Monday, June 4, 2012

I don't use shampoo and conditioner

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When I first tell people I don't use shampoo or conditioner in my hair, they usually take a step back like you would a dog with fleas. It always makes me giggle.

A few months ago, I was trying out all these "natural" things, I found a few on "how to save money" websites, but this one TRULY interested me. How on Earth could you get away with not shampooing your hair?!?! Wouldn't it be greasy and gross? I know if I don't wash my hair every other day it gets really greasy and nasty! At least... that's what I used to think!

Studies show that using shampoo actually strips the oils right off of your scalp, which is why they tell you to not wash your hair the day before you have a perm or color your hair. Shampoo doesn't just clean your hair, it strips it of oils and moisture that it needs to be healthy and luxurious!

Another reason I tried this is because I was tired of going to the salon for a cut and them saying things like "Well, if you tried XYZ Product, you would have less frizz" or whatever they would have to say. I don't want to spend MORE money on products that I'm hardly ever going to use because I don't blow dry my hair all the time. HECK! I'm doing good if I BRUSH it every day! LOL

Enter to "no 'poo" method!

What I do is I take roughly a Tablespoon of baking soda, and combine it with a cup of water. I shake it up to combine it, and I pour it evenly on my head. I work it into my scalp really well, but not like you do with shampoo because it won't produce any suds. Trust me, it's working, even if there are no suds! Then I rinse it out. I then take about a Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a cup of water, and use that as conditioner. I also use coconut oil as a deep conditioner once a week.

Now, if you are one of those people that washes their hair every day, or every other day and starts this... I'm going to warn you to have LOTS of pony tail holders ready! Your hair will go thru a cycle where it produces WAY too much oil and you will have an itchy head, and your hair will be greasy, but it only lasts about 3 weeks and your scalp will calm down and adjust to not being stripped of all it's oils all the time. I normally wear mine in a pony tail anyways, but I do let it down occasionally. You might also have to experiment a bit to find the right "mix" for your hair. I started out using exactly 1 Tablespoon to 1 cup of water. I now use a bit more than a tablespoon, but still 1 cup of water. I find that if I use only 1 tablespoon or less, my hair gets greasy quickly.

I now only need to wash my hair about once a week to 10 days. I just went to get a hair cut on Saturday, and the stylist told me that my hair was healthy and very nice looking.

When I first started doing this I thought that my hair would be a tangled mess after I stepped out of the shower. I have VERY THICK baby fine hair, and whenever I used to get it wet, I had to put conditioner in it, or I would end up with a handful of hair that would get pulled out brushing it. I don't have that issue at all! The vinegar lives it almost virtually tangle free! Not completely, but, I have noticed that there is less hair in the shower, less hair in my hairbrush, and it has some natural bounce and body to it now. I'm falling in love with my hair all over again! :-)


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Friday, June 1, 2012

Just some updates!

Well, things have been sorta eventful around these parts the last week or so. DH had been gone to Florida for work, so it was just the kids, the animals, and myself.

This past week seen another Tropical Storm. This one was pretty good! Still nothing major, but, it sure did leave lots of rain and plenty of wind! The ducks were LOVING it tho!



They sure have gotten big since we got them in March and early April!! Stacy is definitely a drake, and Candace is a hen. I'm also pretty sure that Phineas is a hen and Ferb is a drake. Woohoo! One of each! I'm excited about that!

We had been waiting for what seems like forever to get our chicks we ordered from Meyer. We originally didn't think that we were going to get them until mid July, but, it turns out that they had an over hatch and we were able to get them this week! Apparently it wasn't a very good week to get chicks via mail. When our 8 chicks arrived, only 3 were alive. The other 5 had gotten themselves outside of the matting and stuck between it and the box and were more than likely too cold and died. :( I called the hatchery as soon as I got home and they said that they would give me until Monday to make sure those 3 were going to make it, and they would replace them. Unfortunately, unless they have an over hatch, they may not have any chicks until August! I really don't want to wait until August to get the rest of my chicks! That would mean that I would need to give up my bathroom THREE times! LOL I think in about 3 weeks I'm going to get the chicks enclosure made up, and then they can go outside. It should be plenty warm enough that they don't need a heat lamp any more.

Here are the remaining 3 chicks tho!


From left to right we have Nugget, Bonnie, and Louise. I was going to name them Thelma and Louise, but DD had other plans. Of the ones that were gone when I opened the box, 2 were yellow, 1 was grey, and the other was chipmunk like Nugget and Bonnie. The other chick was a "meal maker" free chick and I'm pretty sure it was a black Australorp. I hope that when we get the new chicks that they're not all chipmunk. I'll update on Monday and let y'all know if I'll be getting chicks next week, or in a couple months. :/

Annie went to the vet this morning. She's getting SO big! She got her 12 week shots, and weighs 17 pounds.  She's gained almost 13 pounds since we got her. How crazy is that?!?! She's pretty much outgrown the crate that we have her in. We have a bolster bed in there, so if we took that out, she might still fit, but there's no tray to the bottom so I would feel bad about not having a nice squishy bed in there for her! Here's a picture of her in her favorite sleeping spot... under our table!


How could you ever be mad at that face? Even if she does have your $80 tennis shoe in her mouth! ;-) She's actually doing really well with the whole chewing thing. She mostly uses Lilly as her chew toy. Of course, lots of barking and hilarity begin about that time as well. :-)