I have searched and searched for my post from January explaining the ins and outs of my going “‘poo free” only to come up empty. Surely I didn’t just dream that I blogged about it. I know I did; I am so confident of that very fact that I remember some comments about it. But maybe that was on facebook…that thought just right now, this very minute occurred to me.

Anyway, here I am willing to extol my great wisdom on being free of ‘poo. This will be a very short blog post.

I am somewhat “crunchy”. No, I don’t mean I’m bony and would crunch if you ate me like an over-cooked french fry.  I mean “crunchy” as in this definition from Urban dictionary,

Adjective. Used to describe persons who have adjusted or altered their lifestyle for environmental reasons. Crunchy persons tend to be politically strongly left-leaning and may be additionally but not exclusively categorized as vegetarians, vegans, eco-tarians, conservationists, environmentalists, neo-hippies, tree huggers, nature enthusiasts, etc.

No, I’m not a vegetarian, vegan, tree hugger, etc. I’m just tired of ingesting chemicals. I’m tired of eating chemical-laden food, chemically altered food and I’m equally tired of chemicals in everything. I’m tired of not having any idea what is what the products I use. I’m tired of not being able to pronounce the ingredients in commonly used items. Such as shampoo and conditioner.

I’ve also just been on an all-around health kick. I’ve (almost) completely cut out white flour and sugar. I do on occasion splurge but those are few and very far between.  I choose healthy or healthier menu items at home and when we dine out. Because it’s smart.

Now I’m not claiming to be a genius, but when I look at the epidemic of obesity in our nation, and knowing that my town is leading the state in the rate of obesity, or in other words, in my state, my town has the highest ratio of obese people. It just makes sense. I, myself, a few years ago was on the borderline of obesity and overweight for my height. Yes, it’s true. Not many people know that. I’ve worked hard and I’ve had to be ruthless about what I put in my body. Things I have loved have been cut out. I used to love a a mocha. Now when I feel like splurging a little, I find I no longer love or even like mochas. No great loss there.

So what does all this have to do with going ‘poo free? Commercially manufactured shampoo and conditioner is full of chemicals….chemicals that are harmful to our bodies. (Or at the very least have the potential to be.)

Shampoo is really, a fairly new item. Marketed to us as a necessity of life. If you don’t use shampoo and use it every day, you’re less than what you could be and probably should be.

Shampoo actually strips your hair of everything good and necessary.  Your scalp has oils in it that your hair needs. Shampoo strips all of them. Which is why your hair is so nasty if you don’t use conditioner. Conditioner puts some man-made, chemical-laden oils back in so you can at the very least get a comb through your locks.

I have started using a mixture with a 1:1 ratio of baking soda, yes, the baking soda you use to bake with, and water. One Tablespoon of baking soda to one cup of water. I use warm water, mix the baking soda until it dissolves and then I pour it into a pump bottle and keep it in the shower.

You might need more or less baking soda for your hair. Experiment a little and see what ratio works best for you.  Just make sure you rinse it well. You definitely don’t want white flecks in your hair.

For conditioner I use the same ratio, only I use apple cider vinegar and water. (still 1 tablespoon to one cup) I have heard white vinegar also works well and might in fact, work better. But I haven’t tried that yet myself.

I do not rinse the “conditioner” out. You can, I don’t. No, my hair does not smell like a salad at best and vinegar at worst. It smells remarkably like…get this…hair. Yes! My hair smells like hair. Not like some perfumed conditioner I spent a lot of money on. It smells like hair. And manageable? You bet!

Besides the way my hair looks and feels, I love the money saving factor. I shop at Sams and once a month I buy 13 pounds of Arm and Hammer Baking soda. Yes, 13 pounds! I spend between $6 and $7. All of it is used and not just for hair. Maybe I’ll blog in the future about other ways I use baking soda. When I was purchasing shampoo I was spending $12-$15 a month on shampoo and conditioner. Whoa! Talk about a significant savings.

Now, using baking soda and apple cider vinegar in place of shampoo will not do anything to combat the obesity rate in America. If only it were true. But it will help your scalp and hair look and feel nicer, be easier on your pocketbook in a global recession and will rid you of a lot of unnecessary chemicals.

Now, doesn’t that make it worth looking into? I thought so!

 

(Doesn’t it figure, I just found the blog post. You can find it here.)