Curls Entry

Ok, so here's my latest run at going no-poo...

2 weekends ago, so...10 days ago, I combined about a teaspoon of baking soda (BS) in a pint of water, and used it as a "clarifier". Then I balanced the ph back (or tried) with an apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse. The rinse started with some fresh herbs from mom's garden, chopped up and boiled. Then steeped and cooled and strained out. Added about 1/2 tsp ACV and poured it over and rinsed it out. It didn't do anything. I lasted two more days and felt like my hair was super greasy and super heavy with product. I tried the BS soak a few more times, had a wash in there with regular shampoo (about 5 days ago), and even tried applying BS directly to my scalp, scrubbing it for 2 minutes and rinsing, then mixing fresh lemon juice with my conditioner. none of that helped. Oh, I also made some shampoo with 1 egg, ACV, lemon juice, and soemthing else, but I can't remember. That did nothing.

In the mean time, i read about washing my super oily skin with...oil! It's called the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM). I read a LOT about it and decided to give it a try. You see, the problem with my skin and my hair is that it's super oily. i wash it a lot because it's oily. That produces more oil because my body is made to do that (and so is yours). It becomes a nasty mess. The idea with the OCM is that Castor Oil goes down deep to draw out dirt and impurities, while not stripping the skin of it's natural oils. Mix that with a little Jojoba oil, which closely resembles our skins oil, called sebum, and you've cleansed the dirt and grime, but left the balance of your skin in tact. I've done this 3 times and my skin LOVES it.

My hair is having another problem. it's producing so much oil because it hasn't gotten the message that it's not being stripped of oil yet. I read that brushing a LOT when your hair is dry and doing it with a brush with natural bristles will pull the oil down into the dry ends and it also cleans off the scalp by breaking up the skin cells that stick to all the oil. I've been doing that and it feels AMAZING. I do it at night when I knwo I'll wash the next day, or in the morning before I get it wet.

Tonight, i was dying, just like last time and didn't know how much longer I could stand to have this nasty oil mess on my head, when I discovered another home-made shampoo. I tried it and it was AMAZING!!! I put one egg white into my magic bullet. i gave it a spin until it was frothy. i added about 1/4 cup of plain, all natural, whole fat yogurt. i added the juice from 1/4 of a lemon, a banana, and some castor oil. I gave it a few more spins in teh bullet and then hopped in the shower. I sort of soaked my ends, working it up my strands, then poured it over my scalp all over and massaged a bit. It was running and super drippy, and smelled HEAVENLY!!! I piled my hair on top of my head, held it with a couple claw clips and put a shower cap over the top. I got out of the shower, and left it there while i made dinner, and cleaned up a few things. Probably for about 45 minutes. i rinsed it out with warm water, and felt like I needed some conditioner, so i mixed some more lemon with a light conditioner, put it on, combed my fingers through it and rinsed it out. When i got out of the shower, it felt pretty good. I put some sweet almost oil through the ends, and scrunched some curl cream through the rest and let it air dry. Its CLEAN!! It feels amazing!! My curls are defined and not perfect, but Im' just thrilled to get it clean without stripping it! YAY!! As I do more, I'll post more, but I'm loving this.

I'm also thinking of starting up a support group. Call it the Dirty Hat Club or something. most of the time, with oily hair, it takes about 6 weeks for your scalp to stop producing so much oil. I'm thinking if we get a group together, we can share our woes, encourage each other to stick with it, share tricks and maybe even borrow accessories to cover up the unsightly look while we transition to no-poo. What do you think?