by Heidi Schulz | Aug 10, 2011 | Heidi Bosses You, Make Me
Until about a week ago, I ‘pooed in the shower at least every other day. But now, I think I may have decided to stop ‘pooing altogether.
That’s right folk, I’m going no ‘poo. Wish me luck.
**By ‘poo, you go know I am referring to shampoo, right? Because if you didn’t, um… ew.**
I’ve been doing all kinds of weird crunchy things with my health and beauty routine lately: making homemade deodorant, washing my face with honey, making translucent powder from eggshells… It was only a matter of time before I started fiddling with my haircare products. I’m going to do a little experiment – no shampoo for an entire month.
I hear that we don’t really need shampoo to have clean, healthy hair. In fact, frequent shampooing may actually be counter productive. The theory is that shampoo is drying to your scalp. Your scalp gets grouchy about being stripped of it’s precious oils and responds by opening the oil floodgates. You respond by washing your hair more frequently – and so it goes.
It’s a vicious cycle, and one that reportedly takes a little bit of time to break. If you see me in person over the next month or so and my hair looks like… well, poo, please be kind. It takes courage to break the cycle.
In the last seven days I have not used shampoo at all, but I have washed my hair.
Here’s how:
Goodbye Shampoo, Hello Baking Soda (and apple cider vinegar)
To wash, add about 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 cup of warm water and mix it well. (I use a pop-top sports bottle to ease application.) Squeeze it onto your hair in the shower and rub it in well, focusing on the scalp. Rinse very well. Hair will feel somewhat slippery.
If I remember my chemistry correctly, baking soda is alkaline. I understand that this can be drying to the hair. We need something to bring the PH back into balance and act as a conditioner. Apple cider vinegar to the rescue!
Mix 2-3 tablespoons of ACV in a cup of warm water. If you like, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Massage through hair, concentrating on the ends. Rinse well. Any lingering vinegar odor will disappear when hair dries.
So how’s it going?
Here’s my pre-no-‘poo hair:
Sorry about the weird profile shot. I had Newt snap it for a project we were working on.
Here’s what my hair looks like after seven days without shampooing:
I have read that one of the no ‘poo adjustments some people go through is dry ends. I have not noticed that for my hair.
Another adjustment is excess oiliness. Yup, that’s me. Though it’s not as bad (yet) as I had anticipated.
I am used to shampooing my hair every other day. For this experiment, I’m trying to stretch things out and wash with baking soda every third day. I washed my hair today. It feels silky and smooth. Yesterday, it was pretty oily. I may have to go every other day for awhile. As my hair adjusts I may be able to cut back to once a week.
Other observations:
Cons- My hair is noticeably lighter. I have colored my hair darker in the past. Perhaps the baking soda is stripping it out? I don’t’ have plans to color my hair again soon, but I’ll have to keep this in mind if I do.
I did get one tiny pimple on my forehead at the hairline, but it cleared up quickly.
Pros- Holy shine, Batman! My hair is very shiny and bouncy. I also notice more body and even a few waves.
Less tangles. I’m not really prone to what my mother used to refer to as “rat’s nests” but my hair is quite long and does tangle a little. Especially if I have been outside in the wind. Today I spent all afternoon in a breezy pasture but was still able to run my fingers through my hair and easily pull out the few knots. It’s feels smooth, not dry.
So far, things are going better than I had expected.
Anyone interested in joining my no ‘poo experiment? Here are a more few articles you may be interested in:
MSNBC: Ditching shampoo a dirty little beauty secret
Lorraine Massey: 7 tips for going ‘no poo’ (especially good info for curls)
Simple Mom: How to Clean Your Hair Without Shampoo
Confidential aside to Walt: I’ve seen you looking at me with fear in your eyes. I hereby pledge to continue shaving my underarms every day and my legs at least three times a week, to shower every single day and to never use patchouli for any reason whatsoever.
And also to never go with a hippie to a second location. (10 nerd points if you recognize that quote.)
Do you no ‘poo? How’s it working out for you?
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by Heidi Schulz | Aug 1, 2011 | Heidi Bosses You, Make Me
I have been washing my face with raw honey now for two whole weeks. Take a short stroll with me down memory lane, will you?
Here is my before picture:
Let’s review the issues, shall we:
- Uneven skin tone (redness)
- Larger than I’d like pores along bridge of nose
- Wrinkles and acne
- Poor lighting in my bathroom
- Inability to look you in the eye
- Creepy looking wet hair
Get ready to take a look at my after photo.
Are you as excited as I am?
Really? Nothing better to do today, huh?
It’s amazing, but honey* seems to have addressed all of my issues:
- Improved tone and coloring
- Reduced pores (and fewer blackheads)
- Wrinkles are still there, but I don’t mind them. The acne on the other hand? Going, going, gone! (Except for the rapidly fading red marks that were left behind.)
- Increased brain function (I had the idea to move to the other bathroom, where the lighting is better.)
- Greater confidence (in my ability to take a photo of myself – look out facebook!)
- Nicer looking, blow-dried and brushed hair.
Hurray for honey. I wish I could hug a bee.
Are you ready to give this honey thing a try? Here are some reasons why it works so well, courtesy of Crunchy Betty.
- It is antibacterial and antimicrobial. It will get off any lingering nastiness that’s thinking about setting up camp on your face and creating pimples.
- It is slightly drying which means it helps soak up any pimples or oiliness.
- It is also incredibly moisturizing. Seems like a double standard, doesn’t it? But it’s true. Honey sinks into your skin and moisturizes like you wouldn’t believe. (Remember Cleopatra and her honey baths to look young?)
- It imparts all kinds of beneficial enzymes that work at scrubbing your face for you, as well as perform a little anti-aging action.
- It’s great for acne, aging skin, normal skin, dry skin … honey loves EVERY SKIN TYPE.
- It is healing and helps repair acneic sores and scars.
- It’s 100%, absolutely, positively natural, great for your skin, and such a SIMPLE addition to your routine!
One more reason, courtesy of me – I threw all of these in the garbage today:
They have been replaced with these:
The honey you already know about.
Edited to add: Ok, maybe you don’t all know. Sorry! Washing with honey is really easy. Just pull your hair back (hair gets sticky), wet your hands, pour on some honey, rub it together and smooth it on your face. If you have time, you can leave it on for awhile as a mask – if not, just rinse.
Wet hands make it go on really smooth, and it rinses both easily and cleanly. I had a friend over the other day and I made her wash her hands with it to prove how easy it is.
Raw honey is best, but I believe even regular honey will work. Raw means unpasteurized. This is good because the pasteurization process kills some of the beneficial parts of the honey. Your local grocery may carry raw honey (the label must say raw). If they have a natural foods aisle, that’d be good bet. Other than that, check health food stores or farmers markets. It is more expensive than regular honey, but far cheaper than most cleansers.
Check out these Crunchy Betty posts for more info:
Honey Challenge
Honey Guide
End edit.
I mix a pinch of baking soda in with my honey in the evenings – it’s exfoliating and it removes makeup (though I’m not wearing much these days). After rinsing, I follow with an apple cider vinegar toner (moisten the edge of my washcloth with water and add a few drops of ACV).
Maybe I should hug a bee, an apple, and a… baker? A, um… soda?
Other news
I spent Saturday on the golf course, helping Walt. He put on a charity tournament to benefit two of our local police departments. I pretended to know what was going on while I answered questions about shotguns starts and four person scrambles. All the while I was thinking, all I really know about golf is this: Try to get your ball past the windmill blades and into the clown’s mouth.
Two more things about the tournament:
- I never drove a cart before today. Neither had Newt, but we both thought it was fun. Anyone want to buy us one to play with?
- Did you ever have a friend that was willing to put all of her plans on hold and come help you with something? Even when you didn’t ask? I have one of those. Thanks again, Michelle.
Earlier this week –
Me: Newt, you’re so smart. I’ve decided to keep you.
Newt: That’s good, since it’s too late to get your money back.
I love that kid.
I may or may not be hosting a fun little giveaway here tomorrow.
Is the air of mystery intriguing?
*The author denies making any claim on the effectiveness of honey on the following: bathroom lighting, photography skills, and/or the foresight to dry and brush one’s hair before engaging in portrait taking.
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by Heidi Schulz | Jul 28, 2011 | Heidi Bosses You, Make Me, Tricks and Tips
I haven’t used deodorant all summer. Want to hang out?
Actually, I’ve only been accused of smelling a bit funky one time, and I’ve asked my family plenty.
Wow, it’s hot today. Smell my pits!
That was hard work. I’m sweaty. Smell my pits!
So far, I’ve only gotten one P.U.. (Apparently homemade deodorant doesn’t work as well when you wear synthetic fabrics. Then again, conventional deodorants don’t work as well with those types of fabrics either.)
I’d seen several recipes online, but many used ingredients that I didn’t have lying around the house. I wasn’t motivated enough to spend my money on a bunch things that may or may not make a good product and that I had no other use for.
The recipes that seemed the most promising were mainly coconut oil. One day I was using my homemade coconut oil moisturizing bar and thought, what have I got to lose (except people wanting to stand close to me in elevators)? I rubbed some under my arms, and began my experiment.
Eureka (not to be confused with you-reek-a)! It works.
My pits don’t stink.
My skin is feels soft and lovely.
I didn’t have to buy anything new.
This might be my new best friend.
Want to make your own? Of course you do!
Here’s how:
Place your jar of coconut oil in a couple of inches of hot water to melt.
Pour some, say 1/2 a cup or so, into one of those thin plastic storage cups.
Add a few drops of essential oils. I like lavender and tea-tree, both for the scent and for the skin healing properties (great for freshly shaven underarms).
Allow to cool and solidify.
Pop it out of the container.
Rub on skin.
Ooh and ahh.
Put the bar down and rub oil into your skin (and underarms). Allow to absorb for a few moments before getting dressed.
Note: Coconut oil is liquid above 76°. Now, I know it’s summer. If you don’t have AC and your bar stays soft, you can either just scoop a small amount out to use, or keep your container in the fridge.
Now, who wants to stand next to me on the elevator?
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by Heidi Schulz | Jul 25, 2011 | Heidi Bosses You, Make Me
Good Monday morning!
Hope I didn’t scare you there with my Nick Nolte mugshot look. I don’t know why I look so angry – I should look happy.
Happy because washing my face with honey rocks! (Thanks, Crunchy Betty!)
You may be saying, “But Heidi, you seem to have a bit more acne than last week“.
And then I would say, “First, I can’t actually hear you when you talk to your computer. Second, you’re right, but I *think* that’s a good thing.”
You see, my skin feels firmer, smoother – just all around better. My blackheads seem to be going away. And yes, I have had a few new blemishes pop up (punny), but they are in my usual trouble areas. I *think* (hope) the honey may be cleaning up some deep rooted problems.
Perhaps I should use honey on a few family relationships. What do you think, Mom?
Another good thing? I haven’t used moisturizer in two days. But don’t tell my face, I don’t think it has noticed.
And now for a few more updates that are not actually updates because you haven’t heard about them to begin with:
- I spent the weekend tearing pages out of books. It’s not a temper tantrum – I’m making something. I’ll show you when I finish.
- These are some of the things I’ve googled today: Gary Busey mug shot (apparently, I’m not the only one who gets those two confused), pancakes with syrup, baking – substitute whey for buttermilk, make your own pickling spice, and okidata printer error 541m.
- This post is making me want to go buy some vodka. I’ve never actually purchased alcohol (except that time when I was a teenager and I convinced my mom and the checker at a small town store that California Coolers were really only fruit juice). The prospect is a bit thrilling.
- Speaking of my mom, when I told her I was using eggshells and honey on my face, she got all worried and asked if I was an “environmentalist”. Wonder how she’ll feel when she finds out that I started making my own deodorant several weeks ago.
Wow! It’s Monday and I can’t stop talking about my mom. That’s a recipe for a great week.
What’ve you been up to this weekend?
Read more about my sweet skincare:
Honey Challenge: Before
Honey Challenge: Update #2
Honey Spice Facial Scrub
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by Heidi Schulz | Jul 19, 2011 | Heidi Bosses You, Make Me, Recipes
My apologies to those of you who got an earlier version of this post in your readers yesterday. Little auto-scheduler error.
I’ve been doing all kinds of food on your face things lately. My favorite so far? Translucent powder made from nothing but powdered egg shells. This one was also a Crunchy Betty suggestion – see the things that girl is getting me into?
This powder is awesome. It is colorless, odorless and 100% natural. Even better, it keeps the shine down on my skin all day long. In the summer.
Not that we’ve had much of a summer around here this year. I think I may need to put on a sweater today.
The only problem with making translucent powder with eggshells is the process of actually turning into a powder. That can be a bit tricky. However, I’ve figured out a simple way to share with you.
First wash and dry your eggshells very well.
I washed mine under hot running water and set them in the windowsill to dry for a couple of days. If you want to speed things up, you could dry them in a low temp oven or your food dehydrator.
When they are dry put them in your coffee grinder. I don’t drink coffee, so I didn’t have any issues with shells in my morning cup, but if you are concerned about that, you may want to invest in a second one for eggshells, spices, flax seed…anything other than coffee beans.
Mine is a Mr. Coffee brand and was a gift from a friend, but you can find similar ones for around $15.
Now here comes the hard part. Put in shells and grind until powdered.
Whew. That was difficult, wasn’t it?
I put my powder in a little lidded plastic container. Every morning I use a brush to apply. There are a few larger pieces in there, but I just brush them back off my face. Most of the bigger pieces are soft bits of the shell membrane. Perhaps next time, I’ll peel that out while I am washing the shells.
Ready to start cracking eggs?
If you are looking for a way to use some up, may I suggest this?
A poached farm-fresh egg over homegrown sauteed Italian kale and garlic scapes (the curly stem and bud of garlic plants). So good.
Linking up with Healthy 2Day
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by Heidi Schulz | Jul 17, 2011 | Heidi Bosses You, Make Me
Okay, so today is the first official day of Crunchy Betty’s Honey Challenge, but because I was excited I cheated started yesterday. So far the only thing I can say it this: when I wash my face, I can’t stop licking my lips. I hope this honey thing works out, because if the whole licking the cleanser off my face thing becomes a habit and I go back to my regular cleanser… gross.
I took a photo of myself right after my shower this morning so I could document where I am starting from. Warning: It is not pretty. If you have a child on your lap, you may want to shield his or her eyes.
It is a cruel fact of life that you can have acne and wrinkles at the same time.
Problem areas – uneven skin tone (redness), larger than I’d like pores along bridge of nose, hormonal break-outs. Oh and poor lighting in my bathroom. I might need to get another type of honey to fix that one.
Last week, I mentioned that I had tried the Oil Cleanse Method and that I had disastrous results.
Kelly asked:
What didn’t work for you with the OCM? I’ve been considering it, so would appreciate hearing what went wrong, thanks!
Sadly, I think I am just one of the few people that the OCM doesn’t work for. I had read one glowing (that’s punny) review after another so I jumped in with both feet.
I have a tenancy to do that.
I started with a blend of about 30% castor oil to 70% extra virgin olive oil. The first time I tried it, it felt amazing. It was like a spa treatment. The next day, I noticed that my skin felt noticeably smoother. I kept it up. A couple of days later, I started to break out, but since I knew that things tend to get worse before they get better, I kept the oil flowing.
After about a month, I knew that I had a problem, but instead of giving up, I tried using different oils and steaming my face to really open the pres before I put it on. Things continued to get worse (hindsight = duh). Before long every inch of my face was covered in bumpy just-under-the-surface whiteheads. Some of them were inflamed and angry. My skin had never been worse.
I got an antibiotic/benzyl peroxide cream from my doctor, which did little to help. I bought proactive – worst skin care product ever – and it dried and burned my skin, but did not heal it. (Note to self: do not take skin care advice from Justin Beiber.)
I finally settled on a gentle cleanser and patience. In the end, the only things that really made a difference were better nutrition and lots of time. It took nearly a year to get back to normal.
Would I recommend the OCM? Maybe… It seems to work so well for so many people. But I would say, be careful. Try it once and see how it goes. Wait a few days and try again. If you start to notice a lot of new break outs, back off and observe. And be aware, there are some people it just won’t work for.
I’ll be taking some of my own advice when it comes to the honey challenge. I will be doing it daily, but I’m going to try to tread carefully and be good to myself. I’ll keep you posted.
*Please do not worry about my self esteem. I have seen Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty.
Read more about my sweet skincare:
Honey Challenge: Update #1
Honey Challenge: Update #2
Honey Spice Facial Scrub
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