shampoo I found at Whole Foods — Hugo Botanicals. I figured it wouldn’t be as bad as regular shampoo. I think I was correct in that assumption.

However, it does still have a lot of nasty chemicals in it. But not as many as the others, which is why I think my hair started detoxing. For the past few weeks since I started using this stuff, my hair has gotten oilier and oilier. And I’ve been washing it every single day!

So I think I’ve been detoxing for a few weeks now. Or at least I haven’t been putting as many bad chemicals on my hair and I haven’t been stripping it with as many detergents — so it has been getting oily.

So I decided today, since I’m experiencing the worst of both worlds — greasy hair detox plus still using bad chemicals — I would go ahead and start the no poo regime today.

So today is my first official day of no poo.

I have to tell you the Terressentials hair wash is AMAZING. My hair is so clean and shiny and gorgeous. I’ve never ever seen it this way. And it smells so good.

This is only the beginning. I have looked at the photos on the no poo communities online. Their hair is amazing. And they don’t wash it. At least not with shampoo (they use water, baking soda, sea salt, and clay, and rinse with vinegar or lemon).

I thought “no poo” meant going without washing but it doesn’t. It just means not using the shambolic stuff. However, I think if you don’t use shampoo and use clay or baking soda or what-have-you instead, in time you will not need to wash as often. Maybe once or twice a week instead of every day.

I know my hair is going to get more beautiful. I still have some nasty old highlights that will be cut off eventually. And the longer my hair goes without all these chemicals and plastics, the nicer it is going to get.

I’m really happy and excited! I can’t wait to wash my hair again tomorrow.

Terressentials December 17, 2007

Oh my goodness! I am so excited about the new personal care products that just came in the mail.

I know, that’s a dorky thing to say. Who gets excited about personal care products?

The thing is, I’ve been researching all this stuff for a while and almost all of the personal care products we use are FILLED with nasty chemicals. That wouldn’t be a huge problem except for the fact that we absorb these chemicals — not only through our nose but through the pores in our skin.

I found a company called Terressentials. Apparently the founder of the company used to be very sick. She got cancer (she thinks it was from the DDT her father was unknowingly spraying when she was a kid) and had multiple rounds of chemo — which made her highly sensitive to chemicals. She kept having reactions to store-bought personal care products which were supposed to be healthy and organic — but had lots of hidden chemicals and pesticides.

Which is why she started making her own products. They are 100% organic and totally edible. The idea is, anything you put on your body you should also be able to eat. Doesn’t that make sense?

Anyway I just tried the body lotion and lip balm and they both smell and feel amazing and delicious.

The shampoo is another story. A good story…

Apparently shampoo, conditioner, and other styling products are not good for your hair. They are filled with toxic chemicals. They strip your hair of its natural oils and leave a nasty residue on your hair and scalp. They damage your hair.

But here’s the rub: the residue they leave makes your damaged hair look healthy. Which is why you have to keep using them. Your hair will look like crap if you stop. But the more you use these products, the more you damage your hair.

A fun little vicious cycle, eh? Kind of like high fructose corn syrup.

Anyway, there is a way to be free of commerical hair products. It’s called no poo.

I know, it’s a dorky name. No poo. Sounds like toilet talk (that’s what my mom used to call our childhood potty humor). But the idea is, if you can break yourself from using shampoo, conditioner, and other hair products long enough (takes a few weeks to a few months) your hair will be free of all the synthetic gunk and return to its natural state.

What is your hair’s natural state? You probably have no idea.

I bet you my natural hair state is magnificent.

I can’t wait to start using this Terresentials hair wash. By the way, it’s made out of mud. Aloe vera and bentonite clay and other natural junk. No detergents or chemicals or other nonsense.

Considering there is a detox period of at least a few weeks, I am going to wait until the new year to start. Still, I can’t wait!

More about how to detox and get back to your original hair: http://www.terressentials.com/hairhelp.html

More about the founders and the company: http://www.terressentials.com/greenstandard1.html

The Terressentials website: http://www.terressentials.com/

PS: For this to work, you also have to stop dying and highlighting your hair with chemicals. I have not highlighted my hair since last summer and plan to use lemon and sun from now on.