How I went "Au Naturale" (and you can too!)

How I went "Au Naturale" (and you can too!):

There's something I'm really excited about that I want to share with you. You may not want to talk to me anymore after this (I hope not, because that means you weren't really my friend in the first place, were you?), but it may make a difference in someone else's life (or yours!). What am I talking about? I.. quit... 'poo-ing... NO, I'm not talking about bowel habits. I'm talking about hair care. Here's some background on the "no-poo" movement (Better grab a drink and get comfy... This is going to be a LONG post.):

The whys:

The full explanation is all over the internet, along with instructions, recipes, faq's, and personal testimonies. An example website is www.nopoomethod.com, but what it boils down to is: People are realizing that today's synthetic hair care products contain ingredients that are actually counter-productive when it comes to hair care. They are full of harsh chemicals that strip hair of it's natural, protective oils, wreaking havoc on your scalp and making it go nuts. What I mean by going nuts is that your scalp starts over producing oils to compensate for the dryness, and you end up fighting a never ending battle with your hair. You buy more and more products to attack your "issues" and they keep making things worse, and you don't even realize it! This awakening among folks has started a sort of underground movement to go shampoo/conditioner free and instead utilize natural ingredients, like baking soda and vinegar (and sometimes just plain water!), to clean their hair. The result? From what I have read, some VERY happy 'poo free people! (Confession: I really hate the term "no-poo". You can't help but think of the other poo when you hear it.) And now, from my own experience (so far), I can honestly say that I join the club of happy hair naturals. I'm currently going on week three since a drop of shampoo or conditioner has touched my tresses and O...M...G.... and I don't believe I'm another victim of a fad or that I'm having a placebo effect.

My Sob Story:

Ok, so here goes MY story.... For decades (almost my whole life), I've been fighting a fight that has made me so insecure and paranoid. It has also made me avoid wearing dark colors, unless I wanted to constantly brush off my shoulders. I had the worst dandruff. I've seen dermatologists, and they said there isn't much they can do, other than medicated shampoos. I've consulted hair stylists, who said my hair was dry and I should consider washing my hair less. They were on the right track, but it wasn't the solution. You see, if I went a couple of days without washing my hair, my scalp would itch SO bad and I would scratch until my scalp bled. And I would STILL have the dandruff.... I went to doctors about the itch. They theorized I was allergic to my hair or sebum. Wait... what? Allergic to my OWN hair and the oils my OWN scalp produces??? Something's not right about that... I even tried "co-washing", which is washing with only conditioner (my hair was dry, right?). No dice... I just ended up with kinda greasy hair. So, basically I gave up. I learned to live with the dandruff and I would just keep looking at my shoulders to make sure I didn't get embarrassed. Then one day, I was surfing the net and I stumbled across a post about ditching synthetic hair products. I don't even know how I came across it. I started reading it and I started reading the comments. People were raving about how their hair appeared thicker and healthier (my hair seemed to be getting thinner and thinner over the years. I thought I was going bald!), they had less hair loss, and their hair seemed to grow faster (hair grows? You wouldn't think so with my hair.), and felt softer than ever. The process seemed simple enough and it would save me a lot of money in the long run (I'm not going to even tell you how much I was spending on hair products), right? The result so far has been shocking... My hair is SO soft and shiny... and the best part? My dandruff is virtually cured!!!! After two weeks, my dandruff has reduced at least 80% and after my second baking soda wash, it's pretty much non-existent. Let me repeat that: MY DANDRUFF IS GONE. Decades of suffering and in two weeks... GONE. I still can't believe it. Oh, and no itch either! :-)

The Hows:

So how does one ditch the 'poo? Well, it's a process. And let me start by saying that from the comments I read, it's not for everybody. Some people did NOT have good results, but it doesn't hurt to try and you'd only be out a little bit of baking soda and vinegar. That's a lot better than $40 shampoo. So, to start out, you need to prepare for your journey into natural hair. You need to be prepared to resist those wonderful, strong, perfume smells, rich lather than people normally associate with clean, and those tools that can make your hair do cool things (although you don't have to ditch the tools completely, if you take the right precautions. More on that later..). Oh, and definitely invest in a good natural bristle brush. It'll be a necessary tool for distributing your natural oils throughout the length of your hair.

Next, you need to clarify your hair. That's what the baking soda is for. There are several ways to do it, but the key is finding the right amount to use and making sure you rinse every last bit of it out. Too much baking soda... you have flakes that look like dandruff, but it's really just dried up baking soda and gunk from your scalp. Too little baking soda.... and well, you don't have clean hair. I dissolve about 1 to 2 Tbsp of baking soda in 1-1.5 cups of water. I use a squeeze bottle from the grocery store to soak every nook and cranny of my hair. Then I massage, massage, massage, until my hair gets this kind of slippery, slimy feel to it. Then I rinse, rinse, rinse. A LOT.

The baking soda is alkaline and very effective at removing product buildup from your scalp and hair. Only problem is.. it's alkaline... Your hair's natural pH should be anywhere between 4.5 and 5.5. This slightly acidic level is to keep fungus and bacteria at bay, as well as keep the cuticle closed and and healthy. That's what the vinegar is for. Too much baking soda or contact with it for too long / too often can be quite damaging. Rinsing with vinegar lowers the pH to prevent the damage and bring your hair back to it's happy place. Of course, you will need to dilute the vinegar. I dilute it and use another squeeze bottle to rinse every nook and cranny of my hair, focusing more on the ends. Then I let it sit for a little bit (about 5 to 10 minutes) and finally rinse, rinse, rinse again. Now, keep in mind that baking soda can be pretty drying. The vinegar works as kind of a conditioner, but it doesn't do it completely. Something that does help is frequent brushing with that awesome natural bristle brush you got (remember the old saying about brushing 100 strokes a day? Well, you don't have to do 100, but the concept still rings true). It will move the oils from your roots all the way down the hair shaft to the tips, and it will also help remove any gunk your hair may have collected from the environment all day long.

Then you go about your business as usual, resisting the urge to grab a shiny new bottle of shampoo or conditioner. And you WILL have that urge.. Why? I told you this is a process. A LOT of people said their hair went through a transition phase. The transition from synthetic to natural also freaks out your scalp and it needs time to... recalibrate, I guess you could say. During this phase, your hair looks like you went swimming in the Gulf after Deepwater Horizon (for those that don't know, that's when an oil rig exploded in the Gulf and approx. 5 million gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010). Yes, an oily, stringy, mess. This phase can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months (YIKES!!!!). I guess I got lucky because I'm going on week three and I haven't had a transition phase (I hope I'm not speaking too soon!). My theory is: because I was only washing my hair every three days or so before I ditched the products, it wasn't as much of a shock to my scalp??? Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway.... Supposedly, once that transition phase is over, you end up with gorgeous, naturally bouncy, shiny, soft hair that seemed to have gone through some kind of transformation. I've even read about some people who develop waves when their hair was always straight and vice versa. SAY WHAAAAAAAT?! But above all, you gotta stick it through. Don't give up! Your hair might emerge like a beautiful butterfly!

The Visual Proof:

Now, it might be hard to tell the difference, just from pictures alone, but I can definitely describe for you what the differences are.

Here's a couple of examples of how my hair looked before (washed every two or three days, with professional shampoo and conditioner - Redken Color Extend):  

• At three days after a BS/ACV (Baking soda/Apple Cider Vinegar) wash and one week since the last shampoo/condition (I had used dry shampoo (a spray) once, because of my fear of stank), my hair was kind of dry at the ends and a little frizzy. At this point I would say that the dandruff pieces were about 2-3mm in diameter and if you scratched a little at my scalp, you would get a nice heavy sloughing of dandruff (god, I hate talking about this). My daughter called them hair snowflakes.:

• Another week after my last BS/ACV wash and 1.5 weeks since last shampoo/condition, I had only washed with water and tea tree oil once. My hair had more body/bounce, it was significantly softer and silkier feeling, and I haven't had a single bit of itch. The dandruff reduced about 80% in amount and the size of the flakes were much smaller (about 1/2-1mm). This was when I REALLY started to get excited, but I didn't want to get my hopes up and tried to remain skeptical. After this, I did another BS/ACV wash.

• One day after my second ever BS/ACV wash, my hair looks and feels phenomenal. I've been good at staying away from my straightening iron, instead using my straightening dryer (and I recently purchased a straightening brush, which I'm still on the fence on whether I like or not) on very low heat or cool setting, after my hair has had a chance to dry about 50%. I also used a little bit of coconut oil to condition before drying. Now, here's where I can tell you I saw the most difference. First of all, the dandruff... completely... gone. Here I am, two days later and STILL no dandruff. Secondly, the shine. My hair after blow drying (even on cool or low setting) would normally be more matte and frizzy, which is why I always avoided blow drying. Oils, serums, and lotions didn't help. My hair now is so slick and shiny, something I used to only be able to achieve with my straightening iron (and then my hair would be flat and thin looking). Thirdly, the feel. It's oh, so soft. I can't stop running my hands through it! My hair used to only feel this way after a straightening iron, and we all know why (I literally ironed it smooth and soft!). And finally, something that you probably would never think is a problem: the lift at my scalp, especially at my bangs. I used to have SUCH a hard time with this. I would tease my hair, blow dry it straight up, try to curl it... EVERYTHING, and all I would get is flat bangs unless I sprayed the crap out of it with hairspray before it fell. And the second or third day? You might as well forget it. It would fall before I even got the lid of the can. 

I wanted this:                         but I kept getting this:  

                                

which may be fine to some people, but it does NOT look good on me. I have not had to take my hairspray out of the basket... AT ALL... and 3, 4 days after my last wash with any type of cleanser (I'm referring to the BS/ACV) and it's still voluminous?? What kind of sorcery is this? You can see from the picture at the beginning of this blog (taken on day 18 of my no-poo project) and the pictures below that my hair is much more voluminous that it used to be.

So here we are, two weeks after I started this transition to natural and this is the result:

LOOK AT THE SHINE!

In Conclusion:

(I know what you're thinking... "FINALLY!") I'm really sorry you had to read all of this, but for such a simple process, there's a lot of info involved. Bottom line: So far I'm so glad I finally found this and did it. I truly think this has changed my hair for the better. Call it icky, call me a hippie and turn your nose up at it, but it's working for me. Just do me a favor. If you are really my friend, and my hair is smelling like salad, or worse, wet dog: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, TELL ME. So far, I think I'm good (I believe my kid... I think), but you never know....

The "What?"s:

Now, I know all these questions start popping up in your head. They certainly did in mine. So here's my own faq (I'm not anywhere near an expert in this, so I will be constantly updating this list as I learn)... And you thought I was really done rambling? Ha!:

Q: Won't your hair stink?

A: Actually, no, IF you're doing it right. If you're cleaning your hair well enough and brushing it regularly, it should smell like... well, hair. I know people worry about the vinegar part. They think they'll smell like a salad afterwards. Well, apple cider vinegar (best to use the unfiltered, organic kind) is WAY better than white distilled vinegar in that dept. Yes, it's strong, but once you rinse it out with water and your hair dries, the smell dissipates. That is, if you have the dilution right. Too concentrated and yes, you will smell like pickles. I think smell is the only thing I'm self conscious about right now. I've recruited my brutally honest child to be my "hair sniffer". So far, she says it smells like my sheets or like hair with nothing in it (if that makes sense). To help ease my mind a little, I rinse the vinegar out with water that has a few drops of an essential oil. Right now I use tea tree oil. Whenever I wash with water only, I rinse with water that has tea tree oil too. I just bought some shea butter and other essential oils to try and make my own hair oil too. Some people use other acidic rinses, like lemon or they mix their rinse with tea. I haven't tried the lemon yet, but I plan on giving it a shot once I run out of my vinegar dilution I already made.

Q: If the baking soda can be damaging, how often do you do it and can you wash on other days?

A: It's recommended that you don't do the baking soda wash more than two times a week. Some people even say once a week. The goal though, is to get to the point where you don't need to do it at all and you reserve it for those days you really need it (like when you were working in the yard all day or you had to get all gussied up for a party and used half a can of hairspray in your hair). One of the main reasons people eventually go to water only is because there have been a lot of testimonials claiming that their hair went to crap after about two years, and they think it was the baking soda and/or vinegar regimen. Otherwise, you can wash your hair with plain water as much as often as you'd like. You can also use powders as dry shampoos. If you want natural, cornstarch or baby powder works well on light hair and cocoa powder on dark hair. And who wouldn't want to smell baby fresh or like chocolate?

Q: Do I have to use filtered or distilled water?

A: If you have hard water, it can effect your results. Hard water has added minerals that can affect the way the baking soda combines. To counteract this, I follow this chick's advice (http://www.zombies4breakfast.com/2013/04/30/no-poo-hairwashing-for-hard-water-an-adventure-in-beauty-experimentation/) and I boil the water first, then add the baking soda to it while it's still boiling hot and stir until it dissolves (shouldn't take much stirring). Then I let it cool completely before putting it in the squeeze bottle. For the vinegar, I also boil the water first. Then I add about 2.5 Tbsp of vinegar per cup of water and let that cool before bottling it. Some people use a filtered shower head, but I think boiling a cup of water is easy enough.

Q: Can you do this with color treated hair?

A: I have color treated hair. Yes, baking soda has the ability to strip the color from hair a little, but I dilute it SO much. So far I haven't noticed any fading. I haven't tried with my purple demi-permanent color, but I think it would actually make the color last a little longer. I wouldn't be washing as much, it wouldn't be with shampoos that strip the hair of the color, and the vinegar helps "set" the color.

Q: It was mentioned that hair tools had to be given up?

A: Not completely, but you might want to cut back.. A LOT. The reason why is because synthetic products (like heat protectant sprays) coat your hair in silicone. Once you ditch that stuff, you don't have that protective silicone shield anymore, leaving your hair vulnerable to heat damage. There are some hair oils you can try, that some people say are good natural alternatives: mostly oils with higher smoke points. Unfortunately, those oils with higher smoke points can weigh hair down A LOT, making it a greasy mess. Shea butter is the oil that's most like the "cones" used in the synthetic stuff, so it's heat conductivity is pretty high, making it the most heavy duty protectant oil used by naturalistas. To prevent a greasy, heavy mess, just watch how much you use. Don't slather it on. A little goes a REALLY long way. Another thing is, natural hair doesn't need as high temp because it's not coated with that crap anymore. So it's recommended you keep the temp below 350F, using the lowest temp your hair will behave to (and different individual's hair will respond to different temps, so you need to find your sweet spot).

Q: What do I do when I go to a stylist?

A: I think you should tell them that you've gone natural and see what they can do to accommodate. The last thing you want is for them to start piling on the products and completely undo what you worked so hard for (remember that transition phase? YUCK!). If they want to keep your business, they will do what they can to respect your wishes to stay natural, even if it means just using a spray bottle of water.

If you made it this far, thanks so much for at least taking the time to read all of this and I'll be happy if I at least planted the seed in your mind, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of you just said "TL;DR" and pressed the back button. It's okay. I'm okay with that. I wouldn't go through all of this effort if I didn't really believe in it though. 

Much love!

My Evil Nemesis...

I'd like to introduce you to my nemesis, the most evil item in my life and the source of most of my pain and anguish: THE SCALE.

For the past ten years, my nemesis and I have had a roller coaster relationship. You'd never think so, since we meet daily, twice a day, like best friends meeting for coffee. Unfortunately, the conversation between us is behind closed doors, for good reason. Every day, my nemesis mocks me. She laughs at how little my weight has changed, even though I've tried killing myself through diet and exercise. For ten years, she has said to me:

"You'll never be skinny again."
"You'll never be sexy again."
"You'll never be the way you want to be." 
"Keep dreaming."
Among other things...

Yet I keep coming back for more abuse.

My weight has been up and down over the past decade. Wavering between 20 and 30 pounds more than my goal weight. I run to my nemesis every day, hoping for good news. I hug her when I am lighter. I curse her when I am heavier. I've tried swimming, dancing, running, walking, P90X, Tae Bo, Pilates, stupid gimmick workout video and contraptions, fad diets, calorie counting, the list goes on and on. And what happens? The more I care, the higher my weight goes, which in turn lowers my self esteem and motivation. I quit caring (usually shortly after I started caring) and my weight goes down slightly, but steadies at an undesirable number until I can't stand to look at myself anymore, or my weight slowly creeps up again. AND the cycle continues. She laughs, every time, at the look on my face when I bust my ass and my weight increased by 5 pounds.

Yes, yes, I know. I work out more. I gain more muscle mass. More muscle mass = higher weight on the scale. Try telling my ego that! My hubby says I put too much weight on a number (no pun intended). Yes, I do. It's the easiest measurable number that I can get to gauge my progress! So what do I do?

The only thing I can think of to do:

BANISH MY NEMESIS.

No more meetings and no more abuse.

Some articles say it's important to have a relationship with your scale. I disagree at the moment. If I had a good relationship with her, (hell even an "ok" relationship with her) then sure, I could see why having her around would be beneficial. Until then, consider her exiled from my life. When she can be supportive and encouraging, she may return on a temporary basis, depending on her behavior. But don't fret, she will most likely have other people to either mock or praise in the meantime.

Goodbye, scale. Enjoy your vacation. Bitch.

Got the runs?

So after my P90X fail, I started to really get interested in running. My inner subconscious screams at the thought of running, but I can't help but realize that a runner's body is almost everything I'm striving for. Toned muscles, great legs and butt, and tan to boot. Winning!

Little did I know all the crap involved in this running stuff. Keep in mind that I was NEVER a runner in my younger days. All I knew was weightlifting and dance. Both of which didn't really go good together (weightlifting made me heavier in muscle mass, therefore making it hard to do those jumps and lifts). Anyway, there's training plans, proper pre-run and post-run diet, gear, plotting routes, breathing, etc etc etc. But hey, lots of people are addicted to it, and hubby used to run, so it would be something we could do together. I get pumped, I get going, and.. I trip over hurdles. 

Hurdle 1: Soreness

Holy crap, this running thing makes you sore in places you never knew could get sore! After the first run or two, I get this insane soreness "where my legs attach to the rest of my body." And I'm not talking just a little soreness that goes away in two days. No. I'm talking about soreness that lasts a week and makes me walk like I have a giant pole up my arse. And how does one stretch those muscles? The only way I know how is not something that's attractive or should be done at the gym in front of spectators. But I drudge on, running three days a week, about 1.5 miles each time at a pace of 12 minutes a mile. Not super fast, but not super slow either. I stretch like a mo-fo for the week until the pain finally subsides. Ah.. Now I'm good for this running thing, right?? 

Hurdle 2: Runner's knee or tendon injuries

Nope... I thought soreness was bad, but now that it's not an issue anymore, I guess the running gods decide to inflict some other severely painful test to my dedication. I was running home one day from a delicious dinner at Josh and Denise's house. It's almost exactly two miles from the house and it's my 2 mile day (according to my training plan), so it was perfect. There's hills to conquer, unlike the normal flat surface I had been drudging down the week before, but I can walk fast up the hills. No biggie, right? Wrong. About 1/4 of the way there, I notice a sharp pain going from behind and below my kneecap (patella to you running folks) down my leg to my feet. I think that maybe I stepped on something crooked and hit a nerve and it will go away, so I keep going. The pain continues with every step on my right leg. Crap. I slow down and start walking fast, hoping it will subside. Nope. I slow down even more. Nope. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll make it home! I finally get home and fire up my best friend: Google. I never quite figured out if it was actually a tendon issue or runner's knee, but according to websites I read and talking with other runners, the causes and treatments are basically the same. Causes include:

• Weak knees
• Improper stretching before and after runs
• Stride and Gait
• Overuse in too short a time

GUILTY ON ALL ACCOUNTS. So, I take it easy and walk, instead of run, for a while. I also ice, heat and ibuprofen until I feel it's starting to heal. I was told it could take a month, so I prepare myself for the down time and suck it up. I even bought the band for my leg. Every time I think it's feeling better I try to run and I'm quickly reminded of my injury and my overzealousness. I'm starting to think the running gods don't want me to be a runner, but I don't give up. 

Hurdle 3: The Kiddie Caddy

Hubby, being all excited for my new found interest in the running sport, goes all out and buys me running gear and even a swanky new running stroller. It's a Schwinn Turismo and it's NICE. Giant shocks on the rear axles, mp3 speakers for the girls, sherpa lining for the cold days and it's pretty too. I'm like a little girl getting a new dolls for Christmas! We try it out on a few walks, while I'm recovering from my knee issue and it rides like a dream. The girls seems to love it too. Until.. Yesterday, Drew and I take the girls and dog out for our "runs." He's much faster than me and I'm still nervous about my knee that I tell him to go on ahead and we'll meet back up at the house. He take off. I walk the girls and the dog for a little while, wanting to kick the dog for his inability to stay at my side and away from the stroller. Eventually, he gets it and I decide to try a slight jog. Hmm.. My knee feels good. I go a little faster. Still good.. I start to get excited and I begin to set my pace. Hey, I think I'm ok! I get in the zone with my music and my breathing and I start to get a smile on my face when the stroller goes to a screeching halt. 

"What happened, mommy?" exclaims Mei-Ling, trying to hold onto her bag of goldfish and cup at the same time. I knew it. The front wheel... I nervously walk to the front of the stroller to inspect the damage.. CRAP. The front wheel went sideways and dug into the sidewalk, bending the wheel fork so that the wheel is no longer on and can't be put back on. Shit. I sit on the side of the road forever, with the dog's leash wrapped around my leg so he doesn't run into the street, trying to get the fork bent back and the wheel put back on with the girls still in the stroller. No dice. I'm not strong enough. I kick at it, I try to bend it back using the wheel, I curse at it. Nothing.. Cars drive by with no offer of help (JERKS.) and eventually I hear Mei-Ling say "Hi, daddy!" I breath a sigh of relief and wince at what he might think about me breaking the Kiddie Caddy. He grabs the dog and I wheelie the girls all the way back home, where hubby and I try everything to get that fork bent back to its original form and get that wheel back on. He gets it, eventually, but the wheel's no long in the center of the fork.  Guess I have to call Schwinn and see about a replacement part. My face is so red with embarrassment. 

I'm telling you, someone doesn't want me to be a runner. But will I quit? Hell no. My knee still feels good and the stroller is good enough for now. Bring it, running gods! Is that all you got? 

Holy crap, I'd better watch it. (running for cover)