Stop Washing Your Hair: Mommy and the No Poo Movement

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

I haven't used shampoo in three weeks. 

Yes, I admit it. No shampoo, no conditioner, no mousse, no hairspray, nothing. Before you assume I'm a walking grease ball right now, let me assure you I am washing my hair. I'm probably just not washing it quite like most of you are washing your own.

Last month, I came across a story on the Huffington Post about a movement of people who were saying goodbye to shampoo, aptly titled the "No Poo" movement. According to most of the participants, the main reason they were no longer using traditional shampoo was due to the carcinogenic chemicals found in many shampoo brands. Of course, that struck me as important. Who wants to keep slathering carcinogens on your skin? Not me. But as I kept reading, I found an added benefit. These women were finding their hair to be healthier, shinier, stronger, and overall more radiant that it ever was on shampoo. Plus, their hair care was reduced to once or twice a week as opposed to daily or every other day. Seriously, there seemed to be no logical reason to continue using shampoo, in my opinion.

Another thing driving me away from shampoo was not only the possibility of cancer, but in the past year, my body seems to have been quickly shutting down in rebellion to my daily abuse. I have developed raging eczema on my legs, and the rest of my body itches uncontrollably. When the eczema arose and refused to go away with lotion, I was also fighting increasingly distressing digestion issues, which I assumed must be related. Thanks to WebMD I had self-diagnosed myself with several terrible terminal diseases, so I finally broke down and called my doctor. My doctor ran every test in the book, I endured the horrors of a colonoscopy, and both my primary care physician and my GI told me it was most likely related to stress. There was no sinister disease taking over. I was just internalizing my anxiety to a detrimental effect.

Armed with this bit of knowledge, I decided to start cracking down on what went into my body, as well as what I was exposing it to. Coping with external stressors is still a work in progress. I imagine that's something I'll never be able to fully kick. What has been easier is eliminating toxins from my diet and hygienic care. I was already in the process of switching as much of my diet over to organic and natural foods as possible, so the idea of eliminating the chemistry lab of hygiene products to which I was accustomed was just a natural step in the process.

Along came the Huffington Post. The article had links to a Facebook group, which I quickly joined and started digging for tips. Thanks to the recipes suggested in the group, I'm using a mixture of watered down baking soda to wash and spraying an apple cider vinegar rinse (which gets left on for a few minutes, then rinsed out) for conditioning about twice a week. And that is it, folks. Nothing else. The vinegar smell goes away after your hair dries, so no need to worry about smelling like a salad. I've read that some people use essential oils to keep that scent they're used to with shampoo, but I haven't felt the need.

Be warned this does not take effect overnight. I read horror stories about the transition period where your hair has to adjust to not being attacked by chemicals every day and the residue from past treatments has to wind its way out. Some people said be prepared to wear your hair up for a few weeks. I prepared, but there was really only one day I felt my hair was looking a little ragged and pulled it back in a pony tail. As the days passed, I kept checking with my boyfriend to make sure I hadn't begun smelling like a dirty hippie, but I seemed to be transitioning quite well. I guess my hair was so thankful for the reprieve it didn't even attempt to rebel.

Just like everyone had been saying, I watched my hair begin to shine like I had never seen it shine before. It gradually became stronger, whereas it had become absolutely brittle in the past few years. You just had to look at it wrong for it to break. Having a two-year-old with a hair pulling attachment issue was sending me on a path to baldness. Now that I'm not using products, my hair actually seems thicker and more voluminous than ever. He can yank all he wants...my hair stays put.

Of course, the greatest benefit to this change has been going from spending $15-20 per month on shampoo, conditioner and mousse to spending less than $1 on baking soda and apple cider vinegar. I did buy a new boar's hair brush to help distribute the oil throughout my hair, but that will last me ages, so it was a one-time $5 expense. For the Mommy Making Do movement, this is definitely a win.

I would suggest anyone and everyone join the No Poo movement and begin making ourselves, our environment, and our wallets healthier. I truly had no idea what to expect when I turned my back on my shampoo, but the benefits have been incredible. Now that I have seen such success from this one change, I have no qualms about going natural in other aspects of my life.

Don't Devalue Your Handmade Goods!

Mommy Makin' Money

As a side gig, I've been running an Etsy shop for a little more than two years now. And in that two years, Crochet Cauldron has received a whopping 30 sales. Now, I'm not complaining. I appreciate every single one. And that's just the ones that have transacted on Etsy. I've been fortunate enough to make some off-Etsy sales, as well.

Competitive Analysis Hurts

But I know I can do better. I've been researching ways to increase my Etsy business, and I've got about 500 other ideas for Etsy shops that I just don't have enough time in the day to actually make a reality. In my research, I spend a LOT of time on Etsy. Some of what I find is actually depressing.

I'm a fast crocheter and I've been doing it since I was a child, so I have a good idea of how long it takes to make a crocheted item. I also know not everyone is as fast as I am, so taking that into account, I can probably at least double that time to get an accurate idea of how long it took someone else to do it.

Now, I ask, who in their right mind charges $5 for an item that took at least $1 in materials and probably an hour of their time to  make? You're not even making minimum wage at that point! Heck, you might not even be breaking even if you used some premium yarn. And I'm giving generous allowances in this example. Some items I've seen are much more devalued than the example.

It's depressing and discouraging not just because I'm sad that person devalues their time and effort that much, but that it makes it really difficult to compete when I'm determined to eek out what my item is worth. In my opinion, it hurts us all. As far as buyers, do you really appreciate the deeply discounted item as much as you would one in which you paid full worth? I feel that if you want a rock bottom deal, go to Wal-Mart or a mass chain store and pay your pennies for a manufactured import.

Saving Money is a Necessity

I'm not knocking the big box stores. I certainly know what it's like to need to save a dime. Groceries aren't getting any cheaper, and I'll take my coupons and sale ads to whichever store can give me the best price. But when you are purchasing a handcrafted item, generally you're not buying a necessity. You're buying something because it's unique, well-made, and makes you feel good about your purchase. Doesn't bargaining for that item take away some of the magic for you?

I guess I'm just frustrated, but that means I just have to buckle down and work that much harder to prove the worth of my handmade goods. I'm definitely not one to shy away from a challenge. But, surely I'm not alone! Who else out there feels this frustration when you're scouting out the competition?

Budget Wrapping Paper Organization

As Christmas fades into 2013, I decided to take advantage of a Saturday morning to start putting away decorations and supplies. The first problem that arose was the generous supply of wrapping paper my mom had given me back in November that had gotten stuffed into a storage closet and was lying in a tangled mess in the floor. (I'm not naturally organized, obviously.) I wish I had thought to take a before pic to show you the chaos. I needed to get that wrap out of the floor to make room for the Christmas tree and other goodies, as well as saving the valuable paper from certain destruction.

Waste Not, Want Not

My vow of frugality would not let me make a run to Wal-Mart for one of those nifty wrapping paper storage containers made just for this purpose. Instead, I had to make do.

I remembered we had some unused rolling storage baskets in the garage. Once upon a time, they housed the kids' basketballs and sporting equipment, but for whatever reason, now they sat empty. They were cracked and dirty and the kids had lost the handles, but they were still completely usable. With my trusty Magic Eraser I scrubbed one down and brought it inside.

At this point, it was pretty dull. It would have served its purpose as is, but since I have the ability to make it fabulous, why not?

Creating a Masterpiece

I grabbed my roll of vinyl and my Silhouette Cameo. I know neither of these would be considered frugal, but I already had them on hand, so if I don't use them, they're just a giant waste of money, right? At least I purchased both on sale back before I took my vow.

After a few failed attempts (I'm still learning the machine), I came away with a nifty label and a couple of embellishments. I'll ask you to overlook the crookedness of my label. I didn't get it aligned perfectly on the first try, so I pulled it up and tried again, which resulted in tearing it and warping it in some places, so perfection was lost.

And here's the finished project, all filled with wrapping goodness!

Yes, that's a Pampers box peeking out through the holes. I needed something to hold the paper rolls upright since there weren't enough to fill the container completely, and my gift bags and ribbon fit perfectly inside. If I don't find an adequate divider, eventually I'll wrap the Pampers box to make it look a little more elegant, but for now, it works.

So, there you have it. My embellished wrapping paper container sits waiting to be shoved back into that closet behind it, only to be admired on holidays and special occasions. But on those dates, it will shine! And no one in the household can claim they can't find it when I direct them to the wrapping paper.

When is a time you repurposed something you already had lying around? I love to see other people's inspiring ideas!