i’m very conscious of the lack of racial diversity in my friend group, this morning. i don’t really know what to say beyond that, but i don’t like it. strangely, when i was at SMU, a VERY white university, i had many more non-white friends than i do now. like i said, not a lot to say here, but i’ll be thinking about ways to remedy this. tricky situation…
hippie, thy name is infamousqbert January 20, 2010
okay, so, anyone who reads this blog for sure knows that i’m a big pinko-commie-liberal-feminist. fewer of you know that i’m also a big “green” person. had i the means, i’d be living in a hay-stack house with reclaimed wood floors, totally off the grid. but, i don’t have the means, so i live in a seriously inefficient apartment and do little things, like using wind-power electricity and composting my food waste.
so, today marks the first day in my latest endeavor to leave a slightly lighter footprint on the earth AND make my body less of a chemical dumping ground.
about a year ago, i was trying to find the hair wash i use for cheaper than i normally pay. incidentally, the product is called “No-Poo” because it’s a lather free “shampoo”. so, a google search led me to a fascinating discovery. there were all these people who had stopped using shampoo altogether and LOVED it. i know full well that we don’t need to wash our hair or bodies nearly as often as we’ve been taught. it’s a scientific fact that your body is very self-regulating and will quickly adjust to a less rigorous cleansing schedule. everyone out there who thinks they can’t go a day or two without washing their hair just hasn’t tried. seriously, the next time you have a few days off (so you won’t have to be seen by anyone in the interim), give it a try. go a day or two longer than you usually do. yes, you’ll be nasty the first time. but you’ll quickly be able to go many days, even a whole week, without a shower if you commit to it. have any of you thought i was stinky lately? yah, well, i’ve been showering about once a week for over a year now*.
but, i digress. so, i was fascinated by this movement, but just never got around to trying it. the basic set up is that you use a baking soda rinse as your “shampoo” and a vinegar rinse as your “conditioner”. yah, i know, stinky salad head, right? well, no, not actually. this website goes into more detail, but the vinegar smell goes away really quickly from all accounts, and you can add a little essential oil into your rinse if you want to be proactive about it.
so, today was day 1. my hair had a bit more product and natural funk in it due to wearing it wavy, working out, and it being a nasty humid day here in big D**. i hope this won’t adversely affect the experiment, but we’ll see. i just got out of the bath, so here’s my first report. i’ll do my best to update this regularly and keep good track of my observations. the bloggers who have done this already have been a great help to me in researching this and i would like to do the same for anyone else thinking about taking on this daunting project. i’ll also do my best to get some pictures to accompany any major changes, or lack thereof, that i notice.
for starters, my current “recipe” is basically the one called for on the “Shampoo Free!” site linked below. i used 3 Tbs of baking soda to 3 cups of warm water because i have long, dry hair. i made up 4 Tbs of apple cider vinegar to 4 cups of water for the rinse. i added a little bit of orange oil to the vinegar rinse, which smells very nice here from my wet-head, blogging on the couch standpoint. i ended up not needing all of either, but i went ahead and used all of the rinse because it wasn’t in a resealable container.
initial thoughts:
- since i was already use to a non-lathering wash, that wasn’t as big of a shock as it will be for most people. following the suggestions and brushing my hair out really well did feel like it helped, since there wasn’t a thick substance to rub around.
- a quick finger comb of the hair feels fine. it’s a little more on the “squeaky clean” feeling side than i’m used to, but that should be fine, since my hair is supposed to adjust and need less conditioning. we’ll see how that plays out for these first few tries.
- i’m going to stick to my established styling tools and products, so that i can get a feel for what’s changed besides those items. seems like making them the control is a good way to do this. i’ll adjust and/or eliminate them in as scientific a method as my vanity can stand.
Post blow-dry update:
- not bad. my hair combed through easily and took about the same amount of time to dry as it normally does.
- it looks and feels just like it does when i get just a little too much of my glossing cream in the mix, which would actually make sense, since i had less standing product in my hair to start. i think that will be my first test of product adjustment.
let’s see what happens when i wake up in the morning and it’s had a night to soak. 
Resources and Anecdotes:
Motown Girl – a resource for non-caucasian hair
and a big shout out to the Crunchy Chicken. she may not have loved the no-poo, but that’s where i originally found this idea and i’ve loved keeping up with her totally wacky life.
*i know i’m totally setting myself up there, but seriously. ask my fiancee. she lives with me and will vouch for both statements here.
**because of the unseasonal humidity here, i’m not expecting glorious hair tomorrow. but i should be able to get a good feel for whether it’s normal for this weather or not.
http://www.strawbale.com/
i want to SMASH!!! January 20, 2010
just having a VERY cranky morning, for the second day in a row, and the day is just shaping up to keep getting worse.
Tin Foil Hat Time!! January 13, 2010
okay, i’m a minor conspiracy theorist. i’ve got nothing on a few folks i know, but i don’t trust any organization larger than can fit in my apartment. so, that said, i think a certain banana company, we’ll call them Schmole, is trying to kill me.
i woke up this morning to a rather annoying thing. my banana had a big weight loss ad on it! seriously, instead of the normal “hi, i’m a banana!” friendly sticker it said “LOSE WEIGHT!” and had a website for the Schmole Banana Diet around the edge. i was pissed, took pictures, posted them to facebook, you know? the normal things. then i ate my banana with the same peanut butter and bread & glass of orange juice that i’ve eaten several days in a row. that’s all to say that the only new thing was the first banana out of the new bunch we bought a couple of days ago.
now, a TMI warning for those of you with squeamish stomachs (although, why you’re friends with me if you can’t handle this, i’ll never know). i’m a VERY regular person. as i announced at dinner one evening not so long ago, i poop every time i go to the bathroom. so, at least once for each meal, right? there are a few meals that i know will make me need to go faster than others, but my first poop after this particular breakfast usually comes an hour or 2 after i get to work, so 3-4 hours after eating. i started needing to poop before i walked out the door this morning. i held it because i didn’t want to miss my bus, but i had to set down my bag and go as soon as i was to the office. THEN! just an hour later, i had to go again! WTP?? this is crazy! and these aren’t the little, “oh i need to pee and check it out! there’s a poop too!” kinds of poops. these are the “hey! i gotta poop and i gotta poop now! it’s peeking out!” kinds of poops.
so, the only logical conclusion i have is that Schmole is injecting laxatives into their bananas as part of their brand-spanking new, sticker promoted, weight loss plan. make of that what you will, but i’m concerned for the fate of the nation.
Banana of doooooooom!!
Miscellaneous Linkage January 11, 2010
stumbling around the internet today found me some good reads.
from Logic & Imagination:
from Female Science Professor:
a really fun cooking blog, Not So Humble Pie. Check out the science cookies. love it!
via Pharyngula:
Parents arrested for giving children tattoos. WTF?
And, a great blog on how to Stop Sexist Remarks
An open letter to Levi-Strauss December 9, 2009
via janie, of inside-the-sparkling:
so, apparently, Levi-Strauss, the parent company of Dockers, thinks the world would be a whole lot better if men would just put some pants on and stop being such pansies*. fuck them. here’s the letter i’m trying to send to them. i’m getting errors on the website, but i’m publishing it here and sending it to many people. if you want to send your own, here’s the place to do it.
12/10/09 quick update: i was able to send the email just now. so, whatever was up with the feedback site yesterday has been cleared up and this has been officially communicated to the company.
The “Man-ifesto” ad campaign you’re currently running for your Dockers brand is one of the most backwards thinking and uncreative approaches to marketing I’ve seen in quite a while. Apparently, your marketing team doesn’t care about at least 52% of your customer base – women. Women make up 52% of the world’s population and more than that of shoppers in the US. This campaign is totally dismissive of women’s contribution to society, suggesting that everything would be okay if they would just cede control to the big men who have been cast aside in the pursuit of fancy coffee and salad bars.
Just to be clear, I’m not offended by your ad. I’m contemptuous of it and its attempt at humor. Belittling women and our contributions to society is not innovative, or cutting edge. In fact, it’s been used as a way of promoting male power and dominance in the world for thousands of years.
If your advertising team really wanted to be edgy or creative, they would consider speaking out AGAINST entrenched stereotypes of men and women and encouraging more diversity, instead of less.
Please consider me and my household one less customer, as I will not be buying your products again if and until this ad is pulled and a full apology issued to the public.
This letter will also be published to my website and sent to many people via email. You may not think this is much of a threat, but you’d be surprised how much influence a few women can have.
*Here’s a screen shot of the ad, in case you don’t want to click the link and give them traffic. Do notice that dockers are, in fact, marketed to both men AND women, as the tabs above the ad reflect. I guess the marketing team missed that.
make me laugh, dammit! December 9, 2009
just put up my “traditional” christmas wallpaper on my work computer. seriously, when all else fails, this pic can do it for me.
