Sunday, June 27, 2010

I swear I'm not a dirty hippie

Being as independent as possible has always appealed to me- case in point, growing my own veggies. Screw you, corporate farms! And, also, screw you to the farm stands around here that claim to have farm fresh veggies, yet somehow all the vegetables have stickers on them showing they are from the other side of the country or South America. 

I'm also not a fan of chemicals or synthetics at.all. I haven't used your standard household cleaners since I moved out from my mom's. I get horrible rashes whenever I'm close enough to -smell- your basic bleaches and Lysol's and what have you, let alone if they actually make contact with my skin. I haven't used toothpaste in almost two years, and before that I didn't use fluoride toothpaste for probably 4-5 years. (But, unlike Jessica Simpson, I still do -brush- my teeth several times a day.) I haven't used tampons or pads in over two years (I use this thing instead, and I less then three it) I have to use organic (read: expensive) lotions and body care products because, again, conventional ones make me break out and whatnot, but I'm trying to get away from those as well. Christ. Typing this all out, I sound like a frickin' hippie, minus the patchouli.
So, one of the things I've been meaning to do for awhile is getting rid of my shampoo and conditioner. I was blessed (or cursed) with thick, thick, thick hair, and there has yet to be a shampoo and conditioner combination that was kind to it. I don't wash my hair that much- three times a week, unless I've been rolling in mud or something, and it always air dries (using a blow dryer every time would become way too expensive- not just the 1/2 hour + I'd spend drying it, but I have a tendency to blow out hair dryers) but it's still so. friggin. unhappy. 

Working a short week last week, I didn't really feel compelled to wash my hair on my normal 3rd day (Thursdays), and then I didn't feel like washing it Friday...or Saturday...and now I'm pretty sure I should wash it tonight before I go back to work tomorrow. Despite not washing it in five days, it's not greasy like I feared. Just soft, softer then it was when I washed it last. Weird. During tonight's shower, I'm going to try the baking soda wash/vinegar rinse method and see what happens. 

If it works, and works well, I'll probably see about talking Anton into trying it as well. Since he's been so keen on cutting back on things to save money, I can't see how this would be any different. We don't spend that much on hair care products a year, but still, 180 bucks on shampoos and conditioners yearly is still more then 50-60 bucks yearly on estimated baking soda and vinegar use.

ALSO- plastic. I hate plastic. And if don't have to bring any more in the house, then yays!


3 comments:

  1. I've used a diva cup for a few years now. I don't know why anyone uses tampons. I still use commercial cleaners sometimes, but I almost always use Method products. I will have to try that baking soda shampoo. I read about doing it on someone else's blog years ago and then forgot about it, but had wanted to try it then. It's funny that you mentioned this today because I just posted about how much I like cheap White Rain shampoo.

    I have a cupboard full of little Smart Balance containers because I feel bad buying so many. Yes, I could recycle them, but they work really well for dinner leftovers, so I keep them.

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  2. reading this makes me think you are superhuman.

    i also want to see pictures of your thick, thick, thick hair.

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  3. Heidi- I rarely get rid of my Tofutti containers, way too handy! And reusable cups are pretty much the best thing ever.

    YLIDHAG- I'm pretty much just hard headed, and go into things like this just expecting it to work. Which doesn't always work. And I shall post pictures.

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