I swear, I'm NOT a hippy

So in addition to all the hair stuff, I have also been trying out some other "natural" beauty routines.

I have given up soap on my face. I don't have bad skin, but it's not great. It's not very pretty without makeup. So since I am trying stuff to be able to wear my hair more naturally, then why not try the face too, right? Everything I am going to mention below I found on someone else's website. I am new at all of this and have no original ideas. I am totally stealing from other people.

It sounds kind of crazy, but I now wash my face every night with ... oil. There are different types of oil you can use based upon your skin type, but I am currently using a 50/50 combo of Castor oil and jojoba oil with just a few drops of lavender essential oil. I have also been adding raw honey to the mix. Each night, I wet my face, scoop out a glob of raw honey (a small glob) and mix it with my facial oil cleanser. (I used one of the travel bottles from Wal-Mart and premixed a good amount of the oils so I don't have to do it every day) I massage the oil/honey into my face for about 2 minutes or so. Then I use a wet washcloth that is just about as hot as I can stand it to clean off my face. It's crazy, but all the makeup comes right off. Including my water proof mascara. It takes a couple of rinses, but soon my face is clean - in fact, I think it probably gets more make-up off than the cleanser I was using before. After cleansing, if I feel like I need a moisturizer, I just use a little coconut oil.

In the mornings, I just rinse my face with water in the shower. When I get out, if I have any leftover makeup around my eyes, I use plain olive oil and a cotton round to remove it. Works better than any eyemakup removed I have ever used. Then I use my homemade toner - Thyme infused witch hazel (thyme is supposed to be good to treat acne). I bought the witch hazel and poured it into a sterile jar with some thyme and let it sit for a couple of days. Then, using a coffee filter and a funnel, I filter out the thyme and leave the witch hazel in another one of those Wal-Mart bottles I mentioned earlier. If you use a white cotton round, you can see the dirt it pulls out (You can use the toner at night as well, but I don't want to use it too much in case it dries out my skin. Since I like the clean feeling it gives my skin, I use it in the mornings so my face feels clean after the shower).

Waiting (uncomfortably) for the mask
to dry

I have also found a new facial mask/acne treatment. I purchased some organic healing clay and I mix that with a little of the toner. Usually I just use it as a spot treatment, but Saturday night I decided to do an entire facial mask. It was not the most comfortable thing in the world as it dried, but it wasn't bad. I'm sure I'll use it again. I took a pic so you can laugh at me.

So, probably the weirdest thing I have done is use activated charcoal to whiten my teeth. No, I am not chewing on bricks of coal. I purchased some activated charcoal capsules from a health store and I pop one open and mix it with a touch of water (just so I don't inhale the powder). I swish that around for a few seconds, then hold it in the front of my mouth for 3-4 minutes. Now, if you know how much I hate spit, you have to know that this is miserable for me. I did it for the first time last night, and I am going to try and do it every night for the next two weeks. I took a before pic, so if I notice a huge difference, I will post it with an after pic.

So, that's what I've been doing to myself. My mom thinks I am a weirdo, disgusting hippy. I told her she will just be jealous when I have fabulous skin and hair and she doesn't.

One for my homies ...

When I mentioned on Facebook that I was going to go "'no poo," someone said I was going "crunchy." I thought "What the hell is crunchy?" So I went to some reliable sources Urban Dictionary for some more information and here is what I found out:

1.crunchy
Adjective. Used to describe persons who have adjusted or altered their lifestyle for environmental reasons. Crunchy persons tend to be politically strongly left-leaning and may be additionally but not exclusively categorized as vegetarians, vegans, eco-tarians, conservationists, environmentalists, neo-hippies, tree huggers, nature enthusiasts, etc.

Also used to describe establishments where alternative foods and products are sold, i.e. natural food stores.

Modified derivative of granola.
"I need more crunchy guys in my life. I'm so tired of dating preppy metrosexual assholes."

"I'm heading out to the crunchy store to pick up some fair trade chocolate and tea tree oil, do you need anything?"

So here is what I decided. I am NOT crunchy. I mean, I married a preppy metrosexual asshole and I wouldn't exactly call myself a left-leaning liberal. But then I thought, well, I'm kind of crunchy. I mean, I do own tea tree oil and I have altered my lifestyle (slightly) in a way that will help the environment (although I did it to be pretty, not because I give a crap about the trees). So I decided that that no, I am not crunchy. I am more ... Crispy.

Anyway, several people have been asking for hair updates, so I had been putting them on FB. Then I realized that for every person who did want to know about my hair, there were 10 who just wanted me to wash it. So I started this blog for them, so they would no longer have to look at my dirty hair.

Below is the log I have kept detailing what is going on with my hair and also a few pictures (some were on FB already).

So if you want to read about my journey into crispiness, then follow my blog. If you want my to wash my hair, send me money. I'll probably spend it on shampoo.

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Day 1

No Poo day 1: My hair wasn’t really greasy, it just looked kind of crappy. Mostly because I didn’t wet it, I think. I just brushed it with my new boar hair brush (which is supposed to redistribute the oils) and put it in a ponytail. I also used some dry shampoo, which I probably shouldn’t have, but it was my first day, I had to work and I was kind of scared. I do have to say that the ends of my hair do feel better than they did yesterday. Yesterday they were hard and crunchy – today they are soft. I suppose that is due to the excess oil in my hair.  I am supposed to go out tonight, so when I get home I am going to take a shower and “water wash” it and see what happens. Worst case, I can do the baking soda/ACV thing, but I would really like to make it until Monday without having to do that. We’ll see.

 Day 1 part 2 – I was going out, so I went ahead and did a water rinse/blow dry and then a ponytail. It looked pretty good.

Day 2-3 – My hair definitely got greasy, but it wasn’t that big of a deal since it was the weekend. I just wore ponytail/head band both days. I never rinsed it.

Day 4 – I did the BS/ACV rinse for the first time this morning before work. It was okay. Next time I need to scrub more with the baking soda and pay more attention to the crown of my head. The ACV rinse was okay, but I didn’t get the ends of my layer very well. I need to do a better job next time. I did remember to focus on the ends and stay away from the roots though. I let my hair air dry with no product as I am trying to stay away from the blow dryer and hair products. It was pretty frizzy still towards the front (the layered part), but I definitely think the back (especially the underneath) was curlier.

Day 5

Day 5 – This morning was water rinse day. My hair definitely felt gross/weird/different when it was wet. I rinsed with cool water while really scrubbing my scalp with my fingers. When I got out of the shower, I combed it. I was really surprised at how easy it was to comb it considering how gross it felt. I was also surprised at how little hair came out since I usually lose a lot when washing/conditioning. I let it air dry again. It actually didn’t look that bad. I took it out of the ponytail when I got to work. But a few hours later, and it was looking pretty bad, so it went back into the ponytail.

Day 6 – So far, the absolute worst part of this is how my hair feels when it is wet. It just feels gross. Last night I put coconut oil on my hair and left it on overnight. This morning I washed with an egg yolk. Then I combed it out, but I forgot to scrunch. So needless to say, my hair is not good today. It is still frizzy in the front (I’m not sure if I got the coconut oil on my bangs) and it is kind of oily. Mostly from the coconut oil I think. That is probably something I shouldn’t do unless it is the night before a baking soda wash. I might put a little on my bangs Thursday night. I also started the oil cleansing method on my face last night. I really like it. I just rinsed my face this morning, and then used a touch of EVOO to remove a little mascara. I am going to add honey to the mix tonight. This is so fun!

Day 7 (I think this is where Chase thinks I look
like a crackwhore/prostitute)

Day 7 – I brushed my hair really well last night (which I didn’t do the night I used the coconut oil, and it made a difference; my ends were drier without the brushing) and then this morning I just did a water rinse, but I went ahead and used the ACV since my hair was feeling so dry. I remembered to scrunch today, and I also used about 5 or 6 squirts of hair gel. My hair looks okay. Not fabulous, but not bad. It’s curly, but still pretty frizzy, especially on the side with the parted hair. It feels softer today. It’s getting better. Oil cleansing method still good.

Day 8 – My hair was really not oily this morning even though I haven’t used BS since Monday (This is Friday). I went ahead and washed though since tonight is the Gala. My hair is okay. Before the Gala I just used a little dry shampoo and put it up.

Day 9 – Just put in ponytail

Day 10 – Rinsed with water and ACV (my ends were dry)

Day 11 – Ponytail day

Day 12
 

Day 12 – Washed with BS/ACV. My hair is definitely curlier and much less frizzy underneath. The top of my hair is better, but still pretty frizzy in places. Obviously that is the place where my hair is most damaged from the flat iron. I used a little mousse today to tame the frizz.  Doesn’t look too bad.

Day 13 – Today I did ACV rinse, but I did a blow dry and flat iron. My hair is so super dry. I am going to put coconut oil on again tonight and then wash tomorrow with ACV and hope it comes out. If not, I’m due for a BS wash on Saturday, so I can make it until then.

Day 14 – So yesterday, my hair was so dry. I put coconut oil on it and left it all night. This morning I had a hard time getting the coconut oil out with just ACV. I didn’t want to use BS again because of how dry my hair was, so I did a COwash (conditioner wash). My hair feels better, but is a little greasy on top. I wore it up. I would still like to make it until Saturday before using BS again. And I am going to cut back on how much I use. I am still washing my face with oil. Now I using a combo of Jojoba oil,

Day 13 after flat ironing

castor oil, lavendar oil and raw honey. It works great. I use a little coconut oil for moisturizing if necessary, and I remove and left over makeup in the morning with EVOO. I have also started using some Thyme infused Witch Hazel as a toner and also to mix with organic clay for an acne treatment.