For a while now i've been wanting to "green up" my life when it comes to my beauty products. The more i've been reading about the toxic things in our beauty products (what am i saying, in pretty much everything around us...) and the effects it has on our health the more i've been saying NOT FOR ME. If you want to know what i'm talking about, i suggest this article:
I think the first step i took in trying to "green" myself up was when i found out i was pregnant with DD2 i decided i was not going to paint my nails anymore (EDIT: now that i think about it, my first step was to stop using traditional menstrual products and get a cup, but that is another post!). There are some nasty things in nail polish (as you can probably tell by the smell). You can read a bit about it here:
Pretty nasty sounding isn't it? I didn't want to be putting that stuff on my nails for my body to absorb to be passed on to my growing baby. So i haven't painted my nails in over a year now. And honestly, i don't miss it too much. Yeah...it was fun to have hot pink or lime green nails in the summer, but at what cost?
My next step was to stop using so many toxic things in the shower. The first to go was shaving cream. This was easy because i just stopped shaving. Yep, you read that right, since the beginning of the year i have not shaved once. And i don't think i will anymore. 1. it's a pain in the underarms for me (i get HORRID ingrown hairs), 2. i barely have time to wash my body let alone shave anymore, 3. my legs aren't that hair anyways and my husband thinks they are soft even when i don't shave, so what's the point, and 4. why should i have to? I have given myself permission that if i feel the need, i'm allowed to trim my underarms, but no shaving this year at least :)
Then after giving up the shaving cream i decided that next to go is my shampoo and conditioner. Now this is where most people think i have really gone nuts. Sure, they could let the no nail polish go with no problem, and shaving...well, that's not too horrible either. But not using shampoo or conditioner!?! Oh how will my hair ever be clean???
Easy.
For one, just water and my hands will get most of the grime out of my hair. But for now i'm washing my hair using baking soda and apple cider vinegar. You see, washing your hair with a detergent all the time (which is what shampoo is) strips away all the natural, GOOD oil from your hair. This oil works on a supply and demand basis. The more you wash it away, the more it makes (works the same as breastfeeding). So if you stop stripping the oil away and instead try to work *with* your body, your hair will (in most cases) make only enough oil to keep your hair healthy.
I am already a person who doesn't wash her hair regularly. Yeah, that's right, i only wash my hair maybe once a week! And it's NEVER been overly greasy :) So i figured making the switch to not using any shampoo would be easy.
So i decided to start after i had a procedure to get a mole removed from my scalp, since i wouldn't be able to wash my hair for a while anyways. The day before i washed my hair for the last time and then went 2 weeks before ever actually using anything on my hair. This was because my scalp was VERY tender around the stitches site and i didn't want to use anything that would irritate and such. So for 2 weeks i just rinsed my hair with water and i used a washcloth to kinda pet my hair in a downward motion to distribute the oils to the rest of my hair. And that worked fine. Then after 2 weeks i finally did my now normal wash routine. I took one tablespoon of baking soda and rubbed it into my scalp and then rinsed it. I then took one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and slowly poured a bit at a time on my scalp and rubbed it into the roots and shaft of my hair. Then i rinsed and that's it, done.
When i got out of the shower and towel dried my hair it was SO SOFT!! My hair has never been that soft before! All day i couldn't stop running my fingers through it. I think DH was getting tiered of me saying 'i can't believe how soft my hair is!!!!'. It's now been over 3 weeks since i've last traditionally washed my hair and i've done 2 of these "treatments" and my hair is still doing great. I'm tossing my shampoo and conditioner and never looking back!
Not only is this so much healthier for me, but it's also healthy for my wallet. I mean, how expensive is baking soda and vinegar??? Awesome i know!
If you want to learn more about this "crazy" topic, read the articles below:
All about 'No Poo'
The No Shampoo Alternative- No Poo
What is No Poo?
Don't use shampoo again!
How to No Poo
The no poo do
So this is it for now. My next step is body wash, then toothpaste and then deodorant. Then we'll see where i go from there.
What about you, what are things you've done to "green up" your beauty routine?
