Going Shampoo-Free

I've talked a lot about ways to clean around the house using non-toxic ingredients, but I haven't gotten too much into personal care products. Today I want to get into the topic of shampoo.

When I started making things for myself about 4 or 5 months ago, I knew I would get around to shampoo eventually. I was more focused on replacing my cleaners and detergents. But one night in mid-February, I sat down with my shampoo bottle - a brand I've used for years - and looked up some of the unrecognizable ingredients. I was horrified and stopped using it immediately.

Shampoo is in no way an exception to all the toxic chemicals that the personal care product industry uses. These synthetic chemicals coat our hair to make it look "shiny and beautiful," but at the expense of allowing these harmful ingredients to enter our bodies.

Here's an article from naturalnews.com:

Popular Shampoos contain toxic chemicals linked to nerve damage

...it may surprise you to learn that manufacturers can put practically any chemical they want into shampoos, even if it is a hazardous chemical listed in the RTECS database of toxicity and even if it is considered a toxic waste chemical by the EPA. The FDA allows all sorts of chemicals to be used in these products, including chemicals that are known carcinogens and that contribute to liver failure and nervous system disorders. How's that for protecting public health?

 I found another article about shampoo at mercola.com:

Do You Know What's in Your Shampoo?

When you put shampoo or conditioner onto your scalp, the 20 blood vessels, 650 sweat glands, and 1,000 nerve endings soak in the toxins.

...when toxins are absorbed through your skin, they bypass your liver and enter your bloodstream and tissues -- with absolutely no protection whatsoever.

The article also lists 5 common - and toxic - shampoo ingredients. See if your bottle contains these.

For me, knowing that the chemicals in my shampoo bottle are doing some definite harm, I had no problem turning to a natural homemade solution...

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What to use instead?

*First I want to note that any time you transition from commercial shampoo to anything natural/homemade, your hair will have to adjust. Shampoo over-strips your hair of its oils, so your scalp has to compensate. Now you have to train your scalp to slow down the oil production. The transition time is different for everyone, but for me, it took 3 to 4 weeks.

For the first month after ditching the bottle, I used a recipe I found online that used 6 natural ingredients. It worked okay, but I wasn't in love with it. It also wasn't as inexpensive as I wanted, so I looked for something different.

I started reading about the "no-poo" movement (as in no shampoo). I'm not sure when this got started, but the basic idea is to clean your hair without any commercial products. Mostly, this involves using baking soda to clean your hair and apple cider vinegar as a "conditioning" rinse.

Here are some others who have written about it:

Info: Shampoo Free

Shampoo-Free: Why and How

Going no-'poo?

So I've been using diluted baking soda followed by diluted apple cider vinegar for about a month and it's working quite well. I have tweaked my proportions a few times, but I think I'm settled on what's working best for me.

I recently found the article listed above (Info: Shampoo Free) that helped me clarify what proportions I should be using and why using too much baking soda - which I was - was not giving me great results (too much can dry your hair out and make it frizzy).

The article also gives some info about the history of shampoo, along with tips if the baking soda/ACV rinse isn't working very well. It's worth a read through.

So here's one way to go 'poo free:

Baking Soda "Shampoo"

1 cup water
1 Tbsp baking soda

Mix into a squeeze bottle. Shake up before each use. After applying to hair, let it sit for about a minute before rinsing off.

Apple Cider Vinegar Conditioning Rinse

8oz water
2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

I prefer to mix this in a small spray bottle (can also be kept in any kind of container that pours or squirts).

Use minimally. Too much can leave your hair greasy. When rinsed, your hair should not smell like vinegar.

***

Everyone's hair is different, so I am not convinced that this will work well for every single person. But there are many suggestions out there as to how to make your own shampoo so that you can quit buying from the store. A simple Google search should give you many, many options (one being to use castile soap: Use Natural Liquid Castile Soap for Safe and Wonderful Homemade Shampoos)

Just find what works for you. Happy hair cleaning :)

Corn Salad

We had this as part of our dinner a couple nights ago. It was Erin's idea, but unfortunately the picky eater that she is, she ended up not liking it. But I thought it was delicious.

It's a great side dish for a summer meal, especially next to something off the grill...

***

Corn Salad

Veggies:

Corn
Peas
Grape Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Cellery

Dressing:

1-2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp dried basil

 

Mix up and serve cold.

Glass Cooktop Cleaner (Natural)

Back in February, our whole family was sick with one or more of the following: a cold, an ear infection, pink eye, bronchitis, or strep throat. So when we had all gotten better, it was time to clean and disinfect the whole house.

When we got to the kitchen stove (glass top), I wanted to find an alternative to our Cerama Bryte Cooktop Cleaner.

(I tried to find out what the ingredients are in this, but most of it is "trade secret." What they do disclose are harmless ingredients - but what are they hiding with the rest of it? At the end of this data sheet, they classified it as "toxic material.")

In my online search, I found different suggestions for cleaning with natural ingredients, including baking soda, vinegar, dish soap and a combination of them. I've been experimenting with different variations and have found what works best, at least for me.

Note: I have found that it's much easier to clean up recent stains than to work on something that's been there a while. Even the Cerama Bryte didn't work very well on old stains. So it's best to get things up as soon as you can.

Natural Glass Cooktop Cleaner

My first step is to get up all the loose crumbs and wipe it as clean as possible with a wet rag.

Then I sprinkle some baking soda and work on the dark stains with the rag. This usually gets up most of it (again, not so well on old stains).

When you need a little extra cleaning power, put down a little liquid castile soap (I assume dish soap would work too) along with the baking soda. The two together seem to work a little better than just the baking soda alone.

Wiped with a wet rag.

Cleaned with baking soda.

Beer Can Chicken

This past weekend, we had beer can chicken as our main meat dish for our Easter dinner. I took pictures so that I could write about it, in case any of my readers didn't know how to make the most tender chicken you've ever had.

It's not complicated at all. It does help to have a stand (pictured to the right), but it's not necessary. The first one or two times we made it, we didn't have our stand yet.

Aside from that, you just need a whole chicken, a can of beer and some spice rub.

Beer Can Chicken

The can of beer. You can use any beer you want. Better beer doesn't make better tasting chicken, so use the cheap stuff (we used Miller Highlife this time).

You only need the can half full, so either dump out half or drink it. Poke a few holes in the top half of the can. Put some of the spice rub (whatever you're using) into the can.

The chicken. Take the whole chicken and get it onto the stand. Rub it down with olive oil and then the spice rub.

Bake it. Preheat oven to 350. Bake it for an hour and fifteen to an hour and forty-five (depending on how big and how cold...). 

Ready for the spice rub (or a puppet show)

Bake em'

All done!

Tender, juicy, delicious chicken!